John Calvin on Evangelism and Missions

From his own lifetime onward John Calvin has been a controversial person. One controversy stems from the accusations leveled against him by many that he was completely unevangelistic and unconcerned about missions. A. M. Hunter, in his book on Calvin's teaching, said, "Certainly he [Calvin] displayed no trace of missionary enthusiasm."[1] Some have even said that Calvin's teaching on predestination necessarily destroyed evangelistic fervor; "we are all familiar with the scornful rationalization that facilely asserts that his horrible doctrine of divine election makes nonsense of all missionary and evangelistic activity."[2] Others, however, have said: "One of the natural results of Calvin's perspective of predestination was an intensified zeal for evangelism."[3] Though some have used Calvin's teachings to excuse their apathy towards evangelism, a close examination of Calvin's historical context, his writings, and his actions would prove John Calvin to be a man truly committed to the spread of the gospel.

In order to understand John Calvin, or any other historical figure, one must understand the time in which the person lived and worked. Calvin emerged as a Reformation leader in 1536 with the publication of The Institutes of the Christian Religion and remained in leadership until his death in 1564. Thus, Calvin was a generation after Luther, and the Reformation, well entrenched in Germany, was spreading all over Europe. However, there was little organization among the churches that had split with Rome. Historian Owen Chadwick noted that

The problem now was not the overthrow of the papacy, but the construction of new modes of power . . . In breaking down papal authority, the Reformation seemed to have left the authority of the Christian ministry vague and uncertain.[4]

Protestant groups, who had been accustomed to strong central authority in Rome, were now only loosely organized and, though they claimed scripture for their authority, they disagreed on what the scriptures meant with regard to certain doctrines. By the time that Calvin gained prominence in 1536, Protestant churches were in great need of organization and structure in their doctrine and practice.

In addition to the disorganization within, there was a persecution from without. The scattered condition of Protestantism was only worsened by the intense efforts of the Roman Church to eradicate the Protestant movement. Protestant churches were struggling not only for their identity but also for their very survival. Calvin himself had to leave France for personal safety, and he wrote the first edition of the Institutes in response to the ill treatment of French Protestants. Identification with Protestantism brought immediate punishment, including torture and even death.

Obviously, Calvin's era was a time of intense difficulty for Protestant churches. The demands of the day led him to spend a considerable amount of his energy developing a church organization, writing theology, and training ministers. With such pressing needs one might understand if Calvin neglected evangelism or missions. After all, the church itself and its message must first be established. Moreover, preaching Reformation doctrine in areas other than the Protestant cities would mean almost certain death. However, even these pressing needs and problems, which would immobilize many churches today, did not stop the evangelistic efforts of Calvin and his followers.

Calvin's writings on predestination have most often been targeted as unevangelistic and destructive to missionary zeal. Calvin addressed predestination primarily in related parts of his Institutes and in his treatise, Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, which J. K. S. Reid called "the longest and most sustained exposition which Calvin wrote on the subject."[5] Dealing with predestination in the Institutes, Calvin does not directly address evangelism specifically, but neither does he describe it as unnecessary. He does, in fact, write several times about the gospel being preached to the masses, resulting in the salvation of the elect and the hardening of the non-elect (III.23.10; II.5.10). In other words, Calvin did not limit the preaching of the gospel to those considered to be elect. He explains his views more fully in his treatise on predestination:

Since we do not know who belongs to the number of the predestined and who does not, it befits us so to feel as to wish that all be saved. So it will come about that, whoever we come across, we shall study to make him a sharer of peace . . . even severe rebuke will be administered like medicine, lest they should perish or cause others to perish. But it will be for God to make it effective in those whom He foreknew and predestined.[6]

Calvin clearly encouraged Christians to be involved in evangelism! "It befits us" to desire all people to be saved. The result of this proper desire should make us try to lead everyone "we come across" to faith in Christ, for that is the only way they could share in peace. This is not to be a half-hearted effort. Christians are to use "even severe rebuke" if necessary to prevent others from ignoring the gospel and perishing. Christians must make the effort to evangelize everyone knowing that only God can save.

