John Calvin on the Transforming Power of the Book of Romans

Many of you, no doubt, have consulted Calvin’s famous biblical commentaries. You may even have consulted Calvin’s commentary on the Book of Romans–one of his first, written in 1539, while Calvin was still in Strasbourg. It is my guess is that many who have consulted Calvin on Romans, have not read Calvin’s dedication of the commentary (to Simon Grynaeus—a prominent German theologian), nor Calvin’s introductory essay on the theme of Romans. In these two essays we get a fascinating glimpse of Calvin’s goal as a biblical interpreter and his estimation of the importance of grasping the central message Paul’s most famous letter–the doctrine of justification by faith. We also get a sense of how Calvin felt about the transforming power of the Book of Romans.

In his dedication to Grynaeus, Calvin reminds him that “both of us felt that lucid brevity constituted the particular virtue of an interpreter.” Conversely, says Calvin, a commentator “misses his mark, or at least strays outside his limits by the extent to which he leads his readers away from the meaning of his author.” It is especially important to be brief and lucid when commenting on Romans, writes Calvin, “because if we understand this epistle we have a passage opened to us to the understanding of the whole of Scripture.”

While Calvin lauds the recent commentaries of Melanchthon, Bullinger, and Bucer, Calvin felt a lucid and brief commentary on Romans should be produced “for no other reason that the common good of the Church.” The power and importance of the Book of Romans epistle is too great not to. Although he felt at times compelled to depart from the views of his illustrious predecessors, this stemmed not from Calvin’s desire to be an innovator, nor to slander others, nor because of personal ambition. Rather it is because of the necessity of expounding Holy Scripture for God’s people–particularly this book of the Bible–in which we learn so clearly of Christ and the gospel, that Calvin attempted to set forth in brief and lucid form Paul’s gospel to the church in Rome.

In Calvin’s essay on the theme of Romans, he makes the point that while Romans has many outstanding virtues, there is one virtue in particular which Calvin believes must be appreciated by all Christians. “If we have gained an understanding of this Epistle, we have an open door to all the most profound treasures of Scripture.” According to Calvin in the Book of Romans, we really do have the key to understand the whole Bible. If we understand Paul here and grasp his main point–“that we are justified by faith”–we will be able to navigate our way through much of the Old Testament, since Paul quotes over sixty passages from the Old Testament and alludes to a number of others. We will also understand the gospel as it is preached by the apostles.

Therefore, to understand the Book of Romans, says Calvin, is to understand the gospel. And that gospel is centered in Paul’s message of justification by faith alone.