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Boasting in Works Destroys God’s Praise and Our Assurance | John Calvin · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome, Welcome back everyone to the deep dive.
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  We're really glad you could join us for a special segment today,
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  something we call Reformed thinking.
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  And for this deep dive, we're we're jumping into a really
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  foundational text and Reformed theology.
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  I'm talking about John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian
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  religion. Our goal today, our mission, if
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  you like, is to really get a handle on how understanding
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  human merit versus God's grace shapes, well, everything, how we
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  worship, our assurance of salvation, of the whole picture.
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  We'll be looking at some classic theological writing here.
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  And honestly, getting clarity on this stuff can genuinely shift
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  your spiritual outlook. It really can.
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  OK, let's unpack this. Yeah, it's it's striking how
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  relevant Calvin still is, isn't it, centuries later, Especially
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  when you think about that tendency we all have, you know,
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  to lean on ourselves and what we can do.
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  So our focus today, drawing from Calvin, is digging into why
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  boasting about our works, thinking they earn God's favor,
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  can actually be, well, pretty detrimental.
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  We want to sort of distill the core message for you, the
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  listener, help you grasp what Calvin saw as the true, the only
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  source of our standing before God.
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  What's fascinating here is just how clearly he cuts through a
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  lot of the fog around this. He really does.
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  And right from the start of the section, we're looking at
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  Calvin. I mean, he doesn't pull any
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  punches. He confronts the issue head on.
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  He says if righteousness is supported by works in God's
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  sight, it must entirely collapse.
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  That's that's pretty blunt statement, right?
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  It goes against the green. But he doesn't just leave it
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  there. He pushes straight to the
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  conclusion righteousness is confined solely to God's mercy,
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  solely to communion with Christ and therefore solely to faith.
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  So right away he's highlighting what he saw as a common
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  misunderstanding. You know, people often grab onto
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  verses I think give some value to our actions in God's eyes
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  thinking, OK, maybe that makes room for us, for our
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  contribution to justification. They're sort of looking for a
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  foothold for themselves in the whole process.
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  So Calvin raises this really sharp question.
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  OK, maybe works aren't enough to justify us fully, but do they at
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  least earn us some kind of favor, a little bit of credit?
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  And that really sets the stage for a much deeper discussion,
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  doesn't it? It moves beyond just simple yes
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  or no. Absolutely.
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  And that's where you see Calvin's his.
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  Precision, he clarifies what works righteousness would
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  actually demand. He says it consists solely.
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  And perfect and complete observance.
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  Of law. Now just stop and think about
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  that standard for a second. Perfect.
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  Complete the. Logical follow on as he puts it
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  is this. No man is justified by works
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  unless, having been raised to the highest peak of perfection,
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  he cannot be accused even of the least transgression.
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  I mean, that just immediately slams the door on justification
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  by works, doesn't it? Because who on earth reaches
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  that? Who can claim perfection even
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  for a moment without the tiniest slip up?
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  It's not just about avoiding big sins, it's about our very nature
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  compared to. God's absolute holiness.
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  Our best intentions are still, you know, mixed.
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  And then from that impossibility, he pivots to
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  critiquing the actual word merit.
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  He really wished Christian writers hadn't felt the need to
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  use terms for into Scripture that would produce great offense
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  and very little fruit. And he felt that this term merit
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  got introduced in a way that sort of set it up over against
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  God's judgment that ultimately it provided.
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  Very badly for sincere faith. He saw real harm in it.
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  He talks about the great damage and the offence the term has
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  caused over time. Why?
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  Because he sees it as the most prideful term.
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  He argues it can't help but obscure God's favor and imbue
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  men with perverse haughtiness. You see how it subtly shifts the
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  focus from God giving to us achieving.
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  And that breeds pride, not gratitude.
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  Now she acknowledges, yes, OK, some really respected early
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  church fathers, Augustine, Bernard Chrysostom, they did use
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  the word merit. But Calvin's point is that even
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  when they use the term, their underlying theology, their real
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  understanding still pointed away from human achievement.
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  Pink Agustin, for example, such a key figure.
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  He says things like let human merits which perish through Adam
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  here, keep silence and let God's grace reign through Jesus
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  Christ. It's pretty clear, isn't it?