Calvin's doctrine of predestination did not make the preaching of the gospel unnecessary; instead, it made preaching necessary because it was by the preaching of the gospel that God had chosen to save the predestined.

Aside from his writings on predestination, Calvin also strongly supported the idea of missions with passages widely scattered throughout his commentaries.[7] Commenting on Micah 2:1-4, Calvin states, "The Kingdom of Christ was only begun in the world when God commanded the gospel to be every where proclaimed and . . . at this day its course is not as yet complete."[8] In other words the Great Commission was not fulfilled by the apostles and, consequently, this mission is still the responsibility of Christians.

Calvin expressed similar views as he commented on 1 Tim. 2:4, saying "there is no people and no rank in the world that is excluded from salvation; because God wishes that the gospel should be proclaimed to all without exception."[9] He is not, of course, saying that everyone in the world would be saved, but that certain people from all parts of the world would be saved. The whole idea of the passage is that God desires "foreign nations" to hear the gospel and to be included in salvation. It is the Christian's duty "to be solicitous and to do our endeavor for the salvation of all whom God includes in his calling."[10]

No one should be denied the opportunity of hearing the gospel proclaimed. Continuing to verse five of the same passage, Calvin writes that those people insult God "who, by their opinion, shut out any person from the hope of salvation."[11] The gospel is to be preached indiscriminately to all people, and the decision about who will believe is to be left to God.

Indeed, Calvin never portrays God as a cruel tyrant grudgingly allowing some to be saved. In a comment on Ezek. 18:23, he states:

God certainly desires nothing more than for those who are perishing and rushing toward death to return to the way of safety. This is why the gospel is today proclaimed throughout the world, for God wished to testify to all the ages that he is greatly inclined to pity.[12]

God desires for men to be saved and by His election has assured that some will be. It is the fact that God will definitely call some that encourages believers to "bestow more toil and exertion for the instruction of rebels," realizing that "our duty is, to be employed in sowing and watering, and while we do this we must look for the increase from God."[13] Clearly, Calvin recognized the need for Christians to exert effort in evangelism in order to be used of God to call out His elect. He saw evangelism as a duty and employment involving "toil and exertion." Such is far from an indifferent attitude toward evangelism.

Perhaps the best evidence of Calvin's concern for missions is the mission activity of the Genevan church under his leadership. Under Calvin's leadership, Geneva became "the hub of a vast missionary enterprise"[14] and "a dynamic center or nucleus from which the vital missionary energy it generated radiated out into the world beyond."[15] Protestant refugees from all over Europe fled to Geneva; they came not merely for safety but also to learn from Calvin the doctrines of the Reformation so they could return home to spread the true gospel. Philip Hughes notes that Geneva became a "school of missions" which had as one of its purposes

to send out witnesses who would spread the teaching of the Reformation far and wide . . . . It [Geneva] was a dynamic centre of missionary concern and activity, an axis from which the light of the Good News radiated forth through the testimony of those who, after thorough preparation in this school, were sent forth in the service of Jesus Christ."[16]

Thus was Calvin's missionary concern reflected in the church he served and the students he taught.

The pastors of Geneva, including Calvin himself, met regularly and kept sporadic notes of their actions in a register, which became the greatest source of information on the missionary activity in Geneva. In April 1555 the Register of the Company of Pastors for the first time listed men who were sent out from Geneva to "evangelize Foreign Parts."[17] The entry that mentioned these men stated that they had been sent out prior to April 1555, and they were already ministering in the Piedmont valleys.[18] More ministers may have been sent out before this time without being recorded in the Register because the notes were not complete and it was often dangerous to record the names of missionaries.

