Nathan E. Lewis

This was John Calvin’s personal seal: “My heart I offer to You, promptly and sincerely.” And so, he must not have denied human action, reducing human beings to robots. He believed and practiced a dynamic response to the sovereign and complete work of God, the only Savior. He believed that redemption was solely the work of God. Nevertheless, he advocated ardent human response in following Christ in virtue and good deeds. If a person has read Calvin’s Institutes, it would be difficult for that person to describe Calvin’s view as one of human inactivity. What is at stake in many conversations and certainly in Calvin’s thought is the relationship of God’s work to humanity’s work. Clearly in Calvin’s views, God’s work of redemption is complete without any help from fallen humanity. God’s gracious and complete work enables an individual to offer his/her heart to God, promptly and sincerely.

By the way, John Calvin’s commentaries on the Bible are online.