John Calvin

In 1558 John Calvin held a prominent position of leadership in the Reform movement. He had written prolifically and his works had been widely circulated-and critiqued. It was at this time that he penned an answer to a critique of his position on divine providence, as articulated in the 1546 edition of the Institutes. His polemical defense of his beliefs, The Secret Providence of God, reflects the boisterous, argumentative tone of the Reformation era and is Calvin's fullest treatment on this most important doctrine. Unfortunately, in recent decades this work has been largely forgotten. With this new English translation of Calvin's work, editor Paul Helm reintroduces The Secret Providence of God to students, pastors, and lay readers of Reformed theology. Translator Keith Goad has modernized the English while preserving a Latinized translation style as far as possible. Helm has provided a full introduction, discussing the work's background, content, style, and relation to Calvin's other writings on providence.

Originally written in 1552, this treatise by Calvin on the doctrines of predestination and providence represents his mature thoughts on these subjects. In the previous edition, Calvin's treatise was divided into two parts according to the subject matter. This edition of Calvin's Calvinism puts the related topics of predestination and providence together, the way Calvin himself addressed them in his original. Calvin's Calvinism features brief historical introductions to the treatise and to Calvin's replies to a former friend who wrote against this treatise. These replies are also included in this edition.

he first English translation of a classic text of pastoral theology. John Calvin (1509-1564) originally wrote his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion in Latin. Beginning with the second edition of his work published in 1541, Calvin translated each new version into French, simultaneously adapting the text to suit lay audiences, shaping it subtly but clearly to teach, exhort, and encourage them. Besides reflecting a more pastoral bent on Calvin's part, this 1541 Institutes is also notable as one of the founding documents of the modern French language. Elsie Anne McKee's masterful translation of the 1541 French Edition -- the first-ever English version -- offers full access to the brilliant mind of John Calvin as he considered what common Christian people should all know and practice.

For hundreds of years Christendom has been blessed with Bible commentaries written by great men of God highly respected for their godly walk and their insight into spiritual truth. The Crossway Classic Commentaries present the very best work on individual Bible books, carefully adapted for maximum understanding and usefulness for today's believers. The book of Acts provides an invaluable transition in the Bible from the life of Christ to the formation and expansion of the New Testament Church and the inspired apostolic letters of that era. The birth and spread of the Church, early struggles in the Body of Christ, and the conversion and later missionary journeys of Paul make for enlightening and nurturing reading for all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. John Calvin's insightful examination of this action-packed, fast-paced section of Scripture will give serious Bible students a solid grip on the key passages and themes of Acts. And that in turn will give believers renewed enthusiasm and boldness in taking the good news of Christ to their own time and setting.