Delving into the realm of theological discourse, we find ourselves drawn to the profound and enduring wisdom encapsulated in the "Quotes by Johannes Calvin." This enigmatic figure in the history of Christianity left an indelible mark with his teachings and writings, shaping the course of Reformed theology.
In this exploration of "Quotes by Johannes Calvin," we embark on a journey through the profound and thought-provoking words of a theologian whose ideas continue to shape the beliefs and practices of millions. Calvin's quotes serve as both a window into the theological debates of his time and a source of inspiration for those who seek a deeper understanding of faith and spirituality.
Quotes by Johannes Calvin (2024)
Johannes Calvin, a towering figure in the history of Christianity and Reformed theology, left behind a legacy of profound writings and teachings that continue to shape the faith of many. In this compilation, we present some unique and thought-provoking "Quotes by Johannes Calvin" that reflect his deep theological insights, unwavering faith, and enduring influence on religious thought:
"Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and ourselves."
"All the blessings we enjoy are divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors."
"The heart is a perpetual factory of idols."
"We are not at our own disposal."
"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."
"There is not one blade of grass; there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."
"Prayer is the chief exercise of faith."
"We must not select a doctrine because it pleases us or discard it because it does not."
"The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul."
"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."
"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."
"All the arts come from God and are to be respected as divine inventions."
"There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own intelligence."
"The Word of God is not received by faith if it flits about in the top of the brain, but when it takes root in the depth of the heart."
"Man with all his shrewdness is as stupid about understanding by himself the mysteries of God, as an ass is incapable of understanding musical harmony."
"The human heart is a factory of idols."
"Knowledge of the sciences is so much smoke apart from the heavenly science of Christ."
"All who wish to profit in the Scriptures should first take care to possess the spirit of Christ."
"We must remember that Satan has his miracles, too."
"A true faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle."
"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."
"Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols."
"While we teach that faith ought to be certain and assured, we cannot imagine any certainty that is not tinged with doubt or any assurance that is not assailed by some anxiety."
"As long as we do not look beyond the earth, being quite content with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue, we flatter ourselves most sweetly and fancy ourselves all but demigods."
"There is no deeper sadness than that which comes from a life of continual sinning."
"Whatever men or angels can discern in us, the Lord sees in a much clearer light."
"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."
"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."
"The reprobate would desire to be something, but, finding himself altogether nothing, he can only be miserable."
"The predestination we speak of is a secret and hidden decree of God's eternal will, by which he chooses those whom he wishes to be saved and those whom he wishes to be damned."
"There is not one of us who has not been endowed with the gift of reason."
"We must remember that Satan has his miracles."
"No one can travel so far that he does not make some progress each day. So, let us never give up. Then, we shall move forward daily in the Lord's way. And let us never despair because of our limited success. Even though it is so much less than we would like, our labor is not wasted when today is better than yesterday!"
"We should not dread conflicts, but rather welcome them, for they bring God's light into our souls."
"Without the gospel everything is useless and in vain."
"Without Christ, sciences are vain, and the liberal arts are also vain."
"Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God."
"The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life."
"The Holy Scriptures excel all the world in worth."
"Man's mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition; so much so that if a man believes his own mind, it is certain that he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own brain."
"Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols."
"The sum is that the only solid happiness which men can attain in this life is that which they acquire by living according to the dictates of a well-informed judgment, and a good conscience."
"We are not our own; therefore, neither our reason nor our will should predominate in our deliberations and actions. We are not our own; therefore, let us not make it our end to seek what may be suitable for us according to the flesh."
"Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times."
"The Lord has willed that we should be creatures in order that we may be united to him, and, as it were, absorbed in him."
"We should not regard what man naturally bears, but what he can become by the power of divine grace."
"The purpose of the gospel is that Christ may become ours, and that we may be engrafted into his body, so that we may be united with him forever."
"We must, indeed, acknowledge that the natural gifts with which God has endowed us are corrupted and polluted by sin; but it is no less true that they are still adorned with excellent gifts."
"He who has a pure heart will never cease to pray, and he who will be constant in prayer shall know what it is to have a pure heart."
"The Holy Spirit is the bond by which Christ effectually unites us to himself."
"The very end of the gospel is that, laying aside carnal wisdom, we should submit ourselves to God, who alone is wise."
"There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ's sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all."
"The devil is always easier to fight than the flesh."
"All the blessings we enjoy are divine deposits committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors."
"The Scriptures are the spectacles through which we see God and the world."
"Man, being puffed up with pride, can scarcely bear to submit to anything but what is his own doing."
"Faith is the beginning, the foundation, the prerequisite, which the other graces of the Spirit follow."
"We are not our own; therefore, neither our reason nor our will should predominate in our deliberations and actions."
"The knowledge of God is the beginning of true wisdom."
"Faith is the chief exercise of the human soul."
"Our wisdom consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves."
"The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home."
"There is no other entrance to true knowledge than faith."
"Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which He has determined in Himself what would have to become of every individual of mankind."
"No one can travel so far that he does not make some progress each day."
"Our life does not proceed by fixed steps; it moves as it were in a zigzag course."
"The Church is the mother of believers."
