{"id":4577,"date":"2019-02-28T10:31:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T16:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4577"},"modified":"2019-02-28T10:31:34","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T16:31:34","slug":"the-reforming-power-of-expository-preaching-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/the-reforming-power-of-expository-preaching-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reforming Power of Expository Preaching Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Randy Sawyer<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of all the notable preachers of\u00a0the era, perhaps the greatest\u00a0Bible expositor of the Reformation\u00a0was John Calvin. In\u00a0lectures on the History of Preaching<\/em>,\u00a0John Broadus suggests that “Calvin\u00a0gave the ablest, soundest, clearest\u00a0expositions of scripture that had\u00a0been for a thousand years.” J. I. Packer\u00a0said, “He was in fact, the finest exegete,\u00a0the greatest systematic theologian,\u00a0and the profoundest thinker\u00a0that the Reformation produced.”<\/p>\n

A Sudden Conversion <\/strong><\/p>\n

John Calvin was born at Noyon, Picards,\u00a0on July 10, 1509. He was religiously\u00a0inclined from a very early age. After\u00a0obtaining a solid educational foundation,\u00a0he matriculated to the University of\u00a0Orleans, which specialized in legal studies.\u00a0John’s brilliance was acknowledged\u00a0by the readiness of the teaching staff to\u00a0use him as an assistant.<\/p>\n

While at the University, he became\u00a0friends with Pierre Robert Oliventan\u00a0who became the human instrument\u00a0of his conversion. The details of his\u00a0evangelical conversion are unknown\u00a0to us, but in the preface of his commentary\u00a0on the Psalms<\/em>, Calvin wrote\u00a0about a movement of God in his life\u00a0that brought about a “sudden conversion.”\u00a0Calvin commented,<\/p>\n

When I was as yet a very little boy, my father had destined me for the study of theology.\u00a0 But afterwards, when he considered that the legal profession commonly raised those who followed it to wealth; this prospect induced him suddenly to change his purpose.\u00a0 Thus it came to pass, that I was withdrawn from the study of philosophy, and was put to the study of law.\u00a0 To this pursuit I endeavored faithfully to apply myself, in obedience to the will of my father; but God, by the secret guidance of his providence, at length gave a different direction to my course.<\/p>\n

At first, since I was too obstinately devoted to the superstitions of Popery to be easily extracted from so profound an abyss of mire, God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind a teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matter than might have been expected from one at my early period of life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Following his conversion, Calvin\u00a0turned from law to theology. He went to\u00a0Paris to continue his Greek studies\u00a0where he published his first book, a\u00a0commentary on Seneca’s De Clementia<\/em>. Soon he was preaching, teaching\u00a0and pastoring informally among his\u00a0peers. These were exciting days in the\u00a0history of Christianity in France. When\u00a0Calvin joined the Protestants, he was\u00a0joining a movement under persecution.<\/p>\n

A Systematic Classic <\/strong><\/p>\n

The year 1534 saw French Protestants\u00a0posting placards in major\u00a0towns attacking the mass. When official\u00a0persecution threatened, Calvin\u00a0moved to Basel where in March\u00a01536, the first edition of his Institutes<\/em>appeared. This apologia<\/em>of the\u00a0Protestant faith was brilliantly written\u00a0and an immediate success.<\/p>\n

Eventually Calvin settled in Geneva\u00a0where he remained, aside from three\u00a0years of banishment, until his death in\u00a01564. His goal in Geneva was to teach\u00a0the Word of God. He established a\u00a0daily gathering for psalm singing and\u00a0expository preaching, the monthly administration of the Lord’s Supper, and\u00a0an autonomous ecclesiastical consistory\u00a0for censuring and excommunicating\u00a0delinquent members.<\/p>\n

Calvin’s growing popularity, in addition\u00a0to his well-articulated theological\u00a0position, led to a heated conflict with\u00a0the city council. Consequently, he was\u00a0forced into exile between 1538 and\u00a01541. While he was in exile, the controversy\u00a0expanded to include Geneva’s\u00a0high society, the Libertine Party. By\u00a01555, however, the Libertines had fled\u00a0the city, the council itself was subdued,\u00a0and thereafter Calvin was widely accepted\u00a0as the grand old man of Geneva\u00a0and the reformed world.<\/p>\n

As a second-generation reformer,\u00a0Calvin labored to confirm and preserve\u00a0what those who preceded him,\u00a0(Luther, Zwingli and Melanchthon),\u00a0had set forth. He stood on their shoulders\u00a0as a spokesman for the universal\u00a0church. Without him, Protestantism\u00a0might not have survived beyond the\u00a0middle of the 17th century, for the\u00a0simple reason that his Institutes of the\u00a0Christian Religion<\/em>is one of Protestantism’s\u00a0classic statements.<\/p>\n

