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John Calvin Quotes

French pastor and theologian (d. 1564), Birth: 10-7-1509, Death: 27-5-1564 John Calvin Quotes
1.
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
John Calvin

When the Almighty desires to pass judgment on a nation, He bestows upon them depraved leaders.
2.
For the fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is a monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man's house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light.
John Calvin

3.
We shall never be clothed with the righteousness of Christ except we first know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own.
John Calvin

We shall never don the righteousness of Christ unless we are certain that our own righteousness is non-existent.
4.
Whatever a person may be like, we must still love them because we love God.
John Calvin

No matter what someone is like, we should still show them love due to our reverence for God.
5.
Prayer doesn't change things - God changes things in answer to prayer.
John Calvin

'Supplication does not alter circumstances - God rectifies affairs in response to supplication.'
Similar Authors: Charles Spurgeon Joel Osteen Rick Warren John Piper Dietrich Bonhoeffer Myles Munroe John Wesley Ellen G. White Adrian Rogers Reinhold Niebuhr Jonathan Edwards Francis Schaeffer Robert H. Schuller Martin Buber George Whitefield
6.
I gave up all for Christ, and what have I found? Everything in Christ.
John Calvin

I relinquished the entirety for Christ, and what did I uncover? All in Him.
7.
A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent.
John Calvin

I would be a craven if I observed that God's verity is assailed and yet stayed quiet.
8.
While all men seek after happiness, scarcely one in a hundred looks for it from God.
John Calvin

While all men chase after joy, rarely one in a hundred seeks it from the Almighty.
Quote Topics by John Calvin: Men Heart Christian Christ Prayer Giving Mean Grace Faith Doe May Scripture People Church Joy Son Mind Religious Suffering Two Heaven Blessing Fall Spiritual Soul Hands Jesus Knowledge Of God Order Law
9.
Only those who have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves, and to be confounded with shame at their wretchedness truly understand the Christian gospel.
John Calvin

Only those who have cultivated an honest sense of discontent with themselves, and a deep-seated humiliation for their inadequacy, fully comprehend the Christian faith.
10.
When I took the leap, I had faith I would find a net; Instead I learned I could fly.
John Calvin

When I made the plunge, I trusted that assistance would be found; Instead I discovered I could soar.
11.
Faith is like an empty, open hand stretched out towards God, with nothing to offer and everything to recieve
John Calvin

Belief is like an empty vessel, reaching out towards the divine, with nothing to give and all to gain.
12.
Humility is the beginning of true intelligence.
John Calvin

Modesty is the commencement of genuine wisdom.
13.
If a preacher is not first preaching to himself, better that he falls on the steps of the pulpit and breaks his neck than preaches that sermon.
John Calvin

If a minister is not practicing what they preach, it would be preferable for them to take a tumble on the stairs of the lectern and suffer harm than deliver that address.
14.
We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown.
John Calvin

We should implore God to bolster our optimism when it is slight, invigorate it when it is stagnant, affirm it when it is faltering, reinforce it when it is feeble, and elevate it when it is toppled.
15.
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.
John Calvin

16.
Whoever is not satisfied with Christ alone, strives after something beyond absolute perfection.
John Calvin

Whoever is not content with Christ alone, seeks something higher than perfect purity.
17.
Nothing is more dangerous than to be blinded by prosperity.
John Calvin

Peril lurks in the veneer of success.
18.
The happiness promised us in Christ does not consist in outward advantages-such as leading a joyous and peaceful life, having rich possessions, being safe from all harm, and abounding with delights such as the flesh commonly longs after. No, our happiness belongs to the heavenly life!
John Calvin

19.
To be Christians under the law of grace does not mean to wander unbridled outside the law, but to be engrafted in Christ, by whose grace we are free from the curse of the law, and by whose Spirit we have the law engraved upon our hearts.
John Calvin

20.
There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make men rejoice.
John Calvin

There is not an ounce of flora, there is no hue in this world that does not aim to bring people joy.
21.
The excellence of the Church does not consist in multitude but in purity.
John Calvin

