• Bavinck.
• The PCA and the PCUSA are not the same thing.
• Babies are for baptizing.
• The Federal Vision is bad.
• The Westminster Standards and Three Forms of Unity complement each other very well.
• We enjoy cigars- get smoking! Scotch helps too!
• Psalms are for singing.
• Grow a beard and say “covenant” a lot.
• Buy a copy of the Westminster Standards NOW! (Free Presbyterian Edition) Carry it wherever you go.
• Don’t neglect growth in holiness and love and compassion for others.

I enjoyed reading the answers that people gave. Many were obviously tongue-in-cheek and most of them were broad generalizations (except “Bavinck”) although attempting to be helpful. As I read through them I was reminded of two times in my life when questions were asked  related to the question “What should I do first?”

First, a True Confession: I have had times in my life when I was busy making good Presbyterians and not necessarily good disciples. (You may insert Pharisee where I wrote Presbyterian; I just can’t get myself to do it). During my college days, I remember a young lady who appeared to be newly-converted to Christ and was being discipled. She was eager to learn. Some ladies in the congregation were working through JI Packer’s Knowing God with her and others were investing themselves into her life. At one point in her discipleship, of which I was a part, she asked me about the Trinity. In the months and months of being a Christian, she had never had anyone talk to her about the Trinity… including me. Of course, she did know the reasons for and against covering her head in worship and the implications of the practice.

Head coverings but no Trinity. That’s sad, but like I said, it’s a true confession.

Another time, I was considering “first things” and asked people this question: “What is the FIRST thing that you would tell a new convert to do? How would you begin discipleship?”  Of course no one said to teach the pros and cons of covering one’s head in worship, but there were many unbiblical answers given, for sure. How would you answer the question? Seriously, answer it out loud.

What did you say? (Maybe the wild and free will tell their answer in the comments section.)  But back then, when I asked the question I got answers like the following:

• Find a good church.
• Read your Bible every day.
• Learn the A.C.T.S. method of prayer.
• Study the Shorter Catechism.
• Memorize the Bible passages in the Navigator System.
• Memorize the Shorter Catechism.
• Study the Gospel of John.

These are good answers. Was your answer similar to these? Maybe yours was better and maybe there was some overlap between what you would teach a new Christian and what you would teach a new Presbyterian. As I reflect on my times of failing in disciple-making, I often wonder if I have made Pharisees in three easy steps (there I said the “P” word). I don’t think that I am alone in Pharisee-making. I truly believe that many in the church miss the answer that Jesus Christ himself gives to this question. Jesus’s answer concerning where to begin with a new follower of Christ should be our primary response, right? Jesus’s starting point should be our starting point. Right?

What should I teach first? What are the first steps of discipleship? What do I need to KNOW?  Here’s the Lord Jesus’s answer from Matthew 16:24:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Self-denial is what we need to teach new Presbyterians. Self-denial is what we need to teach new Christians. “Self-denial,” as an answer, should haunt us. I have never heard that answer given in any conversations I have had concerning first things for discipleship. Self-denial was not taught to me as a first thing. In my discipling of new converts I have not started with self-denial. I have never read a book on discipleship that starts with self-denial—and that includes both Navigator-esque books and confessionally reformed books.

Self-denial. It goes against our natural impulse that says “self-preservation.” It goes against our Western culture that says “self-promotion.” It goes against everything that is within us, because it leads to death. Our death. Self-denial leads to death.

So the next time someone lets you know that they are a new Presbyterian and asks you what they should know first…

The next time  someone asks what you would teach a new disciple…

The next time the Lord brings someone into your life to disciple…

… avoid the threat of The Not-So Lost Art of Pharisee Making that begins with any starting point other than Christ’s. Begin with self-denial. This is the first thing. “If any man would be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Pastoral affection certainly involves the general love all Christians are to have for one another, but a pastor’s heart beats with a particularly intense affection for God’s people, and it moves the pastor to particularly strenuous actions on their behalf. When God gives a man a pastor’s heart, it is evident in that man’s intense love for the sheep and his hard work of preaching, prayer and personal visitation.

The Word of God – especially as it is preached – and prayer are the primary means by which we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Thus, the Apostles devoted themselves to these duties as the driving forces of their ministry (See Acts 6). Their hard work in these means of grace surely benefited the people of God during worship on the Lord’s Day, and yet their ministry of these means did not conclude as the Lord’s Day closed.

