John Calvin Quotes
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All men were created to busy themselves with the labor for the common good.
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For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any book, however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there is something written, are scarcely able to make out two consecutive words, but, when aided by glasses, begin to read distinctly, so Scripture, gathering together the impressions of Deity, which, till then, lay confused in our minds, dissipates the darkness, and shows us the true God clearly.
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Wherefore all theology, when separated from Christ, is not only vain and confused, but is also mad, deceitful, and spurious; for, though the philosophers sometimes utter excellent sayings, yet they have nothing but what is short-lived, and even mixed up with wicked and erroneous sentiments.
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The Fanaticism which discards the Scripture, under the pretense of resorting to immediate revelations is subversive of every principle of Christianity. For when they boast extravagantly of the Spirit, the tendency is always to bury the Word of God so they may make room for their own falsehoods.
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When pain and suffering strike, our faith is well founded if it is standing on the promises of God. For all of God's promises have strong confirmation in Christ.
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I gave up all for Christ, and what have I found? Everything in Christ.
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A dog barks and stands at bay if he sees any one assault his master. I should be indeed remiss, if, seeing the truth of God thus attacked, I should remain dumb, without giving one note of warning.
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The majesty of God in itself goes beyond the capacity of human understanding and cannot be comprehended by it. We must adore its loftiness rather than investigate it, so that we do not remain overwhelmed by so great a splendor.
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There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.
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For it is better, with closed eyes, to follow God as our guide, than, by relying on our own prudence, to wander through those circuitous paths which it devises for us.
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Whoever shall now contend that it is unjust to put heretics and blasphemers to death will knowingly and willingly incur their very guilt.
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True wisdom consists in two things: Knowledge of God and Knowledge of Self.
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There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.
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The invention of the arts, and other things which serve the common use and convenience of life, is a gift of God by no means to be despised, and a faculty worthy of commendation.
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Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty.
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Unless God's Word illumine the way, the whole life of men is wrapped in darkness and mist, so that they cannot but miserably stray.
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For what is idolatry if not this: to worship the gifts in place of the Giver himself?
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By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which He determined with Himself whatever He wished to happen with regard to every man.
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The more we are oppressed by the cross, the fuller will be our spiritual joy.
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Without the Gospel everything is useless and vain.
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The human heart is a factory of idols...Everyon e of us is, from his mother's womb, expert in inventing idols.
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We are not to reflect on the wickedness of men but to look to the image of God in them, an image which, covering and obliterating their faults, an image which, by its beauty and dignity, should allure us to love and embrace them.
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For Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which, as nothing is omitted that is both necessary and useful to know, so nothing is taught but what is expedient to know. Therefore we must guard against depriving believers of anything disclosed about predestination in Scripture, lest we seem either wickedly to defraud them of the blessing of their God or to accuse and scoff at the Holy Spirit for having published what it is in any way profitable to suppress.
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Scripture is like a pair of spectacles which dispels the darkness and gives us a clear view of God.