Summary of Book 2 - Chapter 8

An Exposition of the Moral Law

In this lengthy chapter, Calvin takes on the 10 Commandments.

The highlights for me were that:

1.  When discussing commandment four that we should keep the Sabbath day holy, Calvin warns against being superstitious about the Sabbath. For example, we should not feel that if we fail to attend church on any given Sunday that we will be damned. There are extenuating personal circumstances that may require that one be absent. After all, Jesus told us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Jesus healed on the Sabbath, which was a violation of the law of Moses. Calvin rather suggests that we should keep the Sabbath every day. God is not to be worshiped one day a week and then forgotten the rest of the week. God should be our intimate companion every second, every minute, and every hour of each day. Our God is a 24/7 God. Calvin applauds the Roman Catholics, because they celebrate mass every day, so devout Catholics do have the opportunity to attend formal worship every day.
2. Commandment number five to honor our father and mother is an extension of the honor that we have for our heavenly Father. In the case of abusive human fatherhood or motherhood, Calvin suggests that we don't have to honor them, because they are not obeying the will of God, because they are abusing their children. Our heavenly Father never abuses us.
2. Calvin discusses how the ten commandments are basically a list of things to avoid. He would have us focus on the positive side of each commandment as to what each commandment asks us to do proactively. For example, in commandment number six, thou shalt not murder, he suggests that we should go out of our way to protect the lives of others. Or, in commandment number eight, thou shalt not steal, we should go out of our way to protect the property of others. Or, in commandment number nine, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, we should promote truth in all our relationships and completely avoid gossip and slander.
As usual with Calvin, there is a treasure trove of more insights in this chapter, but these are the highlights to me.