The Apostle Paul gives us a particularly potent example of a minister who was not satisfied to preach to and pray with the saints once a week; his affection for Christ moved him into the rest of the week to be among Christ’s people, to have as much face to face ministry with them as he possibly could.

Note in Colossians 2:1-3 Paul’s description of his heart’s desire for the saints and therefore his work among the saints. “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

We see in Paul’s ministry the very heart of pastoral ministry: reverent passion for the Savior and its inevitable result: fervent love for the saved. A heart aflame with love for the Shepherd cannot help but be warm toward the sheep, each and every one of them (see 1:28), even those whom that heart has not met! Psalm 16 expresses this same interaction of affections: Psalm 16:1 – “. . . Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the LORD, You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

As Reformed Christians, we emphasize – and rightly so – the importance of preaching. We are known for our exertions in study, our efforts to improve the exegetical depth of our sermons. Pastors in general are always wanting to improve their preaching. In addition to refining hermeneutical skill by studying and praying, face time with the flock inevitably improves pulpit ministry. Taking our cue from Paul once again:

Acts 20:18ff: “And when they came to him, he said to them: ‘You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’.”

1 Thessalonians 2:8 – “So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.”

On the Lord’s Day, the pulpit may be only a few feet away from a particular member in the church, but if the pastor does not actively seek to love and minister to that member, that pulpit will feel miles away. The pastor becomes a visiting lecturer and not a true minister of Christ, not a true pastor.

Yes, God’s Word is objectively powerful; when preached, it always accomplishes the purpose for which God sends it. The imperfections of Scripture’s ministers do not diminish its inherent light and glory. A diamond is still a diamond when held in muddy hands! The power of the gospel itself can never be diminished, but the power of pastoral influence can be.

In ministering among us, Jesus Christ was never impersonal with His people. Nor is He now! One of the great duties and joys of pastoral ministry is expressing to the saints Christ’s very real, active, personal presence with His people.

A pastor preaches week by week not to a faceless mass, but to particular people, each of whom carries personal burdens, fears, joys and hopes into the worshiping assembly. Knowing the condition of the sheep allows the pastor to preach his biblical text in a deeply personal way. Personal preaching is not the public disclosure of the private details of the hearer’s lives, but is preaching which tangibly demonstrates to the hearers just how directly the Word of God applies to their lives – preaching during which hearers not only contemplate the power of God, but feel it at work within them. As the sheep continue to hear heart-level preaching, they will come to know all the more the deeply personal care of their Shepherd.

When Christ-exalting preaching meets Christ-centered personal visitation, the people of God come to know that their Shepherd is not a distant Deity. As His love is palpably felt through the preaching of His Word on the Lord’s Day and the tangible touch of His mercy through the week, they hear and see that His love for them is constant.

Such pastoral labor is strenuous, but only such labor can be described as truly pastoral. Paul describes his efforts with a Greek word in which we can easily see our English word “agony.” It is not an agony of relentless pain, though it does involve pain. It is the agony of the athlete for whom running is simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating. And as the pastor sets his heart on Christ – note in 3:1-4 Paul’s affectionate descriptions of his Savior – and realizes that his ministry serves Christ and the bride for whom Christ gave Himself (1:24-29), he is blessed with the strength to continue the work to which Christ calls him.

When the pastor lovingly labors this way among the people, and when the sheep lovingly receive this ministry, the beautiful bond between them in their mutual service to the Lord is strengthened. The pastor’s sometimes hard words from God’s Word become easier to hear. The sheep encourage their pastor to get the rest he needs, the rest he is sometimes all too willing to do without. When the pastor stumbles at times in his strident service, the sheep have every reason be understanding and patient, because they know from experience that their undershepherd loves them. They recognize in his imperfect work the perfect love of the Great Shepherd, the One who personifies perfectly a pastor’s heart.

Corporate Worship is the Church’s 

Reverent & Obedient Service to God,

as Regulated by His Word,

in the Love of the Father,

through the Mediation of the Son,

by the Indwelling Power of the Spirit,

on the Lord’s Day and Other Duly Appointed Times,

Where We are Strengthened by God

to Love the Brethren,

Evangelize the Nations,

and Engage the Needy

in Preparation for the Consummation of the Kingdom.

Perhaps we haven’t always done a good job balancing everything the Bible says about marriage and singleness. Maybe we’ve discouraged your use of singleness with an over-emphasis on preparing for marriage. So let’s fix that.