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  Shut down the human boasting, let grace take center stage,
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  where again Augustine, the Saints attribute nothing to
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  their merits. They will attribute all to thy
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  mercy alone, O God. And he also says, look, when
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  someone realizes that all the good that he has, he has not
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  from himself but from his God, he sees that all that is
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  praiseworthy in himself arises not from his own merits, but
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  from God's mercy. Even Chrysostom, another giant,
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  said something similar. Our works, if there are any that
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  follow the freely given call of God are repayment in debt.
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  But God's gifts are grace and beneficence and great
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  generosity. End Quote.
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  So Calvin's highlighting that these guys, despite using the
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  Word sometimes consistently, pointed people back to God's
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  grace as the source. The language might have been
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  there, but the theology was pointing in the right direction.
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  Then there's Bernard of Clervau, a major figure from the Middle
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  Ages, hugely influential. Calvin brings him in too.
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  He quotes Bernard saying as it is sufficient for merit not to
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  presume concerning merit, so to lack merits is sufficient for
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  judgement. End Quote.
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  And that sounds pretty harsh at first.
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  Listen right? Like if you don't have merits
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  you're automatically judged, but Bernard immediately qualifies
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  it. He had his own interpretation,
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  which really changes the feel. He says yes, take care to have
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  merits, but when you do have them, you must know that they've
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  been given. They aren't yours by right.
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  Any hope for fruit from these merits rest completely 100% on
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  the mercy of God. And realizing that, Bernard
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  says, helps us escape all peril of poverty, ungratefulness, and
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  presumption. Bernard's advice then becomes
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  really practical. For why should the church
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  concern itself with merits when it has a firmer and more secure
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  reason to glory in God's purpose?
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  God cannot deny himself. He will do what he has promised.
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  It's about trusting God's promise, His character, not our
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  flimsy efforts. And Bernard wraps it all up with
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  this fantastic, memorable line for merit.
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  It suffices to know that merits do not suffice.
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  I mean, that just captures it perfectly, doesn't it?
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  It puts human effort in its proper place under God's grace,
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  and gives all the glory back to God.
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  It's humbling, but also really liberating.
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  That is such a crucial point about the word merit itself, how
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  language shapes theology. Which leads right into the next
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  question, doesn't it? If merit is the wrong way to
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  think about it, then what is the actual standing of our good
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  works before God according to Scripture?
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  Calvin, again, is very direct. He says Scripture shows what all
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  our works deserve when it states that they cannot bear God's gaze
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  because they are full of uncleanness.
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  And he's not just talking about our obvious sins here.
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  He means even our best efforts, our most sincere actions.
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  The thing about it, everything we do, every motive is touched
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  by our well, our fallenness, our human condition.
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  Even when we're trying our best, there's often that little bit of
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  wanting recognition or a hint of pride or just an imperfect grasp
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  of what God really wants. He points us to Luke chapter 17,
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  verse 10. It's really telling.
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  Jesus tells his disciples, even when you've done everything
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  required of us, you should still say we are unprofitable
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  servants. That's profoundly humbling,
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  isn't it? Unprofitable servants.
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  It means we've only done what was already owed our basic duty.
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  And for just doing your duty, No thanks or due.
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  It just resets everything about how we see ourselves before.
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  Holy God. It's like like a child who lives
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  at home, gets food and care, and then maybe tidies their room and
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  expects some huge reward. Well, tidying the room was kind
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  of part of being in the family, right?
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  It didn't earn them their place as a child.
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  In the same way, our works, however good they seem, are just
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  what we owe our creator. They don't put God in our debt.
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  Exactly. It totally resets our
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  perspective. But, and this is where it gets
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  really interesting, it doesn't mean God just dismisses our good
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  works as worthless. Calvin introduces this vital
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  nuance, almost a paradox, that really speaks to God's
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  character. He says those good works which
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  he has bestowed upon us, the Lord calls ours and testifies
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  they not only are acceptable to him but also will have their
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  reward. So wait a minute, God accepts
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  them and rewards them, yes. But, and this is the key, the
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  acceptance and reward don't come because the works are
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  intrinsically meritorious. Understanding this should prompt
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  a very specific response in us. We should be aroused by so great
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  a promise, spurred on not getting weary and well doing
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  like Paul says in Galatians and 2nd Thessalonians.
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  And we should receive this kindness from God with just real
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  deep gratitude. And it's a huge but the actual
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  source of any worth in those works is God himself.
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  Calvin is adamant whatever is praiseworthy and works is God's
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  grace. There's not a drop that we off
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  by rights to ascribe to ourselves.
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  This leads him straight into tackling what he calls the
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  dividing credit error. He says look.
