8/12/2019 1997 Issue 3 - John Calvin: Theologian of the Burning Heart Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon

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The Pastoral Emphasis

of

Calvin's Ministry

'The

Reformation

...

was

a

pastoral

care movement

growing

directly

out of care

for

the salvation

of

the sou\.

-Ronald Wallace

Though

Calvin is best

known for his Institutes and

Commentaries,

his desire to

be

a faithful pastor of God's

people was perhaps

well as fight off those who

lead them away from Christ.

Calvin 's emphasis upon

the pastor's teaching

obligations is

not

surprising.

t is the tenderness with

wh

i

ch

he pursued that goal

that is not as well known.

The testimony of Calvin 's

own generation respecting

his compassion for members

of his congregation is

moving.

De

s Gallars, one of

Calvin's colleagues in

Geneva, wrote of Calvin's

pastoral ministry: No

Calvin's

pastoral

ministry

included a vast amount of

correspondence with

Christians all over Europe.

These letters reveal Calvin's

deep sensitivity to the plight

of

his persecuted brothers,

and demonstrate a true

pastor's heart. One such,

series of letters was written

to five French theological

students who were arrested

in Lyons. They were

imprisoned, tried, and

eventually martyred for their

commitment to the Reformed

the driving

motivation of

his

niinistry. Calvin's

high estimation of the

pastorate was,evident

~ o h n halvin: Theologian of

the urning Heart

faith. A sample of

Calvin's

correspondence

reveals a

man

whose

heartbeat

passionately for

Christ's persecuted

body.

when

he wrote,

For

neither the light and

heat

of the sun, nor

food and drink, are so

necessary to nourish and

sustain the present life as the

apostolic and pastoral office

is

necessary to preserve 'the

church on earth. (IV:3:2)

According to

Calvin, the

pastor has two respons

ibilities:

''Then

only do

pastors edify the Church,

when, besides leading docile

souls

to

Christ, placidly, as

with the hand, they are also

armed to repel ,the

machinations of those who

strive to impede the work of

God. The Christian pastor

is to

instruct

the people to

true godliness (IV:3:6) as

Rev.

Chis

trewl

words of mine can declare

the fidelity and prudence

with which he gave counsel,

the kindness with which he

received all who came to

him, the clearness and

promptitude with which he

replied to those

who

asked

his opinion on the most

important questions,

and

the

ability with which he

disentangled the difficulties

and problems which were

laid before him. Nor

can

I

express the gentleness with

which he could comfort the

afflicted and raise the fallen

and the distressed.

(examples from Letters

of

John Calvin

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THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

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March/April,

1997

Meanwhile, all

the children of God pray for

you as they are bound to do,

not only

on

account of the

mutual compassion which

ought to exist between

members of the same body,

but because they know well

that you labour for them, in

maintaining the cause

of

their salvation. We hope,

co

me

what may, that God of

his goodness will give a

happy issue to your captivity,

so that we shall

have

reason

to rejoice ...

ln

conclusion, I

beseech our good Lord that

He would be pleased to make

you feel

in

every way the

worth of His protection of

His own, to fill you with His

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Holy Spirit, who gives you

prudence and virtue, and

brings you peace, joy, and

contentment.. .

And now, my brethren,

after having besought our

good Lord to have charge

over you, to assist you in

everything and through

everything, to make you taste

by experience how kind a

Father He is, and how careful

of the salvation of

his own, I

pray to be remembered in

your prayers.

We who are here shall do

our duty in praying that He

would glorify Himself more

and more by your constancy,

and that He may, by the

consolation of His Spirit,

sweeten and endear all that is

bitter to the flesh, and so

absorb your spirits in

Himself, that in

contemplating that heavenly

crown, you may be ready

without regret to leave all

that belongs to the world.