Calvin’s vision fired such great\u00a0Christian thinkers as Richard Baxter,\u00a0John Bunyan, George Whitefield,\u00a0Jonathan Edwards and others.\u00a0Though buried in an unmarked\u00a0grave, his name is enduringly written\u00a0in the works that live after him and in\u00a0the lives he touched.<\/p>\n

A Singular Commitment <\/strong><\/p>\n

John Calvin’s philosophy of preaching\u00a0was simple: he regarded the Bible as the\u00a0Word of God. He began his comments\u00a0on Titus 1:15-16 with these words:<\/p>\n

St. Paul hath shown us that we must be ruled by the Word of God, and hold the commandments of men as vain and foolish; for holiness and perfection of life belongeth not to them . . . .To be short, St. Paul informs us in this place that in these days we have liberty to eat all kinds of meat without exception.\u00a0 As for the health of the body, that is not here spoken of, but the matter here set forth is that men shall not set themselves up as masters, to make laws for us contrary to the Word of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He strongly believed that the\u00a0preacher entered the pulpit only to\u00a0proclaim God’s Word and not his own\u00a0ideas. Therefore, Calvin used the expository\u00a0method of the Reformation\u00a0preachers. His commentaries were\u00a0the fruits of his preaching and lecturing,\u00a0and his sermons were his commentaries\u00a0extended and applied. The\u00a0expository method he employed was\u00a0mostly in the form of the homily; however,\u00a0there was a central thought or\u00a0thesis, and a logical sequence evident\u00a0in his sermons.<\/p>\n

Calvin spoke entirely without manuscript\u00a0and frequently with little\u00a0preparation. Some of his extant sermons\u00a0reflect the lack of preparation;\u00a0however, it should be remembered\u00a0that he preached almost daily for a\u00a0number of years. In spite of the absence\u00a0of specific sermon study,\u00a0Calvin’s exegesis was extraordinary.<\/p>\n

Broadus commented that every\u00a0word from Calvin’s lips weighed \u00e4\u00a0pound. It was his custom to study\u00a0many hours a day. He usually began\u00a0studying by five or six o’clock each\u00a0morning and continued into late\u00a0evening. Most of his study was done\u00a0on his couch, for he was always\u00a0physically weak and sickly. No doubt\u00a0his diligence in study enabled him to\u00a0preach without further preparation.<\/p>\n

Calvin’s personality was rather austere;\u00a0consequently, his sermons were\u00a0mostly void of humor or imagination. His\u00a0critics described his preaching as cold,\u00a0dull and pedantic. While this is true to a\u00a0degree, it is also true that he could be\u00a0warm and compassionate. He spoke\u00a0with simplicity, brevity and quietness,\u00a0avoiding elegance or oratory.<\/p>\n

However, he never lacked conviction\u00a0and passion for the truth. Dargan said of\u00a0Calvin,<\/p>\n

“Though the highest qualities of\u00a0oratory found no place in his preaching,\u00a0the power of his thought the force of his\u00a0will, the excellence of his style, and\u00a0above all, the earnestness with which\u00a0he made the truth of God shine forth in\u00a0his words, made him a great preacher.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

His commitment to expository preaching\u00a0also made him a potent force for\u00a0much needed reformation.<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact\u00a0<\/em>magazine, October 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Randy Sawyer   Of all the notable preachers of\u00a0the era, perhaps the greatest\u00a0Bible expositor of the Reformation\u00a0was John Calvin. In\u00a0lectures on the History of Preaching,\u00a0John Broadus suggests that “Calvin\u00a0gave the ablest, soundest, clearest\u00a0expositions of scripture that had\u00a0been for a thousand years.” J. I. Packer\u00a0said, “He was in fact, the finest exegete,\u00a0the greatest systematic theologian,\u00a0and the profoundest thinker\u00a0that the Reformation produced.” A Sudden Conversion John Calvin was born at Noyon, Picards,\u00a0on July 10, 1509. He was religiously\u00a0inclined from a very early age. After\u00a0obtaining a solid educational foundation,\u00a0he matriculated to the University of\u00a0Orleans, which specialized in legal studies.\u00a0John’s brilliance was acknowledged\u00a0by the readiness of the teaching staff to\u00a0use him as an assistant. While at the University, he became\u00a0friends with Pierre Robert Oliventan\u00a0who became the human instrument\u00a0of his conversion. The details of his\u00a0evangelical conversion are unknown\u00a0to us, but in the preface of his commentary\u00a0on the Psalms, Calvin wrote\u00a0about a movement of God in his life\u00a0that brought about a “sudden conversion.”\u00a0Calvin commented, When I was as yet a very little boy, my father had destined me for the study of theology.\u00a0 But afterwards, when he considered that the legal profession commonly raised those who followed it to wealth; this prospect induced him suddenly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4577"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4578,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4577\/revisions\/4578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}