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Glorifying God in Denying Self

This excerpt is taken from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, ch.vii. I have edited this in modern English, and though it may not be the best rendition, I pray that the essence of its content (since it pertains to practical Christianity) will go forth to the heart of the reader. Enjoy. Be blessed. Be edified…

The next principle that logically follows is that we are not to seek our own will, but the Lord’s, and act according to the promotion of His glory as our goal and desire. It is to our great advantage when we neglect our own inclinations, almost forgetting ourselves; for then we can faithfully devote ourselves to obey God and His commandments.

For when Scripture directs us to lay aside personal considerations, it not only deprives our minds of an excessive longing for wealth, power, or human recognition. It removes all ambition and thirst for worldly glory, as well as other more secret evils.

The Christian should certainly be so trained and willing to consider that his entire life is accountable to God; and for that reason, he will bring all things to God’s disposal and estimate, so that he will religiously direct his whole mind to Him.

He who has learned to look to God in everything he does is, at the same time, turned aside from all vain thoughts. This is that denying of self which Christ so strongly compels His disciples to obey from the very start (Matthew 16:24). As soon as this takes hold of the mind, and leaves no place for, first, pride, show, and ostentation; or, secondly, neither for avarice, lust, luxury, effeminacy, or other vices which are produced by self love.

On the contrary, wherever denying of self does not reign, the foulest vices are indulged without shame; or, if there is some appearance of virtue, it is rendered null and void by a depraved longing for applause. Show me any individual who does not believe in the Lord’s command to deny self, and yet is inclined to do goof for its own sake. Those who have not renounced themselves have followed virtue merely from the love of praise.

The philosophers who have earnestly contended that virtue is to be desired for its own sake were so inflated with arrogance that it is evident they sought virtue for no other reason than as a reason for indulging in pride. God is so far from being pleased with these glory hunters with swollen chests that he declares they have already received their reward in this world (Matthew 6:2). He further declares that harlots and publicans are nearer the kingdom of heaven than such philosophers (Matthew 21:31).

We have not yet sufficiently explained how great and numerous are the obstacles that hinder a man who desires to pursue what is right while at the same time he continues ignore Christ’s command of denying self. This old saying is true that says there is a world of iniquity treasured up in the human soul, and neither can you find any other remedy for this than to deny yourself, forsake your own inclinations, and direct your whole mind to pursue those things which the Lord requires of you, and which you are to seek only because they are pleasing to Him.

Not Our Own, But His

This excerpt is taken from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, ch.vii. I have edited this in modern English, and though it may not be the best rendition, I pray that the essence of its content (since it pertains to practical Christianity) will go forth to the heart of the reader. Enjoy. Be blessed. Be edified…

Although the Law of God contains a perfect rule of conduct admirably arranged, it seemed appropriate to our divine Teacher to train His people by a more accurate method with regard to the standard which is connected to the Law; and the key principle in the method is that it is the duty of believers to present their “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [their] spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1, ESV).

This key principal produces this exhortation: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, ESV). Therefore, the great point for our consideration is that we are consecrated and dedicated unto God; and as a result, we should no longer think, speak, design, or act without a perspective of His glory or for His glory.

What God has made sacred cannot, without being monumentally insulting to Him, be used in an unholy or profane way. If we belong to the Lord and are not our own, then it is clear what error is to be shunned, and to what end the actions of our lives must be directed.

If we are not our own, then neither should our will and reason guide independently in our thoughts and actions. If we are not our own, then let us not make it our goal to seek those things that are profitable to the flesh. If we are not our own, then as far as possible, let us forget ourselves and things that are ours.

On the other hand, if we are God’s, then let us, therefore, live and die unto Him (Romans 14:8). If we are God’s, then let His wisdom and will control all our actions. If we are God’s, then let every area of our lives be directed unto Him as the only legitimate goal.

O what great advancement the believer has made who has been taught that he is not his own; who has withdrawn the reign and government of himself from his own reason so that he may give them to God! As the most certain source of men’s destruction is to obey themselves, their only save haven is to have no other will, no other wisdom, than to follow the Lord wherever He leads.

Let this, then, be the first step in abandoning ourselves unto God and devoting all the energy of our minds to the service of God. By service, I not only mean a verbal obedience, but also a willingness to set aside our carnal desires, and surrender completely to the leadership of the Spirit of God.

