The following is an edited correspondence with John Hendryx on Calvin's Sermons on Ephesians. I have not asked him for permission to post this here, but since he says essentially the same thing at his bookstore, I think that it is not a problem to post this here without bothering him about it. It is certainly nothing private or embarrassing. I am mainly interested in sharing my reply, and his message provides the context. Other than this, I would also like to encourage all of you to buy this book of Calvin’s sermons.

In what follows we are referring to Calvin’s Sermon on Ephesians 1:3–4.

…And thank you for the great sermon by John Calvin….the essay had me laughing and in tears. Especially when he made comments like this:

"Now if such heretics have shown a devilish stubbornness against God in separating things which ought to be kept together in an inseparable bond, then they are also malicious and perverse who would nowadays have the doctrine of election kept silent. For they would stop the mouth of God, if it were possible, and seal his mouth whenever he utters anything they do not like."

I don't now if Calvin meant at all for this to be funny, but his description of these truths is quite hilarious. I love the sermon by the way, and feel a deep kinship with him in his emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing sinners to faith. First rate!

I replied:

One of the things that I like about Calvin and Luther is that they can talk about deep theological issues without using the detached pretentious tone that characterizes many academic writings. Even when carrying on technical discussions, they can be rationally precise and compelling, and yet their language is full of zeal and devotion, and jealousy for the truth and honor of God. In contrast, many theological writers use a rather detached tone, as if they do not personally care about either side of the controversy, but have only an academic interest on the subject.

I am glad that you are selling Banner of Truth's whole series of Calvin’s sermons on Ephesians. One can learn something about theology, hermeneutics, homiletics, and Calvin's thought all in one volume. As a bonus, the binding and printing are excellent. As one who reads constantly throughout the day, and often having to deal with very thick and tedious works, the physical aspects of a book are very important to me. Consider Hodge’s three volumes of Systematic Theology — they are snap traps that are almost impossible to use except as references.

Recommended:

John Calvin, Sermons on Ephesians

Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will

Vincent Cheung, Commentary on Ephesians

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