John Calvin #2: His History

The speaker is discussing the importance of obeying God's law and the consequences of disobedience. They mention the need for a covenant recommitment and emphasize the significance of the Ten Commandments and the following three chapters of ordinances in Exodus. The speaker also addresses the recent panic caused by a misunderstanding of a Martian invasion and reassures listeners that there is nothing to fear. They then provide an introduction to the life and work of John Calvin, highlighting his role in the Reformation and his influence on Christian doctrine. The speaker criticizes Calvin and Luther for not applying the law of God to their own governments and warns against relying on natural law. They end by promoting their website and sponsors. Hey everybody, welcome once again to greatbiblereset.com, where we are striving to get the word out in hopes and prayers that God might withdraw his hand of judgment from America. Because folks, we are not innocent victims who are being haplessly exploited by a small cadre of evil globalists. According to Deuteronomy 28, God blesses obedience and curses disobedience on a personal and national level. History is not random. There is cause and effect in history. God has raised up these globalists like he raised up Nebuchadnezzar against Israel because we have forsaken his law in our founding documents. Yet even as he offered Jeremiah hope of reprieve on the very eve of the Babylonian captivity when the army of Nebuchadnezzar was besieging the city of Jerusalem, I believe that he holds out hope for us even at this late date. And our only hope for surviving the looming threat of Klaus Schwab's great economic reset is a covenant recommitment in our local Ecclesiastes, sometimes referred to as churches, to the law of God, the book of the covenant in Exodus 20-24. That is, for those who are here for the first time, the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, followed by three chapters of case law illustration of God's definition of Christian nationalism, contradicting Stephen Wolfe's speculations in defense of Christian nationalism published by Canon Press, God refers to these as a unit -- these five chapters, which he calls the book of the covenant in Exodus 24. So we have no license to embrace the Ten Commandments and reject the three chapters of ordinances which follow. We do so at our peril, which is now very great. Yet God told Jeremiah in chapter 5, Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and look now, and take note, and seek in her open squares. If you can find a man, if there is one who does justice and seeks truth, then I will pardon her. Then I said, They are only the poor, they are foolish, for they do not know the ordinance of their God. Will you be that man or woman who will read these five chapters every day for the next thirty days, and plead with God over them, that he might have mercy on us for rejecting his law in our founding documents? Now things have settled down somewhat following our report yesterday of what seemed to be a Martian invasion. We had many people calling in panic-stricken, literally screaming in fear, concerned for the safety of themselves and their families. I received reports that there was literal rioting in the streets of Portland, Minneapolis, possibly other blue cities. Cities in the red states were not so easily fooled, but sadly blue state residents are capable of believing almost anything. Apparently these people tuned in just after our explanatory introduction and thought it was an actual Martian invasion, so today let me put it in plain English so people's fears can be assuaged and know for certain they have nothing to fear whatsoever. In fact, to alleviate those fears, here's how the podcast would have sounded if all the suspense and theater of the alleged Martian invasion had not intervened, just so everybody knows there's nothing to fear from the Martians and all is back to normal. However, if you do have any questions you'd like me to address, or you'd like to address to the Christian Martians, if they ever do decide to reconnect with us, please let us know and we'll do our best to relay those on to Pastor Doug Wilson. Or if you can, try to make contact with Pastor Wilson himself at blogmagog.com, his podcast, and communicate the Martians' indignation at his representation of the Martian position on the U.S. Constitution and the damage this has done for Earth-Martian relations for decades to come. And as I said yesterday, as soon as I get clearance, the transcript of the Martian communique will be posted on greatbiblereset.com. And I think Tucker Carlson is holding off on reporting it for now to include it in a special report on the rash of UFO sightings that we've had in recent months, but I can't confirm that for sure. Now, here is our normal Tuesday introduction to the life and times of the great reformer John Calvin. Calvin built on the work of Luther to extend the work of the Reformation into the rest of Northern Europe. His Institutes of the Christian Religion opened the Bible to the common man. Christian leaders from all over Europe studied under Calvin at Geneva, then they carried his teaching back to their homes with dramatic results, France, England, Scotland, and so forth. The most notable example was John Knox, whose preaching transformed Scotland. So who was John Calvin? Well, he lived from 1509 to 1564. He's best known for explaining Reformation doctrine in the Institutes of the Christian Religion published in 1536 and in his commentaries. The latter covers all of the Bible except the book of Revelation. Forced from his native France, Calvin became pastor in Geneva in 1536. And on the way to Strasbourg, he met a man named Julien Farrell in Geneva. And after stiff resistance, he was compelled to join the Reform in Geneva. Farrell had begun the Reform, but he felt unequal to the task. The two argued far into the night, with Calvin firmly opposed. He pleaded youth and the need for more study. At last, the older preacher raised up in his chair and pointed an accusing finger in Calvin's face. With a glare, he thundered, May God curse your studies of now in her time of need you refuse to lend your aid to his church. With that, Calvin's resistance melted, and he slumped in his chair. He stayed to revamp Geneva's society. His teaching and written constitution transformed both church and state. Lutheran reform had spread rapidly across northern Europe, lands where the sway of Rome was marginal, like Germany, Scandinavia, Holland, Switzerland, and England, Scotland. The war of ideas turned violent in France. France was caught in the crossfire of the two unyielding factions. Calvin addressed his institutes to King Francis I of France for that reason. He urged tolerance for the loyal reformed Huguenots. But the lascivious king was distracted by matters other than just government. So Calvin came to Geneva in 1536. He was fleeing persecution in his native France. The first edition of his institutes appeared that same year, dedicated to the king, urging his tolerance of the persecuted Huguenots. Calvin wrote the constitution for the city of Geneva, a document governing the affairs of both church and state. He systematized the doctrine regarding salvation by faith alone and other teaching that Luther had recovered. In the realm of civil government, Calvin urged submission to tyranny unless a lower magistrate raises up to lead an armed rebellion. Sadly, Calvin departed from orthodoxy in holding a natural law standard other than the Bible for the magistrate, and advocating tax support for government schools. So here we have it again, same old deviation from truth in so-called natural law. He was at least as bad as Luther in this regard, and the two of them together have set a precedent that haunts us to this very day. Later in life, following many revisions of his institutes of biblical law, Calvin did excellent work in his commentaries on the Pentateuch, expositing the law of God, but he inexplicably refused to apply it to the Gentile nations per Deuteronomy 4, 6-8, and he did not revise his commentaries, chapter 20, where he dealt with civil government. He didn't revise them. He had an opportunity to do that, but he did not. The refusal of Calvin and Luther to apply the equity of the law of God to their own governments haunts us to this very day, and provides an historical excuse for authors like Stephen Wolfe, in defense of Christian nationalism, to engage in EVN, natural law speculation that can only provoke the wrath of God against the nation. It's an heretical attack on the supreme authority of the law of God, which is the only standard of justice for the nations, when we resort to natural laws as the foundation of truth, even theological truth. Thankfully, we have God's promise of Isaiah 2, in these last days before the second coming. The nations will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Thank God. So thank you for tuning in today. Please check out our growing library of biblical analysis of 100 of the classical authors at greatbiblereset.com and patronize our sponsors at the kingswayclassicalacademy.com bookstore and the boomers-alive.com longevity store, where 15% of your purchases go toward scholarships for low-income students. And please tune in again tomorrow for a summary of John Calvin's teaching.