Calvin’s Institutes: We can do nothing for our salvation, Jesus did it all.

We continue with Calvin’s Institutes in this entry.  Reading this section I was encouraged in the glory of God and my walk with the Lord.  In Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Frodo and his team come to Tom Bombadil’s house.  It’s a place of happiness, rest, good food, and song.  Frodo and company needed it on their journey.  Calvin’s Institutes is like Tom’s house.  Tom directed the Hobbits to the beauty and blessings of life…Calvin with the Scriptures tells us of the beauty and blessings of God.

 Book 3, chapter 14 of the Institutes. It is truly rich. 

Is there any kind of righteousness possible with mankind?  Calvin answers this question in this chapter. The answer is yes!  Man the sinner can be righteous, but not of himself.  To understand this, Calvin gives a four-fold classification of man.  I am dealing with the first classification below.

1.         The first class, when judged according to their works are found absolutely empty and dead to any righteousness.  Every man when he is born is born in this state of depravity. [Jer. 17:9; Ps. 94:11; Ex. 20:20; Ps. 14:2; Gen 6:3; Gal 5:19-21]

2.         But what about their moral upright behavior?  These so called good works are gifts of God.  As Calvin writes, AAll these virtuesBor rather, images of virtuesBare gifts of God, since nothing is in any way praiseworthy that does not come from him.@  (Pg., 770)

3.         Without faith in Christ, and without Christ in the life, all these shadows of good works performed by wicked men are not holy at all.  AThose who have no part in Christ, whatever they may be, whatever they may do or undertake, yet hasten all their lives to destruction and to the judgment of eternal death.@  (Pg., 771)

4.         If we put the grace of God up against our natural condition, our depravity is even more clearly seen.  When God=s Spirit comes and illumines our hearts to who we are and who God is we realize that we are nothing.  This is the grace of regeneration, bringing dead sinners to life. [John 5:25; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:4-5; Rom 4:17]

5.         Hence it is obvious.  Salvation is by grace alone, not by our works.  AFor, as we have by nature been created, oil will sooner bye pressed from a stone that any good work from us... Let us therefore admit, with this very great instrument of God, that the Lord Acalled us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his purpose and ...grace@ [II Tim. 1:9p.],@ (Pg., 772)

6.         Man the sinner has nothing and can do nothing to attribute to salvation.  He is depraved and therefore without any ability to do anything to save himself. [Isa. 59:15-16; Rom 5:10; Col 1:21; 1 John 4:10] [Rom.13:10ff; Eph. 2:1-3; Rom 8:7-8; etc.]

7.         God, through Christ and by the Spirit, does it all.  His love for us is not awakened by our works.  No, our salvation depends entirely upon His mercy.  AWe are not cleansed and washed of our uncleanness by Christ=s blood except when the Spirit works that cleansing in us [I Cor. 6:11].@  (Pg., 773) (Phil.1:29)