Feed Souls With the Bread of Heaven

“If a man chooses someone to manage his household, he assigns him duties. What duties, then, has God assigned to us, if not to impart to his people the food of life, that is, his word? Without that, does the title ‘pastor’ mean anything at all? Someone who claimed to be the shepherd of a flock of sheep or the keeper of a herd of cows, but who lets the poor beasts starve to death, would surely deserve to be stoned. Yet we are shepherds, not of brute beasts but of God’s children! Our task is to feed, not bodies with food that perishes, but souls with the bread of heaven. If we do not have what is needed to fulfil our office, do we not mock God by usurping so noble a title when the reality is otherwise?

Observe, then, that to be a pastor, overseer, minister, presbyter and ruler of the church is to be one whose teaching edifies God’s people.”

—John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Sermons on Titus (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2015), 88. Calvin said this while preaching on Titus 1:9-10.

All That Was Necessary For Our Salvation

“Nothing could be clearer, for our Lord Jesus Christ has perfectly fulfilled all that was necessary for our salvation. Are we afraid, then, because we are sinners? We find righteousness in the Son of God. Does our ignorance distress us? He is given to all for wisdom. Are we captives and slaves to Satan? He is the one who ransoms us. Are we corrupt and defiled? He sanctifies us. Are we weak? He is God’s power to strengthen us. Do we see only filth in ourselves? He is the source of all purity. Have we nothing but death in us? He is life, and lord over death for he has vanquished it. The fathers waited for these things in hope; today they are given to us in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

—John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Sermons on Titus (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2015), 24. Calvin said this while preaching on Titus 1:1-4.

Mercy Gets Final Say

“Your self-evaluation depends on the evaluation he makes and the stance he takes. If the Lord is merciful, then mercy gets final say. It is beyond our comprehension that God acts mercifully for his sake, because of what he is like. Wrap your heart around this, and the typical aftermath of sin will never be the same. You will stand in joy and gratitude, not grovel in shame. You’ll be able to get back about the business of life with fresh resolve, not just with good intentions and some flimsy New Year’s resolutions to do better next time. This is our hope. This is our deepest need. This is our Lord’s essential and foundational gift.”

—David Powlison, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 47

God Wishes To Embrace Us As His Children

“God’s love, we learn, was shown not only when Christ came into the world and took human flesh, but also when the gospel was preached, so that wretched unbelievers might share in this priceless gift. Today God’s love is revealed when he gathers us into his flock and rescues us from our dire distress, to the end that, as members of his house and church, we might be certain of the inheritance prepared for us in heaven. Having heard, then, of God’s free goodness and of the fatherly love which comes from it, we may be sure that he shows the same to us today. For when the gospel is preached to us, it is like a lamp that gives us light, allowing us to perceive what before was hidden. Until we come to know God’s goodwill we are more or less entombed in darkness. Yet God is kind and gracious, assuring us that he is near to us and wishes to embrace us as his children. Now that he has sent us his word and made us certain of his truth, we cannot doubt that he has secured salvation for us.”

—John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Sermons on Titus (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2015), 248-249. Calvin said this while preaching on Titus 3:3-5.

So That Justice May Prevail

“Why, after all, do we have kings, rulers, magistrates and judges? It is so that men do not devour each other like cats and dogs; it is so that justice may prevail, so that the strongest do not get their own way, so that the poor and lowly are not trodden down and eaten up. That is why the order of justice has been set up. It cannot be denied that sometimes those charged with that responsibility do not always do their duty: they may oppress the good and protect the wicked. Nevertheless, to have some form of government is always in our interests. Supposing there was much serious evil, as is often the case—would to God we saw no such thing close at hand! And supposing there were tyrants, crooked individuals, leaders who were steeped in wickedness, who perverted religion and whose greed knew no bounds. Even so it is better to have a bad government than to have none at all. For if none existed, alas, what would become of us? It would be better if we disappeared into a bottomless pit!”

—John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Sermons on Titus (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2015), 231. Calvin said this while preaching on Titus 2:15-3:2.

The World Holds Us In Its Thrall

“Still, it is not enough to recognize that life is short and fleeting, that our course will soon be done and that therefore we need not faint. We must also look to the hope to which we are called. Why? The reason we are not keen to dedicate ourselves to God is that we see no benefit for ourselves, no tangible gain. If only God were there to cheer us on! Now God does not wait for us to serve him first before he blesses us. Nevertheless he does not want to make life in this world so easy for us that we risk falling asleep. We remember that he said that those who are interested only in present things have already received their reward (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16). Our Lord on the other hand bids us fix our sights on the kingdom of heaven. This life is full of many anxieties and troubles which surround us on every side. All the sufferings which we endure are so many jabs of the spur by which God goads us, in order to draw us to himself, to turn our thoughts to heavenly things and to withdraw us from this world.

