Calvin’s Influence in Church Affairs

In the summer of 1960, I stood in the Church of St. Peter in the city of Geneva. This beautiful Gothic structure was once a Roman Catholic cathedral. But in May of 1536, the City councillors and leading citizens stood within the walls of that cathedral and solemnly swore to accept the Gospel for the sole rule of their faith and life; and at the same time resolved to have done with all masses, images, idols, and other objectionable rituals. Unfortunately, neither the council nor the people knew anything about the principles of the Gospel; but they were sick and tired of the political domination of the bishop and were determined to rid Geneva of the immoral influence of the priests. Their adoption of Protestantism was not due to their conversion, but rather to their desire for political freedom.

They invited a visiting Frenchman to organize the new Protestant church. This was John Calvin. At the beginning of the Reformation era, Geneva was a city of moral filth. Bishop and priests set a woeful example of debauchery. Encouraged and inspired by this example, the people engaged in all kinds of vice and corruption. Every third house was a tavern. Public and private parties were followed by wild orgies. Geneva, indeed, presented a deplorable picture.

Then, in the course of the next 28 years, Calvin was instrumental in uplifting the city from its moral filth to a worldwide example of civic righteousness.

While the decadence in American life has not yet reached that which obtained in Geneva in the early part of the sixteenth century, the statistics, with which we are all familiar, indicate that crime, delinquency, immorality and unethical practices are increasing at an alarming rate.

Light From The Archives

It was this frightening moral decadence in American life that prompted our study of the reformation of Geneva, in the hope that it might provide a key to a program of reform for this country. Fortunately we found in the archives of Geneva the exact information which we were seeking.

One of the first things Calvin did in organizing the new Protestant church was to set up two groups: one he called the “Consistory”—this was composed of five ministers and twelve lay elders; the other he called the “Company of Pastors”—this was composed solely of ministers. Calvin himself was a member of each of these groups. They met independently once a week. Minutes were kept of many of these meetings. We now have in our possession the microfilms of these minutes. In one or another of these 2,000 odd meetings and in other writings, Calvin’s philosophy and beliefs dealing with a wide gamut of human affairs are recorded. Why this information was not brought to light long before this, is difficult to understand. It would have avoided much published misinformation about his life and work.

The ecclesiastical body known as the “Consistory” was limited to spiritual jurisdiction. The Constitution stated, “All this is to be done in such a way that the ministers have no civil jurisdiction and wield only the spiritual sword of the Word of God, as St. Paul commands them.” The Consistory could reprove according to the Word of God. The severest punishment it could mete out was excommunication. It was denied any civil jurisdiction.

The ecclesiastical body known as the “Company of Pastors” had in its constitution that the pastor’s duty was “to preach the Word of God, to instruct, to admonish, to exhort and reprove in public and in private, to administer the sacraments, and, with the Consistory, to pronounce the ecclesiastical censures.”

The minutes of these groups reveal that the great emphasis of the Reformer was on the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. He believed the Bible to be the inspired and infallible Word of God. He believed that the laymen should have an important part in the work of the church. He believed that the Church should not become involved in outside affairs. In support of this position, he stated that the church had no scriptural authority to speak outside of the ecclesiastical field. He contended that the time and energy of the pastor should not be taken from the important task of saving souls. And he further stressed that meddling in politics was divisive and inimical to the success of the church. Almost every day Calvin lectured and preached from the sacred pages. These biblical messages, spoken in plain language, brought about a reformation in the hearts and lives of the Genevans.

So successful was this emphasis on the knowledge of the Scriptures that Geneva became the theological center of the world. Ministers trained in Geneva went forth to many nations. One-third of France was converted by ministers trained under Calvin. Then the Protestants, over the protests of Calvin, resorted to politics and physical warfare, with the result that France was lost to Protestantism.

The Role Of Laymen

It is interesting to note that with the important role Calvin gave to laymen, they for the first time in many centuries had a part in running church affairs. This was a return to the biblical teaching of the priesthood of all believers and the practice of the early Church. As a matter of fact the First Century Church grew in influence and power far beyond that of any subsequent period, because the laymen were largely responsible for the spread of the Gospel. Since Calvin’s time the genius of the Protestant system is that it gives a vital place to laymen.

There are many things which we laymen can do:

First: Spreading the Gospel, by our life and witness.

Second: Relieving the minister of many of his responsibilities so that he can devote the major portion of his time to the things of the Spirit.

Third: Helping prepare policy and program, particularly at the higher judicatory levels.

Finally: Providing the money necessary for our church to carry out those things for which it has a clear responsibility.

