Jeffrey Hammond outlines a biblical theology of conscience. A Christian conscience is an ever-growing, recalibrating capacity of the regenerated (converted) person. Then, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the Christian can seek to fulfill the great commands of the New Testament: to love God and love the neighbor. Working out these commands involves judgment of what to do in any given situation. However, in making any difficult judgment, the Christian is always aided by the “still, small” voice of the Holy Spirit, counselors, prayer, and the certain knowledge that the conscientious decision will always line up with the will of God as revealed in the Word of God. The redeemed conscience is one that is both bound and freed. The Christian is bound to follow the moral instruction in the New Testament, but at the same time, she is also freed to do it. The redeemed conscience is one that judges and will be judged by the God who perceives the deliberations of all consciences. The Christian, however, sensitive to the Spirit in both deciding and acting, can rest upon her decisions with a sense of equanimity and peace, knowing that she has faithfully exercised her conscience.

Calvin’s legacy from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries is not monolithic. His is a multifarious legacy, perhaps fitting for a towering figure whose life and writings exhibit such a breadth of interest and talent. The complexity also reflects the fact that, beginning with his contemporaries and continuing through the subsequent centuries, supporters and opponents alike have had their way with Calvin, and they have done so in a variety of times and places. This brief essay can only scratch the surface and address some of the highlights of Calvin’s reception during these three centuries, with a few opinions cited along the way.

Connecticut’s Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth were among the most important participants in the War for Independence, the Constitutional Convention, and the First Federal Congress. As well, both served on their state’s Superior Court, and Ellsworth was chief drafter of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and Chief Justice of the United States from 1796–1800. Their religious convictions, informed by Reformed theology, influenced their contributions to the creation of America’s constitutional order, and they represent well the 50–75% of Americans in this era who Calvinists.