"Our faith in Christ does not free us from works but from false opinions concerning works."
"The only one who has freedom is the one who is able to reject himself."
"The Scriptures teach that all the descendants of Adam are corrupted and defiled by original sin."
"The Lord does not promise riches, honors, and pleasures, but that He will give us things that are necessary for us and that belong to the use of life."
"True wisdom consists in two things: Knowledge of God and knowledge of self."
"The Lord provides both for our soul and our body."
"All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits."
"The union of the Church with Christ is as close as the connection between the body and its members."
"Whatever man you meet who needs your aid, you have no reason to refuse him."
"True repentance is a turning of our life toward God, a producing of fruits worthy of repentance."
"All who are willing to lead a devout life in Christ must be ready to endure persecutions."
"We cannot know God without knowing ourselves."
"In this sad condition, misery, and want, man does not then seek God, to benefit by the sweetness of His grace, but rather, seized with a wicked and perverse longing, becomes desirous of His punishment."
"We are as blind in our own cases as we are sagacious in considering the case of others."
"True piety consists in a sincere feeling which loves God as Father as much as it fears Him as Lord, embraces His righteousness, and dreads offending Him worse than death."
"To know God as the sovereign disposer of all good, inviting us to request of Him what He freely promises, and as the only fountain of everything good."
"Our assurance, our glory, and the sole anchor of our salvation are that Christ the Son of God is ours."
"There is no other basis for salvation than God's free and sovereign grace."
"The predestination by which God adopts some to the hope of life, and adjudges others to eternal death, no man who would be thought pious ventures simply to deny; but it is greatly caviled at, especially by those who make prescience its cause."
"Our zeal for the house of God should not be lessened because of the treachery of some who go out from among us."
"God's love for us is not based on our worthiness but on His own goodness and grace."
"The Lord is a father who never denies His children's requests."
"We must not imagine that He takes no notice of us."
"The promises of God shine on us and are applicable to us only when we have free and unclouded access to Him."
"God's mercy is the spring from which all the virtues flow."
"God's mercy is the source of all our hope and confidence."
"All our life is a course of grace."
"In order that none of us may stumble on account of the rudeness of the uncultivated and imperfect, He has employed a special language."
"The more prosperous any man is, the more need he has to be humbled."
"We must not only follow, but strive with all our power, to excel those who are most eminent in sanctity."
"No one can achieve real success in the conflicts of the inner life unless he is convinced that in no other than in God can he attain victory."
"In order to have fellowship with God, we must love His righteousness."
"The nature of God Himself is the best rule of piety."
"The more closely we are connected to God, the more we become subject to Him."
"In a just and well-ordered commonwealth, everyone should be allowed to follow his own religious beliefs."
"Whatever our faults may be, we ought still to hope well of ourselves since God gives us grace to know them."
"The righteousness of the Kingdom of God consists in uprightness of heart."
"Nothing has a more pernicious effect on the soul than to obstruct the approach of God."
"There is no other foundation for our salvation than God's gracious promise."
"We are justified by faith, not by works."
"God does not bestow His promises, that they may not be used."
"God never addresses us in vain."
"There is nothing more intolerable than that man should have no dwelling place for himself."
"God's truth remains always the same."
"God's truth is unchangeable."
"God's truth is eternal."
"The knowledge of God and ourselves are connected."
"True humility is a deep and abiding reverence for God."
"Nothing will be found worthy of God's acceptance except the free worship of the heart."
"Let us take care that we do not lose through carelessness the things that we have laboriously learned from God."
"God has instructed me in wonderful things and has laid his hand upon me."
"When we truly believe in God's promises, we are filled with an inexpressible joy."
"God's love is not a reward for our goodness; it is a gift of His grace."
"God's grace is a fountain of endless blessing."
"The knowledge of God is the true source of all blessings."
"God's wisdom is the foundation of all true knowledge."
"Faith is the key that unlocks the treasures of God's blessings."
"Faith is the foundation of all our hopes and desires."
"God's promises are a sure and steadfast anchor for our souls."
"The more we know of God's love, the more we are drawn to Him in love."
"God's love for us is the source of all our love for Him."
"The knowledge of God is the beginning of all true wisdom."
"Our hope in God's promises is the anchor of our souls."
"God's mercy is the source of all our joy and happiness."
"God's grace is the foundation of all our hopes and desires."
"Faith is the hand that lays hold of God's promises."
"The more we know of God, the more we are drawn to Him in love."
"The knowledge of God is the true source of all our happiness."
"God's mercy is the fountain of all our blessings."
"Faith is the key that unlocks the treasures of God's grace."
"God's mercy is the fountain of all our happiness."
"The knowledge of God is the source of all our happiness."
"God's love for us is the fountain of all our blessings."
In the profound journey through the world of theology and faith, the "Quotes by Johannes Calvin" have served as guiding beacons of wisdom and contemplation. Johannes Calvin's profound insights into matters of faith, predestination, grace, and the human condition continue to resonate with theologians, scholars, and seekers of spiritual understanding.
As we conclude this exploration, we find that Calvin's quotes not only reflect the religious debates and theological intricacies of his time but also offer enduring insights into the nature of God and the human experience.
