In the study of Calvin’s Little Book we came to a consideration of the call to “doing good.” This arose in Week’s #6 and #7, and in the context of Galatians 6:10 (pdf repeated again below).
Small sidebar: Calvin wrote (in his Latin original) exercendae erga ipsos beneficentiae*. “Erga” is “therefore,” “ipsos” means “themselves,” and “exercendae” means “that which is to be done,” namely that which is “beneficentiae,” from which we get our (rarely used) word “beneficence.” The prefix “bene” simply means “good” (in French it’s “bon” as in bon voyage, or good voyage). The final word, “beneficence,” or benefit, derives from the Latin word for “to do” or “to make.” So, “charity” in its Old English / King James context is an excellent translation. Today, “love” does not work well because its many other uses and contexts. So, “doing good” is about the best we have, though perhaps something like “really helping” might work as well. D&P chose “kindness,” which sounds a little passive to my ear, something like what being a passenger on a bus or plane should generally be. Though in the context of a fractious church members meeting, even “kindness” would be a good thing, and perhaps good enough.
*Calvin, J. (1834). Institutio Christianae religionis (Vol. 1, p. 450). Berolini: Gustavum Eichler. This phrase is in the final sentence of Book 3, Chapter 7, Section 7, which in D&P is Chapter 2, Section 7, p. 45, there translated as “kindness.”
So a prevailing question of the mature Christian life, what exactly is before me that calls for my “doing good,” “really helping?” The answer always will hinge on the meaning and context of each of these four words: doing, good, really helping. And, as we discussed earlier in our study, our life in this world is in Christ, to be an image of God, which can universally be considered to be the context of any admonition made of us in Scripture, or in the expression of our archaeological metaphor, it is the provenance. So the answer to what specifically is my “doing good?” in some context, has to emanate specifically from that context and God’s ultimate purpose of conforming us to His image. The summary on this point from the Westminster Confession, Chapter 16, discussed below, is a helpful guide.
Doing Good in the Context of Self-Denial
In Week #7 of Calvin’s Little Book, we saw these examples:
- Emergency, short term care (the Parable of the Good Samaritan)
- Enduring injustice with grace (Sermon on the Mount)
We could add other examples of Scripture’s call such as the extraordinary circumstances of sharing that was prompted by the persecution of followers of Christ which included their being shut out of opportunities to work, and perhaps also housing. (Acts 2)
Yet, Doing Good Does Not Supplant Personal Responsibility
Yet, we know that God has commanded each of us to work, provide for our own needs and even to excess so that we can provide for others:
The man who does not work, should not eat at the church’s shared buffet, or at the hands of the church’s charity (2 Thes. 3:10. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ESV)
The Book of Proverbs is filled with admonitions to work, and productivity (e.g., Prov. 6:6ff, and Prov. 24:20ff). I have a separately created an extended writing of “Diligence vs. Indolence” (not yet posted here).
Doing Good Was / Is Part of the Foundational Westminster Confession
The Westminster Confession of 1647 has been widely recognized and adopted for having set forth the essential elements of the Christian Faith as given in the Scriptures. There are alternative Confessions–some earlier (e.g. Heidelberg), some later (1689 Second London Baptist Confession), some taking exception to certain aspects. But, nonetheless the Westminster is an important point of reference and has been for close to 400 years.
One of its chapters is on this matter of “doing good.” In the format of all the chapters, it is very succinct and heavily cites key relevant Scriptures. A pdf on Chapter 16 of the Westminster Confession–“Good Works”–is given below. This version is in “modern English.” The highlights are mine to identify the portions most relevant to our present discussion.
Heidelberg Confession
The Heidelberg Confession (1576) is in a FAQ format. Below is a relevant Q&A on doing good:
Q & A 91
Q. What are good works?
A. Only those which are done out of true faith,1
conform to God’s law,2
and are done for God’s glory;3
and not those based on our own opinion or human tradition.41 John 15:5; Heb. 11:6
Heidelberg Catechism https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/heidelberg-catechism
2 Lev. 18:4; 1 Sam. 15:22; Eph. 2:10
3 1 Cor. 10:31
4 Deut. 12:32; Isa. 29:13; Ezek. 20:18-19; Matt. 15:7-9
The verses cited in the above Heidelberg Confession are given in the pdf below (from the ESV):
Proclaiming the Gospel as Doing Good
Recall that the five chapters comprising Calvin’s Little Book are extracted from an 80 chapter publication on systematic theology known as Institutes of the Christian Religion. So, it is easy to miss a big picture observation: surrounding the practical walk issues of The Little Book, there are 75 other chapters on doctrine. Further, any search of online resources for writings of John Calvin will find that he wrote massive numbers of books.
