Calvin's Institutes: March 24

In this section of Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 2, Chapter 11, Calvin continues explaining how the Old and New Testaments differ—not in their substance, but in how God administered His covenant across history. He describes the Law as a tutor that guided God’s people toward Christ, giving them a distant and shadowed glimpse of the truth that would later be revealed clearly in the Gospel. The saints of the Old Testament truly believed and possessed genuine faith, yet they lived under a dimmer light of revelation compared to the clarity that came when Christ appeared. Calvin then explains the promise of the new covenant spoken through Jeremiah: in the Gospel, God writes His law on the heart rather than merely presenting it externally. The Law could command righteousness and expose sin, but it could not change the human heart. The Gospel, by contrast, brings the work of the Spirit, granting life, righteousness, and inward renewal. Finally, Calvin highlights another contrast often used in Scripture: the Old Testament is associated with fear and bondage, while the New Testament produces confidence and freedom through the Spirit of adoption. Yet even here Calvin is careful to say that the faithful under the Old Testament still shared in the grace of the Gospel—they simply lived under a heavier burden of ceremonies and shadows while waiting for the full revelation that came in Christ.

Readings:

John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion — Book 2, Chapter 11, Sections 5–9

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