We had a good weekend. Saturday I had the privilege of sharing the faith of Jesus with a number of prisoners at our local jail; and Sunday, as always, our faith was built up and re-aligned to Jesus Christ again. So I am glad to start with this summary on what Calvin said about faith itself in Book 3, chapter 2 of his Institutes.
By the way if you are interested in a good book on Calvin’s doctrine of faith read Victor Shepherd’s, The Nature and Function of Faith in the Theology of John Calvin. You can purchase it here
http://www.victorshepherd.on.ca/Sermons/books_by_victor_shepherd.htm
“Everybody has a faith” is a common statement of faith today! As a result, faith is defined many ways for many people, and as a result, true saving faith is misunderstood. This was a problem in Calvin’s day as well, thus he spends some time refuting false concepts of faith in order to clear the road for understanding true faith.
1. The first kind of false faith he refutes is what he terms “shadow-shapes of faith” (Pg., 554), or “image faith”(Pg., 554), or “unformed faith” (Pg., 551). What is it? “People who are touched by no fear of God, no sense of piety, nevertheless believe whatever it is necessary to know for salvation” (Pg., 551).
2. In a nut shell, this “shadow-shaped faith” is belief that faith without works is still true faith. Or to put it another, this “shadow-shaped faith” is justification without sanctification. This is false faith [Acts 8:13; Lk 8:6-13; Jn 8:29-59; James 2].
For Calvin the goal of justification was sanctification. Thus the whole point of faith was not just justification, but justification for sanctification. Justification is strategically first, but the goal is sanctification. Karl Barth clearly explained this in his Church Dogmatics. In the CD. Vol.IV. Pt.2, he says, “Calvin in Bk III does deal with the order. Calvin basically teaches here that, "God renews those whom he freely reckons as righteous for the cultivation of righteousness (Bk III, 11:6).” Barth says Calvin is the theologian of sanctification because he seeks to answer a very biblical question, "What is it that God by his grace and will, wills to accomplish in man?" Yet, as a study of the Institutes shows Calvin hinges everything on justification. Without this foundation there is neither assurance or sanctification. In all his explanation of the life of the Christian he never loses sight of justification. So we can and must say Calvin was the theologian of justification too. So…"we can and should learn from the classical example of his mode of treatment that we can give only a twofold answer to the question of priority in the relationship of these two moments and aspects. Calvin was quite in earnest when he gave sanctification a strategic precedence over justification. He was also quite in earnest when he gave the latter a tactical precedence." Pg, 510.
Back to the summary.
3. Calvin’s biblical refutation. “Since faith embraces Christ, as offered to us by the Father [cf. Jn 6:29] - that is, since he is offered not only for righteousness, forgiveness of sins, and peace, but also for sanctification [cf. 1 Cor 1:30] and the fountain of the water of life [Jn 7:38; cf. 4:14] - without a doubt, no one can duly know him without at the same time apprehending the sanctification of the Spirit....And Christ cannot be known apart from the sanctification of his Spirit. It follows that faith can in no wise be separated from a devout disposition” (Pg., 552).
4. How is false faith distinguished from true faith? Calvin gives 5 marks.
a) True faith flourishes confidence; false faith divided allegiance. [Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15]
b) The elect are regenerated with incorruptible seed, forever [1Pet 1:23]; the reprobate are not regenerated at all and hence are not steady in life or faith - they do not persevere.
c) “The reprobate never receive anything but a confused awareness of grace, so that they grasp a shadow rather than the firm body of it. For the Spirit, strictly speaking, seals the forgiveness of sins in the elect alone, so that they apply it by special faith to their own use” (Pg., 555).
d) He does not show Himself merciful to them, to the extent of truly snatching them from death and receiving them into His keeping, but only manifests to them His mercy for the time being. Only His elect does He account worthy of receiving the living root of faith so that they may endure to the end [Matt 24:13]” (Pg., 556).
e) True faith grasps and grows in the truths of Scripture, but false faith cannot penetrate into the Scriptures. That is, they cannot know them - lovingly.
5. Calvin sums it up this way. “However deficient or weak faith may be in the elect, still, because the Spirit of God is for them the sure guarantee and seal of their adoption [Eph 1:14; cf. 2 Cor 1:22], the mark He has engraved can never be erased from their hearts; but on the wicked such light is shed as may afterward pass away” (Pg., 556). [see pg., 557 for the discussion on God’s chastisement]
6. Calvin advises us to understand the many definitions of faith so that we can distinguish saving faith from other forms of faith.
7. Faith means doctrine. “Faith is rightly extended to the whole sum of heavenly doctrine, from which it cannot be separated” (Pg., 558). [1 Tim 4:6; Col 2:3 ]
8. Faith refers to an object [Matt 9:2; 8:10]; faith is connected with the performance of miracles [1 Cor 13], and faith is connected with the activity of teaching in the church. [see pg., 559 for an explanation of this.]
9. But what is that faith; what are the aspects of true saving faith, through and by which we call upon God, are justified and receive all the benefits of redemption? Calvin answers this question in the remainder of this chapter. I will summarize the answers in the next entry.
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