Here’s what we learn from Paul in 1 Corinthians 7: remembering that God is both sovereign and good, we find that singleness is a good gift from God. In his book The Meaning of Marriage, Tim Keller puts it this way: “…both being married and not being married are good conditions to be in.”  If you are walking faithfully with God and not avoiding marriage out of selfishness, then your singleness is part of God’s good plan for your life, whether that singleness is temporary or lifelong.

We also learn that there are times, whether of persecution or other specific pursuits, that singleness can be a wise choice. The Corinthian Christians were encouraged to factor in the coming persecution to their decisions about marriage. Decisions about singleness and marriage require counsel and wisdom, not just rules.

Perhaps most importantly, we learn that singleness has a unique power. It’s the power of focus and service. While married people have added responsibility that keeps them focused on the home (and rightly so!), singleness allows you extraordinary flexibility of time and energy. Without the burden of a spouse and kids, you are one of the church’s greatest resources of kingdom service.

So to those single ladies and men who are using their singleness selflessly, devoting themselves to Christ’s kingdom, thank you! Last week during my study of 1 Corinthians 7, God opened my eyes to see how deeply important the singles at Immanuel RPC are to our church family. So much of the work of the ministry, including the beginning and maintaining of our ministry at the veteran’s home, would simply not happen if it weren’t for people like you.

To you single ladies and men who haven’t yet caught the vision: don’t let this slip by you! Don’t waste your time with night after night of movies and video games and social gatherings or isolating yourself at home. You may never again have such power of focus and flexibility to serve others. Use it! The church needs you and you’ll be much more joyful as you live out God’s purpose for your life right now.

Finally, dear church: yes, encourage the singles toward marriage and pray for their future spouses. But don’t demean them or their state in life by speaking as if marriage were something necessary to a fulfilled life in the kingdom. Build them up in their service to the Lord. Thank them, encourage them, honor them. The church will be blessed through it.

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As with previous critiques, some reviewers seem to feel their work incomplete without adding a few spicy snipes at Bell himself, mainly poking fun at his persona and therefore that of the people pigeon-holed as Bell’s most ardent fans.  Comments about Bell’s hipness (is it still hip to talk about being hip?), his horn-rimmed glasses and the apparently awful desire to sip lattes while discussing metaphysics, are standard fare for anti-Bell satire.  Some comments are harmless enough.  Although, as an avid coffee consumer - I like it black or loaded with milk and sugar and wouldn’t scoff if offered whipped cream and sprinkles – it pains me that some people think serious theology can only be discussed over cigars and cognac by amply bearded men.  I’m usually clean-shaven, so my socio-theological virility is doubly in doubt!  Comments about Bell’s commercial appeal can be and hopefully are offered in good fun.  However, some of these cuts may injure the theological case being made by the critic.

Inclusion of these linguistic jabs in otherwise serious, strongly worded reviews suggests that they serve merely to mock, and their presence in general may reflect or encourage a dangerous dismissal of Bell’s teachings as well as a quiet disdain for people whose social customs the reviewer does not respect – i.e., only yuppies would buy Bell’s stuff!  These comments sometimes smack of an elitism which Bell’s fans perceive at the heart of the established church from which, following Bell’s lead, they are increasingly distancing themselves.

Sometimes Calvinists are the first in line to offer critiques of trendy theology.  That tendency can result from our having a historically rooted system of theology; its well-weathered and clearly articulated doctrines provide reliable and easily accessible answers to contemporary questions about the gospel.  Or, we may simply have a tendency to be quick to criticize.  Thankfully, Calvinists are showing an increasing circumspection and contrition regarding the pride stereotypically associated with our understanding of the faith.  (Have you noticed the increasing amount of recent books by Reformed authors calling Reformed Christians to humility?  See Letters to a Young Calvinist:  An Invitation to Reformed Theology by James K.A. Smith, Killing Calvinism:  How to Destroy a Perfectly Good Theology from the Inside by Greg Dutcher and Humble Orthodoxy:  Holding the Truth High Without Putting People Down by Joshua Harris.)  Such humility is necessary to minister Christ to people tempted by counterfeit proclamations of Him.

As it applies to our critiques of Rob Bell, if we are truly concerned for the souls so attracted to his teachings, we might do well to skip the satire and instead seek to understand why his teaching is magnetic to multitudes – don’t forget that Bell made the rounds on national news shows and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine upon the release of his 2011 book Love Wins, a New York Times best seller.  Correction of the doctrinal/historical fallacies in Bell’s work is good and necessary, but it is incomplete as a witness for Christ without the effort to understand and address the heart level issues at which Bell intentionally aims.

