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Sermons on Genesis: Chapters 1-11
NEWLY PUBLISHED - FIRST, AND ONLY, ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Translated by Dr. Rob Roy McGregor
Preaching as Calvin undertook to do it extends far beyond the confines of a carefully written manuscript. It is not bound by the niceties of style, sentence structure, and the like. it is marked by an immeasurably greater degree of intensity, by an obvious determination to instruct and persuade, by an astounding capacity to confront hearers both with the truth of divine revelation and with the implications of that truth for faith and obedience. There are distinct advantages, therefore, in having before us these sermons on Genesis precisely as they were delivered. They let us see and hear a man aflame with love for the lord and his Word, a preacher who spent himself utterly in the work of summoning his people to repentance, faith and holiness. The feature that has struck me most powerfully is the sermons' immediacy. As I have read them, it has quite often seemed to me almost as though I were sitting with the congregation in Geneva and listening to Calvin himself as he opened up the passage, and then carefully, deliberately, and sometimes with painful specificity applied its teaching to those who heard him. In his masterful translation Dr. McGregor has quite wonderfully brought the preacher back to life and allowed us the privilege of being able, with a little imagination, to take our places in St. Peter's Church on those cold autumn and winter days with the Reformer himself in the pulpit.
Translated by Dr. Rob Roy McGregor
Preaching as Calvin undertook to do it extends far beyond the confines of a carefully written manuscript. It is not bound by the niceties of style, sentence structure, and the like. it is marked by an immeasurably greater degree of intensity, by an obvious determination to instruct and persuade, by an astounding capacity to confront hearers both with the truth of divine revelation and with the implications of that truth for faith and obedience. There are distinct advantages, therefore, in having before us these sermons on Genesis precisely as they were delivered. They let us see and hear a man aflame with love for the lord and his Word, a preacher who spent himself utterly in the work of summoning his people to repentance, faith and holiness. The feature that has struck me most powerfully is the sermons' immediacy. As I have read them, it has quite often seemed to me almost as though I were sitting with the congregation in Geneva and listening to Calvin himself as he opened up the passage, and then carefully, deliberately, and sometimes with painful specificity applied its teaching to those who heard him. In his masterful translation Dr. McGregor has quite wonderfully brought the preacher back to life and allowed us the privilege of being able, with a little imagination, to take our places in St. Peter's Church on those cold autumn and winter days with the Reformer himself in the pulpit.
888 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2009
5 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
John Calvin
1,712 books541 followersFrench-Swiss theologian John Calvin broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1533 and as Protestant set forth his tenets, known today, in
Institutes of the Christian Religion
(1536).
The religious doctrines of John Calvin emphasize the omnipotence of God, whose grace alone saves the elect.
* Jehan Cauvin
* Iohannes Calvinus (Latin)
* Jean Calvin (French)
Originally trained as a humanist lawyer around 1530, he went on to serve as a principal figure in the Reformation. He developed the system later called Calvinism.
After tensions provoked a violent uprising, Calvin fled to Basel and published the first edition of his seminal work. In that year of 1536, William Farel invited Calvin to help reform in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of ideas of Calvin and Farel and expelled both men. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg as the minister of refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and people eventually invited him back to lead. Following return, he introduced new forms of government and liturgy. Following an influx of supportive refugees, new elections to the city council forced out opponents of Calvin. Calvin spent his final years, promoting the Reformation in Geneva and throughout Europe.
Calvin tirelessly wrote polemics and apologia. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible as well as treatises and confessional documents and regularly gave sermons throughout the week in Geneva. The Augustinian tradition influenced and led Calvin to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of Protestantism that bears his name. His views live on chiefly in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, which have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major figures and entire movements, such as Puritanism, and some scholars argue that his ideas contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the west.
The religious doctrines of John Calvin emphasize the omnipotence of God, whose grace alone saves the elect.
* Jehan Cauvin
* Iohannes Calvinus (Latin)
* Jean Calvin (French)
Originally trained as a humanist lawyer around 1530, he went on to serve as a principal figure in the Reformation. He developed the system later called Calvinism.
After tensions provoked a violent uprising, Calvin fled to Basel and published the first edition of his seminal work. In that year of 1536, William Farel invited Calvin to help reform in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of ideas of Calvin and Farel and expelled both men. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg as the minister of refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and people eventually invited him back to lead. Following return, he introduced new forms of government and liturgy. Following an influx of supportive refugees, new elections to the city council forced out opponents of Calvin. Calvin spent his final years, promoting the Reformation in Geneva and throughout Europe.
