Font of Pardon and New Life John Calvin and the Efficacy of Baptism

Font of Pardon and New Life is a study of the historical development and impact of John Calvin's doctrine of baptism, both adult (or believer) baptism and infant baptism. Did Calvin intend to teach a kind of baptismal forgiveness and regeneration, that is, did he believe that the external sign of baptism actually conveys the spiritual realities it signifies? If baptism does serve in some way as an instrument of divine grace for Calvin, what then are the roles of the Word, the Holy Spirit, divine election, and individual faith? Are spiritual blessings conferred only in adult (believer) baptism or also in the baptism of infants? Did Calvin's teaching on baptismal efficacy remain constant throughout his lifetime, or did it undergo significant change? What impact did it have on the Reformed confessional tradition that followed him?

Lyle D. Bierma approaches these questions by examining Calvin's writings on baptism in their entirety, proceeding chronologically through Calvin's life and writings including his Institutes, commentaries on the Bible, catechisms, polemical treatises, and consensus documents. Bierma concludes that Calvin understood baptism as a means or instrument of both assurance and grace. His view underwent some change and development over the course of his life but not to the extent that some in the past have suggested. The overall trajectory of his baptismal theology was one of increasing clarity and refinement of basic themes already present in incipient form in the Institutes of 1536.

Lyle D. Bierma is P. J. Zondervan Professor of the History of Christianity at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After receiving his PhD in Religion from Duke University in 1980, he taught church history and theology at Kuyper College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for nineteen years before joining the faculty at Calvin Seminary in 1999. His research and publications have focused on the early history of Reformed covenant theology, the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and John Calvin.

Abbreviations
Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. The 1536 Institutes

Chapter 3. Works from Calvin's First Period in Geneva and the Strasbourg Interlude (1536-41)

Chapter 4. Works from Calvin's Second Period in Geneva to the Consensus Tigurinus (1541- 48)

Chapter 5. The Consensus Tigurinus (1549)

Chapter 6. Works from after the Consensus Tigurinus to Calvin's Death (1550-64)

Chapter 7. Calvin and the Efficacy of Infant Baptism

Chapter 8. Baptismal Efficacy in the Reformed Confessions: Calvin's Legacy

Chapter 9. Conclusion

Bibliography
Index