John Calvin's Institutes in a Year

By Christopher Michael Patton

Ever stared at John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion on your shelf and thought, “One day I’ll finally read that… but where would I even start?”

This podcast is for that

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FAQs about John Calvin's Institutes in a Year:

How many episodes does John Calvin's Institutes in a Year have?

The podcast currently has 220 episodes available.

John Calvin's Institutes in a Year episodes:

July 28, 2026 Calvin's Institutes: July 28
Today’s Readings Podcast Description
The true Church is built on the word of God, not on external forms or human succession. In these sections from John Calvin’s Institutes, he contrasts the true Church with the false claims of Rome. Calvin shows that where the gospel is corrupted and the sacraments perverted, the Church ceases to exist, no matter how loudly succession or ancient titles are claimed. We must hold fast to Christ and his word rather than empty masks.
Readings: John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 2, Sections 4–8
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10min
July 27, 2026 Calvin's Institutes: July 27
Today’s Readings Podcast Description
How do we distinguish the true Church from the false? In this chapter from John Calvin’s Institutes, he shows that the true Church is marked by the pure ministry of the word and the right administration of the sacraments. Even where there are faults and imperfections, as long as the foundation remains, we must not lightly abandon it. But when the gospel is overthrown and the sacraments corrupted, the Church ceases to exist. Calvin warns against false claims of succession and external forms while calling us to hold fast to the truth.
Readings:
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 2, Sections 1–3
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13min
July 26, 2026 Calvin's Institutes: July 26
Today’s Readings Podcast Description
Even after entering the Church, believers still carry the remains of sin and stand in daily need of forgiveness. In these sections from John Calvin’s Institutes, he shows that God’s mercy is not a one-time act but a continual reality that sustains us in the communion of the Church. The keys of the kingdom are given so that pardon is daily offered through the ministry of the word and sacraments. This truth comforts the godly and calls us to persevere in humility and repentance.
Readings:
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 1, Sections 26–29
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7min
July 25, 2026 Cavlin's Insitutes: July 25
Today’s Readings Podcast Description
Even after entering the Church through forgiveness of sins, believers still carry the remains of sin throughout their lives. In these sections from John Calvin’s Institutes, he explains how God’s mercy is not a one-time event but a daily reality that sustains us in the communion of the Church. The keys of the kingdom are given so that pardon is continually offered through the ministry of the word and sacraments. True holiness in the Church is real yet imperfect in this life — it grows daily as we press on toward the goal.
Readings: John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 1, Sections 21–25
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11min
July 24, 2026Calvin's Institutes: July 24
Today's reading deals with one of the most common reasons people leave churches: the presence of sin. Calvin argues that while we should grieve over sin, oppose it, and pursue holiness, we must not confuse the imperfections of the visible church with the absence of the true church. The temptation to separate often springs less from genuine zeal for God's holiness than from pride, impatience, or an unrealistic expectation of perfection this side of heaven. The church is holy because Christ is making her holy—not because she has already reached perfection.
In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin confronts the spirit of schism. Drawing from Augustine, Cyprian, the prophets, Christ, and the apostles, he insists that believers should patiently bear with the faults they cannot correct while faithfully working to reform what they can. The prophets worshiped alongside corrupt priests, Christ remained among a deeply flawed covenant community, and the apostles ministered within churches filled with serious problems. The existence of hypocrisy, scandal, or weak believers does not nullify the church's identity. Rather, God is steadily cleansing His people until the day when Christ presents His bride without spot or wrinkle. Until then, Christians are called to humility, perseverance, and unity rather than proud separation.
Today's Readings
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 1, Sections 16–20
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13min
July 23, 2026 Calvin's Institutes: July 23
In the closing sections of Chapter 1, John Calvin urges us to hold fast to the true marks of the visible Church—the pure preaching of the word and the right administration of the sacraments—while exercising wise tolerance toward imperfections in doctrine and conduct. He warns against both rash separation and laxity, showing from the example of the Corinthians and Galatians that even flawed churches remain true churches so long as the essential ministry remains. To leave such a church is to revolt from Christ himself.
Today’s Readings
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 4, Chapter 1 (Sections 11-15)
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13min
July 22, 2026 Calvin's Insititutes: July 22
In Book 4, Chapter 1 (Sections 6–10), John Calvin addresses the vital role of the ministry and the visible Church. He clarifies the true efficacy of preaching and sacraments—tools used by the Spirit of God—while warning against both overrating human ministers and undervaluing the ordinary means God has appointed. He then sets forth the marks of the true visible Church (the pure preaching of the word and right administration of the sacraments) and calls us to honor her authority, for to revolt from the Church is to revolt from Christ himself.
Today’s Readings
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 4, Chapter 1 (Sections 6-10)
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13min
July 21, 2026 Calvin's Institutes: July 21
In Book 4 of the Institutes, John Calvin turns to the visible Church as our mother, the ordinary means by which God gathers, nourishes, and perfects his children. In Chapter 1 (Sections 4–5), he shows that there is no salvation outside the Church, that she is essential for our growth from infancy to maturity in faith, and that God has committed the ministry of the word to pastors and teachers so that we might be built up together in unity until we attain the full stature of Christ.
Today’s Readings
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 4, Chapter 1 (Sections 4-5)
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8min
July 20, 2026 Calvin's Institutes: July 20
In the opening of Book 4 of the Institutes, John Calvin turns from the inner work of the Trinity to the external means God uses to gather and nurture his people. He introduces the Holy Catholic Church as our mother, the Communion of Saints, and the ordinary helps—pastors, teachers, and sacraments—by which God brings us to Christ and keeps us in fellowship with him. This sets the stage for Calvin’s rich treatment of the true Church, her marks, government, power, and discipline.
Today’s Readings
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 4, Chapter 1 (Sections 1-3)
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16min
July 19, 2026 Calvin's Institutes: July 19
In the majestic conclusion to his chapter on the resurrection, John Calvin lifts our eyes beyond the renewal of the body to the true goal: eternal happiness in the fullness of God himself. In Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 3, Chapter 25 (Sections 10–12), he describes the inexpressible glory that awaits the saints, urges sobriety in our speculations about heaven, affirms the special rewards laid up for each believer, and paints the fearful reality of divine judgment on the reprobate—whose torments are figured in fire, darkness, and the worm that does not die—so that we might press on through tribulation until God is all in all.
Today’s Readings
John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 3, Chapter 25 (Sections 10-12)
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12min

FAQs about John Calvin's Institutes in a Year:

How many episodes does John Calvin's Institutes in a Year have?

The podcast currently has 220 episodes available.