Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

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Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

The Five Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of John Calvin

October 2009

“I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5

This year is the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, the single most important figure in our Reformed Protestant tradition.  Calvin was one of the major leaders of the sixteenth century Reformation of the church in Europe and to this day remains one of the most important and influential figures in history.

Calvin was born July 10, 1509 in Noyon, France.  He studied law and also became a major Renaissance scholar.  He mastered Greek, Hebrew and Latin.  He became exposed to the writings of Martin Luther and other early leaders of the Reformation and became convinced of the truth of their views about Scripture, justification, the priesthood of all believers and the need to reform the church.  Facing persecution for his views in France, Calvin fled to Geneva, Switzerland.  Here he established his leadership of much of the Reformation in Europe and beyond. 

Calvin, more than anything else, was a teacher of Scripture.  His masterwork, Institutes of the Christian Religion, was revised by him several times and was intended to be a guide to understanding the central themes of Scripture.  Calvin is often thought of in terms of the doctrine of Predestination which he in fact shared with the other Reformers.  However, this was never the central theme of Calvin’s Christian faith.  Calvin focused on the sovereignty, or we might say priority, of God.  Even here Calvin’s focus was not on a general doctrine but rather on the fact that everything depends on God’s grace which is given to us as a gift from God through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Calvin had a more expansive view of God’s salvation than many of his followers.  He believed that we should all pray that everyone would be saved (based on I Timothy 2:1-4).  We should approach everyone as a potential believer in Christ.  Calvin avoided speculation even in the area of predestination, which he insisted could only be understood by looking to Christ alone as the assurance of our salvation.

Calvin’s influence in history is enormous.  He placed a major emphasis on education.  This was true not only in Europe but here in America.  Harvard, Yale and Princeton were all founded by his followers.  He believed in the separation of church and state.  He was a major figure in the development of democracy since he insisted that congregations should elect their leaders by majority vote rather than have them appointed by a bishop or prince.  As far as we know he was never officially ordained as a minister.  He placed a great emphasis on lay leaders in the person of “elders” who, like the pastors, were to be elected by the congregation.  He saw the elders as those who should govern the church while leaving the preaching, teaching and pastoral care to the ministers.

Calvin was not perfect.  He had his defects.  Nonetheless he remains one of the most inspiring and influential figures in church history.  Calvin died on May 27, 1564.  He specified that his burial place be unmarked.  Even in death he wanted to give glory only to God.

We will be focusing on John Calvin during our Reformation Sunday service on October 25.