Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses
History Luther certainly did not intend his Ninety-Five Theses to be a call to reformation, for he did not want to cause a rift in the church. He merely wanted […]
Calvin on Faith: Assurance and Knowledge
Faith Rests on Knowledge According to Calvin, in conversion the mind is renewed to appreciate the message of the Incarnation and to apprehend the gratuitous promise by Spirit-given faith, and […]
Calvin on Faith: Grace and Repentance
Legal vs. Evangelical Repentance Immediately after developing his robust definition of faith in InstitutesIII.2.ii, Calvin discusses repentance and grace in III.2.iii. He makes a distinction between “legal repentance” and “evangelical […]
Calvin on Faith: Illumination by the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit’s Work Calvin’s defines faith not in terms of a book accredited by the Spirit; rather, faith has Christ as its object and is enabled by the Spirit’s […]
Calvin on Faith: The Gratuitous Promise
Christ as the Object of Faith According to Calvin, the content of the knowledge of faith is very narrow and specific, not broad and vague: “For the apprehension of faith […]
Calvin on Faith: Christ and His Gospel
Christian Faith: Not What You Thought It Was What does “faith” mean? For centuries it was associated with specific knowledge or a set of beliefs, but recently the understanding of […]