Book 3 of Calvin's Institutes

This book contains most themes, which are centered on the activities of Jesus in the world. The book therefore inspires, and encourages Christians to do things according to the will of the Jesus Christ. This is because, Jesus Christ did a lot of things, which included giving his own life, in order to save the people from their own sins. This therefore brings about the theme of salvation, the theme of self-denial, and the theme of repentance (Gordon, 2016). In order for one to be able to get saved, he or she needs to accept the will of Jesus, and thus being able to serve him. God, who is the father, requires people to pray to him in the name of Jesus Christ. This therefore means that Jesus who is also the son of God, acts as a link between people and God.

The theme of repentance is mainly about giving oneself to God. Christians are supposed to give themselves to God, in order to be able to go to heaven after death. According to the book, repentance allows one to be able to cleanse himself or herself from all sins, thus being clean before the eyes of the lord. In addition, if one repents, then he or she can be able to easily communicate with God, since repentance links a person to the lord (Gordon, 2016). Moreover, when one person repents in the world, there is a celebration in heaven. This therefore means that God is usually happy when one decides to repent, and stops following the wrong ways, hence doing what God wants him or her to do. Furthermore, God listens to the problems of his followers, thus providing solutions. Hence one should therefore repent in order to be able to become the followers of God, thus being able to inherit the kingdom of heaven during the day when Jesus Christ will come to save his followers.

The theme of salvation therefore acts to provide us with ways through which we can be able to connect with God. This ways include the following, through repenting our sins, believing in God, and being baptized. After baptism, one becomes connected to God, thus making it easy for him or her to be able to communicate with God (Gordon, 2016). The word of God, which is in the bible, is therefore supposed to be followed to the latter, thus making it easy for one to be able to live a peaceful life in the world. God loves those who believe in him, and he will therefore show them the way they are supposed to follow.

The theme of self-denial is also evident in the book, where it encourages us to deny ourselves things which will hinder us from being able to enter the kingdom of God (Gordon, 2016). The author therefore uses the story of Jesus, who denied himself food and water while in the wilderness. This is therefore one of the things which Christians are supposed to do, in order to be able to connect with God. Christians are therefore supposed to deny themselves all luxuries which may lead them into temptations. These luxuries may therefore include drinking alcohol, as it may hinder one’s mental ability to think, hence leading to temptations.

Christians are therefore supposed to commit themselves to the lord, in order to be able to inherit his kingdom. Each and everything which may hinder one from being able to connect with God, should therefore be avoided. The author goes on to say that, those who deny themselves the luxuries of the world, will be able to inherit the kingdom of God (Gordon, 2016). Therefore, in order for one to be able to inherit the kingdom of God, then he or she is supposed to deny himself or herself the things which might limit his or her communication with God. Moreover, one can also deny himself or herself food, for a short period of time, in order to effectively communicate with God. This consequently helps in making the person to be able to connect with God, and in so doing, being able to fully communicate with the lord.

In addition, self-denial is not meant for physical purposes, but it is meant for spiritual purposes. God desires a clean heart, and so denying oneself food and other things just to be close to God, really helps in improving the relationship between God and his follower (Gordon, 2016). Salvation is also very significant when it comes to the worship of God, since one needs to be spiritually clean in order to seek salvation. One can therefore be able to seek salvation after repenting. Salvation should therefore be taken seriously since this is the only way through which Christians can be able to connect to God. The author has therefore been able to effectively pass the message to Christians through the three themes, hence making encouraging them to be able to connect to God.

Reference

Gordon, B. (2016). John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian religion: A biography.