Institutes of the Christian Religion

 

Institutes of the Christian Religion

It had been my desire to read the Institutes of the Christian Religion by the Reformation-famous John Calvin, penned in 1536. It is almost a text book for the newly formed Protestant churches, dealing with every possible theological and doctrinal matters, which are very much different from the doctrines of the Catholic Church. But little did I imagine the digital book to have 975 pages and that too full of serious and quite dry matter! I ploughed through, but took almost a year to completely read it! The task was so massive and difficult.

Calvin (1509-1564 AD) was a French theologian, and reformer in Geneva, and his brand of Reformed church is known as Calvinism. He was just 26 years old when he wrote the first draft of the book. He expanded it and wrote it to be a book to help common people understand the basics of the Christian faith. His book has four major divisions: 1. Knowledge of God; 2. Knowledge of God the Redeemer; 3. Mode of obtaining the Grace of Christ; and 4. The true Holy Catholic Church.

I thought I will give some of the points that Calvin makes which still rule the Protestant churches as the rule book on all matters connected with Christianity, and enrich our understanding of our own faith. Some points of history of Christianity also, I have pointed out, for our own knowledge.

·       After creation, man was corrupted and this passed on to the posterity by heredity.

·       Man’s natural gifts have all been corrupted by sin, and as Augustine of Hippo says, “Of our own we have nothing but sin.”

·       A sense of God is naturally engraven on the human heart.

·       Augustine of Hippo called the Jews, “The librarians of the Christian church.”

·       For the first 500 years of Christianity, there were no idols in the church, not even the images of Christ or mother Mary.

·       God operates on our wills to do what He wills, through the Holy Spirit and the Word.

·       No saint will ever attain perfection, so long as he is in the body. There is always sin in the saints until they are freed from their mortal frame.

·       Number 7 is the number of Perfection.

·       OT is literal and has temporal blessings, whereas NT is spiritual and endows spiritual blessings.

·       On account of his mother, Jesus is called the Son of David, and on account of his Father, he is the Son of God.

·       It was Innocent III (1160-1216 AD), a Catholic Pope, who introduced confession to one’s own priest, once a year.

·       People were imposed penitents (fasting, etc.,), as punishment for sins, and when they found it too severe, and petitioned the Church for relaxation, the church devised the remission of sins by Indulgences, in 11^th and 12^th centuries, against which Martin Luther and other Reformists fought.  

·       After Justification, where we are forgiven of sins by Christ, good works follow. Hence no conflict between faith and works.

·       The only Mediator is Christ, not Moses, not the dead, nor anyone else.

·       The body in which we will be resurrected will be the same body as at the present; no new body will be given; but the quality of the body will be different.

·       Church is a must in the believers’ life, because church is where the Word is preached and sacraments are observed.

·       No church will be altogether free from blemish; we are not to abandon church due to minute objections and variants.

·       For the appointment of the pastors, and bishops the consent of the people, the congregation was taken. Even when elections were introduced some 500 years back, the election of the clergy and the cardinals should be ratified by the consent of the people/congregation.

·       Pope Hildebrand, named Gregory VII (1020-1085 AD), received the rule of the Western Empire from the Emperor Henry IV, and the emperors became subordinate to the Popes. Popes used excommunication as a weapon to make the Kings/Emperors obey them. He established the primacy of the Papacy, stating that his power was absolute as a successor of Apostle Peter.

·       Marriage was forbidden to priests in 12^th century by Pope Calistus (1123 AD). Calvin was married and had children also, but they did not survive infancy.

·       A woman can take a vow of continence only after her 60^th year, according to Catholic norms.

·       Baptism by immersion of sprinkling is immaterial, and any of the two methods is permissible depending on the climate.  

·       Children born to Christian parents are received by God as heirs to Covenant, so they can be baptized while still babies. (infant baptism is alright).

·       Catholic church has added seven sacraments, while only 2 are biblical, that is Baptism and Holy Communion. Catholics added confirmation, penitence, extreme unction, ecclesiastical orders and marriage as sacraments, which are not biblical.

·       Calvin held that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were temporary and ceased after the apostles. (Many of us may not agree with this!)

·       According to Calvin, the offices of Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists are temporary, but that of Pastors and Teachers are of perpetual duration.

·       Magistrates and rulers are to be strict and firm, for example, a murderer must not go unpunished.

·       Just war is still permissible for Christians.

·       Levy of taxes and imposts are the legitimate revenue of the princes/rulers.

·       Christians can go to the court, to alleviate their problems, and to receive justice, but not with hatred and a will to harm the opponent.

·       Even the most tyrants of the rulers are appointed by God to be used for His glory; eg. Nebuchadnezzar.

·       Nothing happens by chance, but by the will of God.

·       The ceremonial and judicial/political laws given to the Jews have been repealed, but not the moral law. Ten commandments fall under this category of moral law and are relevant even today.

·       Predetermination by God since foundations of the world is upheld. God had determined before all-time who would be eternally saved and who would be condemned to hell.

·       Christian liberty as taught in Galatians is that the conscience freed from the yoke of the Law, may cheerfully obey the will of God.

·       Prayer is important in the life of a Christian and ought to be offered to God, the Almighty through Jesus Christ.

·       Our obedience to Magistrates/State ought to be such, that the obedience which we owe to the King of kings (God) shall remain entire and unimpaired.

Well, some points to ponder! The purpose of the Institutes was the edification of the church and clarification of many disputed matters and also to bring out the wrong doctrines of not only Catholics, but also of mysticism, humanism and fanaticism (of Anabaptists), that were prevalent those days, and still linger on. According to him, Scripture alone is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. His book is a systematization of the faith itself. He discusses in detail the Ten Commandments, The Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the sacrament of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and Christian liberty.

It has been said that the main principle of Martin Luther’s theology is justification by faith, whereas Calvin gave importance to the sovereignty of God in everything. Calvin believed in total deprivation of mankind, unconditional love of God, availability of atonement to man, and predestination.

Though difficult to read, it is an enriching exercise, to be undertaken by every Christian. So go ahead and delve into it. Bravo! All the best, and God bless your efforts to fathom the rich minds of the saints of yester years through their writings.