Second of a series
Dutch professor Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) was gifted with a keen analytical mind and a flair for writing about complex biblical, ethical and theological issues so that they answered questions that people actually care about. In this regard, he was much like his famous forebears Martin Luther and John Calvin.
The subtitle of the second volume of his Reformed Ethics (RE), “The Duties of the Christian Life,” indicates his approach to how a Christian should live. As humans created by God, some of whom are reborn in Christ, we all owe allegiance and gratitude to Him and must follow His commandments and direction as they are outlined in His Word, the Bible. It is our duty.
The term “duty,” however, is not a familiar one in our time. If we hear it at all, it usually refers to being “off-duty,” a time when we are free to do whatever gives us pleasure. For us, a more common description of what we do with our lives is “lifestyle.” Whatever term is chosen, Bavinck emphasizes two qualities that are indispensable to living life as a Reformed or Presbyterian Christian.
“The corrupting action of sin on these aspects of our nature has made it necessary to bring ourselves as believers into conformity with what our Creator intended for us. We should strive to develop and nurture Christian character.”
First, a believer must be engaged with the world. Christians cannot retreat into their own spiritual selves or keep to themselves in separate communities. Love of neighbour requires that we engage with those around us, as Jesus did in his time. We are to think and work as Christians, and to seek to promote biblically-inspired knowledge and action in society at large by our words and behaviour.
Second, a Christian’s lifestyle must be spiritual, in the sense that it is open to the leading, instruction, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. A believer has to be careful to follow the model of humility, godliness, suffering and love exemplified by Christ. While warning against over-spirituality, Bavinck advocates that Reformed believers take time to practice disciplines such as regular Bible reading and prayer in order to keep open their lines of communication with God on a daily basis. Acts of charity and good works should be prompted and sustained by the Spirit and done to God’s glory. His chosen people are first of all to discern and fulfill the will of God by uniting their own will with His, then to act in love.
The concluding portion of chapter 20 in the second volume of Reformed Ethics (section 42, pp. 398-413; “Duties Toward the Soul”) illustrates much of what Bavinck writes about lifestyle. It’s a section that is at times light-hearted and at other times profound. I found it delightful reading and well worth pondering (there is way too much here for a single reading) for my own personal benefit.
“By being like Christ as much as we are able in this world, by being patient, loving, and willing to suffer for the sake of God and His Kingdom, we will routinely display the distinctives that others should see in us.”
In only 15 pages, Bavinck deals with five elements of human nature: temperament, character, intellect, feeling, and will. In his view, these combine in each person to make them a unique individual, which God in His richness has created that way. Diversity is part of God’s plan for Creation. For example, the “image of God,” which is a fundamental characteristic of every human, is not found in its fullness in any individual, but rather in all humans taken as a whole. In keeping with this thought, he cautions against prioritizing any single type of human expression of these temperaments to the detriment of the others. That would be sinful, contrary to God’s intention.
Furthermore, as with the diversity of the local church, people must accept that God’s plan calls for individuals to work with one another, supplementing their own gifts with those of others for the common good: “… every individual exhibits the idea of humanity from a specific angle and therefore complements the others” (p. 399).
(1) Temperament: His treatment of the concept of temperament is captivating. Bavinck adopts the theory of four basic temperaments, a view based on observation that dates back many thousands of years. While its scientific basis is questionable (blood and humours), as an observation of human nature it has stood the test of time.
“We all owe allegiance and gratitude to Him and must follow His commandments and direction as they are outlined in His Word, the Bible. It is our duty.”
Bavinck seems to have fun with us (if a serious scholar can be entertaining!) when he outlines the four temperaments: sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic. Not only does he point out the strengths and weaknesses of each temperament, he assigns a biblical character and a church charisma (“gift” in Greek, as in 1 Corinthians 12:4) to each (pp. 399-404).
The sanguine (energetic, open and receptive) is found in the impulsive Peter, and in the gift of teaching, helping and comforting. The melancholic (passive, long-suffering, sentimental, serious) is exemplified in proud Thomas the doubter, and in the charisma of knowledge.
Paul illustrates the choleric temperament, one that is “oriented toward the practical.” It “equips a person for action, for living energetically and seizing life, displaying courage, perseverance, initiative and strength. The charismata in this case are administration and governing. Reflective John is representative of the phlegmatic temperament, which involves “peace, tranquility, stillness, reflection, level-headedness.” The gifts of God to the Church that are in view here are faith and wisdom.
“One’s natural temperament should not be accepted as the sole defining factor in one’s lifestyle and behaviour.”
As amusing as his analysis can be (he also assigns temperaments to nations and suggests that Reformed churches are choleric!) Bavinck makes the serious theological point that one’s natural temperament should not be accepted as the sole defining factor in one’s lifestyle and behaviour: “Nevertheless, not everything should be ascribed to the natural, as is done in physical determinism and evolutionism.” He asserts that “temperament must also be under the nurture and discipline of God’s Word… [It] is the soil for the moral” (p. 403).