By 1557 it was a normal part of business for the Genevan pastors to send missionaries into France. Robert M. Kingdon called it a "concentrated missionary effort."[19] By 1562, religious wars had broken out in France, and it was no longer safe to record the names of missionaries. However, between 1555 and 1562 the Register records 88 men by name who were sent out from Geneva to different places as "bearers of the gospel."[20]

In reality many more than 88 were sent. In one year, 1561, though the Register mentions only twelve missionaries, other sources indicate that at least 142 missionaries were sent![21] Hundreds of men were sent out, reaching Italy, Germany, Scotland, England, and practically covering France.[22] From all over Europe requests came to Geneva for ministers of the gospel and the Genevan Company of Pastors filled as many as possible. At times even their own churches were deprived of pastors in order to meet the needs of struggling groups abroad.[23] Thus, Geneva, under Calvin's direction, served as the heart of the Reformation in Europe, pumping out the lifeblood of trained ministers into all areas.

In addition to the extensive work in Europe, one group of Genevan missionaries was sent to Brazil. The Register simply states that on Tuesday, August 25, 1556, M. Pierre Richier and M. Guillaume were sent as ministers to Brazil. "These two were subsequently commended to the care of the Lord and sent off with a letter from this church."[24] The ministers were sent in response to a request from Admiral Coligny, a Huguenot leader. They were to serve as chaplains for a group of Protestants who were going to Brazil to establish a colony, and they would have opportunity to instruct the natives in the gospel.[25] One man who went on the trip wrote that, upon receiving the request,

the church of Geneva at once gave thanks to God for the extension of the reign of Jesus Christ in a country so distant and likewise so foreign and among a nation entirely without knowledge of the true God.[26]

Sadly, the mission was not successful because the leader of the group betrayed the Protestants. Some were killed, and others were sent back to Europe. Though the mission failed, it remains "a striking testimony to the far reaching missionary vision of Calvin and his Genevan colleagues."[27]

Though evangelism was not discussed as much in the sixteenth century as it would be later, Calvin proved himself to be genuinely concerned for the spread of the true gospel. In light of the situation of the world around him, his mission activity, and that of his colleagues, is truly admirable. His writings also show that he believed the gospel should be preached to all. The missionary endeavors of the Genevan church especially prove Calvin's commitment to missions. Speaking of these efforts, Philip Hughes states,

Here is irrefutable proof of the falsity of the too common conclusion that Calvinism is incompatible with evangelism and spells death to all missionary enterprise.[28]

Clearly, Calvin must have believed his teachings were compatible with mission work since he was so involved in such work himself. Whether or not one agrees with all of Calvin's views or actions, one must admit the great reformer's teachings (including predestination) do indeed support evangelism and mission work.

Beaver, R. Pierce. "The Genevan Mission to Brazil." In The Heritage of John Calvin, ed. J. H. Bratt, 55-73. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973.

Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries. Ephesians - Jude. Wilmington, DE: Associated Publishers and Authors, n.d.

. Calvin's Commentaries. Vol. 7, The Gospels. Grand Rapids: Associated Publishers and Authors, Inc., n.d.

. Calvin: Commentaries. Edited by Joseph Haroutunian. Vol. 23, The Library of Christian Classics, eds. Baillie, McNeill, Van Dusen. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1963.

. Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion. Edited by John T. McNeill. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. Vols. 20-21, The Library of Christian Classics, eds. Baillie, McNeill, Van Dusen. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960.

. Calvin's New Testament Commentaries. The Epistles Paul the Apostle to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Edited by David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance. Translated by T. H. L. Parker. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965.

Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God. Translated by J. K. S. Reid. London: James Clarke and Co. Limited, 1961.

Chadwick, Owen. The Reformation. Vol. 3, The Penguin History of the Church, ed. Owen Chadwick. Pelican Books, 1964; reprint, New York: Penguin Group, Penguin Books, 1990.

Gerstner, John H. A Predestination Primer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960; reprint, Winona Lake, IN: Alpha Publications, 1980.

