John Calvin: For a New Reformation is 608 pages. This volume is edited by Derek Thomas and John Tweeddale. It was published by Crossway in 2019.

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Review

John Calvin: For a New Reformation contains 20 chapters from 20 scholars with an afterword from R.C. Sproul. These detailed chapters are on particular aspects of Calvin’s life and theology. We see Calvin, the man and pastor, whose theology drove him to care for the church, to seek reform, and to help share the good news of Jesus to the nations. This volume is divided into 2 parts: Calvin’s life and work, and Calvin’s teaching.

Chapters on his life and work are: Young Calvin, Call to Geneva and the Struggle for Orthodoxy, Calvin the Pastor, Calvin and the Consistory, Calvin and Friends, Expository Pulpit of John Calvin, and the Development of the Institutes from 1536 to 1539.

Chapters on the teaching of Calvin are: Divinity and Authority of Scripture, Creation and Humanity, Providence of God, Law of God, Person and Work of Christ, Holy Spirit, Christian Life, Knowing God through Adversity, Predestination, Church as Mother, Sacraments, God’s Preservation of His Saints, and the Last Things.

On page 12, the authors mentioned their goal with this volume, “the goal of this book is to encourage you to read and study Calvin. Our aim is to provide an accessible one-volume introduction to his life and teaching.”

I think with that goal mentioned, the editors, contributors, and Crossway accomplished that task. This volume is formatted in a helpful way for readers and those who will need it for a quick reference. Because of the helpful format and content, this one volume on John Calvin stands out. I am not familiar with another work on Calvin that is as accessible as this volume with the quality content. If anyone is interested in the life and theology of John Calvin, this will be the first work that I will recommend.

We only get one life and it will soon pass. Only what is done for Christ will last!

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Evan Knies is an elder of North Hills Church in West Monroe, LA. He is husband of Lauren and father to Maesyn. He is a graduate of Boyce College and Southern Seminary.