Calvin on the Scripture's Call to Christian Living - Part I

The following is from the "A Little Book on the Christian Life," an edited work of the writings of John Calvin, specifically, "The Institutes of the Christian Religion." This section is on the Scripture's call to Christian living. This post is the first part of a four-part series.

There are two main parts to the instruction from Scripture on the Christian life....The first is that a love of righteousness - to which we are not naturally prone - must be implanted and poured into our hearts. The second is that we need some model that will keep us from losing our way in our pursuit of righteousness. Scripture contains many arguments to encourage us on the path of righteousness....

To begin with, what better foundation can Scripture give for the pursuit of righteousness than to tell us we should be holy because God Himself is holy? Moreover, when we are scattered and wandering like sheep, lost in the maze of the world, God found us and gathered us to Himself. When we contemplate this relationship between ourselves and God, let us remember that holiness is the bond of our union with Him. Not, of course, because we enter into fellowship with Him by the merit of our own holiness. Rather, we first of all cling to Him, and then, having received His holiness, we follow wherever He calls us. For it is characteristic of His glory that He has no fellowship with sin and impurity. Holiness is the goal of our calling. Therefore we must consistently set our sights upon holiness if we would rightly respond to God's calling. To what purpose did God pull us out of the wickedness and pollution of this world - wickedness and pollution in which we were submerged - if we allow ourselves to wallow in such wickedness and pollution for the rest of our lives?

Furthermore, if we count ourselves among God's people, Scripture tells us to live as citizens of the holy city of Jerusalem, which He has consecrated Himself: "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." (Hebrews 13:14)

It's shameful that the citizens of the holy city should pollute it by their impurity. Thus, we read that there will be a dwelling place in God's tabernacle for those who walk blamelessly and pursue righteousness. It's not right that the sanctuary in which God dwells should resemble a filthy stable.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, Paul writes:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Paul's call to sexual purity is earnest. In his commentary on sexual sin, New Testament scholar writes:

The man who carries on an act of impurity is not simply breaking a human code, nor even sinning against the God who at some time in the past gave him the gift of the Spirit. He is sinning against the God who is present at that moment, against the One who continually gives the Spirit. The impure act is an act of spite against God's good gift at the very moment it is being proffered....This sin is seen in its true light only when it is seen as a preference for impurity rather than a Spirit who is holy.