Sermons on 2 Timothy, by John Calvin, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, hardback, 482 pages, £16.00.1
The Christian Church is indebted to the Banner of Truth for yet another well-produced volume of sermons by John Calvin (1509-1564). Those sermons, along with others on the Pastoral Epistles, were preached in Geneva during the years 1554-5. The translation from the original French has been newly done by Robert White. As explained in the introduction, there was an earlier translation by Laurence Tomson in 1579, but “the time has come for a fresh translation”.
Clearly this Epistle was especially precious to Calvin, which is a point he makes in his first sermon, on chapter 1:1,2. “For my part”, he states, “I know that this letter has done me as much good as any book of Scripture. Every day there is something of value in it. I do not doubt that those who study it
1Available from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
will feel the same. If we want the kind of testimony to God’s truth which will pierce our hearts, we can do no better than tarry here. We would need to be extremely sleepy and utterly mindless for God not to work in us once we hear the truths which will come to light. This is something we should think about before we begin our study.”
In his Outline, Calvin gives the historical background to the Epistle, as well as its purpose: “Paul’s main concern is to confirm Timothy in the faith of the gospel and to urge him to be steadfast in proclaiming it”. He continues: “The Apostle was facing death, which he was soon to suffer for his witness to the gospel. What we read here, therefore, must be interpreted in terms of Christ’s kingdom, the hope of eternal life, the nature of Christian conflict, steadfast confession of Christ and the certainty of God’s truth – things not written in ink but in Paul’s own blood. He asserts nothing for which he is not prepared to lay down his life. The letter is thus, in a sense, a solemn endorsement of Paul’s own teaching.”
This very helpful outline of the Epistle sets the scene for the 30 excellent sermons that follow, which usually cover two to four verses and have very fitting titles such as: “Loved by God”, “Remembered in Prayer”, “Called and Saved”. The doctrines which Calvin brings out in those sermons are too many to refer to in this review, but one that especially stands out is that of election.
On chapter 1:8,9 Calvin asks, “On what does our salvation depend? On God’s eternal election! God chose us before we ever existed. What could we have done at that point of time? Were we so clever or so well disposed that we could come to God? No, our salvation did not start when we reached the age of reason and discretion and began to have right feelings. It did not start then, but is grounded in God’s everlasting election, made before the world began. What could we have done? Could we have made our presence felt, or induced God to call us to Himself and to set us apart from the rest of mankind? Are we not astonishingly stupid if we think that we are deserving, and if we exaggerate our merits so as to cloak God’s grace, imagining that they entitle us to come before Him?” (p 56).
Later, on chapter 2:10, in the sermon entitled, “A Sure Foundation”, Calvin says about the seal of the foundation: “While, as Paul says, God’s foundation endures, it is like a letter which has been closed and sealed. Why closed and sealed? Because God knows those that are His. The reason why we cannot identify them and decide that this one and that one is God’s, is because God desires to humble us so that our eyes are either blind or dazzled. We must be content to know that God’s election is secure; although concealed from us and not first of all divulged, it lies within His private counsel. If, therefore, God knows His own, we should not be surprised if we are often deceived
when people fall away. Why? Because they were not known to us. God, however, is not deceived: He brings to pass whatever He has decided in His counsel” (p 201).
While emphasising God’s sovereignty in choosing a people for Himself, Calvin is no fatalist, and in this same sermon he warns God’s people against this danger as well as that of presumption. “There is an enormous difference between the sure confidence which believers have in their salvation and in their peace with God, and the unconcern felt by those who think of nothing, but who, as we say, trust to luck and hope that no harm will come their way. Men are much too negligent; they are for ever mindless of the dangers which surround them, so that they fail to call upon God and to hide beneath the shelter of His wings” (p 207).
As already noted, this Epistle was especially precious to Calvin, and this can be understood when one considers that the trials which he endured were not too dissimilar to those endured by the Apostle. That said, and although our situation now is somewhat different, these sermons cannot but touch a chord in the hearts of the Lord’s people today and should be especially profitable to those of us who are called to preach the gospel.
We highly recommend this volume.
(Rev) W A Weale
Protestant View
Cardinal Newman to Become a “Saint”
The Vatican has recently announced that Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) is to be canonised, that is, made a “saint” of the Roman Church, in October 2019. The canonisation results from the alleged “second miracle” attributed to Newman’s intercession, after the first “miracle” which secured his “beatification” and paved the way for his now becoming a “saint”. The second “miracle” was the reported healing of Melissa Villalobos, an American mother of five children who suffered a serious haemorrhage in her fifth pregnancy. This “miracle” was approved by the Pope on February 13, 2019. The Church of Rome has been trading on the credulity of its devotees for centuries by attributing allegedly-miraculous occurrences to its “saints.”
In addition to the expected gush of tributes to Newman from various churchmen, the British Ambassador to the Vatican, Sally Axworthy, commented, “Cardinal Newman had a major impact on Catholic theology and on education worldwide. . . . He brought his experience from the Anglican Church to his work as a Catholic, bridging the two traditions. The canonisation will be an important moment for Britain, and for UK-Holy See
relations.” It is sad to read of high-ranking British Government officials uncritically endorsing the superstitious and fraudulent process of “canonisation”, and going on to praise one of the most dangerous apostates of recent centuries as a figure useful in bringing Romanism and Anglicanism further together. We also believe that it is sinful of Her Majesty’s Government to hold diplomatic relations with the Papal See, not least because it involves recognition of the unwarranted papal claim to temporal sovereignty as a head of state.
AWM