Calvin on Predestination

In Book III, Chapter XXI of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin addresses the danger of curiosity in his discussion on predestination by stating: "Human curiosity renders the discussion of predestination, already somewhat difficult of itself, very confusing and even dangerous. [Therefore] if anyone with carefree assurance breaks into this place, he will not succeed in satisfying his curiosity and he will enter a labyrinth from which he can find no exit." (III, XXI, 1, pp. 922 23) He follows with this solution: "The Word of the Lord is the sole way that can lead us in our search or all that it is lawful to hold concerning him, and is the sole light to illumine our vision of all that we should see of him, it will readily keep and restrain us from all rashness; Let this, therefore, first of all be before our eyes: to seek any other knowledge of predestination than what the Word of God discloses is not less insane than if one should purpose to walk in a pathless waste, or to see in darkness" (III, XXI, 2, p. 923).

Calvin then warns against a second danger of avoiding the question of predestination by saying: "Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which, as nothing is omitted that is both necessary and useful to know, so nothing is taught but what is expedient to know. Therefore we must guard against depriving believers of anything disclosed about predestination in Scripture, lest we seem either wickedly to defraud them of the blessing of their God or to accuse and scoff at the Holy Spirit for having published what it is in any way profitable to suppress; Whoever, then, heaps odium upon the doctrine of predestination openly reproaches God, as if he had unadvisedly let slip something hurtful to the church" (III, XXI, 3-4, pp. 924, 926).

In discussing the objections of those who oppose that the wicked perish by God's ordination, Calvin replies: "We; confess that the wicked suffer nothing out of accord with God's most righteous judgment. Despite the fact that we do not clearly grasp the reason for this, let us not be unwilling to admit some ignorance where God's wisdom rises to its height" (III, XXIV, 14, p. 982). To explain the cause of the hardness of the wicked's hearts, Calvin explains: "The fact that the reprobate do not obey God's Word when it is made known to them will be justly charged against the malice and depravity of their hearts, provided it be added at the same time that they have been given over to this depravity because they have been raised up by the just but inscrutable judgment of God to show forth his glory in their condemnation. Similarly, when it is narrated of Eli's sons that they did not heed his wholesome admonitions, 'for it was the will of the Lord to slay them' (I Sam 2:25), it is not denied that their stubbornness arose out of their own wickedness; but at the same time it is noted why they were left in their stubbornness, even though the Lord could have softened their hearts; because his immutable decree had once for all destined them to destruction. On the same point is John's statement: 'Though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him. It was that the word of . . . Isaiah might be fulfilled: ''Lord, who has believed our report' (John 12:37-33; Isa. 53:1)?; Paul's statement confirms this: 'Christ a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, the power and wisdom of God' (I Cor. 1:23-24). For when he stated what usually happens whenever the gospel is preached; namely, that it irritates some, is spurned by others; he says that it is prized only among 'those who are called" (III, XXIV, 14, p. 981)!