Now, at this present hour,

necessity itself exhorts you

more than ever to turn your

whole mind heavenward. As

yet, we know not what will

be the event. But since it

appears as though God

would use your blood to sign

His truth, there is nothing

better than for you to prepare

yourselves to that end,

beseeching Him so to subdue

you to His good pleasure,

that nothing may hinder you

from following

whithersoever he shall

call ... Even so, my brothers,

be confident that you shall be

strengthened, according to

your need, by the Spirit

of

our Lord Jesl,ls, so that you

shall not faint under the load

of temptations, however

heavy it be, any more than

He did who won so glorious

a victory, that in the midst of '

our mi series it is an unfailing

pledge of our triumph. Since

it pleases Him to employ you

to the death in maintaining

His

qUlIlTel,

He will

strengthen your hands in the

fight, and will not suffer a

single drop of your blood to

be spent in vain

. ..Forlet

enemies do their utmost, they

never shall be able to bury

out of sight that light which

God has made to shine in

you, in order to be

contemplated from afar.

I shall not console you,

nor exhort you more at

length, knowing that our

heavenly Father gives you to

experience how precious His

consolations are, and that

you are sufficiently careful to

meditate upon what

He

sets

before you in His Word .

He

has already so shown how

His Spirit dwells in you, that

we are well assured that

He

will perfect you to the

end ... There now remains the

conflict, to which the Spirit

of God not only exhorts us to

go, but even to run. It is

indeed a hard and grievous

trial, to see the pride

of

the

enemies of truth so

enormous, without its getting

any check from on high; .

their rage so unbridled,

without God's interfering

for

the relief of His

people .. While

it

pleases,God

to give His enemies the rein,

our duty is

to

be

quiet,

although the time of our

redemption tarries.

Moreover, if He has

promised to be the judge

of

those who have brought His '

people under thraldom,

we

need not doubt that

He

has a'

horrible punishment prepared

for such

as

have despised His

majesty with such enormous

pride, and have cruelly

persecuted those who call

purely upon His name.

(exerpts from the etters o

John Calvin

As gentle and comforting

as Calvin could

be to his

brothers in the faith, he was

equally fierce in denouncing .

those who sought to cOlrupt

sound doctrine and mislead

or persecute Christ's flock.

He maintained that a faithful

pastor should be alert to the .

dangers with which Satan

and evil men seek to

overthrow the Church. In the

dedicatory of his

commentary on the book

of

Psalms, Calvin wrote,

These be no days for

dalliance; for Satan, the

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workmaster

of

all mischief,

being grieved that his own

kingdom draweth to an end,

not only 'goeth about like a

roaring lion to'devour folk '

by

open'force, but also like a

sly

seIpent

setteth snares and

pitfalls innumerable, to

entrap men and bring them to

deStnicti'on by policy, laying

wait for all men, but

speCially fot ,such as are of

high estilte, as who always

carry greatest numbers with

them When they

decline:

not only dishonors God and

his Word, but it inevitably

tends to practical errors and

impiety. The faithful pastor

must warn his people of error

and beat off those who lead

the people astray through

false teaching. In Calvin's

mind, it is unthinkable that

wolves should be scared

away with anything less than

clubs and shouts.

Calvin came to the

defense

of

God's people

very soon break out against

many poor souls, that foreign

peoples might at least

be

touched with some

compassion and care for

them.

As Albert-Marie Schmidt

wrote

in

his biography

of

Calvin,

In

that text Calvin

shows clearly n d nobody

would think of questioning

his good faith that it was

not out of a vain wish to '

attract attention that he

Calvin strong

language against

enemies of Christ and

truth

throughout his

writings. He had no

quahns against calling

the Roman popes

False

doctrine not

only

dishonors Cod

nd

his Word,

but

it inevit bly tends to

praclical errors nd impiety.

decided to hasten the

publication of his

theological views,

but

out of the burning zeal

of his love. 2

Perhaps the greatest

expressionof Calvin's

pastoral concern for

ignorant asses

(IV:5:8).

Calvinl1,arshly denounced

,Rome?s system of

j u ~ t i f i c t i o n as robbing

Christ

of

his,glory, for

forcing unqualified pastors

upon the people, giving

multiple benefices to

absentee.pastors, and for

other ;serious doctrinal and

practical errors .Some

Reforme,d

men

cringe at

Calvin'suse

of

strong

language

n

defending a

theological'position. It is

quite understandable,

however, once we remember

Calvin's view of God's Word,

the Church, and the pastor 's

responsibility. False doctrine

throughout his ministry.