We tend to forget that teachers like Bell are reaching out to a wide spectrum of people who have very good, very serious, very pain-driven questions about historical, orthodox Christianity, especially when it comes to topics like human suffering in this life and hell beyond it.  Or, we tend to forget that mere refutation of error is not enough to help people attracted to that error by way of a broken heart.  A big part of the reason why people are listening to Rob Bell, is that Rob Bell is listening to them.

Bell writes in his previous book, Love Wins:

“And that is the secret deep in the heart of many people, especially Christians:  they don’t love God.  They can’t, because the God they’ve been presented with and taught about can’t be loved.  That God is terrifying and traumatizing and unbearable.”

When the hurting hearts for whom Bell writes see Christians steeped in historical orthodoxy taking so much time to mock him, or when they see his detractors gloating over a televised browbeating he gets while explaining his books – the proceeds of which typically fund Christ-like endeavors such as giving impoverished people access to clean water – their hearts tilt all the more in the direction of Bell’s teaching.

The easy response to this phenomenon is to complain about how false teaching often gets a pass because its proponents seem kinder than those who criticize it.  Frustrating as that fact may be, let’s focus our energies not on lamenting the difficulty of proclaiming truth in a politically correct culture, but rather on loving the truth well enough to proclaim it lovingly, on being as Jesus instructed His disciples to be – “…wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mark 10:16).  The proclamation of the gospel sometimes requires forceful and even loud denunciations of false teaching and false teachers, but perhaps in our pride we sometimes confuse godless bravado for gospel boldness.  Perhaps we sometimes confuse righteous rejoicing in the truth with the macho celebration of making a false teacher look stupid.

We must remember that proclaiming and rejoicing in the truth means feeling its weight.  Paul demonstrates this posture of heart in Romans 9-11, one stretch of Scripture particularly destructive to Bell’s theology.  Before Paul ascends to the doxological stratosphere of Romans 11, we find him on the ground in Romans 9, weeping.  He has unceasing anguish in his heart for his countrymen who’ve rejected their Messiah.  Do our hearts truly break while we behold in our day so many souls being turned away from Christ by teaching which claims to represent Him?

As we turn our hearts toward those disillusioned with the established church, we must not turn them away from those delighted to be within it.  The sheep must be protected from wolves who encourage them to be embarrassed at the Shepherd and His Word (See Mark 8:31-38).  As God’s people, we must as did Paul rejoice unashamed in the gospel of Christ and long to see its life changing power recreate people in the image of the One so great as to be creation’s Lord, and so good as to give His life to reconcile rebellious people to the living God.  So let the strident critiques of Bell’s teaching continue to come; let them come with a commensurate willingness to converse compassionately and not simply correct, and let them demonstrate not the pride of self, but the power of the Spirit.

One aspect of moving is the countdown.  You begin to realize the number of times you have with the church and enjoying certain activities with the saints has always been limited in number.  Yet now that number is known, and it is a single digit.  From how many more sermons I have left to preach here to annual church events that our children know is their last, each one becomes a reminder of how imminent the move is.

In reflection, it is often the smaller, concrete memories of church life that bubble up to the surface of your mind.  Each one brings a smile to your face followed by that sadness that lingers in your heart as you realize that season of your life is drawing to a close.  Memories such as…

…eating another delicious meal with the elders and deacons in our quarterly joint meetings that has been lovingly prepared by our wives .

…playing sports with the young people until every muscle aches at our annual Memorial Day picnics and fall camp-outs.

…working in my study in the winter with the warm, toasty feel as the church’s boiler kicks on as I prepare to be with the saints on the Lord’s Day.

…receiving countless pictures like the one above of me preaching that always make me laugh as they “accentuate” my hairline.  Though I think parents are usually encouraging their children to draw pictures of a lesson or illustration in the sermon, somehow these budding artists must see me up there posing like a model.

…watching our associate pastor spy out the church windows at suspicious activity in the surrounding neighborhood.   Jason, a former policeman, has led officers to make quite a number of arrests.  I never see this stuff.

…collecting the weekly quizzes in my little Greek class at the academy and seeing my daughter’s “I LOVE YOU, DADDY!!!” scrawled across the back with hearts all around it.

…having the young children come up to me after the service to show the pastor a missing tooth, tell me about a family event, or, in the case of one young girl, grab my hands so we can jump up and down to laugh at her bouncing pigtails.