Calvin tirelessly wrote polemics and apologia. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible as well as treatises and confessional documents and regularly gave sermons throughout the week in Geneva. The Augustinian tradition influenced and led Calvin to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of Protestantism that bears his name. His views live on chiefly in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, which have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major figures and entire movements, such as Puritanism, and some scholars argue that his ideas contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the west.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 5, 2014
Excellent.
850 pages, on 11 chapters of the Bible!
This is an excellent edition gives us a glimpse into Calvin's pulpit ministry. Rather wordy, but his pastor's heart shines through. No academic discourses, these! He was always on the lookout for applying the text to the people, clearly and plainly. I found myself quoting his pithy sayings from the pulpit myself, often.
On Abel's murder: "The blood of Abel accused Cain, but the blood of Jesus Christ excuses us."
From Cain's guilt: "Even if the reprobates lived in palaces and did nothing but take leisurely walks and everyone came to make a big fuss over them and were at their beck and call... they still... have to be scared stiff, their lives are still hanging by a thread, and they feel no certainty or assurance, and they do not know why."
From Cain's departure, we "learn what true repentance is, which is hatred for the sin which is rooted in our hearts."
From Genesis 5 we learn to "not become entangled in the abominations which sourround us on all sides."
On God remembering Noah: "we imagine that God is asleep.... it is not enought to trust in God for just a single minute. We must persist, and our faith must not grow weary. That, in short, is how we must put this passage into practice."
Calvin repeats that last sentence often, or a variant of it. He wraps up a section saying, "That's the main thing."
Calvin preached every weekday, many weeks, and these are dated in the book: "Thursday, 14 December 1559." It's fun to see him start a sermon by saying, Yesterday we saw that...
THere is a lot to weed through, here, but there are gems that show the world hasn't really changed all that much since Calvin's time, and the pastoral application is as relevant today as it was then.
850 pages, on 11 chapters of the Bible!
This is an excellent edition gives us a glimpse into Calvin's pulpit ministry. Rather wordy, but his pastor's heart shines through. No academic discourses, these! He was always on the lookout for applying the text to the people, clearly and plainly. I found myself quoting his pithy sayings from the pulpit myself, often.
On Abel's murder: "The blood of Abel accused Cain, but the blood of Jesus Christ excuses us."
From Cain's guilt: "Even if the reprobates lived in palaces and did nothing but take leisurely walks and everyone came to make a big fuss over them and were at their beck and call... they still... have to be scared stiff, their lives are still hanging by a thread, and they feel no certainty or assurance, and they do not know why."
From Cain's departure, we "learn what true repentance is, which is hatred for the sin which is rooted in our hearts."
From Genesis 5 we learn to "not become entangled in the abominations which sourround us on all sides."
On God remembering Noah: "we imagine that God is asleep.... it is not enought to trust in God for just a single minute. We must persist, and our faith must not grow weary. That, in short, is how we must put this passage into practice."
Calvin repeats that last sentence often, or a variant of it. He wraps up a section saying, "That's the main thing."
Calvin preached every weekday, many weeks, and these are dated in the book: "Thursday, 14 December 1559." It's fun to see him start a sermon by saying, Yesterday we saw that...
THere is a lot to weed through, here, but there are gems that show the world hasn't really changed all that much since Calvin's time, and the pastoral application is as relevant today as it was then.
May 8, 2022
Rather a large disappointment. Maybe there is a reason these sermons were never translated into English sooner. It took me more than four times as long to plough through these 48 sermons than it did to read Calvin's 101 sermons on Timothy and Titus. These sermons just weren't engaging. I don't know if that is the fault of the translator in his capacity as a translator, or in his work (or lack of it) as an editor, or whether it is down to my own lack of concentration when reading, but to me the sermons just didn't feel right. They felt incomplete, as though they must be summaries of sermons rather than the full things. But possibly they were accidental summaries, caused by the original transcriber being unable to keep up with Calvin's pace of speaking, unable to catch or remember every word that was said, and having to either summarise what Calvin was saying or leave bits out entirely, in order to keep up. And if that is so, it would explain why the sermons feel so disjointed and why new points seem to come around before the previous one has been adequately explained or developed or driven home. Often I couldn't follow Calvin's line of thought or reasoning as presented here, I couldn't see how he was deriving his points from the passages in question. Often he seemed to be drawing out the most extraordinary and peculiar teachings which didn't feel credible or justified.
