Institutes of the Christian Religion

by John Calvin

At the time when he was raised to the highest pinnacle of honour, all which Scripture attributes to him is, that he was created in the image of God, thereby intimating that the blessings in which his happiness consisted were not his own, but derived by divine communication.

For the Lord has made our nature free.

until the common dogma came to be, that man was corrupted only in the sensual part of his nature,

As if human nature were still in its integrity, the term free will has always been in use among the Latins, while the Greeks were not ashamed to use a still more presumptuous term, viz.,

as if man had still full power in himself.

Peter Lombard, and the Schoolmen, preferred the definition of Augustine, both because it was clearer, and did not exclude divine grace, without which they saw that the will was not sufficient of itself.

describes the will as threefold, viz., sensitive, animal, and spiritual.

The Master of the Sentences, (Lombard, ibid). wishing to explain this, teaches that a twofold grace is necessary to fit for any good work.

The one he calls Operating. To it, it is owing that we effectually will what is good. The other, which succeeds this good will, and aids it, he calls Co-operating. My objection to this division (see

For Lombard ultimately declares, (lib. 2 Dist. 25) that our freedom is not to the extent of leaving us equally inclined to good and evil in act or in thought, but only to the extent of freeing us from compulsion.

This liberty is compatible with our being depraved, the servants of sin, able to do nothing but sin.

In this way, then, man is said to have free will, not because he has a free choice of good and evil, but because he acts voluntarily, and not by compulsion.

This is perfectly true: but why should so small a matter have been dignified with so proud a title? An

forced to be the servant of sin, while he is, however, "ethelodoulos", (a voluntary slave) his will bein...

In particular, Augustine hesitates not to call the will a slave[7]. In another passages he is offended with those

who deny free will; but his chief reason for this is explained when

"Only lest any one should presume so to deny freedom of will, from a ...

It is certain he elsewhere admits, that without the Spirit the will of man is not free, inasmuch as it is subject to...

He who has been vanquished is the servant of him who vanquished him.

"That the will is indeed free, but not freed - free of righteousness, but enslaved to sin."

they hold human virtue in little or no account, and ascribe the whole merit of all that is good to the Holy Spirit.

It is sweet, indeed, to have so much virtue of our own as to be able to rest in ourselves;

The scope of all these passages is that we must not entertain any opinion whatever of our own strength,

if we would enjoy the favour of God, who "resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble," (Jas 4: 6)

The Lord certainly does not deprive his servants of the light of the sun or moon, but as he would alone appear glorious in them, he dissuades them from confidence even in those objects which they deem most excellent.

have always been exceedingly delighted with the words of Chrysostom, "The foundation of our philosophy is humility[13]";

so, if you ask me in regard to the precepts of the Christian Religion, I will answer, first, second, and third, Humility."

By humility he means not when a man, with a consciousness of some virtue, refrains from pride, but when he truly feels that he has no refuge but in humility.

What have you of your own but sin? Take your sin which is your own; for righteousness is of God."

I feel pleased with the well-known saying which has been borrowed from the writings of Augustine, that man's natural gifts were corrupted by sin,

and his supernatural gifts withdrawn; meaning by supernatural gifts the light of faith and righteousness,

Man, when he withdrew his allegiance to God, was deprived of the spiritual gifts by which he had been raised t...

On the other hand, soundness of mind and integrity of heart were, at the same time, withdrawn, and it is this which constitutes the corruption of natural gifts.

We see that there has been implanted in the human mind a certain desire of investigating truth, to which it never would aspire unless some relish for truth antecedently existed.

But while these proofs openly attest the fact of a universal reason and intelligence naturally implanted, this universality is of a kind which should lead every individual for himself to recognise it as a special gift of God. To

Therefore, since it is manifest that men whom the Scriptures term carnal, are so acute and clear-sighted in the investigation of inferior things, their example should teach us how many gifts the Lord has left in possession of human nature, notwithstanding of its having been despoiled of the true good.

so the natural gifts which remained were corrupted after the fall.

We must now explain what the power of human reason is, in regard to the kingdom of God, and spiritual discernments which consists chiefly of three things - the knowledge of God, the knowledge of his paternal favour towards us, which constitutes our salvation, and the method of regulating of our conduct in accordance with the Divine Law.

What the Apostle here denies to man, he, in another place, ascribes to God alone,

So indulgent is man towards himself, that, while doing evil, he always endeavours as much as he can to suppress the idea of sin.

that man, when he comes to the particular, forgets the rule which he had laid down in the general case.

belives the general rule but when it comes to certain situations that he or she finds themselve in. they will forget the general rule and make a special case

But the Lord condemning this too lofty spirit, prescribes to his people that patience which mankind deem infamous. In

Though he had been regenerated, and so had made no ordinary progress in true piety, he confesses that he stood in need of direction every moment, in order that he might not decline from the knowledge with which he had been endued.

The question of freedom, therefore, has nothing to do with the fact of man's being led by natural instinct to desire good. The

Though man has still the faculty of willing there is no soundness in it. He

Necessity must be distinguished from compulsion.

The term flesh applies not only to the sensual, but also to the higher part of the soul. This demonstrated from Scripture.

But it will be said, that the word "flesh" applies only to the sensual, and not to the higher part of the soul.

In the contrast between the Spirit and the flesh, there is nothing left of an intermediate nature.

In this way, everything in man, which is not spiritual, falls under the denomination of carnal.