…catching my wife’s knowing eye in the midst of the congregation as we sing a psalm portion that has a promise we are both especially leaning on at the time.

…driving up to the building in the springtime and rejoicing in the work either young people or deacons have done to spruce up the yard around the church with trimmed bushes and new mulch.  This year a deacon even planted geraniums that add a handsome touch.

…witnessing once again our congregation warmly welcome and love a needy soul, despite the countless heartaches we have experienced in mercy ministry.

…having the little ones gather around me for a children’s sermon.  So often the object shown triggers eager comments and follow-up discussions after the service.

…honoring anniversaries, guests, special achievements, and birthdays at our fellowship meals.  Indeed, some of our children may be growing up thinking that the second stanza to “Happy Birthday” is “Food Jehovah Gives the Hungry.”

In truth, these are not “little” things.  Rather, like the cords in a rope, they are the multitude of experiences with the saints that are being woven to form the bonds of eternal fellowship (Ephesians 4:1-3).  How comforting to know that, in Christ, time, distance, and even death cannot sever them.

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On addressing the question of which comes first, faith or repentance, Sinclair Ferguson reminds us of John Murray’s answer.  He said that this is “an unnecessary question and the insistence that one is prior to the other is futile. There is no priority.  The faith that is unto salvation is a penitent faith and the repentance that is unto life is a believing repentance…saving faith is permeated with repentance and repentance is permeated with saving faith.” (“Faith and Repentance,” Tabletalk, June 2013

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The heart of your problem is the problem of your heart.

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“We must guard against depriving believers of anything disclosed about predestination in Scripture, lest we seem either wickedly to defraud them of the blessing of their God or to accuse and scoff at the Holy Spirit for having published what it is in any way profitable to suppress… (to suppress this doctrine is) to accuse God indirectly of stupid thoughtlessness as if He had not foreseen the peril…(and to) openly reproach God.” -John Calvin, Institutes, III, xxi.3.4

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One problem with justification by works is that it just does not work.

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“We are to preach the Gospel, not to preach about the Gospel….There are men who think they are preaching the Gospel when actually in fact they are simply saying things about the Gospel…We are not to simply say things about it, we are actually to convey it.  We are the channels through which this Word is to pass to the people.” -Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preachers and Preaching

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“Do not rest in the knowledge of a few doctrines in the letter of truth.  Do not take up with a few passing thoughts and feelings; do not be satisfied with a few fleeting convictions or a few transient desires.  Press on to know the blessed mysteries of the gospel as the food of your soul…Press onward to know the power of the precious gospel you profess, to enjoy it more in your soul, and to manifest its reality more in your conduct, your conversation, and your life.” -J.C. Philpot, Through Baca’s Vale, May 6

In spite of the historic and uniform conviction of the Reformed churches regarding the centrality of preaching as a means of grace, this conviction does not enjoy a lively and ready reception among many Reformed churches today. The Reformation’s view of preaching has been seriously challenged in recent years, even in churches and communions that fall within the Reformed tradition. On the one hand, there is a spirit of democratization and egalitarianism that chafes at the notion of an ordained ministry whose administration of the Word of God in preaching has a place of pre-eminence in the church. When this spirit captivates the churches, all of the members alike become equally “ministers” of the Word of God, the minister of the Word and sacraments being only a specialized expression of a more general activity. And on the other hand, there is a growing prejudice that preaching no longer serves as an effective means of communicating the gospel. This prejudice can give birth to an almost endless proliferation of new devices or strategies for preaching the gospel—from a kind of neo-sacramentalism among some evangelicals to alternatives to preaching in drama, music and other, sometimes esoteric, worship practices. The only common thread holding these devices together is that they constitute an alternative to preaching. The sorry image of preaching today can easily be illustrated by noting that the expression, “to preach to (at) someone,” is generally thought to be objectionable.

While the process of regaining the reformation’s view of preaching while not devaluing the various ministries of discipleship in the church may be a difficult one of unsteady progress, we do well to begin by recognizing the problem.

It sounds like Calvin saw remarkable similarity in the sacramental theology of Zwingli and Luther. According to Calvin, much of the controversy that subsequently overshadowed their positions was due to poorly chosen words, fiery reactions, and a refusal to listen to what opponents actually intended once trenches had been dug. There is much wisdom in Calvin’s assessment of this historic debate. Perhaps if he were alive today, Calvin might himself contribute a post to a blog called “Gentle Reformation” with words like these for us to learn from. 