If all Calvin's sermons were recorded in a like manner, maybe the Elizabethan translators into English took greater liberties with the text in their translations of his sermons in order to remove bits that were more strictly the incidental words and phrases of an oral delivery and superfluous to a written version. Or maybe Calvin himself edited some of his sermons for publication in French which were then translated into English after his death. Whatever, I found the Elizabethan translation of Calvin's Sermons on Timothy and Titus far more readable and engaging than this modern translation of sermons on Genesis. Sometimes it felt that the translator must be following the text too literally, and producing something that was technically correct but not phrased as we would speak today. But at other times he was using Americanisms which felt completely out of place, far too modern and out of keeping – like using the word 'buddy' instead of 'friend'.
As for content, often I was hoping Calvin would have interesting things to say, but in some instances he completely avoided subjects which I expected he would have to discuss, and, as I said earlier, in other places he said things which didn't seem to be derivable from the text at all. The sermons weren't engaging to read and didn't flow well, and they felt long and were hard to read through at a single sitting. They were perhaps reflective of his method of preaching, in that they felt like a man was just reading through a Bible passage and commenting on it as he went along, without having a neat and connected three-point sermon plan all neatly arranged before him. Instead he perhaps drifted around rather randomly in his thoughts.
I don't feel like Calvin has come out of this very well. I don't think it does anything to commend him as a Bible commentator. Quite the contrary. I'm afraid if often made me feel like perhaps he wasn't qualified to teach the Scriptures at all(!), and it made me wonder if we are right to place so much implicit trust upon his beliefs and teachings when there seems to be good reason for doubting many of his claims and statements. Where people praise these sermons, I wonder if they do it because they honestly find them helpful, or because they feel they have to do so in order to appear to be sound in doctrine and wise and discerning in their judgment, or because it is simply fashionable to love everything Calvin has ever said or written.
But maybe I have misjudged the volume. While they may not work for me as sermons, maybe if I am ever seriously studying Genesis it could be useful to study these lectures and maybe then I would begin to see where Calvin was coming from and grasp how he was arriving at the conclusions he did. But in the meantime, reading this volume has given me no appetite to read any more Calvin in a modern translation. But at least I've still got his 200 sermons on Deuteronomy and 160 sermons on Job in the Elizabethan translations to look forward to.
If all Calvin's sermons were recorded in a like manner, maybe the Elizabethan translators into English took greater liberties with the text in their translations of his sermons in order to remove bits that were more strictly the incidental words and phrases of an oral delivery and superfluous to a written version. Or maybe Calvin himself edited some of his sermons for publication in French which were then translated into English after his death. Whatever, I found the Elizabethan translation of Calvin's Sermons on Timothy and Titus far more readable and engaging than this modern translation of sermons on Genesis. Sometimes it felt that the translator must be following the text too literally, and producing something that was technically correct but not phrased as we would speak today. But at other times he was using Americanisms which felt completely out of place, far too modern and out of keeping – like using the word 'buddy' instead of 'friend'.
As for content, often I was hoping Calvin would have interesting things to say, but in some instances he completely avoided subjects which I expected he would have to discuss, and, as I said earlier, in other places he said things which didn't seem to be derivable from the text at all. The sermons weren't engaging to read and didn't flow well, and they felt long and were hard to read through at a single sitting. They were perhaps reflective of his method of preaching, in that they felt like a man was just reading through a Bible passage and commenting on it as he went along, without having a neat and connected three-point sermon plan all neatly arranged before him. Instead he perhaps drifted around rather randomly in his thoughts.
I don't feel like Calvin has come out of this very well. I don't think it does anything to commend him as a Bible commentator. Quite the contrary. I'm afraid if often made me feel like perhaps he wasn't qualified to teach the Scriptures at all(!), and it made me wonder if we are right to place so much implicit trust upon his beliefs and teachings when there seems to be good reason for doubting many of his claims and statements. Where people praise these sermons, I wonder if they do it because they honestly find them helpful, or because they feel they have to do so in order to appear to be sound in doctrine and wise and discerning in their judgment, or because it is simply fashionable to love everything Calvin has ever said or written.
But maybe I have misjudged the volume. While they may not work for me as sermons, maybe if I am ever seriously studying Genesis it could be useful to study these lectures and maybe then I would begin to see where Calvin was coming from and grasp how he was arriving at the conclusions he did. But in the meantime, reading this volume has given me no appetite to read any more Calvin in a modern translation. But at least I've still got his 200 sermons on Deuteronomy and 160 sermons on Job in the Elizabethan translations to look forward to.
