Calvin is passionate to say there are promises, promises that you can trust, and everyone who

trusts those promises will be saved. Can Christians have assurance of their salvation? What is saving faith? And how do we know that the Bible is the word of God and is authoritative?

These are just some of the questions John Kelvin and other reformers wrestled with

and brought clarity against the backdrop of the Roman Catholic Church.

You're listening to the Wednesday edition of Renewing Her Mind and I'm glad you're with us.

So far this week, W Robert Godfrey has taken us to the early church and to the Middle Ages.

And today, in part three of his study series on church history, were in the time of the 16th century reformation.

You can add this 12 message installment on the reformation to your collection when you give a gift

of any amount at renewing your mind dot org

when people speak of reform theology they sometimes use the shorthand or nickname

Calvinism after the reformer John Calvin. So what did Calvin believe?

He was Dr Godfrey on the theology of John Calvin.

Well, we returned in this lecture to our friend John Calvin. I hope maybe having

gotten this far you see Calvin's a little more human and friendly than some

people have made him out to be. But I want to return to

this subject of certainty or assurance at the heart of Calvin's theology. I think he felt the pressure on the Protestant movement

that the Roman Catholic Church brought to bear by its insistence that it was the absolutely reliable source of truth.

Sadalito in his letter to the Geneva Church, Cardinal Sadalito had made that point.

He said, the church alone is inerrant. It never makes a mistake.

And therefore you can rest your soul on the church and its teaching.

Sad al lady, even went so far as to say,

if the church were wrong and you believe the church,

...