The Golden Book of Christian Life

John Calvin
Historical Theology I, Shepherds Theological Seminary
Russ White, April 2012

At first appearance, Calvins Golden Book of Christian Life is yet another collection of
sayings, perhaps modeled on the Proverbs, on living the Christian life. A deeper look, however,
reveals a larger pattern radiating from the pen of Calvin. Here the reader can find a reflection of
Calvins strong taste for order in the realms of theology and government in the meaning and
living out of Christianity through everyday life.
Calvin begins with a simple thesis: the goal of the Christian life is to live in harmony
with Gods melody, and the only true way to find the right harmony to offset Gods law is
through obedience. This immediately raises the question, obedience to what? Saying, be
obedient to God, is too broad to be useful. Calvins answer is immediate and sure obedience
to God is founded in humility before the Scriptures, in accepting the Scriptures as the true and
absolute Word of God. He compares the Scriptures to works of philosophy, showing how they
are different from these works in both their thrust and their effect.
But what does obedience to the Scriptures look like? How can one be humble before the
Scriptures? Again, Calvin has a set of ready answers to this question, beginning with self-denial.
We are not our own, therefore neither our reason nor our will should guide us in our thoughts
and actions. We are not our own, therefore we should not seek what is expedient to the flesh. We
are not our own, therefore let us forget ourselves and our own interests as far as possible. But we
are Gods own; to him, therefore, let us live and die. We are Gods own; therefore let his wisdom

and will dominate all our actions. We are Gods own; therefore let every part of our existence be
directed toward him as our only legitimate goal.
He continues his treatise with Patience in Crossbearing, where he argues that in order to
truly hold yourself in humility before the Scriptures, you must also be patient in the cross God
has given you to bear. He carries this thought forward by pointing out that there is crown without
a Cross in Hopefulness for the Next World. Finally, he considers the practical implications of
living the Christian life in The Right Use of the Present Life. This last section is the most
practical of the work, specifically focusing on how the Christian should use this present life to
the glory of God, accepting where God has put him , and realizing that God has his own purposes
that are being fulfilled, no matter what might appear to be. For instance, Calvin has very helpful
words for all those who feel they are laboring in the background.
Anyone who is not in the front ranks should be content to accomplish his private task,
and should not desert the place where the Lord has put him. It will be no small comfort for his
cares, labors, troubles, and other burdens, when a man knows that in all these matters God is his
guide. In a world where popularity is the only measure of success, where there are actually
services designed to measure social influence, this is a crucial lesson for the Christian to learn.
While Calvins work is a solid place to look for a challenging view of the Christian life,
particularly one that will force the reader to step outside the modern culture of immediate
gratification, there are still issues with the Golden Booklet. First, and foremost, while much of
the language is focused on God, there is still an undertone of what I can do to please God. This
may have been a breath of fresh air in Calvins day, but in the current me centered culture, it
might be all too easy to take this entire work as just another self-help book intent on giving rather
self-centered advice.

At the same time, there is a strong undertone of fatalism. Again, this undertone was
probably not so strongly recognized within Calvins own culture in fact, its quite possible that
his work was seen as almost frivolous at the time this was written. In a world where it was
common for half the children born to a family to die before reaching adulthood, and entire
families to be wiped out in wars on a regular basis, the insistence that Gods providence works to
the good might have seemed almost euphoric in tone.
The one real weakness in Calvins work is the buried contradiction between the allpervasive providence of God on the one hand, and the need for personal works of spiritual
growth and moral acts on the other. Calvin doesnt seem to bring these two things together in any
meaningful way, nor does he bring to the front the problem of personal works for spiritual
growth while holding a belief that all spiritual growth is really based on the effort of God, rather
than the individual believer. It might be a bit much to expect this sort of theological depth in a
work that is clearly designed to be more practical, however.
This little book is well worth reading for the average Christian, especially if the culture
and worldview of the time in which it was written are taken into account.