Here is the extract from Calvin’s treatise to which I refer:

When Luther began to teach [on the Lord's Supper], he took a view of the subject which seemed to imply, that in regard to the corporal presence in the Supper he was willing to leave the generally received opinion untouched; for while condemning transubstantiation, he said that the bread was the body of Christ, inasmuch as it was united with him. Besides, he added similitudes which were somewhat harsh and rude; but he was in a manner compelled to do so, as he could not otherwise explain his meaning. For it is difficult to give an explanation of so high a matter without using some impropriety of speech.

On the other hand arose Zuinglius and Oecolompadius, who, considering the abuse and deceit which the devil had employed in establishing such a carnal presence of Christ as had been taught and held for more than six hundred years, thought it unlawful to disguise their sentiments, since that view implied an execrable idolotry, in that Jesus Christ was worshipped as enclosed in the bread. Now, as it was very difficult to remove this opinion, which had been so long rooted in the hearts of men, they applied all their talents to bring it into discredit, showing how gross an error it was not to recognise what is so clearly declared in Scripture touching the ascension of Jesus Christ, that he has been received in his humanity into heaven, and will remain there until he descend to judge the world. Meantime, while engrossed with this point, they forgot to show what presence of Jesus Christ ought to be believed in the Supper, and what communion of his body and blood is there received.

Luther thought that they meant to leave nothing but bare signs without their spiritual substance. Accordingly he began to resist them to the face, and call them heretics. After the contention was once begun it got more inflamed by time, and has thus continued too bitterly for the space of fifteen years or so without the parties ever listening to each other in a peaceful temper. For though they once had a conference, there was such alienation that they parted without any agreement. Instead of meeting on some good ground, they have always receded more and more, looking to nothing else than to defend their own view and refute the opposite.

We thus see wherein Luther failed on his side, and Zuinglius and Oecolompadius on theirs. It was Luther’s duty first to have given notice that it was not his intention to establish such a local presence as the Papist’s dream; secondly, to protest that he did not mean to have the sacrament adored instead of God; and lastly, to abstain from those similitudes so harsh and difficult to be conceived, or have used them with moderation, interpreting them so that they could not give rise to any scandal. After the debate was moved, he exceeded bounds as well in declaring his opinion, as in blaming others with too much sharpness of speech. For instead of explaining himself in such a way as to make it possible to receive his view, he, with his accustomed vehemence in assailing those who contradicted him, used hyperbolical forms of speech very difficult to be borne by those who otherwise were not much disposed to believe at his nod. The other party also offended, in being so bent on declaiming against the superstitious and fanatical opinion of the Papists, touching the local presence of Jesus Christ within the sacrament, and the perverse adoration consequent upon it, that they laboured more to pull down what was evil than to build up what was good; for though they did not deny the truth, they did not teach it so clearly as they ought to have done. I mean that in their too great anxiety to maintain that the bread and wine are called the body of Christ, because they are signs of them, they did not attend to add, that though they are signs, the reality is conjoined with them, and thus protest, that they had no intention whatever to obscure the true communion which the Lord gives us in his body and blood by this sacrament.

Both parties failed in not having the patience to listen to each other in order to follow the truth without passion, when it would have been found. Nevertheless, let us not lose sight of our duty, which is not to forget the gifts which the Lord bestowed upon them, and the blessings which he has distributed to us by their hands and means. For if we are not ungrateful and forgetful of what we owe them, we shall be well able to pardon that and much more, without blaming and defaming them. In short, since we see that they were, and still are, distinguished for holiness of life, excellent knowledge, and ardent zeal to edify the Church, we ought always to judge and speak of them modestly, and even with reverence; since at last God, after having thus humbled them, has in mercy been pleased to put an end to this unhappy disputation, or at least to calm it preparatory to its final settlement. I speak thus, because no formulary has yet been published in which concord is fixed, as is most expedient. But this will be when God will be pleased to assemble those who are to frame it in one place.

-John Calvin, “Short Treatise on the Supper of our Lord, in Which is Shown Its True Institution, Benefit, and Utility” (1540), pp195–7. In, John Calvin, Tracts Containing Treatises on the Sacraments, Catechism of the Church of Geneva, Forms of Prayer, and Confessions of Faith. Henry Beveridge, trans.; Calvin Translation Society; Edinburgh, 1859; vol. 2, pp163–98.