Calvin: Institutes Chapers 3.4.27. to 3.4.31.

INSTITUTES
OF
THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION

By
John Calvin

BOOK THIRD.
THE MODE OF OBTAINING THE GRACE OF CHRIST. THE
BENEFITS IT CONFERS, AND THE
EFFECTS RESULTING FROM IT.

CHAPTER 4.
PENITENCE, AS EXPLAINED IN THE SOPHISTICAL JARGON OF THE SCHOOLMEN, WIDELY DIFFERENT FROM THE PURITY REQUIRED BY THE GOSPEL. OF CONFESSION AND SATISFACTION.

3.4.27.

This is not all vain argumentation in Calvin's mind. He is concerned about two things: One, the honor and glory of Christ and His work; and Secondly, the conscience and joy of the Christian. In Christ's death it is important to remember that "the power and curse of sin was destroyed in his flesh when he was offered as a sacrifice, on which the whole weight of our sins was laid, with their curse and execration, with the fearful judgment of God, and condemnation to death." Nothing in Scripture indicates that after the benefits of the Cross are bestowed on the repentant sinner there is a need for further satisfaction of Divine justice. Not only that but Scripture "does not restrict it [forgiveness of sin] to the moment at which we are received into the Church but extends it to our whole course."

3.4.28.

"Here they take refuge in the absurd distinction that some sins are venial and others mortal." Venial sins can be easily forgiven whereas mortal sins are difficult. "The sins of believers are venial, not because they do not merit death, but because by the mercy of God there is "now no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus" their sin being not imputed, but effaced by pardon."

3.4.29.

Further complications exist in the Roman Catholic Church. "They endeavor, indeed, to disentangle themselves, but it is impossible. They pretend a distinction between penalty and guilt, holding that the guilt is forgiven by the mercy of God; but that though the guilt is remitted, the punishment which divine justice requires to be paid remains." They somehow suggest that the satisfaction of Christ relates to the penalty and what yet remains is satisfaction for guilt. But what of the precious Covenant?

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

3.4.30.

What value is the death of Christ if it did not do what God intended -- the removal of sin and guilt? "Whenever Paul makes mention of the redemption procured by him, he calls it ἀπολύτροσις, by which he does not simply mean redemption, as it is commonly understood, but the very price and satisfaction of redemption."

3.4.31.

In rebuttal, Rome points to examples of Scripture such as David who confessed his adultery yet endured the loss of his son afterward. "For the sake of distinction, we may call the one kind of judgment punishment, the other chastisement." The chastisement and even the natural consequence of our sin is not always removed by God's complete forgiveness.

"When the judge punishes a criminal, he animadverts upon the crime, and demands the penalty. When a father corrects his son sharply, it is not to mulct or avenge, but rather to teach him, and make him more cautious for the future."

Questions to Consider

1. What does Calvin do with the distinction between venial and mortal sin?

2. Do you ever feel that as a Christian you have to appease God for your behavior?

3. Can you distinguish between God's punishment and His discipline?