Saturday, April 2, 2016

The Missing Link (Wild Card)

Wil Reinowski

I am a bit surprised that Lane’s guide to the Institutes glazes over Book 3 Chapter 15, and while it may be true that this does not contain information central to Calvin’s theology this chapter is worth some discussion.
 In section 2, Calvin notes that the word “merit” is not Biblically-based. Here, we have another of Calvin’s contradictions. Calvin does find that the term was used in ancient church writings, that God assigns some value to our works, but we should never see our works  as a type of Divine currency.
Section 3 is a discussion of grace. Calvin asserts that nothing that we do is meritorious enough to receive the gift of grace that God gives, and yet God bestows grace on us. Calvin says in the first sentence of this section, “Scripture shows what all our works deserve when it states that they cannot bear God’s gaze because they are full of uncleanness.” Humans cannot perfectly follow the law, but God bestows his good works on us anyway and calls them “ours.”

In Section 4, Calvin defends his idea against passages from Ecclesiasticus16:15 (part of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cannon of scripture) and Hebrews 13:16. In the former case, he notes a slight error in translation that makes all of the difference. In the latter case, Calvin asks us not to put more into the meaning than what is there on the surface: this type of sacrifice is ok but not meritorious.
Section 5 brings us back to the ultimate pivot-point for Christians: Christ himself. He says in sum that Christ is the one and only key. Jesus serves as a righteous stand-in before God for we the poor and unrighteous.
In the next two sections  (6-7), Calvin laments the history of misinformed theology ingrained into society by the Roman [Catholic] Church.  Calvin says  this theology is backwards; one does not come into Christ through good works – Christ comes first. Calvin cites several references from scripture and from Augustine that support his case, and he asserts that anything else is misrepresentation and misunderstanding of said sources.

My question for this chapter of the Institutes: Calvin’s central theme in the last section of this Chapter is “take up your cross.” If works have little value to God as Calvin says, what then would be the best evidence that a person is doing this?

16 comments:

  1. Tough question, Wil. I think this is one of those areas in Calvin's theology where he sees that something is good on a practical level, but that thing does not fit neatly into his theological system. Works, in and of themselves, are good for society and individuals, but, as you point out, for Calvin, on a theological level they are flawed and so not a legitimate sacrifice to God. They cannot get us grace, that can only be achieved through Christ. The reason we do works is as a response to God's mercy and because God has filled us with the desire to do so. At least this is how I understand it, and I think more or less how you laid it out above. The point I am trying to get to is this, that maybe the evidence a person is "taking up your cross", is, indeed, works and this is one way Calvin supports works, or at least, sanctions them as beneficial in some way without contradicting himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill, you said, "The reason we do works is a response to God's mercy...filled us with the desire to do so." Very well phrased! After reading this week's selections, I can't help but be more conscious in choosing to do things not for merit, but as a result of faith. Thanks for your response.

      Delete
  2. Wonderful summation of Calvin's position(s).. and contradictions... :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. When reading Calvin, I tend to remind myself of who he is arguing against, and the season, the culture in which Calvin is speaking. This brings a better perspective for me, of why he is ardently speaking for or against something in particular. It seems like Calvin often backs himself into a corner attempting to make a point against the Catholic Church, primarily.

    Your question is a good one, the taking up of one's cross has been a difficult concept for me over the years. I attended a seminar a few weeks ago, with Fr. Ron Rolheiser (a Catholic Priest) as the speaker. He spoke of the carrying of one's cross a little differently than I have heard before. He emphasized that this cross we carry can be different things at different times, and that there are different elements of the cross we carry. Some elements he stated, may be inherent to our upbringing and our personality, which then remain fairly consistent but, the experiences of our life, the ever changing circumstances bring new and different challenges for us daily. I had thought that there was one cross we carried, and did not realize there was a dynamic element to this cross.. In any case, to answer more directly your question, would be by one's cadence, the wake left behind that person, will indicate how one is able to move through life in a way that shows ability to carry one's cross. Works may play a part in this, but more so, I believe it is a trust in God, and a trust in oneself that creates the calm, the peace within the storms of our lives that 'show we are carrying the burden well'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aha...we should examine a person's "cadence" and "wake." I can agree with this. Thank you, Claire, for sharing your perspective and the teachings of Fr. Rolheiser.

