Schaff - History of the Christian Church Vol. 8 - Media Sabda Org

477
is the foundation of human morality, and must be an essential attribute of
the Deity. A man who says the reverse of what he means is called, in plain
English, a hypocrite and a liar. It does not help the matter when Calvin
says, repeatedly, that there are not two wills in God, but only two ways of
speaking adapted to our weakness. Nor does it remove the difficulty when
he warns us to rely on the revealed will of God rather than brood over his
secret will.
The greatest, the deepest, the most comforting word in the Bible is the
word, “God is love,” and the greatest fact in the world’s history is the
manifestation of that love in the person and the work of Christ. That word
and this fact are the sum and substance of the gospel, and the only solid
foundation of Christian theology. The sovereignty of God is acknowledged
by Jews and Mohammedans as well as by Christians, but the love of God is
revealed only in the Christian religion. It is the inmost essence of God, and
the key to all his ways and works. It is the central truth which sheds light
upon all other truths.
§ 115. CALVIN’S THEORY OF THE SACRAMENTS.
Inst. bk. IV. chs. XIV.–XIX.
Next to the doctrine of predestination, Calvin paid most attention to the
doctrine of the sacraments. And here he was original, and occupied a
mediating position between Luther and Zwingli. His sacramental theory
passed into all the Reformed Confessions more than his view of
predestination.
Calvin accepts Augustin’s definition that a sacrament (corresponding to the
Greek “mystery”) is “a visible sign of an invisible grace,” but he improves it
by emphasizing the sealing character of the sacrament, according to Rom.
4:11, and the necessity of faith as the condition of receiving the benefit of
the ordinance. “It is,” he says, “an outward sign by which the Lord seals in
our consciences the promises of his good-will towards us, to support the
weakness of our faith, or a testimony of his grace towards us, with a
reciprocal attestation of our piety towards him.” It is even more expressive
than the word. It is a divine seal of authentication, which sustains and
strengthens our faith. “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief” (Mark
9:24). To be efficacious, the sacraments must be accompanied by the
Spirit, that internal Teacher, by whose energy alone our hearts are
penetrated, and our affections moved. Without the influence of the Spirit,