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  We are not dividing the credit for good works between God and
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  man as the sophists do. Now, when he says sophists, he
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  means those medieval theologians, mainly in the Roman
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  Catholic tradition then, who are trying to carve out a space for
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  human effort alongside God's grace and justification, trying
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  to split the credit. You could say Calvin says no
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  way. We are preserving it whole,
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  complete and unimpaired. For the Lord.
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  All the credit goes to God. So what's left for us?
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  What's our role in this? According to Calvin to Man, we
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  assign only. This that he pollutes.
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  And contaminates by his impurity those very things which were
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  good. Oh wow, that's Stark, isn't it?
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  He's saying every single. Human action, however, perfect
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  it. Looks on the outside, is defiled
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  by some spot. It's like trying to pour pure
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  water through a dirty pipe. The.
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  Water starts clean, but the pipe messes it up.
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  So his conclusion? When God looks at even the very
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  best things a person does, he will indeed.
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  Recognize in them his own righteousness.
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  He sees his own work, but man's dishonor.
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  And shame. He sees our sinfulness too,
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  therefore, and this is such a significant take away.
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  Good works, then, are pleasing to God and are not unfruitful
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  for their doers. But they receive by way of
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  reward the most ample benefits of God, not because they so
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  deserve, but because God's kindness has of itself set this
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  value on them. Do you see how liberating that
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  is? It takes away that crushing
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  pressure of trying to earn God's approval, and it replaces it
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  with the peace of knowing God accepts our efforts out of his
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  sheer kindness because he first accepts us in Christ.
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  Calvin then uses a couple of really vivid analogies to drive
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  this home. He talks about someone holding
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  the use of fruit, of a field. OK, use of fruit is an old legal
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  term. It means you get to use the
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  property and enjoy its benefits, its fruits.
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  But the actual ownership, the title deed, belongs to someone
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  else. It's a gift, a grant.
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  Now, if the person with the use of fruit starts acting like they
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  own the field, if they claim the title to the property for
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  himself, that's deeply ungrateful, right?
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  And Calvin warns they deserve to lose the very possession that he
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  has held. The parallel to our relationship
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  with God is pretty obvious. We must never claim ownership.
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  Of the good things he graciously allows us to enjoy or do that
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  spiritual pride. He uses another picture too.
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  A slave liberated by his master, who then tries to cover up his
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  past, hides his base, freed man's condition and claims to be
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  freeborn. Calvin says that person deserves
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  to be reduced to his former servitude.
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  Quote in both these analogies. The point is, humility and
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  restraint Don't claim more than what's been given by grace.
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  Don't try to cheat God out of His praise by taking credit for
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  what He alone provided. The only way to truly enjoy
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  God's blessings is to constantly acknowledge Him as a source.
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  Our whole attitude needs to reflect that anything good in US
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  is His gift, and it points back to His glory.
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  If we owe that kind of restraint to people who show us kindness,
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  how much more do we owe it to God for every single blessing?
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  Those analogies really hammer at home, don't they?
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  Our works are OK not because we make them OK, but because God in
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  his kindness declares them OK. Completely flips the
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  perspective. But, you know, despite all this
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  clarity from Scripture and these kinds of arguments, people still
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  tried and still try to find biblical support for this idea
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  of human merit toward. OK.
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  Calvin mentions a couple of verses that were often used in
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  his day, one from the book of Ecclesiasticus chapter 16, and
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  another from Hebrews 13. Now, before we even get into
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  what those verses say, Calvin had issues right away with the
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  Ecclesiasticus 1, didn't he, about its authority and even how
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  it was being quoted. Yeah, he did.
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  Calvin was always incredibly careful about Scripture.
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  First, with Ecclesiasticus as a Protestant reformer, he
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  straightforwardly rejected its authority as equal to canonical
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  Scripture. For Protestants, books like
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  Ecclesiasticus are what we call apocryphal or deutero canonical.
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  They're historically interesting part of the tradition found in
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  some older Bible versions like the Septuagint, but not
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  considered divinely inspired authoritative scripture for
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  establishing core doctrine. In the same way The 66 books of
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  the Protestant Bible are so right there.
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  Using it as a proof text for something as central as merit
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  was a problem for him. But even setting aside the
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  question of its authority, Calvin pointed out something
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  even more basic. The specific verse being quoted,
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  Ecclesiasticus 16.15 in the Latin Vulgate common, then, was
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  actually based on a corrupted or mistranslated text.
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  He points to the older, more accurate Greek text, which
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  corresponds to Ecclesiasticus 16.14.