      Delete
  4. Hi Claire and fellow bloggers,
    As I read through this chapter and indeed these posts, my mind is drawn to the phrase "carrying the burden well." I wonder if we can ever speak of carrying it well. Maybe our questioning and even our stumbling, relying on God's grace is a sign that we are carrying our cross. When we "look" like we are carrying it well, could that look to the world and even to ourselves that we are relying on our own strength to carry our cross? To answer your question Wil, maybe it is this reliance on grace as we do the works that reflect our carrying our cross. Maybe it is the fact that we are able to continue doing "works" in the face of difficulty that demonstrate carrying our cross.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rick, I was drawn to that phrase as well. Very cool! I wonder about that word "burden." Does this suggest unwillingness? If so, perhaps this is the distinction that Calvin is meaning to make. When we do good things out of faith as a response to grace, would the appearance contrast exceedingly with doing good things out of obligation?

      Delete
  5. I feel like I just answered this question in the post right "above" yours. James 2:26 says, "as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." It is important to have deeds that point to God. Because as Jesus said in John 15, he is the vine and we are branches. We must produce Good Fruit, and we can because we are connected to the vine. It is because the vine/Jesus gives us our passions, desires, and love that those things become real and relevant in our world today. It isn't out of our own strength that these things are accomplished but because we desire to turn those deeds into moments where God is glorified not us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, Jeff, you are great at quoting and citing scripture! Thank you for these verses and for your comment. I like your reference to vine and branches in John. You said, "God is glorified not us." I would agree and I think this is paramount.

      Delete
  6. Thank you for summarizing Chapter 15 Wil. The question is tough. I am reminded of all the conversations I ever had on faith, works, and where grace fits in. Section two of this chapter speaks a lot about the merit. So our works as Chrysostom explains is repayment and Augustine as man powerless to do good, it still does not come right out as say the answer. We all have different starting points in society and different end point here on Earth. I wonder if the path and azimuth in life may be the way to determine this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me underline the word, "azimuth." I must confess that I did not know this word until moments ago. I think you are spot-on with this answer. Thank you for adding this, Jerry.

      Delete
  7. Your question about the evidence of "taking up your cross" reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago. One of the grad assistants here had an office across the hall from me. She made the comment to me once that she had not grown up as a Christian. She was married and live in DC when her husband told her he was divorcing her. She was devastated. The first person that she thought of was her neighbor. She had seen her neighbor lose a child, survive cancer and several other illnesses. She went to her neighbor and asked her how she was able to survive all the problems she had faced. Her neighbor explained to her that it was because of her belief in God and the sacrifice of His Son for us. The grad assistant was blown away and immediately wanted to know more. She became a Christian and so did all the members of her immediate family. I think this is a good example of "evidence" that her neighbor had "taken up her cross." We don't do it to earn merit, but to share God's grace with others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow...what a story, Pam! Thank you for sharing this! I got a little misty-eyed reading this. I think this is a wonderful example of taking up cross. As you indicated, there's a huge difference in something that is rooted in "shar[ing] God's grace with others." Thank you for this.

      Delete
    2. A wonderful testament to sharing the love of Christ, in the sad and difficult times we tend to look for those who have 'taken up their cross', even when we don't know what that means. Thank you for sharing!

      Delete
  8. Wil, thanks for the great discussion! This is a difficult topic to pin down - works versus grace. It may sound like a bit of a copout, but I think the definition of carrying our cross lies in the spiritual realm. By that I mean, just as we are assured of living and working in Christ because we feel cleaved to the vine, I think we see in others that same quality. Not because they are feeding the homeless, but because we know a branch when we see one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ok, so we have an awareness on a spiritual level of what this looks like. I think this is a big part of it, Sharon. Thank you for sharing this nugget.

    ReplyDelete