Saturday, the settled gloom
Speaks only doom
Our Lord sealed in the tomb.
Our hopes were high.
Why did he have to die?
Was it all a lie?
Stumble through Sabbath, weak,
Everything so bleak
What to do at the 1st of the week?

Good Friday:
Pause to perceive the pain, 
sit with the sorrow, 
contemplate the cruelty
of the condemnation of Christ, 
the substitute of the sinless Son

Since yesterday’s post, three more kind endorsements of the new edition of Calvin’s sermons on 1 Timothy have come in.

“John Calvin’s sermons are the headwaters of the Reformation’s rediscovery of apostolic preaching with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. It is all here; exegesis and application, believers and unbelievers are addressed, exhorted and beseeched to hear and obey. The messages are declared with divine grace through Jesus Christ. God is honoured, and the people of God edified.”

–          Geoff Thomas, Pastor, Alfred Place Baptist Church, Wales

“For many years, I have turned with great profit to the facsimile edition of John Calvin’s Sermons on the Pastoral Epistles. They are faithful, profound and helpful expositions of the text of Scripture. This new edition makes these important sermons more accessible and useful for the Twenty-first century. Scholars, pastors and lay people will all profit immensely from a careful reading of this book.”

–          James M. Renihan, Dean, Professor of Historical Theology, Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies

“This updated edition of Calvin’s sermons on Paul’s first letter to Timothy is a labor of love by Ray Van Neste. The financial proceeds from this volume will never repay the years of work he invested in its preparation. So why did he make the effort? Well, is a man never to do anything for the sake of Christ and His kingdom that offers little earthly reward? God help him, if not. Besides, Dr. Van Neste knows that these sermons, which have been in print for half a millennium, will continue to have an enduring appeal to many of Jesus’s followers in every generation. This will be especially so among those who are faithful shepherds of Christ’s flock and who have the responsibility to feed not only their own souls, but also the souls of Christ’s sheep. Long after Dr. Van Neste has gone to enjoy his eternal reward, these sermons will still bless the church. I am grateful for scholars like Ray Van Neste who gladly use their education, skills, and time ‘for the joy set before him’.”

–          Don Whitney, Professor of Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

I have finally published the new edition of Calvin’s sermons on 1 Timothy which Brian Denker and I worked on for so long. Due to its size (330,000+ words) the digital format seemed a good way to go, so it is published through Amazon for Kindle. The cost is only $2.99 for all 54 sermons.

These sermons reveal Calvin’s pastoral heart, his evangelistic fervor, and his devotion to the word of God. I have posted my introduction and a sample sermon for free so you can get a feel for the book.

I have pasted in below the commendations for the book which I have received. Howard Marshall had enthusiastically responded to my email saying he wanted to write a commendation, but sadly he passed away before being able to write it. Howard commented on how Andrew Walls read from these sermons (directly from the French original) at one of the early InterVarsity meetings he attended as a student.

I hope these sermons can encourage, challenge, and bless others as they have me.

“In this new edition of Calvin’s sermons on the Pastoral Epistles we meet the Reformer at his liveliest and most compelling. The subject matter lends itself to practical application, and here we see Calvin at the height of his pastoral powers. This new edition brings the original to life for our generation and we must hope that it will be widely read and used by preachers everywhere.”

–          Gerald Bray, Research Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

 

“So many think of John Calvin as a theologian, as one who lived separate from the people writing theological books in splendid isolation. But Calvin was a pastor who was involved in the rough and tumble of everyday life. Above all else, he was a preacher, one who proclaimed the word of God to the people of God. We see in these sermons the heart of a preacher as he exhorts and instructs his congregation. Calvin’s theology was not abstract to him; it was meant to be believed and lived out in the home and in the market place. In these sermons on 1 Timothy we see Calvin the pastor at work as he proclaims God’s word for the church of Jesus Christ. Read and be instructed, challenged, encouraged, convicted, and changed.”

–          Tom Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Professor of Biblical Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

 

“Ray Van Neste has done English readers a great service by making John Calvin’s sermons on 1 Timothy readily accessible. The 1579 English translation is simply too intimidating for many modern readers to tackle leaving the theological and pastoral wisdom of the reformer in these sermons virtually locked away. This edition is completely retyped using modern words and phrases to maintain the original English meaning. Where serious questions remained these then were checked against the original French in which the sermons first appeared. A helpful introduction which includes a suggested approach to reading the sermons makes this work all the more valuable. Those who know Calvin only as a theologian will discover in these sermons that he was a first and foremost a tender, compassionate and evangelist pastor. I hope this book gains a wide reading.”

–          Tom Ascol, Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral, FL

 

“Today’s preachers have much to gain by reading and studying sermons from past masters of the pulpit. Unfortunately, some great preachers of the past are relatively inaccessible because of differences of language. Thus, Ray Van Neste and Brian Denker have done us a great service by editing and updating the 1579 English edition of Calvin’s Sermons on 1 Timothy, making them accessible to 21^st century readers. In these 54 sermons, Calvin is revealed not to be the austere theologian of modern caricatures, but a loving, caring pastor who wanted his people to understand the truth of God’s Word. This significant collection will be of interest not only to students of Calvin but to any reader interested in better understanding Paul’s inspired first letter to his protégé Timothy.”

–          Michael Duduit, Executive Editor, Preaching magazine, and Dean of the College of Christian Studies & Clamp Divinity School, Anderson University, Anderson, SC