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  It reads differently. It says he will make room for
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  every work of mercy each man shall find according to his
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  works. See the difference?
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  The original Greek, as Calvin understood it, removes that idea
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  of earning merit. It talks about God providing
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  opportunities for mercy and people facing outcomes based on
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  their actions, consequences, not earning favor.
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  It really shows why careful textual work matters in
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  theology. Then looking at Hebrews 13.16,
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  the verse about doing good and sharing, which says God is
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  pleased with such sacrifices, Calvin says those using this to
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  argue for merit are trying to ensnare us in one little word.
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  They're hanging the whole doctrine on a single phrase.
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  But he clarifies the Greek just means that these kinds of
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  sacrifices, acts of kindness and sharing done in faith, are
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  pleasing and acceptable to God. It's about God's gracious
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  reception of the offering, not about the person earning
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  salvation or favor through the action itself.
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  God is pleased because it reflects a heart change by His
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  grace. So Calvin basically sums up
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  Scriptures overall verdict on our works like this.
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  It's pretty blunt. He says our good works are
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  always spattered with much uncleanness by which God is
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  rightly offended and is angry against us.
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  That's our default state. They are so far are they from
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  being able to appease Him or rouse His kindness toward us.
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  Our works just can't bridge that gap created by sin.
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  They can't satisfy God's justice.
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  But here's the incredible twist of grace again.
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  Because he examines our works according to his tenderness, not
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  his supreme right, He therefore accepts them as if they were
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  perfectly pure. And because he accepts them on
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  this gracious basis, although unmerited, they are rewarded
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  with infinite benefits, both of the present life and also of the
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  life to come. It's God's mercy overflowing.
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  He accepts us in Christ, and then, out of that acceptance, he
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  chooses to view our flawed efforts with tenderness and even
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  reward them. It's all grace.
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  Calvin also addresses the specific theological distinction
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  that some people were making back then.
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  The idea was something like this.
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  Good works deserve the graces that are conferred upon us in
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  this life, while everlasting salvation is the reward of faith
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  alone. It was kind of an attempt to
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  give work some role, even if just for earthly blessings.
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  Calvin pushes back. He says, wait a minute.
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  The Lord almost always lodges in heaven, the word of toil and the
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  crown of battle. He points to Jesus's own words
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  in Matthew 25 or Luke 8 about the faithful servant being
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  rewarded about to him who has more will be given.
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  While these verses do speak of reward for faithfulness, Calvin
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  consistently balances them with verses emphasizing God's free
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  grace, like John 1.16, Grace upon grace, or Isaiah 55.1.
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  That famous invitation come Everyone who thirsts buy wine
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  and milk without money and without price.
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  That imagery directly contradicts any notion of
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  earning, so his conclusion remains firm.
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  Whatever, therefore, is now given to the godliest an aid to
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  salvation, even blessedness itself, is purely God's
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  beneficence. It's all a gift, start to
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  finish. Yet, and here's another careful
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  nuance, he does affirm that God does take works into account.
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  Why? To testify to the greatness of
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  His love toward us. And in doing so, God makes not
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  only us, but the gift that he has given us worthy of such
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  honor. It's like God is so delighted
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  with his children and the work of his Spirit in them that he
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  graciously elevates their imperfect efforts, honoring them
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  far beyond their actual worth. He honors his own gifts in us.
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  It just keeps coming back to grace, doesn't it?
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  So if our works, even the best ones, are tainted and can't
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  possibly earn God's favor or secure our salvation, then what
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  is the real foundation, the solid ground for Christian
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  teaching and for our hope? Paul says it's so clearly in
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  First Corinthians chapter 3. He laid a foundation in Corinth
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  and decide which no other can be laid, which is Jesus Christ.
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  That just prompts the biggest question for me.
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  What kind of foundation is Christ for us?
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  Is he just like a starting point, someone who helps us get
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  going and then we take over? Yeah, and Calvin tackles that
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  head on. He is absolutely clear Christ is
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  not just the beginning of our salvation.
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  In order that it's. Fulfillment might follow from
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  ourselves. That distinction is huge.
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  It's not like Christ just opens the door and says OK your turn
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  now run the race. No, instead, like Paul says in
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  First Corinthians 1.30, Christ when we acknowledge him, is
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  given us to be our righteousness.
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  Notice the wording. He is our righteousness.