The motive of such writing, and that of so many gifted Christian authors over the centuries is proclaiming the Gospel. There is an important NT Koine word for such proclaiming: kērússō:
Kērússō (kay-russ-SO) in the NT
In the pdf below are the NT occurrences of the Koine word kērússō. It is often translated “preaching” because it is distinguishable from another forms of proclaiming such a teaching and witnessing. “Preaching” (kērússō) is freighted by a forceful claim of an important, particular truth being expressed.
Below is an a lexicon definition of kērússō:
Danger of Losing kērússō by the Focus on More Tangible Forms of Doing Good
The wants and needs of people are without bounds. Some, perhaps many or most of such, are the endless manifestation of greed and covetousness extending to lust and envy. Others may not be in that category yet still characterized as vast, and more particularly as far afield from the focus of the Christian Call.
What about so called “global climate change?” Sea levels rising? War and threats of war? Pollution? Disease? Are these the ‘jobs’ of the church as a body of Believer’s, or more specifically, me? And if so, does such become the complete priority of life outside of what necessity binds one to work to provide for oneself? Who determines that, and on what basis?
YMCA, YWCA
Let us consider a simple relatively recent 100 year example: the YMCA and YWCA. These two organizations–the Young Men’s (and Women’s) Christian Association–arose with the migration from the farms to the cities, begun in massive numbers early in the 20th Century. The cities then were large, foreign places with many dangers and temptations, and still are. These two associations arose to provide a safe venue for young Christian men and women moving to the city to find work, and create their own pair-bound family units and ministry. Let’s consider how the ca. 100 year history of these two organizations have now evolved by looking at where YWCA now stands in terms of its purpose and mission:
WYCA TBD
Colleges and Universities
There are many colleges and universities that were founded to advance God’s work and the Gospel by the education of students in Biblical languages (Hebrew and Greek and, additionally Latin), Theology, and missions. Among the notable examples are Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, all of which are today bereft of any such mission, or even (it seems) tolerant of any such expression by individual students or faculty. How did that happen?
COLLEGES TBD
Evangelicalism
Early in the 20th Century there emerged the term “evangelical” to identify a category of ‘real’ Christians who could be distributed across many different denominations and traditions. However, the term never quite got defined precisely, in part because there was an interest in being “inclusive,” a term with almost a magical power, which got in the way of defining well-prescribed boundaries such as the Westminster Confession (or most of it).
For a time, even with such ambiguity, the category “evangelical” appeared to be useful, bringing together people of like faith, usually serious about what the Bible has to say, and living God-honoring lives. But over time, as with other the examples here, such core meaning has blurred to diffuseness. Two small books have in their own way chronicled the decay, Mark Noll arguing that the “evangelical mind” lost the “mind” part and, more recently Carl Trueman that there’s no ‘there’ there as to “evangelical.” CITATIONS
Mainstream Denominations
The loss of Christian distinctiveness in many mainstream and other churches and associations of churches is so well publicized that further comment is not needed here. I would, however, add four points:
- Martin Luther is quoted as having said that wherever God starts a church, the devil builds one next door,
- G Robert Godfrey, noted church historian, adds that the devil’s church is or becomes bigger,
- And, I would add that the devil’s church is much more entertaining, and
- Finally, the devil’s church ‘swallows’ what is left of God’s church, even the physical structure, signage and all.
Whatever gets built, physically or organizationally, that is toward the cause of Christ, elicits a violation of all 10 Commandments against it led by the devil himself, including #10, Coveting. And he will use, as they say, every trick in the book, that is the corrupted book, to gain control either to his own benefit as an outpost, or to extinguish it entirely. So the devil seems to win innumerable skirmishes, and yet God’s work, Christ’s building His church, has never been stopped, nor will it ever, though it keeps ‘moving on,’ as on its own journey in both space and time, as it will until that Final Time.