Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
John CalvinRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the concepts of predestination and divine justice in relation to salvation and damnation.
John Calvin's quote explores the doctrine of predestination, which posits that God has already determined the fates of individuals concerning salvation and damnation. It emphasizes the sovereignty of God in deciding who will attain eternal life and who will face eternal punishment, underscoring the belief that these outcomes are not based on individual merit, but rather on God's will for His glory and the manifestation of His attributes such as mercy and justice.
Themes
PredestinationSalvationDamnationDivine JusticeMercyTheology
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about the unconditionality of God's grace, this quote can highlight the doctrine of predestination.
More from John Calvin
All quotes →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.
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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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Whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of His fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil.
John CalvinRead
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.
John CalvinRead
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
John CalvinRead
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