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  It's not something He helps us achieve, it's something he is
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  for us, given to us. So to be well founded in Christ,
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  Calvin says, means you are someone who has perfect
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  righteousness in himself, but that righteousness is in Christ
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  imputed to you. Calvin rises.
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  Paul didn't say Christ was sent to help us get righteous.
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  He said Christ is our righteousness.
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  It's a complete package deal. And then Calvin just unpacks
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  what it means to be fully in Christ.
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  It's breathtaking really. We were chosen in him before.
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  The foundation of the world. Think about that.
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  Not because of anything we did or would do.
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  But purely. According to the purpose of
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  divine good pleasure, that's God's sovereign grace from
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  eternity past. It should just fill you with
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  awe. Through his death we are
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  redeemed from the condemnation of death and freed from ruin,
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  paid in full. The debt is canceled.
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  Death's power is broken. We're adopted as sons and heirs.
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  We get the full inheritance rights in God's family, not by
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  birth, but by his gracious choice.
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  We're reconciled through his blood.
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  The hostility between US and God is gone.
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  Peace has been made permanently. We're kept safe in His
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  protection, released from perishing.
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  Jesus said no one can snatch us from his hand.
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  That's real security and in grafted it to Him, joined to
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  Him. We are already, in a manner,
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  partakers of eternal life, having entered in the Kingdom of
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  God through hope. Our future is secure now.
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  Even as we wait for its fullness.
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  But then he says yet more. As if that wasn't enough, our
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  union with Christ is so complete that even though we are still
• 18:06
  foolish in ourselves liking wisdom, He is our wisdom before
• 18:09
  God. He gives us what we need while
• 18:12
  we are sinners, still struggling.
• 18:13
  He is our righteousness. His perfection covers our
• 18:16
  imperfection. While we are unclean, stained by
• 18:19
  sin, He is our purity. He makes us spotless before the
• 18:22
  Father. While we are weak, while we are
• 18:24
  unarmed and exposed to Satan, we have access to that strength
• 18:27
  which has been given Him in heaven and on earth by which to
• 18:31
  crush Satan for us and shadow the gates of hell.
• 18:34
  His power is ours. And even while we.
• 18:36
  Still bear about with us the body of death, this mortal
• 18:39
  failing frame. He is yet her life, the source
• 18:42
  of spiritual vitality now and resurrection life to come.
• 18:46
  So Calvin sums it all up so powerfully in brief.
• 18:49
  Because all his things are ours and we have all things in him,
• 18:52
  in us. There's nothing that's the
• 18:54
  bedrock. Everything we need, everything
• 18:56
  that matters for us standing with God, is found entirely in
• 18:58
  Christ. We put nothing to the table. 0
• 19:01
  Upon this foundation Calvin insists we must be built if we
• 19:04
  were growing to a holy temple to the Lord.
• 19:06
  There's no other foundation. It's all about absolute
• 19:08
  dependence, which ironically brings immense peace.
• 19:11
  It really is staggering when you lay it out like that, the
• 19:14
  completeness of it all in Christ.
• 19:16
  Which makes it even more jarring when Calvin points out how for a
• 19:19
  long time the world has been taught otherwise.
• 19:22
  He flags the supposing idea that gained ground, the notion that
• 19:26
  people could do moral good works, things that somehow
• 19:29
  pleased God before they were even united to Christ through
• 19:32
  faith. I mean, that just completely
• 19:34
  clashes with everything we've just heard, doesn't it?
• 19:37
  Calvin fires off these sharp questions that really expose the
• 19:39
  problem. As if scripture were lying when
• 19:42
  it says that all who have not the Son are in death.
• 19:45
  If they are in death, how can they bigot the substance of
• 19:47
  life? Good question.
• 19:49
  As if it were meaningless that whatsoever is done outside faith
• 19:52
  is sin. As if good fruits could come
• 19:54
  from an evil tree. These aren't.
• 19:56
  These aren't just debating points that cut right to the
• 19:57
  core. Can spiritual life come from
• 19:59
  spiritual death? Can good fruit come from a
• 20:02
  sinful nature apart from God's transforming grace?
• 20:05
  Precisely. And this is where he directed.
• 20:07
  Exactly confronts those he labels the pestilence sophists.
• 20:10
  Again, those scholastic theologians promoting these
• 20:12
  views. Their position, as he describes
• 20:15
  it was that Christ deserved for us the first grace that is the
• 20:19
  occasion of deserving. Let's unpack that phrase, the
• 20:22
  occasion of deserving. It means Christ's work basically
• 20:25
  just gave us the opportunity or the ability to then go on.