Hughes, Philip E. "John Calvin: Director of Missions." In The Heritage of John Calvin, ed. J. H. Bratt, 40-54. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1973.

. ed. and trans. The Register of the Company of Pastors of Geneva in the Time of Calvin. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966.

Hunter, A. Mitchell. The Teaching of Calvin, A Modern Interpretation. Glasgow: Maclehose, Jackson, and Company, 1920.

James, Frank A., III. "Calvin and Missions." Christian History 5, no. 4 (Fall 1986) : 23.

"It was both 'a horrible decree' and 'very sweet fruit."' Christian History, 5, no. 4 (Fall 1986) : 24-26.

Kingdon, Robert M. "Calvinist Religious Aggression." In The French Wars of Religion, How Important Were Religious Factors?, ed. J. H. M. Salmon, 6-11. Problems in European Civilization, eds. Ralph W. Greenlaw and Dwight E. Lee. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1967.

Kuiper, R. B. God Centered Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1961; reprint, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1978.

McGrath, Alister E. A Life of John Calvin, a Study in the Shaping of Western Culture. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1990.

McNeill, John T. The History and Character of Calvinism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954.

The goal of any theological debate would be to arrive at a clear biblical position.

I'm not sure if by this you mean (a)the participants in the debate arrive at a clearer understanding of their own position, or (b)the participants arrive at a clear understanding of their opponents position, or (c)the participants arrive at the same clear biblical position.

It will be my prayer that those who participate in the discussions on this forum would be given the discernment to know when they have gotten as far as they're likely to get and they put any animosity at the feet of their Savior.

Furthermore, self-examination should take place before entering a debate as to the motive for participation. Am I participating in a debate because I desire truth or because I want to bring down the opposition?

Xzins, It is my opinion that there is such a lack of forgiveness that a bitter root has grown up in these "Calminian Wars" between some of the participants. I'm not sure that debate can take place without the festering of old wounds that never heal.

It is disturbing because it destroys our witness. One of the goals of debate, where there is an audience, is to present to the hearers, in this case lurkers, a clear biblical position for our faith. It is a way of evangelizing. What message are we sending?

Then why are you so compelled to do it, and to sprinkle your reply with ad hominems and insults?

I suppose it has to do with pride. Although beating that position of yours isn't much to be proud of, being akin to outboxing a five-year-old.

I've laid out my position, you've laid out yours (complete with insults to my intelligence). I'd say we are at an impasse, so unless you have some more insults to throw out, I'd say we leave it at that.

It would be an impasse, if your position had even a tiny scintilla of credibility. But it's jaw-droppingly stupid.

Incidentally, I'm not calling YOU stupid, just this view of yours. I suspect the problem on your end is also pride. You can't just admit you said something stupid, so instead you did something even stupider: you went on defending it. That's bound to make you say stupid things, when you could've just admitting to sticking your foot in it and been over it.

Are you saying that it was a "sin" for the secular authorities of Geneva to execute Servetus?

I believe we are working from the premise that Calvin executed Servetus.

I am also saying that even secular authorities will be judged by the morality of the judgments they carry out. Just because the government sanctions a particular execution does not mean that those responsible for bringing the charges, the witnesses against the accused, the Jury, or the executioner will be absolved of MORAL responsibility.

