I’ve read this quote a few times in books that deal with idolatry. It is no secret that the human heart has a propensity towards idol worship. Calvin is really saying no more than what the apostle Paul said in Romans 1:18-25—because of the fall, humanity worships and services creation instead of the Creator.
We are idolaters. With that statement I agree totally. Furthermore, I believe with Keller, that “idolatry is always the reason we ever do anything wrong”. It’s the root of all our problems.Yet, I still have to wonder if we aren’t misreading and wrongly applying that Calvin quote. I don’t think “perpetual idol factory” is an accurate description of the heart of one transformed by Jesus Christ. Nor do I think that is what Calvin, or more importantly the apostle Paul, is saying. The reference for Paul—and Calvin after him is one that has not yet been redeemed.To say that we are still churning out idols at a perpetual rate is, in my mind, to deny the transforming work of the Spirit within us.
The Image I Prefer
I believe the Scriptures teach that we were idolaters, but we have been washed, we were sanctified, we were justified (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). In other words, our idol factory was bought out by Someone else. We have a new owner. The factory that is your heart has a sign on the door that says, “Under New Ownership”.
Yes, you still churn out some of that old product. The new boss hasn’t gutted out the entire place. He hasn’t fired every one. He even uses some of the same machines that used to produce idols. The transition is a slow process. As such the factory sometimes goes back to its old way of working. That’s why you still produce idols.
But it’s still different. When you produce an idol it is now considered a defect. What once was celebrated is now met with disappointment. The Manager calls the workers to the side and disciplines them. He reminds the crew that this factory doesn’t produce idols anymore, and slowly points to the sign that reads, “Under New Ownership”.
Some day all those old machines will be replaced. The workers will no longer even know how to produce idols. The factory will be totally and completely His. And on that day we’ll all rejoice because our new Boss is marvelous. He’s given everything to ensure that this takeover will not result in business as usual. We love our new Boss and want this factory to look exactly as He designed it.
One day it will…
How about you?
Is your heart under new ownership? If you are still churning out idols without rebuke, without battle, then that tells you something. You haven’t been bought yet. You’re still an idol factory.
You need a new owner.
You need Jesus.
If your management has changed, let’s stop paying homage to our old boss. Let’s stop pretending that our heart is still an idol factory. It’s not. It’s a former idol factory that is being slowly transformed into a factory that serves it’s new owner. May we not forget that.
Bernard’s admonition is worth remembering: The name of Jesus is not only light but also food; it is also oil, without which all food of the soul is dry; it is salt, without whose seasoning whatever I set before us is insipid; finally, it is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, rejoicing in the heart, and at the same time medicine. Every discourse in which his name is not spoken is without savorHat Tip: Credo Magazine
-John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion II.16.
1. Clement of Rome (30-100): “And we, too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”Much more at the link.
2. Epistle to Diognetus (second century): “He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! That the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!”
3. Justin Martyr (100-165) speaks of “those who repented, and who no longer were purified by the blood of goats and of sheep, or by the ashes of an heifer, or by the offerings of fine flour, but by faith through the blood of Christ, and through His death.”
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18. Theodoret of Cyrus (393–457): “The Lord Christ is both God and the mercy seat, both the priest and the lamb, and he performed the work of our salvation by his blood, demanding only faith from us.”
19. Cyril of Alexandria (412-444): “For we are justified by faith, not by works of the law, as Scripture says. By faith in whom, then, are we justified? Is it not in Him who suffered death according to the flesh for our sake? Is it not in one Lord Jesus Christ?”
20. Fulgentius (462–533): “The blessed Paul argues that we are saved by faith, which he declares to be not from us but a gift from God. Thus there cannot possibly be true salvation where there is no true faith, and, since this faith is divinely enabled, it is without doubt bestowed by his free generosity. Where there is true belief through true faith, true salvation certainly accompanies it. Anyone who departs from true faith will not possess the grace of true salvation.”
A lot of stuff is being written (good and bad) about reformer John Calvin this year on the 500th anniversary of his birth. Some interesting tidbits in Ben Witherington's article at Christianity Today on John Calvin as Man of the Bible:"John Calvin was one of the truly great Christian exegetes and, indeed, systematic theologians of all time—never mind that I disagree with a great deal of what he has to say about God, his sovereignty, the nature of his grace, and election, predestination, and human freedom.This is a nice appreciation coming from a respected theologian who is not a Calvinist. Dr. Witherington is the Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary- a Wesleyan school - and a self proclaimed Arminian in his theology.
...he is to be respected for understanding that biblical theology can only be done on the basis of a detailed and comprehensive exegesis of all the relevant material. This is precisely what I have tried to do in my career. I needed to follow Calvin's lead and begin by researching and writing commentaries on the entire New Testament corpus. Exegesis is the basis for all good biblical theology, and the latter should not be attempted without first doing the former."
"I have fond memories of working carefully through Calvin's Institutes for the first time, and being especially surprised by and taken with his profound theology of the Holy Spirit. I remember reading in Gordon-Conwell's newspaper a rather interesting historical curio from a letter of Calvin about how one morning he woke up and found himself speaking in lingua barbaria. The article went on to speculate that Calvin may have spoken in tongues!"Okay, that's a new one on me. Who'd a thunk it!
"All in all, Calvin lived out Bengel's maxim: Apply the whole of the text (of the Bible) to yourself. And apply the whole of yourself to the text. It's a motto by which any Christian should be proud to live."Agreed: that's a good motto for any believer. Think I'll adopt it as mine.
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.2.1