This transformation (which Paul calls the renewal of the mind, Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23), though it is the real beginning of life, was unknown to all the unbelieving philosophers. They believed that man was governed by reason alone, and that reason alone was to be listened to; in short, they believed that reason was the sole guide for life and conduct. Yet, Christian philosophy demands that we surrender and yield complete submission to the Holy Spirit, so that the man himself no longer lives, but Christ lives and reigns in him (Galatians 2:20).

Necessity of Spiritual Progress

This excerpt is taken from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, ch.vi. I have edited this in modern English, and though it may not be the best rendition, I pray that the essence of its content (since it pertains to practical Christianity) will go forth to the heart of the reader. Enjoy. Be blessed. Be edified…

Although the very breath of the Christian life should be to desire the perfect Gospel, and though we should attempt to attain that life, I should never insist that others have absolute perfection. Neither should I insist that evangelical perfection be reached by a man before I were to call him a Christian. If that were so, everyone would be excluded from the Church, since no man [save Jesus Christ] is perfect. Many who have made very little progress in their Christian life would be undeservedly rejected. What then?

Let us set this before our eye as the end by which we should constantly aim. Let us regard it as the goal toward which we run. For you cannot divide the matter with God, undertaking part of what His Word commands, and omitting other parts as it pleases us.

For, in the first place, God uniformly recommends integrity as the principal part of His worship. What I mean by integrity is this: real singleness of mind, free from external show and creative pretense.

The double mind opposes the spiritual life. This implies a sincere devotion to God in the pursuit of holiness and justice. Yet, we understand that in this earthly prison of the body, no man has the strength sufficient to hasten his way on his spiritual journey with proper watchfulness. Still, there are so many others that are so oppressed with weakness, that hesitating, and stopping, and even crawling on the ground, they make little progress. Let every one of us go as far as his humble ability enables him; to pursue the journey with the goal in sight once begun.

No one will travel so poorly that he does not daily make at least some degree of progress. Therefore, let us never cease to do all we can so that we may advance daily in the way of the Lord; and let us not despair because of the slender measure of success. However little that success may match our desire, our labor is not lost when today is better than yesterday.

Let us progress in our spiritual journey toward our goal having true singleness of mind, eagerly desiring the goal, not speaking flattering things to ourselves, nor indulging our vices, but making it our constant effort to become better, until we attain to goodness itself. If during the whole course of our life we seek and follow, we shall attain it at the end when we are relieved from the infirmity of the flesh and admitted into the full fellowship with God.

External Christianity is NOT Enough

This excerpt is taken from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, ch.vi. I have edited this in modern English, and though it may not be the best rendition, I pray that the essence of its content (since it pertains to practical Christianity) will go forth to the heart of the reader. Enjoy. Be blessed. Be edified…

“This is where we address those who would still consider themselves Christians but have nothing of Christ except His name and church membership. How dare they boast of this sacred name? The only ones who truly have communion with Christ are those who have acquired the true knowledge of Him from the Gospel.

“The Apostle teaches that no man has truly learned Christ who has not learned to ‘put off [the] old self, which belongs to [the] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,’ and put on Christ (Ephesians 4:22, ESV). Therefore, they are convicted of falsely and unjustly pretending to have knowledge of Christ, regardless of how flowing or eloquent their speech is concerning the Gospel.

“Doctrine is not a matter of the tongue, but of the life. It is not merely understood by the intellect and memory like other branches of learning, but is also received only when it possesses the whole soul, and finds its seat and habitation in the innermost recesses of the heart. Let them, therefore, either cease to insult God by boasting that they are what they are not, or else let them demonstrate that they are not unworthy disciples of their divine Master.

“We must give first priority to doctrine contained in Christianity, since doctrine is where our salvation begins. Yet, it must be transfused into our hearts, and pass into our conduct, and transform us the new creatures the Scripture speaks, so as not to prove unfruitful.

“Philosophers are offended with those who profess a knowledge of the art of life yet have a conduct that does not display that life, and rightly so. They banish these offenders from their presence in disgrace because they ramble with words of wisdom that are meaningless. How much more then should we detest those flimsy sophists who are happy to give lip service to the Gospel, when we know that the true Gospel is powerful and effective, and ought to penetrate the innermost affections of the heart, fix its seat in the soul, and spread through the whole man a hundred times more than the cold speeches of philosophers?”

Holiness Means Obedience to Christ

This excerpt is taken from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, ch.vi. I have edited this in modern English, and though it may not be the best rendition, I pray that the essence of its content (since it pertains to practical Christianity) will go forth to the heart of the reader. Enjoy. Be blessed. Be edified…

“The better to arouse us, the Scripture reveals God the Father, who, as He has reconciled us to Himself in His Anointed, has impressed Christ’s image upon us, to which He would have us to be conformed (Romans 5:4). Come, then, and let them show me a more excellent system among philosophers, who think that they are the only ones with a just and orderly arranged morality. When they would give excellent exhortations to virtue, they can only tell us to live agreeably to nature.