May 22, 2023
In preparation to preach through Genesis 1-12, I benefited more from reading John Calvin's sermons (not his commentary) than any other resource I consulted. As to be expected with Calvin, this volume is phenomenal. While reading him for the first time years ago, it was quickly apparent to me that the bad rap he often gets for certain caricatures of his theology is completely undeserved. His works are well-reasoned, rooted in a love for Scripture and an admiration for the Christians that came before him. They are also so devotional that I can't help but rejoicing during and after my reading.
These sermons are no exception. Though different from his commentaries and Institutes, these sermons nevertheless promote the same well-reasoned, devotional reading of Scripture that I always expect for him. I read through the sermons as a morning devotional. It was a great way to begin the day: I was convicted of sin, exhorted with reasons to love the Lord more, and comforted with gospel hope. I'm thankful that I was able to mine quotes, illustrations, and penetrating applications for my sermons from Calvin's sermons as I read them each morning over the last five months. Even my prayer life has been affected as I have modeled some of my prayers on the ones he concludes each sermon with. Here's one selected at random:
Marvelous.
These sermons are no exception. Though different from his commentaries and Institutes, these sermons nevertheless promote the same well-reasoned, devotional reading of Scripture that I always expect for him. I read through the sermons as a morning devotional. It was a great way to begin the day: I was convicted of sin, exhorted with reasons to love the Lord more, and comforted with gospel hope. I'm thankful that I was able to mine quotes, illustrations, and penetrating applications for my sermons from Calvin's sermons as I read them each morning over the last five months. Even my prayer life has been affected as I have modeled some of my prayers on the ones he concludes each sermon with. Here's one selected at random:
Now let us bow before the majesty of our gracious God in acknowledgment of our faults, praying that he will be pleased to bury them so we will not be rejected, as we would deserve. But may he receive us under his guidance and so govern us by his Holy Spirit that our lives will have no other goal or intention than to please him and follow his holy will. And because we are so weak and remiss that we cannot take a step or entertain a single worthy thought unless he gives it to us, may he be pleased to grant us the power not to fail. But let us walk in his holy calling, armed against all opposition and against everything the devil devises to lead us from the right path. And may we also be sustained in our weakness until we are fully cleansed of it. And may he grant that grace not only to us, but to all peoples and nations on earth...
Marvelous.
July 2, 2021
Sermons on Genesis - Chapter 1 - 11 ~ John Calvin
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5
49 Sermons preached in Geneva by John Calvin in 1559/1560 - wow amazing mind-blowing sermons. These sermons expounded to me the scriptures in a better way than I had heard before. I learned so many new things and changed my mind on previous thoughts about certain scriptures such as Genesis 6:1-4. As you read these you can sense how blessed the congregation was to have each day a sermon of expository preaching. The main aim for the congregation is to understand for themselves scripture, and with the help on John Calvin through the Holy Spirit that is what happens. We become exposed to a real understanding of scripture, I was blessed to read them and are thankful that they were written down so that not only a few people in the congregation in Geneva was blessed but also 500 years later many many others are still reaping the rewards from these Spirit filled sermons.
By far the largest book I have ever read with over 850 pages, but each page was a blessing and I will hopefully return and read this again as there is so much meat to devour. I would have rated this book 5 stars but the translator used words that I didn't know sometimes and it I had to look them up, but really the sermons were excellent and should be read my God's faithful so that they may grow in knowledge.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5
49 Sermons preached in Geneva by John Calvin in 1559/1560 - wow amazing mind-blowing sermons. These sermons expounded to me the scriptures in a better way than I had heard before. I learned so many new things and changed my mind on previous thoughts about certain scriptures such as Genesis 6:1-4. As you read these you can sense how blessed the congregation was to have each day a sermon of expository preaching. The main aim for the congregation is to understand for themselves scripture, and with the help on John Calvin through the Holy Spirit that is what happens. We become exposed to a real understanding of scripture, I was blessed to read them and are thankful that they were written down so that not only a few people in the congregation in Geneva was blessed but also 500 years later many many others are still reaping the rewards from these Spirit filled sermons.
By far the largest book I have ever read with over 850 pages, but each page was a blessing and I will hopefully return and read this again as there is so much meat to devour. I would have rated this book 5 stars but the translator used words that I didn't know sometimes and it I had to look them up, but really the sermons were excellent and should be read my God's faithful so that they may grow in knowledge.
November 14, 2019
Fantastic work of course by the greatest of the Reformed theologians, John Calvin. Also kudos to Banner of Truth for making the book look so nice and elegantly presentable, pages are soft but firm, binding is solid.
June 24, 2024
This definitely opened my eyes to true God-centered, mind-renewing, heart-searching & soul-purifying preaching of who God is & what he expects of us.
July 25, 2016
Just can't get enough of Calvin's sermons.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews