If Martin Luther was the initial catalyst of the Protestant Reformation; John Calvin was its second generation leader and refiner. Through his standard text for the Reformation Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) and his leadership in and from Geneva, Calvin exerted a formative influence upon the course of the Reformation.  Highly respected amongst Protestantism at the time and since, Calvin was but a man and men can err. The dilemma of the reformers like Luther and Calvin is that they had to square their recovery of justification by faith with their continued use of the Roman Catholic tradition of paedobaptism. Calvin rightly noted baptism as the rite of Christian entry into the Church by the Church (Institutes 4.15.1, 20) and rejected baptismal regeneration (Institutes 4.15.10) but retained the Catholic practice. To solve this dilemma, they appealed to the sign of circumcision in the Abrahamic Covenant (Institutes 4.16) and rooted faith in the parents or the future faith of the child.[1] Writing with the Swiss Brethren in mind, who believed, “infant baptism, the highest and chief abomination of the Pope,” Calvin argued otherwise. He contended that paedobaptism was “by no means of human invention.” (Institutes 4.16.8).
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[1] Greg Allison, Historical Theology, 629–30.

​Little did Calvin know that under his most beautiful medieval cathedral, St. Peter’s, there was evidence that would have revolutionized his belief. In 1970 the cathedral needed to tear up its floor to install a new heating system. They took this occasion to undertake an archaeological excavation of an early Christian basilica they believed the medieval Cathedral to have been built upon. They were correct and unearthed a large system of buildings, some dating back to the time of Jesus. So spectacular a discovery was this dig, that it became one of Europe’s finest subterranean archaeological attractions (http://www.site-archeologique.ch/). Directly under the nave (worship space) of the medieval cathedral where Calvin preached they found a font. However, it was a font that had progressively been made smaller from the original baptistry—quite a large baptistry for believer’s baptism by immersion! The interpretive plaque beside the baptistry reads:
“The baptistry was a separate building where the faithful received the first of the Christian sacraments: baptism. As such, it was the most important place of Christian worship. The size of the baptismal font was progressively reduced, reflecting changes in the ritual itself: from full immersion in running water to the sprinkling of water still practised today.”

​If only Calvin had known! The Reformation would have looked completely different. Those who read his works or studied under him or went out as missionaries would have gone out convinced Baptists and not Presbyterians, Reformed, Anglicans, Congregationalists, etc. One may be a great and wise authority in matters of Scripture and theology, however, our beliefs must be reformed to Scripture and in light of reason, history and reality. 

These famous words come in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is addressing worry (litt. To be divided between two opinions vs. a singular trust in the Lord). If we trust and seek Him and His Kingdom and righteousness, we’ll have no reason to worry and can trust the promise of the Lord to provide.

When Jesus admonishes to ‘Seek Ye First’ He is commanding us in something foundational, which in my experience, is a lesson that perennially speaks volumes to the non-Christian and Christian alike.

What does it mean to seek? It means to intently strive or search for something with the intent of finding it (picture someone seeking for the perfect house to buy). The world seeks advancement, prestige, material things, wisdom, religious favour, relationships, etc. Jesus calls us to seek something even greater.

What does it mean to seek ye first? Something that is first occupies the first place, is a priority of importance (picture someone with OCD having to have a clean car). Philosophy, politics, empire, family life and certain virtues are all things that people put first, and so seek.

People don’t only seek (and so worry) about food and clothing but all kinds of bigger things in life too.

But what should we seek first? Jesus identified two things: His Kingdom and His Righteousness. This applies differently to unbelievers (crowd- Mt 5:1) and believers (disciples- Mt 5:1).

Unbelievers
Unbelievers are naturally separated from God, His enemies and outside of His Kingdom because of their unrighteousness. They need righteousness and entry into the Kingdom more than anything else. By renouncing the world and repenting of their sin and turning to and trusting in Christ, the unbeliever is counted just or righteous by faith. They are declared legally right with God and given the gift of the Spirit to actually impart righteousness in their daily living. Upon being born anew they are adopted into God’s family, or brought into God’s Kingdom. What a glorious salvation to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of His glorious light! If we seek and obtain these two things, food and clothing will pail in comparison and, by faith, be provided. It is a wonderful irony.

Believers
However, believers ought to seek first God’s Kingdom and righteousness but in a different sense. We ought to pursue personal righteousness by taking hold of the means of grace (prayer, ordinances, Lord’s Day, Scripture, fellowship and service, etc) and reliance upon the Spirit. This is how we grow in righteousness and become more like Christ. We ought also to seek His Kingdom, not entrance into it but its expansion. We do this through the means of course but more overtly through fulfilling the Great Commission, being members and serving in the local church’s ministries, personal evangelism, supporting foreign missionaries, etc. If we seek these two things as believer’s the Lord we can be assured that the Lord will take care of our other concerns. We don’t simply seek salvation from the penalty of sin and then stop seeking after our conversion. We go on seeking!
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Seek ye first can be helpfully demonstrated in this illustration:

​May this be a lesson to us, seek ye first the Kingdom of God!

A message from Grey Gables chapel.

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1. Lose Your Salvation

Yes, it is possible to lose your salvation, because of our free will and God’s grace being merely prevenient (a near helper).

• Hebrews 10:26–27: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

This is the teaching of Arminian Protestants and Roman Catholics. However, while goads to the believers (and often highly nuanced in their context and meaning), verses such as these need to be understood in light of other verses and a 2nd view, eternal security.

1. Eternal Security (Once Saved, Always Saved)

This view rightly notes verses that say the opposite of the above—you cannot lose your salvation!

• John 6:39: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

However, like the first view it is man-centred in that it bases God’s obligation to keep me—regardless of how I live or don’t follow Jesus–on my decision. No, there must be a more biblically faithful and complete alternative than these two views, and there is.

1. The Perseverance of the Saints

This view holds together the goads and the assurance of salvation with yet another promise in God’s salvation, that He will save us completely because of His power and comprehensively mighty plan to save:

• Jude 24: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”

Why would you want to trust in a God who couldn’t keep He whom He saved? Why would you want to trust in a God who could save you from the penalty of sin (justification) but not from its power (sanctification). No, I want to trust in a God whose plan of salvation and ability to save is so much greater. And guess what, by believing the Gospel the good news is that we can be assured we’re not only secure but will persevere in the faith. Praise the Lord for the glorious teaching of the perseverance of the saints.