The greatness of the Church does not lie in size but in righteousness.
22.
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.
John Calvin

The minister should possess two distinct tones: one, to draw in the congregation; and another, to repel and deter predators and pilferers. The Bible provides him with the instrumentation to perform both.
23.
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.
John Calvin

24.
The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life.
John Calvin

The gospel is not a set of words, but an embodiment of living.
25.
We must not think that [God] takes no notice of us, when He does not answer our wishes: for He has a right to distinguish what we actually need.
John Calvin

We must not assume that [God] disregards us, when He does not grant our desires: for He has the prerogative to identify what we truly require.
26.
It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone.
John Calvin

27.
Whenever the Lord holds us in suspense, and delays his aid, he is not therefore asleep, but, on the contrary, regulates all His works in such a manner that he does nothing but at the proper time.
John Calvin

28.
We are nowhere forbidden to laugh, or be satisfied with food...or to be delighted with music or to drink wine.
John Calvin

29.
God works in his elect in two ways: inwardly, by his Spirit; outwardly, by his Word.
John Calvin

30.
For what is idolatry if not this: to worship the gifts in place of the Giver himself?
John Calvin

31.
Peace is not to be purchased by the sacrifice of truth.
John Calvin

32.
There is no work, however vile or sordid, that does not glisten before God.
John Calvin

33.
If God does nothing random, there must always be something to learn.
John Calvin

34.
No man is excluded from calling upon God, the gate of salvation is set open unto all men: neither is there any other thing which keepeth us back from entering in, save only our own unbelief.
John Calvin

35.
The blindness of unbelievers in no way detracts from the clarity of the gospel; the sun is no less bright because blind men do not perceive its light.
John Calvin

36.
We should never insult others on account of their faults, for it is our duty to show charity and respect to everyone.
John Calvin

37.
Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols.
John Calvin

38.
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.
John Calvin

39.
Our assurance, our glory, and the sole anchor of our salvation are that Christ the Son of God is ours, and we in turn are in him sons of God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, called to the hope of eternal blessedness by God's grace, not by our worth.
John Calvin

40.
True wisdom consists in two things: Knowledge of God and Knowledge of Self.
John Calvin

41.
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.
John Calvin

42.
The Lord has not redeemed you so you might enjoy pleasures and luxuries or so that you might abandon yourself to ease and indolence, but rather so you should be prepared to endure all sorts of evils.
John Calvin

43.
Repentance is the true turning of our life to God, a turning that arises from a pure and earnest fear of Him; and it consists in the mortification of the flesh and the renewing of the Spirit.
John Calvin

44.
God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us - as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray.
John Calvin

45.
You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy.
John Calvin

46.
How do we know that God has elected us before the creation of the world? By believing in Jesus Christ.
John Calvin

47.
Let it stand, therefore, as an indubitable truth, which no engines can shake, that the mind of man is so entirely alienated from the righteousness of God that he cannot conceive, desire, or design any thing but what is wicked, distorted, foul, impure, and iniquitous; that his heart is so thoroughly envenomed by sin that it can breathe out nothing but corruption and rottenness; that if some men occasionally make a show of goodness, their mind is ever interwoven with hypocrisy and deceit, their soul inwardly bound with the fetters of wickedness.
John Calvin

48.
For we are not all equally afflicted with the same disease or all in need of the same severe cure. This is the reason why we see different persons disciplined with different crosses. The heavenly Physician takes care of the well-being of all his patients; he gives some a milder medicine and purifies others by more shocking treatments, but he omits no one; for the whole world, without exception, is ill (Deut 32:15).
John Calvin

49.
We may rest assured that God would never have suffered any infants to be slain except those who were already damned and predestined for eternal death.
John Calvin

50.
Men will never worship God with a sincere heart, or be roused to fear and obey Him with sufficient zeal, until they properly understand how much they are indebted to His mercy.
John Calvin