Quotes from John Calvin

Scripture is like a pair of spectacles which dispels the darkness and gives us a clear view of God.

Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.

No man can come to God but by an extraordinary revelation of the Spirit.

We can experience joy in adverse circumstances by holding God's benefits in such esteem that the recognition of them and meditation upon them shall overcome all sorrow.

We cannot rely on God's promises without obeying his commandments.

The glory of God shines, indeed, in all creatures on high and below, but never more brightly than in the cross.

Holiness is not a merit by which we can attain communion with God, but a gift of Christ, which enables us to cling to him, and to follow him.

The Gospel acts without threats... it teaches us about the supreme goodwill of God towards us.

There are sons of God who do not yet appear so to us, but now do so to God; and there are those who, on account of some arrogated or temporal grace, are called so by us, but are not so to God.

For there is no one so great or mighty that he can avoid the misery that will rise up against him when he resists and strives against God.

There is no group or type of people anywhere in the world that is excluded from salvation, because God desires that the gospel be proclaimed to all without exception.

...nothing good can proceed from our will until it be formed again, and that after it is formed again in so far as it is good, it is of God, and not of us.

Where is our acknowledgement of God if our thoughts are fixed on the glamour of our garments?

Hypocrisy can plunge the mind of a man into a dark abyss, when he believes his own self-flattery instead of God's verdict.

They who prematurely put themselves forward to root out whatever is displeasing to them overthrow the judgment of God and rashly intrude upon the office of angels.

We unjustly defraud God of his right, unless each of us lives and dies in dependence on His sovereign pleasure.

God does not bestow his spirit on his people in order to set aside the use of his word, but rather to render it fruitful.

It is only the goodness of God sensibly experienced by us which opens our mouth to celebrate His praise.

God orders what we cannot do, that we may know what we ought to ask him.

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.

All the arts come from God and are to be respected as divine inventions

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.

We are surrounded by God's benefits. The best use of these benefits is an unceasing expression of gratitude.

Concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, we must also be aware that he is our Advocate, and that without him we cannot approach God.