Why Did John Calvin Write the “Institutes of Christian Religion”?

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“Calvin wrote his work to train readers in godliness, not to define Christianity as one religion by articulating a set of ethical and theological beliefs. For this reason, titling the book, Institution of Christian Religion conveys better the idea of Christian worship or godliness that Calvin intended to communicate through the title.” - Wyatt Graham

6 Tips for Reading Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion

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“It might seem a little silly to offer tips on how to read a book. Don’t you start reading the first page and keep going until you reach the end? Well, yes. And no! Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion requires some guidance, or else readers will get confused and lose interest in a hurry. There are several reasons why this is the case.” - Servants of Grace

Worship That Smells: Calvin on Genesis 8

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“We should not, however, conclude that any old act of worship informed by faith is pleasing to God. The second ingredient — also absolutely essential — to sweet-smelling worship is careful attention to God’s own instructions regarding how he wishes to be worshiped.

How Might We Glorify God in His Attributes? (Part 1)

By Paul Henebury on

Calvin on God’s Powers

John Calvin’s treatment of Psalm 145 offers some great ruminations about the attributes of God. The psalm can be broken down into three parts:

Verses 1-3 are David on his own speaking of the greatness of God celebrating God’s praise.

Verses 4-9 speak of David bringing in the people of whom he is king and bringing them to praise and prompting them to consider God’s greatness and goodness.

Calvin's First Use of the Law

By TylerR on

John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, famously set out what he saw as the three uses of the law. By the term “law,” Calvin explains, “[b]y the Law, I understand not only the Ten Commandments, which contain a complete rule of life, but the whole system of religion delivered by the hand of Moses.”1 Here, in this excerpt,2 Calvin explains the first of these:

Reformers' disagreement on Christmas yields lessons

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“While Martin Luther loved to celebrate Christmas with feasting and special church services, the so-called Reformed wing of the Reformation, led by Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, raised objections to such festivities, arguing believers should worship God only in ways explicitly commanded by Scripture and that a festival in December commemorating Christ’s birth was not commanded.” BPNews