For starters, avoid assuming you already know what Calvin will say in advance or how he will approach an issue. This is especially important for those pastors who are not trained to genuflect at the very mention of Calvin’s name. Let me make the modest suggestion that Calvin in writing his Institutes has no interest in displaying his “distinctives” as denominations have done here for so many years. Like the bishops of old preparing their catechumens for baptism and giving them the essentials of the faith, the Institutes are Calvin’s contribution to the long history of collected lectures prepared for this purpose over the centuries. As such his work covers the basis we pastors should be covering in our own efforts at equipping the saints:  How we know God in creation, How we know God through the revelation of Jesus Christ the Redeemer first under the Law and finally under the Gospel, How we receive the Grace of Jesus Christ and the Benefits which follow, the External Means of Grace as they relate to the secret work of God’s redeeming grace. If, as a pastor, you’ve ever had to answer questions like “Can you see God in Nature?”, “Why should I believe in Jesus Christ?”, “What does it mean to live the Christian Life” or “Why should I be baptized?” Calvin has a timely word for you and your congregants.

That gives us a clue regarding where to start with Calvin. He too was a working pastor. Far from being an ivory tower theologian, he labored – often under intense criticism – to rebuild a city for Christ and based upon His Word. Far from being the reputed despot whose every word was obeyed instantly, as a pastor he labored, taught, prayed, encouraged, and cajoled till his death for every gain God gave – as we do. He preached repeatedly through the New Testament on the Lord’s Day and the Old Testament throughout the week. The Institutes in their many editions reflect his ongoing work as a pastor, expositor, theologian, and apologist responding to the ever new challenges of equipping the saints and challenging the sinners in Geneva.  Undoubtedly he must have wondered if he hadn’t finally “nailed” essential truths “down” in the minds of the people only to be confronted anew with the same gaping sores of ignorance.

As preachers, then, let us come to Calvin’s Institutes as the work of an older friend and brother who had the time to ponder these great issues and who gladly shares the fruit of his labor with his fellow preachers! As such, I suggest we come to The Institutes piecemeal and without guilt. After all – Calvin is no preacher of works righteousness, especially not one concocted on the self-flagellation of reading his words! Instead, using the indices of scripture and subject, consult this work of Calvin as you go about your own preparation for preaching and teaching and prepare to answer the questions your people ask at times of grief, bewilderment, hope, triumph, and fear. He too lived in a world threatened by Islam, populated by nominal Christians, and intellectuals rejoicing in brave new skepticism when they considered it safe to do so. Just like consulting a mentor by phone, not every word may be apropos today, but having another view point always helps – as it will with Calvin.

To avoid personal or congregational indigestion, both food and Calvin require the thorough chewing of bite sized portions. Your congregation deserves to hear your voice speaking today. While Calvin may have a timely word to offer without your mediation, you are the pastor whose personal love and compassion are to embody not Calvin, as profitable as his word may be, but  Christ Himself! Often people do not despise our theology or Calvin’s necessarily. Their fear is that our theology is designed to bludgeon, to cow, to mock, and to despise. But the pastor who seeks Calvin’s input to warm his own heart and to flesh out his own understanding of God’s Word cannot go wrong in sharing it at the same judicious rate and heart warming effect with which he consumes it. 

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