Throughout the Fall months we will be studying the “History and Theology of the Reformation.” What is our plan? Specifically, we will interact with John Calvin’s masterful treatise The Necessity of Reforming the Church (1544), and hear lectures from Pastor Marcus Serven on the key people and core doctrines of the Protestant Reformation. Our group of serious adult learners meets at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin, on Thursday mornings (9:30-11:30 AM) in room 208 of Calvin Hall. The first class begins on Thursday, September 15, 2022. For more information, or to reserve your place contact Pastor Marcus Serven (mserven@redeemerpres.org).
The publishers of our text book–Reformation Trust Publishers–capture the main theme of John Calvin’s treatise quite well when they portray an upside down church as symbolic of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Church. Rather than emphasizing the priority of a living and active faith in Jesus Christ, the Roman Catholics wrongly emphasize the authority and power of the Church. It is a point well taken, and Calvin forcefully argues that the proper role of the Church is to humbly serve as an assembly of believers who faithfully obey and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the central reason that the church in the time of the Reformation needed to be thoroughly reformed–the church had forsaken their “first love” (Rev. 2:4). Thankfully, through the work of Calvin and many other Reformers, it was reformed. And as “heirs of the Reformation” we have received all the benefits. Soli Deo Gloria!
— Dr. Marcus J. Serven
If you want to know more about Calvin’s doctrine of the Church see my article: https://thegenevanfoundation.com/calvins-doctrine-of-the-church/