John Calvin quotes
“There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own
intelligence.”
“There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not
intended to make us rejoice.”
“True wisdom consists in two things: Knowledge of God and Knowledge of Self.”
“If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house, then in a field,...it
ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before
it has come to light.”
“...a man will be justified by faith when, excluded from righteousness of works,
he by faith lays hold of the righteousness of Christ, and clothed in it, appears
in the sight of God not as a sinner, but as righteous...”
“The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul.”
“It would be the height of absurdity to label ignorance tempered by humility
"faith"!
(Institutio III.2.3)”
“Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.”
“The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another,
for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him
with the means of doing both.”
“However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always
exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.”
“A perfect faith is nowhere to be found, so it follows that all of us are partly
unbelievers.”
“Let us not cease to do the utmost, that we may incessantly go forward in the
way of the Lord; and let us not despair of the smallness of our
accomplishments.”
“This is why Paul upholds the teaching of the gospel in such a forceful way ...
Seeing such an example and such a picture of man鈥檚 great weakness and
fickleness, Paul states that the truth of the gospel must supersede anything
that we may devise 鈥?he is showing us that we ought to know the substance of the
doctrine which is brought to us in the name of God, so that our faith can be
fully grounded upon it. Then we will not be tossed about with every wind, nor
will we wander about aimlessly, changing our opinions a hundred times a day; we
will persist in this doctrine until the end. This, in brief, is what we must
remember.”
“Is it faith to understand nothing, and merely submit your convictions
implicitly to the Church?
“Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us
to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds
should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness. ”
“For there is no one so great or mighty that he can avoid the misery that will
rise up against him when he resists and strives against God”
“Our prayer must not be self-centered. It must arise not only because we feel
our own need as a burden we must lay upon God, but also because we are so bound
up in love for our fellow men that we feel their need as acutely as our own. To
make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can
express our love for them. ”
“Without the fear of God, men do not even observe justice and charity among
themselves.”
“God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy
and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to
eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal
damnation.”
“For, to my mind, this is a certain principle, that nothing is here treated of
but the visible form of the world. He who would learn astronomy, and other
recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. (on commenting the text of Genesis 1:6)”
“The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped
by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the
whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.” - Golden Booklet
of the True Christian Life
“If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house, then in a field,...it
ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a foetus in the womb before
it has come to light. ”“John Calvin, Comment on 2 Cor. 5:20
This is why Paul upholds the teaching of the gospel in such a forceful way ...
Seeing such an example and such a picture of man鈥檚 great weakness and
fickleness, Paul states that the truth of the gospel must supersede anything
that we may devise 鈥?he is showing us that we ought to know the substance of the
doctrine which is brought to us in the name of God, so that our faith can be
fully grounded upon it. Then we will not be tossed about with every wind, nor
will we wander about aimlessly, changing our opinions a hundred times a day; we
will persist in this doctrine until the end. This, in brief, is what we must
remember.”
“The Lord commands us to do good unto all men without exception, though the
majority are very undeserving when judged according to their own merits... [The
Scripture] teaches us that we must not think of man's real value, but only of
his creation in the image of God to which we owe all possible honor and love.”-
Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life
“As far as sacred Scripture is concerned, however much froward men try to gnaw
at it, nevertheless it clearly is crammed with thoughts that could not be
humanly conceived. Let each of the prophets be looked into: none will be found
who does not far exceed human measure. Consequently, those for whom prophetic
doctrine is tasteless ought to be thought of as lacking taste buds.”- Institutes
of the Christian Religion
“Those who set up a fictitious worship, merely worship and adore their own
delirious fancies; indeed, they would never dare so to trifle with God, had they
not previously fashioned him after their own childish conceits.”- Institutes of
the Christian Religion
“In forming an estimate of sins, we are often imposed upon by imagining that the
more hidden the less heinous they are.” - Institutes of the Christian Religion
“Were the judgments of mankind correct, custom would be regulated by the good.
But it is often far otherwise in point of fact; for, whatever the many are seen
to do, forthwith obtains the force of custom. But human affairs have scarcely
ever been so happily constituted as that the better course pleased the greater
number. Hence the private vices of the multitude have generally resulted in
public error, or rather that common consent in vice which these worthy men would
have to be law.”
“men are undoubtedly more in danger from prosperity than from adversity. for
when matters go smoothly, they flatter themselves, and are intoxicated by their
success”
“[God] does not bind the ancient folk to outward doctrine as if they were
learning their ABC's.”
“All the arts come from God and are to be respected as divine inventions”
“Secondly, [man] should weigh his abilities-or rather lack of abilities.”
“[Philosophers] are like a traveler passing through a field at night who in a
momentary lightning flash sees far and wide, but the sight vanishes so swiftly
that he is plunged again into the darkness of night before he can take even a
step-let alone be directed on the way by its help.”
“We ought to contemplate providence not as curious and fickle persons are wont
to do but as a ground of confidence and excitement to prayer. When he informs us
that the hairs of our head are all numbered it is not to encourage trivial
speculations but to instruct us to depend on the fatherly care of God which is
exercised over these frail bodies.”
“I was always exceedingly delighted with that saying of Chrysostom, "The
foundation of our philosophy is humility"; and yet more pleased with that of
Augustine: "As the orator, when asked, What is the first precept in eloquence?
answered, Delivery: What is the second? Delivery: What is the third? Delivery:
so if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, I will
answer, first, second, and third, Humility.”
“If we are not our own, but the Lord's, it is clear to what purpose all our
deeds must be directed. We are not our own, therefore neither our reason nor our
will should guide us in our thoughts and actions. We are not our own, therefore
we should not seek what is only expedient to the flesh. We are not our own,
therefore let us forget ourselves and our own interests in as far as possible.”
“The decree is dreadful indeed, I confess.”
“Everything bad that they (the ungodly) can seize hold of in our life is twisted
maliciously against Christ and His teaching. The result is that by our fault
God's sacred name is exposed to insult. The more closely we see ourselves being
watched by our enemies, the more intent we should be to avoid their slanders, so
that their ill-will strengthens us in the desire to do well.”
“He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God is
poor in spirit”