The 1559 Institutes defeat most readers by sheer length before they defeat anyone by difficulty, which is the problem this edition exists to solve. It provides a readable and inexpensive sampler of Calvin's greatest work.

Lane has condensed the 1559 edition while retaining the heart of Calvin's teaching on all of his major themes, so a reader meets the actual text rather than a summary of it. For anyone who wants to know what Calvin says before committing to the full two volumes, and for a class that has one term rather than three.