On Church And Politics

The place that Calvin gave to laymen in conducting the affairs of the church is quite the opposite of those statements which have frequently been made indicating that he attempted to set up a theocracy in Geneva whereby the clergy ruled the city. It has often been stated that Calvin was a dictator and dominated the civil affairs of Geneva. The minutes of the Consistory and pastors reveal the very opposite. Calvin struggled continuously to establish a church free from state control, and was equally opposed to the church using its power to influence civil affairs. In a letter to Zürich in 1555, Calvin wrote:

I know well that the impious everywhere cry out that I aspire with an insatiable passion to political influence, and yet I keep myself so strongly separated from all public affairs, that each day I hear people discoursing upon subjects of which I have not the least knowledge. The government has recourse to my counsels only in grave affairs, when it is irresolute or incapable of deciding by itself.

The freedom of the church to proclaim the Gospel; the right of the church to regulate her own spiritual life; and the willingness of the church to adhere strictly to the ecclesiastical sphere—these were the principles that brought success to the Reformation.

The Reformation prevailed in Switzerland, Holland, Rhenish Germany, Scandinavia, Scotland, England, Wales, and Colonial America. It is no mere coincidence that those nations, where the church adhered to the Reformation principles, experienced the greatest measure of religious and political liberty. It is no mere coincidence that those nations produced the rugged individuals who pioneered in every field of human endeavor. It is no mere coincidence that those nations were known for their integrity, decency and thrift. It is no mere coincidence that those were the nations which developed the greatest industry and wealth in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Let the church be the church and social, economic and political blessings will follow.

Our nation is losing its precious Reformation heritage and its attendant blessings. And I suggest to you that it is because the church no longer strongly believes the Bible to be the very Word of God, and, too, because she has left her proper spiritual sphere to meddle with social, economic and political affairs.

During the last 50 years, the church has caused many to doubt the trustworthiness and infallibility of the Bible. And is it not true that within the last 50 years the church has gradually lost her former powerful influence over the life of the nation?

During the last 50 years, the church has increasingly become involved in social, economic and political affairs. And is it not true that during this period the spiritual and moral life of our nation has deteriorated to a frightening degree?

The Church’S Great Mandate

I have come in contact with hundreds of clergymen who believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of God, and who deplore the church meddling in economic, social and political affairs. But we laymen have done little to strengthen their hands. The Reformation gave the laymen a responsible place in the church. Are the laymen going to abdicate their rights; or are they going to insist that the church limit her activities to those mighty spiritual weapons that have so wonderfully blessed this nation in the past?

I have been speaking as a Presbyterian layman from the background of my Calvinistic heritage. But a Lutheran layman, a Baptist layman, a Methodist layman, an Episcopalian layman—each could give the same witness. Your church’s strength and mine was built up by faith in Christ and his infallible Word. Your church’s growth and beneficent influence on the life of our nation was due to an exclusive use of spiritual weapons. All of our Protestant creeds, without exception, give witness that the Bible is our infallible guide for faith and morals. And the history of every one of our denominations shows that its greatest strength came during that period when it placed first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Our beloved nation faces a greater danger of being destroyed by moral decadence than by Russia. Our desperate need is a Reformation. That will come only as you and I labor to restore the church to her God-given jurisdiction and to her God-given spiritual weapons.

Christianity Versus Communism

I believe that the church is the only institution that can save this country from communism. The reason for this is quite simple. Communism is atheistic; the church is Christian. The one is the very antithesis of the other. The church must inculcate in the minds and hearts of its people that God alone is the Lord of Creation. When the church takes its stand that man is a creature of God, it denies the very concept of communism.

Communism, crime and delinquency are not caused by poverty, unequal distribution of wealth, bad laws, poor housing, or any other economic, social or political condition. They are caused by sin; and the only way to eradicate sin is by the redemptive power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Clarence E. Macartney, in one of his great sermons, told of an old Saxon king who set out with his army to put down a rebellion in a distant province of his kingdom. After the insurrection had been quelled and the army of the rebels defeated, he placed a candle in the archway of the castle in which he had his headquarters. He then lighted the candle and sent his herald out to announce to those who had been in rebellion, that all who surrendered and took the oath of loyalty while the candle still burned, would be saved. The king offered to them his clemency and mercy; but the offer was limited to the life of the candle.

We are all living on candle time. While the candle still burns, let us accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Let us by our life and witness spread the Gospel. Let us adopt the precepts of Calvin and thus help to make this country a better and finer place in which our children and our children’s children may live and work.

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