I assume most of your message was directed to Ag. Calvinist
but I agree with the gravamen of your argument (if I
understand it). The words "relative', "sin", "morality",
etc., have to be more precisely defined if we are to under-
stand what we are saying to each other.I think - as do all
historians, philosophers of history, and most theologians
that there IS such a phenomenon as HISTORICAL relativism.
This can easily be confused with MORAL relativism even
though the two are NOT synonymous. Philosophers of history
from the classical period up to Toynbee and R.G. Collingwood have adduced from the data of history that
"morality" (in either the relative or absolute sense)
would fall within the broader penumbra of "history"
and must be evaluated and defined within that context.
These philosophers of history are historians but MORE
than just that -- they search for the laws and principles
that determine the rise and fall of civilizations.
In other words (I'm forced to oversimplify!) the "morality"
of Calvin when he had Servetus burned 1n 1553 was an act
that Calvin saw as necessary to further the cause of
righteousness and advance the Divine Will by following
the divine imperative to crush and extirpate heresy and
blasphemy. The "heretic" was dangerous because he jeopardized the SOULS AND SALVATION OF OTHERS by spreading
his damnable beliefs to them. This is why, during the
Spanish Inquisition, the burning of a heretic was called
"auto de fe" - act of faith. You furthered true religion
by saving others from damnation. As I suggested, this is
a great oversimplification but one has to try. Let me
say to all the others with whom I've corresponded, that
I think its been a great and interesting dialogue! Thanks,
P.S. A moral absolute can exist within historical
relativity.

1n 1553 was an act that Calvin saw as necessary to further the cause of righteousness and advance the Divine Will by following the divine imperative to crush and extirpate heresy and blasphemy. The "heretic" was dangerous because he jeopardized the SOULS AND SALVATION OF OTHERS by spreading his damnable beliefs to them.

Which if he actually believed his Calvinism he would have realized was impossible since no one (not even Servetus and his heeresies) is able to pluck the elect from the hand of God.

The fact that Calvin was afraid of Servetus' heresy and feared that people's eternal salvation could be jeopardized by this man's teachings is conclusive evidence that he did not believe his own theology. If he believed it, he would have realized that heresy posed no danger, that the elect would believe only the truth, that no man's salvation could be affected by the actions or beliefs or teachings of a mere heretic and that the number of elect was fixed long before God himself turned Michael Servetus into a raging heretic.

You sound like a brilliant Jesuit of the Counter-Reformation -- that's a compliment! I don't subscribe to
Calvinist doctrine (remember TULIP?) but I'll try to play
Devil's Advocate (Calvin would like that term!) The
paradox you cited is what many say is the Achilles' heel
of his theology. It goes (again, oversimplification!)
something like this: If EVERYTHING is predestined --
unconditional election - then what does it all matter?
But Calvin did say the we should live AS IF we had free
will and try to comport with the Gospel imperatives
for the simple reason that NO HUMAN can fathom the divine
mystery concerning election -- and FURTHERMORE!! -- if
you act as though YOU know you are among the elect or
the damned -- you are being filled with the sin of pride
and assuring your own fall! A story is told about Cotton
Mather giving his notorious sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God" to his Calvinist comngregation in New England
-- but that can wait.

Now that I've got my Puritans straightened outI remember
that his sermon used to be included in many American
literature anthologies. He did have great facility in
the English language. That's probably why I had to read
it - however I remember only one great line within it:
"... he looks upon you as a spider- or some other loathsome
insect." And, speaking of insects, I had to read something
else he wrote about spiders spinning their webs. This was
not in a religious context but a "scientific" one, to
demonstrate his acute power of empirical observation.
He was obviously quite intelligent. Did you know that
the VERY FIRST Puritan clergy who came over were in
Anglican holy orders? Thus the name Puritan -- they were
clergy who wanted to "purify" the Church of England of
popery and Roman Catholic accretions. Of course they
very quickly fell away from apostolic holy orders and
became Congregational and a hodgepodge of other things.
In fact,in Hawthorne's Scarlet letter which went back
to the very firt Puritan clergy, he refers to Arthur
Dimsdale as a "priest." That's testimony to his very
perceptive and informed historical knowledge.

The "heretic" was dangerous because he jeopardized the SOULS AND SALVATION OF OTHERS by spreading his damnable beliefs to them. This is why, during the Spanish Inquisition, the burning of a heretic was called "auto de fe" - act of faith. You furthered true religion by saving others from damnation

my my grandmummy, what big teeth you have!

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