“Scripture gets its exhortations from the true source: God;[i] and the Scriptures alone is our authority to govern our lives with a view to God, its Author, to whom it belongs. Yet, after showing us that we have degenerated from our true origin, namely, the law of our Creator, He adds that Christ, through whom we have been restored to favor with God, is set before us as an example, the image of which our lives should express. What could be a more effectual requirement than this?

“If the Lord adopts us a His sons on the condition that our life is a representation of Christ, the bond of our adoption-- then, unless we dedicate and devote ourselves to righteousness, we not only revolt against our Creator with the highest treason, but we also reject the Savior Himself. Scripture accompanies its exhortations with the countless blessings of God, as well as each part of our salvation. Ever since God revealed Himself to us as a Father, we must be convicted of extreme ingratitude if we do not in turn show ourselves to be His sons.

“Ever since Christ purified us by the baptism in His blood, it would it would be inappropriate for us to be defiled with new pollution. Ever since He engrafted us into His body, we, who are His members, should very carefully beware of contracting any stain or taint. Ever since Christ, our Head, ascended to heaven, it is good for us to remove our affections from the earth, and with our whole soul seek and desire heaven.

“Ever since the Holy Spirit dedicated us as temples to the Lord, we should make every effort to show forth the glory of God, and guard against being profaned by the defilement of sin. Ever since our soul and body were destined to heavenly incorruptibility and an unfading crown, we should earnestly strive to keep them pure and uncorrupted against the day of the Lord.

“I tell you that these are the surest foundations of a well-regulated life, and you will search in vain for anything resembling them among philosophers, who, in their commendation of virtue, never rise higher than the natural dignity of man.”

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[i] Mal. 1:6; Eph. 5:1; 1 John 3:1, 3; Eph. 5:26; Rom. 6:1-4; 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:15, 19; 1 Cor. 6:15; John 15:3; Eph. 5:2, 3; Col. 3:1, 2; 1Cor. 3:16, 5:17; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Thess. 5:23 [original footnote]

Holiness: the Key of Life

This excerpt is taken from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, ch.vi. I have edited this in modern English, and though it may not be the best rendition, I pray that the essence of its content (since it pertains to practical Christianity) will go forth to the heart of the reader. Enjoy. Be blessed. Be edified…

“It has numerous admirable methods of recommending righteousness.[ii] Many have been pointed out already in different parts of this work; but here, we shall also briefly turn our attention to some of them. What better foundation can it begin with than by reminding us that we must be holy, because “God is holy?” (Leviticus 19:1; 1 Peter 1:16).

“For when we were scattered abroad like lost sheep, wandering through the labyrinth of this world, He brought us back again to His own fold. When someone speaks of our union with God, let us remember that holiness must be the connection; not that holiness is a merit that allows us to attain communion with Him (rather, we ought to cling to Him first, in order that we, saturated with His holiness, may follow whenever and wherever He calls), but because it greatly concerns His glory not to have any fellowship with wickedness and impurity. This is why He tells us that this is the goal of our calling, the end to which we should always respect, if we are to answer the call of God.

“To what end were we rescued from the iniquity and pollution of the world into which we were plunged if we allow ourselves to wallow in them our whole lives? At the same time we admonished by God’s holiness to inhabit the holy city Jerusalem if we would be regarded as the Lord’s people.[iii] God has consecrated Jerusalem to Himself, and therefore, cannot be profaned by impure inhabitants; and thus, the Psalmist declares, “LORD, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalms 15:1-2; cf. Psalms 24:3-4); for the sanctuary in which He dwells should certainly not to be like an unclean stall.

“The system of Scripture that we speak aims primarily at two objects: first, that the love of righteousness may be instilled and implanted into our minds, because by nature, we are not so inclined to do that; second,[i] to lay down a rule that will prevent us from going astray while we pursue the righteousness of God in Christian living.

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[i] The original has a parenthetical note to “(see chap. 7).” This portion being in Chapter 6, the point will be expanded and explained in Chapter 7. [my additional footnote]

[ii] The French begins the sentence thus, “Quant est du premier poinct;”—As to the former point. [original footnote]

[iii] The original has a parenthetical note: “(Isaiah rev. 8, et alibi). [my additional footnote]