John Calvin Quotes

A collection of quotes by John Calvin.

John Calvin (1509-1564) was a French theologian, pastor, and influential figure in the Protestant Reformation. He is best known for his reformist teachings and his role in establishing Calvinism, a major branch of Protestantism.

Calvin was born in Noyon, Picardy, France, and studied law in Paris before undergoing a spiritual conversion. After embracing the principles of the Reformation, he fled to Basel, Switzerland, due to religious persecutions in France. There, he penned his seminal work, "Institutes of the Christian Religion," which outlined his theological beliefs.

Calvin's writings and sermons had a significant impact on the development of Protestantism. His doctrine emphasized predestination, the authority of Scripture, and the sovereignty of God. Calvinism, based on these teachings, spread rapidly throughout Europe, gaining particular importance in Switzerland, Scotland, the Netherlands, and parts of France.

In Geneva, Switzerland, Calvin established a theocratic system, aiming to create a city governed according to biblical principles. As the city's spiritual leader, he implemented rigorous church discipline, shaping religious and moral life in the community. Calvin also played a key role in the establishment of a biblical-based education system in Geneva.

John Calvin's theological ideas, intellectual rigor, and institutional reforms left a lasting impact on Protestant theology and its subsequent development. His legacy continues to impact religious and societal thought even today.

God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His at

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 Lord commands us to do good unto all men without excepti

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.

God Love Neighbor

Yet consider now, whether women are not quite past sense and

Yet consider now, whether women are not quite past sense and reason, when they want to rule over men.

Women

There is no work, however vile or sordid, that does not glis

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

God

All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to

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.

Trust

Man's mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition so m

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.

God

Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who wi

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.

Fear

Is it faith to understand nothing, and merely submit your co

Is it faith to understand nothing, and merely submit your convictions implicitly to the Church?

Faith

Wherever we find the Word of God surely preached and heard,

Wherever we find the Word of God surely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there, it is not to be doubted, is a church of God.

Religion

Each eye can have its vision separately; but when we are loo

Each eye can have its vision separately; but when we are looking at anything our vision, which in itself is divided, joins up and unites in order to give itself as a whole to the object that is put before it.

Christianity

No man is excluded from calling upon God, the gate of salvat

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.

God

God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance

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.

Freedom

A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward

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.

God

However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite libe

However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.

God

Knowledge of the sciences is so much smoke apart from the he

Knowledge of the sciences is so much smoke apart from the heavenly science of Christ.

Knowledge