IVP has a
series of six-lesson studies on a variety of topics. John
Calvin, Sovereign Hope focuses on John Calvin and some of his
major themes. The series is designed for either individual or
group studies. It contains some up front information on John
Calvin and his time and provides study notes at the end each
section.
The topics
of study range from “how can we know God,” to “what does it
mean to be chosen by God?” and “what does God want from me?”
The study’s inductive format will be familiar to those who have
used other IVP studies.
John Calvin
was a theologian who was careful to put God first in his work and
the sovereignty of God was the major overarching theme of his
theology. He predated the modern, or enlightenment philosophy that
impacted so much of the philosophical and theological world, even
those who might be called classical Calvinists. For these reasons,
we believe he is important for the postmodern generation which
reacts against modernism and the theologies resembling its
paradigm. No other theologian has claimed the world impact of John
Calvin; primarily because he rightly understood that Christianity
is a system, not just a collocation of loosely held individual
doctrines.
As stated
above, John Calvin is a theologian from the second wave of the
Protestant Reformation during the 16th century. Every
Christian should read his works. While his greatest impact was on
the “reformed” part of the Reformation, he continues to be
read by the Protestant church in general. Not only did he see the
sovereignty of God as the overarching motif of the Reformation, he
clearly accented the Bible as basis of the Christian’s authority
in faith and life. People who have only read what secular
historians have written about Calvin perceive that his major
emphasis was on predestination. While Calvin had a place for every
biblical doctrine in his work, including predestination, his scope
was far broader and emphasized the sovereignty of God.
He
completed the Institutes of the Christian Religion when he
was 26 years of age. It continues to be heralded as one of the
best, if not the best, systematic presentations of Christian
theology based solely on the Word of God written. He wrote
voluminously, penning commentaries on the entire Bible (with the
exception of Daniel and Revelation.) More than 22,000 of his
sermons and numerous “tracts and treatises” have been
published over the years.
This book,
arranged as a daily devotion, is an excellent way to delve into
Calvin for the first time or to keep in touch with his great
writings. Each daily devotional selection is limited to one page
for easy use. Both of these books offer a window into the mind of
a great Christian thinker.
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