Although it is often

forgotten, his Institutes had a

pastoral pUIpose.

It

was

written to inform King

Frances I of the true doctrine

of the Reformation party so

that he would cease

persecuting innocent

Frenchmen.

''These were the reasons

that enduced me to publish

my

Institutes

of

he Christian

Religion. First, to reply to

these wicked accusations that

were being made and to clear

the name of my brethren

whose death was precious in

the sight of the Lord. And

next, since the same could

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COUNSEL of Chaltedon

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March/April, 997

Christ's Church is his

response to the intrigues of

the Roman CathoUc Cardinal

John Sadolet. In 1539,

Calvin and Farel were

expelled from Geneva for

seeking to secure for the

elders of the church the right

to admit or exclude men

from the Lord's Supper.

Hearing of their expulsion, ,

Sadolet sent a letter to the

Genevan Church, His letter '

was full

of

friendly

gesticulations to the

Genevese, a people to whom

he was unknown, and

condemnation of the

Reformers, especially Calvin

(though

he

was unnamed).

His efforts had no other aim

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than to regain lost territory

for the papacy.

In

response

to his letter, Calvin wrote not

only a brilliant defense of the

entire Reformation program,

but sought to encourage the

Genevan Church to remain

faithful to Christ by

remaining separate from

Rome. The following

comments from Calvin's

response demonstrate the

intense zeal and love Calvin

possessed for the Genevan

Church, even tlwugh he had

. been expelledfrom the city

and was no longer serving as

their pastor:

For though I am for the

present relieved of the charge

of the Church

of

Geneva,

that circumstance ought riot

to prevent me from

embracing it with paternal

affection - God, when he

gave i t to

me

in charge,

having bound me

tO

,be

faithful to it forever. Now,

then, when I see the worst

. snares laid for that Church,

whose safety i t has pleased

the Lord to make my highest

care, and grievous peril

impending if not obviated,

who will advise

me

to await

the issue silent and

unconcerned? How

heartless, I ask, would it be

to wink

in

idleness, and, as it

were, vacillating at the

destruction of one whose life

you are bound vigilantly to

guard and preserve?

.... Besides, without paying

the least regard to the

Genevan Church, (though

assuredly I cannot cast off

that charge any more than

that

of

my own soul,)

supposing I were not

actuated by any zeal for it,

still, when my ministry

(which, knowing it to be

from Christ, I am bound,

if

need be, to maintain with

my blood) is assailed and

falsely traduced, how can it

be lawful for me to bear it as

if I saw it not? 3

Calvin is not only the

most imminent theologian

of

the Reformation, but his

indefatigable labors,

voluminous correspondence,

and unending zeal for the

establishment of godliness

among Christian men and

women, earn him respect as

the greatest

of

Reformed

pastors as well. Calvin's

pastoral ministry teaches us

that those who are most

possessed with theological

accuracy and fervency

should be those who most

earnestly endeavor to feed

the flock

of

Christ with

sound doctrine and protect

them from false teaching and

profane men.

TO BE CONTINUED)

IOf Calvin's

correspondence, Ronald

Wallace wrote,

This

pastoral emphasis is all the

more remarkable since such

letters were often written

on

Church

or

national business

with some diplomatic aim, to .

further the Reformation

cause

in

Europe. But even

the diplomatic gives way

entirely to even an

evangelistic motive and we

find that his first COncem is

with his correspondelJt as a

person. Is he or she keeping

close to God, listening to his

word continually, and likely

to continue to resist the

temptations

of

Satan in

order

to keep running well in the

Christian race -

in

other

words, how is it with

your

.

soul?

2Calvin nd the

Calvinistic Tradition,

(Harper: New York, 1960), p.

35.

3 f

Calvin's letter to

Sadolet, the noted church

historian Philip Schaff wrote,

There is scarcely a parallel

to it in the literature of that

age, which teems with ' ,

uncharitable abuse and

coarse invective. Of his

letter, Luther wrote to

Cruciger, This answer has

hand and foot, and I rejoice

that God raises up men who

will give the last blow to

popery, and finish the war

against Antichrist which I

began.

March/April, 1997

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