Lessons from the Reformation for Today: Discipleship and Obedience

Whether because of Luther’s experience in the monastery or because Reformed Protestants spread particularly in cities where there was a great deal of concern for public morality, the Reformed Churches tended to put more emphasis on behaviour than the Lutherans did. Calvin in particular established church institutions that were intended to help people live out their faith. The notorious Genevan Consistory, despite its reputation as a bunch of clerical busybodies, was in reality focused on discipleship and improving people’s practice of the faith, and the General Hospital and the Bourses provided for the physical needs of people in the community in response to the social implications of the Gospel.