Episode 1: John Calvin A Little Book on the Christian Life
In this first episode of The Berean Bookclub we talk through John Calvin's A Little Book On The Christian Life. We discuss the function of doctrine in the Christian life, the road to self-denial, the purpose of afflictions, and the joys and dangers of Christian liberties.
References:
Calvin, J., (2017). A Little Book on the Christian Life [audio book edition], Translated by Deliger, A & Parsons, B, Narrated by Parks, T. Available from: http//scribd.com
Calvin, J., 2016. On the Christian Life, Translated by Beveridge ,H. New Kensington. Whitaker House.
Quotes:
"Doctrine is not an affair of the tongue but of the life; and it is not apprehended by the intellect and memory merely, like other branches of learning, but is received only when it possession the whole soul and finds it's seat and habitation in the inmost recesses of the heart" (p. 33)
"For he who has learnt to look to God in everything he does is at the same time diverted from all vain thoughts." (p. 43)
"Show me, if you can, an individual who , unless he has renounced himself in obedience to the Lord's command, is disposed to do good for its own sake." (p. 44)
"Adverse circumstances will keep their bitterness and we will feel their bite. When afflicted with illness we will groan and toss for health. When pursued by poverty we will feel the stings of sadness and anxiety. we will bear the weight of sorrow, dishonor, discontent and injustice. When loved ones die we will naturally weep. But this will always be our conclusion: never the less the Lord has willed it. Therefore let us follow his will."
"How powerfully should it soften the bitterness of the cross to think that the more we are afflicted with adversity, the surer we are made of our fellowship with Christ;" (p. 69)
"People bowed men's consciences more narrowly than the word of the Lord bind them"
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