• 20:28
  And earn our own merit. Our own standing.
• 20:30
  But then, according to this view, the real work, the
• 20:33
  responsibility, shifted to us. It became.
• 20:36
  Our part not to fail the occasion offered.
• 20:38
  Calvin's reaction is visceral. He calls it O overweening and
• 20:42
  shameless and piety. Who would have thought that
• 20:44
  those who profess the name of Christ would dare so strip him
• 20:46
  of his strength and virtually trample him under front.
• 20:48
  He saw this as robbing Christ of his glory, minimizing his all
• 20:51
  sufficient work, making him merely an enabler rather than
• 20:54
  the Savior himself. And the contrast with Scripture
• 20:57
  is just stark. Scripture says whoever believes
• 20:59
  in him has been justified. Whoever has the Son has life.
• 21:03
  Present realities accomplish facts.
• 21:04
  The sophists, Calvin argues, reduced Christ's role to just
• 21:08
  having open the way for individuals to justify
• 21:10
  themselves. He throws down specific verses
• 21:13
  to refute this. John 5.24 Whoever believes has
• 21:16
  passed out of death into life. Titus 3.7 justified by his
• 21:20
  grace, that we might be made heirs first.
• 21:23
  John 3.24 Believers have Christ abiding in them.
• 21:26
  Ephesians 2.6. We sit with Him in the heavenly
• 21:28
  places. Colossians 1.13 We are
• 21:31
  translated into the Kingdom. These verses, Calvin insists,
• 21:34
  don't just talk about getting the chance to earn salvation or
• 21:36
  righteousness. They say that both are given to
• 21:38
  us. They are gifts received, not
• 21:40
  potentials to be realized by our effort.
• 21:42
  So when you're united to Christ by faith, you obtain not the
• 21:45
  opportunity to gain merit, but all the merits of Christ, for
• 21:48
  they are communicated to you. It's a complete transfer, an
• 21:51
  imputation of His perfect record to you.
• 21:53
  He specifically calls out these schools of the Sorbonne, the
• 21:56
  theology faculty in Paris, a powerhouse then accusing them of
• 21:59
  being mothers of all errors for having taken away from us
• 22:01
  justification by faith, which is the sum of all piety.
• 22:04
  He says they might confess by word that man is justified by
• 22:07
  formed faith. OK, that sounds potentially OK,
• 22:10
  But then they twist it. They explain formed faith as
• 22:14
  meaning the good works flowing from faith are what actually
• 22:17
  give faith its power to justify. So it becomes faith plus works
• 22:21
  where the works form or complete the faith and make it effective
• 22:24
  for justification. It's a subtle but critical
• 22:27
  shift. Calvin feels they only mentioned
• 22:30
  faith almost in mockery just to sort of nod to scriptures
• 22:33
  emphasis while actually undermining its soul
• 22:35
  sufficiency. Yoga's the Sophis were trying to
• 22:38
  filch something from God and turn it over to man.
• 22:41
  They derived good works from the strength of free will, as oil
• 22:44
  from a stone. That great image again, trying
• 22:47
  to get something good out of a source that can't naturally
• 22:49
  produce it. They might admit grace is the
• 22:51
  principal cause, but they insist that in this free will is not
• 22:54
  ruled out, through which all merit exists.
• 22:57
  So free will still gets a slice of the credit.
• 23:00
  And he traces this teaching back through the later Sophist to
• 23:03
  their Pythagoras, Peter Lombard, the incredibly influential
• 23:06
  author of the Sentences, Kelvin, expresses amazement at Lombard's
• 23:09
  remarkable blindness. How could Lombard quote
• 23:13
  Augustine so much, yet Miss Augustine's constant effort not
• 23:16
  to convey to man even the least particle of glory arising from
• 23:19
  good works? He hammers Augustine's view
• 23:22
  home. Again.
• 23:23
  Augustine forbids US ever to boast of our own merits, for
• 23:26
  even they are gifts of God. And when he writes that all our
• 23:29
  merit is but of grace, and not obtained through our
• 23:31
  sufficiency, but holy comes to be through grace, it's all
• 23:35
  grace, all God's gift. And Ephesians 2 point sin serves
• 23:39
  as a powerful scriptural rebuttal.
• 23:41
  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
• 23:44
  works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk
• 23:48
  in them. Calvin draws the clear
• 23:50
  conclusion, Since therefore no good comes forth from us except
• 23:53
  in so far as we have been regenerated, but our
• 23:56
  regeneration is entirely and without exception from God,
• 23:59
  there's no reason why we should claim outs of good works for
• 24:01
  ourselves. Even our ability to do good is
• 24:04
  part of God's new creation work in US.