(2) Character: Bavinck’s comments on character follow closely upon those on temperament. Character, he writes, is “what has become of a person’s innate nature, disposition, aptitude, temperament, and general temper. . . under the influence of nurture, education, social life, examples/models, experiences, and especially moral principles” (p. 404).
More significant is his assertion that if people “do not guide their temperament by religious-moral principles, then their sinful tendency becomes their character trait, their second nature.” Characters develop such as those “that are short-tempered, violent, reckless, loveless, hard-hearted, and so on.” Christian character, on the other hand, includes first of all purity, and also steadfastness, predictability and energy. It is based not on “outside authorities, but only by love toward God, by pure moral principles, by the law of God, by what is Christian, without any admixture of pagan, Jewish, Stoic, pantheistic, humanitarian, and materialistic principles” (pp. 404-5).
“Our age is “bereft of moral characters, and even more of truly Christian characters” due largely to the system of education, ideas, and materialistic teachings of our time.”
Bavinck laments that our age is “bereft of moral characters, and even more of truly Christian characters” due largely to the system of education, ideas, and materialistic teachings of our time. Regarding the centrality of engagement in developing character, he submits that: “There are talents, which are born in quiet tranquility, but no characters, which originate only ‘amid the turmoil of life’” (p. 405).
How can Christians build and maintain Christlike character? Only with God’s help can believers progress: “It is God who strengthens them (Eph. 6:10), whereas they are weak in themselves (2 Cor. 12:10). God restores, confirms, strengthens and establishes them (1 Peter 5:10)” (pp. 404-5).
(3) Intellect: In his brief section on developing character as it concerns the intellect, Bavinck outlines four of its fundamental faculties, citing biblical verses to demonstrate his points: love of truth, paying attention and heeding, memory and recollection, and imagination and ideals. He goes on to provide counsel on how to make progress in building intellectual character. With respect to imagination, for example, he writes that it must “be made attentive to real truth, goodness, and beauty, not fed with bad novels, paintings and so forth” (p. 407).
Willing what God wills is difficult, yet because the Christian has the capacity to do this, he believes that the will can be “trained, reinforced, until the believer can say without fail, ‘Not my will, but yours, be done’ ”
(4) Feelings: Bavinck recognizes that we all have feelings that are independent of our will (pp. 409-411). Feelings are not sinful in themselves, requiring that we seek to eliminate them. But what is wrong with them “is their undisciplined disorder.” He insists that the “it is true that the affections cannot be controlled, let alone be purified and sanctified, by reason and intellect.” We must imitate Jesus in his self-control, “getting to know our affections, learn what objects easily arouse them.” The Holy Spirit is essential in this task. Christians “are called to be pure in heart (Matt. 5:8; 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim 2:22), to be led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:4) and to walk according to the Spirit, not the flesh” (p. 412).
(5) Will: In a final short section, Bavinck speaks of the will as it has been set free in regeneration to serve God willingly. The ideal to attain is not to make ourselves will-less and to lose ourselves entirely, as some mystics advise. “Still higher and more glorious is to personally will and desire with all our might what God wills.” He concedes that willing what God wills is difficult, yet because the Christian has the capacity to do this, he believes that the will can be “trained, reinforced, until the believer can say without fail, ‘Not my will, but yours, be done’ (Luke 22:42; cf. Ps. 40:8; Matt. 6:10; John 5:30)” (pp. 412-413).
Conclusion: Herman Bavinck lays out for us a wide-ranging portrait of the human condition. It is not scientific in nature, but nonetheless it is based on his reading, experience and personal observation, much the same as are the views on humanity found in the Psalms, in New Testament letters, and in the words of Jesus. It is not mere personal speculation.
In both his writing and in the Bible, certain themes are repeated. Men and women are complex beings, made up of a bundle of temperament, feelings, and thoughts, guided by their will. While welcoming this as God’s will for Creation, Bavinck affirms that the corrupting action of sin on these aspects of our nature has made it necessary to bring ourselves as believers into conformity with what our Creator intended for us. We should strive to develop and nurture Christian character.
That’s not an easy thing for any of us to do! No doubt that’s why Jesus calls on his disciples to bear their cross as they go through life, and Paul likens to warfare our struggles to be faithful to God.
As Bavinck points out, by being like Christ as much as we are able in this world, by being patient, loving, and willing to suffer for the sake of God and His Kingdom, we will routinely display the distinctives that others should see in us. “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:16). With the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we open ourselves to His transforming power, we can make progress on living a fruitful and fulfilling Reformed and Presbyterian lifestyle.
