What does the well-known 16th century Protestant Reformer John Calvin have to say on the subject of Christian piety? This intriguing subject was explored by Rev Dr Jimmy Tan, a lecturer in pastoral and practical theology at TTC. As part of a series of lectures jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Calvin Studies and TTC, Dr Tan drew from his doctoral research and delivered a lecture entitled “John Calvin and Christian Piety” on 19 April. About fifty participants heard Dr Tan expound on Calvin’s theology of Christian piety and his methods for its nurture, as set out in Calvin’ key work, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559).

The lecture drew especially from Book 3, chapters 6 to 10 of the Institutes, and explored Calvin’s explication of regeneration and progress in the Christian life. Dr Tan explained that the notion of mystical union with Christ served as Calvin’s theological foundation for the Christian life. Such union is deepened through communion with Christ by prayer and a life-long journey of repentance (Inst. 3.3.9).

These exercises are the fruit of faith enabled by grace which comes through the Holy Spirit. This follows from Calvin’s Trinitarian definition of faith, which encapsulates how the triune God engages the mind and heart of the believer, through Word and Spirit, to engender faith for Christian formation following a rule that is patterned after Christ’s. The talk concluded with reflections on our practice of Christian nurture today.