• 24:07
  And think about the practical effect on people's lives, on
• 24:09
  their consciences. Calvin says his opponents, by
• 24:12
  stressing merit, so instruct consciences as to discourage all
• 24:16
  their confidence that God remains Kylie disposed and
• 24:19
  favorable to their works. You know, till these people
• 24:21
  constantly anxious, right? Am I doing enough?
• 24:24
  Is it good enough? Is God really pleased?
• 24:26
  There's no rest. But Calvin's teaching, without
• 24:29
  reference to merit, still remarkably cheer and comfort the
• 24:32
  hearts of believers when we tell them that they please God in
• 24:35
  their works and are without doubt acceptable to Him.
• 24:39
  But what's the absolutely crucial condition for that
• 24:41
  comfort? It's that no man attempt or go
• 24:43
  about any work without faith. That is, unless with firm
• 24:46
  assurance of mind, he first determines that it will please
• 24:48
  God. Our works please God because we
• 24:51
  are pleasing to Him through faith in Christ, not the other
• 24:54
  way around. It lifts that impossible burden,
• 24:57
  that difference between the anxiety of earning and the peace
• 25:01
  of being accepted. That's just massive, isn't it?
• 25:03
  So it's crystal clear for Calvin, the only foundation is
• 25:06
  Christ alone, Period. But then how does knowing this
• 25:08
  truth justification by faith alone?
• 25:10
  No human merit involved. How does that actually shape how
• 25:13
  we live day-to-day? And how does it give us real
• 25:15
  comfort when life gets hard? How does this right doctrine
• 25:18
  lead to both, you know, practical guidance and deep soul
• 25:21
  level peace? It absolutely does both.
• 25:24
  Galvin connects the doctrine directly to life, moving to what
• 25:27
  he calls admonition and comfort on the basis of right doctrine.
• 25:32
  First, let's look at the admonition and direction side,
• 25:34
  how this truth guides our living.
• 25:36
  We absolutely must not allow ourselves to be drawn even a
• 25:39
  finger's breath from this soul foundation.
• 25:42
  Stay anchored in Christ on this foundation.
• 25:45
  Why is Master builders build rightly and in order?
• 25:48
  What does that building look like?
• 25:50
  It means teaching and reminding people that the Son of God
• 25:52
  manifested himself in order to destroy the works of the devil.
• 25:56
  We live in light of Christ's victory.
• 25:58
  It means reminding believers that those who are of God may
• 26:01
  not sin, meaning sin doesn't have dominion over the new
• 26:04
  nature. It means urging people that that
• 26:06
  time pass suffices for carrying out the Gentiles wishes leave
• 26:09
  the old life behind, and reminding them that God's elect
• 26:12
  are vessels of mercy chosen to honor and ought to be purged of
• 26:15
  uncleanness. Pursue holiness because of who
• 26:18
  you am are in Christ. It all comes together.
• 26:21
  He says, when we understand that Christ wants disciples who deny
• 26:23
  themselves, take up their cross and follow him.
• 26:26
  That's the call. And he breaks down what deny
• 26:28
  themselves and take up their cross really involve self denial
• 26:32
  isn't just giving up chocolate for Lent.
• 26:34
  It's radical. It's to cut off the root of all
• 26:36
  evils so as to seek no longer the things that are his own.
• 26:40
  It's deliberately rejecting self centeredness, our own agendas,
• 26:43
  our comfort, our reputation in favor of God's will and others,
• 26:46
  good and cross bearing means of personally has readied himself
• 26:50
  for all patience and gentleness. It's being prepared to face
• 26:53
  hardship, opposition, suffering, misunderstanding with a non
• 26:57
  retaliatory spirit following Jesus's path.
• 27:00
  It's embracing the cost of discipleship.
• 27:03
  And Christ is a perfect model, isn't he?
• 27:05
  He presented himself to the Father as obedient, even to
• 27:07
  death. Ultimate submission.
• 27:09
  He entered completely into the accomplishing of God's works.
• 27:12
  Total devotion to the Father's plan.
• 27:14
  He breathed heart and soul the glory of the Father.
• 27:16
  His motive was pure. He laid down his life for his
• 27:18
  brothers. Sacrificial love.
• 27:20
  He did good to his enemies and prayed for them.
