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Sermons on the Beatitudes

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The great reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) is enjoying great popularity in the church today (some folks even name their blogs after him :/). The famous Calvinistic acrostic TULIP has been a benchmark in identifying who is in fact reformed throughout the last few centuries. However, many people stop there with Calvin. This is regrettable because Calvin was much more than an acrostic, he was a great theologian and a great preacher.

We all need exposure to good sermons and Robert White does a great job in exposing us to some affectionate Calvinism from the heart of John Calvin. Semons on the Beatitudes, translated by White, and published by Banner of Truth in 2006 is a great introduction to the pastoral ministry of the Geneva Reformer.

This book highlights five sermons from the Beatitudes. The sermons themselves were preached during a five year period and actually concluded three months prior to Calvin’s death. This in and of itself commends itself to us to consider what occupied his mind as he contemplated his final days.

I especially enjoyed the prayers before the sermons, demonstrating Calvin’s dependence upon God rather than his own theological savvy. This was such a great reminder to me in wrestling with things, that ultimately any illumination of sacred things comes from heaven and not from my own mind.

Consider the following quote:

“How, indeed, can we explain our soul’s salvation except in terms of God’s good pleasure and his free gift of mercy? For if we think that we are better than others whom he has passed over or abandoned, we simply demean God’s unconditional kindness through which we obtain salvation. And this we do every time we seek to gain a measure of importance or esteem in men’s eyes. Every mouth must of necessity be shut.”

Semons on the Beatitudes is available through the Banner of Truth Bookstore.

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