That is why Paul speaks particularly here of hope. What he suggests is that we should not be surprised if men are more than cool when it comes to serving God. That is because their eyes are fixed on earthly things which are their sole concern. Instead of contemplating the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ we turn away; the world holds us in its thrall, dazzles us with its seductions and robs us of all sense. Let us learn, then, that the one true way to serve God is to pass swiftly through this world, conscious that God has placed us on earth on the condition that we journey as strangers and do not make our nest here. And although he may grant us periods of rest we must continue on, as we look to him and to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is certain that until we reach that goal, however grand we may appear to be, all within us is simply vanity.

The first rule of a well-ordered life is to understand that God has not arranged for us to lodge here forever; he wants us to reach out to him in the certainty of the blessed coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus to the word ‘hope’ Paul adds ‘the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ’. Paul appears to say: ‘My friend, we are not meant to aim as if by chance at the kingdom of heaven, in the vague hope that we may reach it. We know who has made this promise to us. God is trustworthy, so let us rely on his faithfulness’.”

—John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Sermons on Titus (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2015), 212-213. Calvin said this while preaching on Titus 2:11-14.

Worse Than Brute Beasts

“And instead of letting nature do its work of leading us to God, so that we know him and behold him, we are worse than the brute beasts. For although beasts cannot distinguish between right and wrong, they remain within their bounds and limitations. Although they obey their natural instincts, they at least rest once their needs are satisfied; and when they have rested they go back to work. When hungry they eat their food, or else they look for it. Yet how pitiful is man, who tries to hide his instincts and always plays false! We are reckless and impatient in our wants. Not content with rest and comfort, we are happy only when we sow confusion and mingle heaven and earth. In short, because we are entangled in the hear and now and because we never think about the kingdom of heaven, we could not be more depraved…

The brute beasts have a much better life. They fear only for the present; they are immune to worry, are not led by ambition and can foresee no mischief that might befall them. Unlike men they are not jealous of each other; they feel no concern for what might happen a hundred years after their death; they make do with the food that is before them. Men, on the other hand, continually fret, and if God should desert us, where would we be? The world holds us fast; it owns us; we are bound to it—entombed, even, in it! Senseless, we think only of this transitory life. Consequently we see that, in order to draw near to God, we must escape the nature which we inherited from Adam. Above all, we must become new creatures.”

—John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Sermons on Titus (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2015), 204-205. Calvin said this while preaching on Titus 2:11-14.

Thousands of Time Machines

“Picture thousands, even tens of thousands, of time machines suddenly showing up all across the land. The nation gasps. News cameras crowd around them. Government officials and police forces quickly engage these strangers as they climb out of their time machines. It feels like a science-fiction movie about an alien invasion. Yet the people say they are from the future. They represent a coming kingdom, they explain. Interestingly, they speak English, dress like us, and otherwise seem pretty normal.

That said, they admit they want to change the way we live. It almost sounds like, well, what’s the word—colonization? For instance, they want to persuade everyone to join them and give primary allegiance to their king. “But no need to worry,” they contest. “We have no intentions of overthrowing the government. In fact, we will encourage people to obey the present government.” What they mean, though, is that they want people to obey the government for the sake of their king. That sounds a little risky. They also explain that each time machine will hold its own weekly meeting, where they will teach everyone who joins to live according to their king’s standards of justice and righteousness. As a result, yes, they expect some of their members will oppose some of our businesses and industries (though not by taking up arms). And they expect some of their members will work to change some of our laws (but mainly by working through the rules of the system). They conclude by telling us to think of their time-machine gatherings as embassies from the future that we are all hurtling toward, and that they are trying to give us a leg up on that future now.

Goodness gracious—what do we make of these strange people? Are they a political threat or not? Some of us feel like they aren’t. After all, they promise not to take up arms against the government. Others of us feel like they clearly are. They want people to identify with their king and to change the way people live.

Perhaps this illustration sounds far-fetched. But it’s exactly what first-century Palestine experienced when the Christians showed up.”

—Jonathan Leeman, How the Nations Rage (Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2018), 136-137.