• 27:22
  Astonishing compassion. His life shows us what spirit
• 27:25
  filled obedience looks like. Flowing from love and trust, not
• 27:27
  trying to own points. Second, there's the consolation
• 27:30
  of peace that flows from this doctrine.
• 27:32
  Think about passages like Second Corinthians 4.
• 27:36
  We are afflicted, yet not made anxious.
• 27:38
  We fail, but are not deserted, are humbled but not confounded.
• 27:42
  We are cast down, but have not perished, ever bearing the
• 27:45
  mortification of Jesus Christ about in our bodies.
• 27:48
  That Jesus's life may be manifested in us.
• 27:51
  That's resilience rooted in Christ's life in us, not our own
• 27:53
  strength. Or Second Timothy 2.
• 27:56
  If we died with him, we shall also live with Him.
• 27:58
  If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
• 28:01
  Our present suffering leads to future glory with Him.
• 28:04
  Philippians 3 tells us we are being conformed to His
• 28:06
  sufferings until we attain to the likeness of His
• 28:08
  resurrection. This shaping process, even
• 28:11
  through pain, is part of God's plan.
• 28:13
  Why? Because, as Romans 8 says, the
• 28:15
  Father has predestined those whom He has chosen in Himself to
• 28:18
  conform to the image of His Son, that Christ may be the first.
• 28:21
  Born among all the brethren. Our struggles are part of making
• 28:24
  us like Jesus, and that leads to that incredible confidence of
• 28:27
  Romans 8. Neither death nor things present
• 28:29
  nor things to come will separate us from the love of God which is
• 28:32
  in Christ. Nothing can break that bond.
• 28:34
  And even more, all things will turn to our good and salvation.
• 28:38
  God works, even difficulties, for our ultimate benefit.
• 28:41
  That truth brings profound peace, because our security
• 28:44
  rests entirely on God's unchanging love in Christ, not
• 28:47
  on our own shaky performance. And finally, Calvin circles back
• 28:50
  to clarify the place of good works.
• 28:52
  Again. They are evidence, not the cause
• 28:54
  or basis of our standing. He repeats.
• 28:56
  We do not justify man by works before God.
• 28:59
  That's settled, but everyone who belongs to God has been reborn,
• 29:02
  made a new creation. There's a.
• 29:04
  Real internal change, they pass. From the realm of sin into the
• 29:07
  realm of righteousness, from death to life.
• 29:10
  And by this testimony, by the fruit of their lives, they
• 29:13
  confirm their calling, as Peter says.
• 29:15
  And just like Jesus taught, like trees are judged by their
• 29:18
  fruits, so artworks don't earn salvation, but they absolutely
• 29:21
  demonstrate the reality of the new life God has given us by
• 29:24
  grace through faith. They're the proof the tree is
• 29:27
  genuinely alive and rooted in Christ.
• 29:29
  And that really does bring it all together.
• 29:31
  So clearly this deep dive, looking closely at Calvin's
• 29:34
  thought here in the Institute's, it hammers home that central
• 29:37
  message, doesn't it? Our right standing with God, our
• 29:39
  assurance. It all comes completely freely
• 29:43
  from God's mercy in Christ. We receive it just by faith.
• 29:46
  It's never about human merit and our good works.
• 29:48
  They flow from that new life. They show our gratitude.
• 29:51
  They reflect Our Calling, but they never ever earn our
• 29:54
  salvation or keep us in God's favor.
• 29:56
  So what does this all mean for you?
• 29:57
  Listening, It means genuine peace.
• 30:00
  Peace that comes from understanding God's incredible
• 30:02
  grace and seeing ourselves and our efforts in the right God
• 30:05
  honoring light. Thanks so much for joining us
• 30:06
  today for this exploration. Yeah.
• 30:08
  And just maybe final thought to leave with you something to chew
• 30:11
  on. If all the praise, absolutely
• 30:13
  all of it, belongs to God for everything He gives us, how
• 30:16
  might really grasping that shape your daily gratitude?
• 30:19
  How might it change the way you look at your own efforts when
• 30:21
  you serve Him or try to do good? This raises an important
• 30:25
  question. How might this truth deepen your
• 30:27
  assurance? Not finding assurance in what
• 30:29
  you managed to do, but resting it entirely in what God has
• 30:33
  already completely and irreversibly done for you in
• 30:35
  Jesus Christ? Something to think about.
• 30:38
  Thanks again for joining us for this deep dive into reformed
• 30:40
  thinking.