GTC INSIGHTS 2010
Some of you will recall that I signalled at the end of last year that I was thinking of writing a series of Insights on John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. As I’ve prayed and reflected on this possibility over the summer, and received input from friends and colleagues, I’ve decided to act on this idea. It’s not going to be an easy task and I would be glad if you would pray for me as I undertake it.
Christian classics like Calvin’s Institutes are called classics because of their enduring value. Their contents are such that they have timeless relevance and appeal. Generation after generation senses God speaking through them, saving his people and edifying his church.
Generally that’s because they reflect more or less closely the truth of the Bible. All truth finds its source in God himself, and his Word, the Bible, is the written repository of that truth as it’s meant for us. That’s why the more closely writers connect with the Scriptures the more timeless their work.
It’s this quality that characterizes Calvin’s Institutes. Written originally to help establish young Christians in
Having spoken of the timeless value of classical works of Christian theology (and literature generally), they are not always readily accessible to the generations that inherit them. Sometimes that’s because their limited circulation makes them physically unobtainable. More often, however, the cultural, religious and literary distance between the author and people today makes them hard to read. Issues current in the author’s day may have long faded from the scene; forms of speech current then may now be all but unintelligible; and modes of reasoning and expression may have radically changed. Together, these factors make many a valuable book inaccessible to modern readers.
As someone who has gained greatly from older writers, I’ve long wanted to help those who struggle with the convoluted arguments and unfamiliar language of earlier times taste the riches of its spiritual wisdom. The thought that the insight of godly men and women of earlier generations – insight given by the Spirit for the good of the church in all ages – might be lost to the modern church burdens me. It prompted my first literary efforts some thirty years ago – a series of reflections on one of J.C. Ryle’s books – and still drives me to take on tasks such as the one that lies before us this year.
It is important as we begin this new series of Insights to understand how I intend approaching them. I’m not aiming to provide a summary or abridgment of Calvin’s Institutes, and still less a modernization of them. That would be far too big a task and one beyond my abilities. Besides, it has already been done and doesn’t need repeating. What I plan to do is select significant ideas from Calvin that have helped me and which I believe are valuable for people generally today, and reflect on these in a conversational and somewhat meditative manner. Hopefully this will provide both food for the mind and nourishment for the heart. If it does, the labour of writing these Insights will be richly rewarded.
Associate Principal GTC (