something worth thinking about . Instruction in Faith (1537)[1] John Calvin (1509-1564) “The Scripture testifies often that man is a slave of sin. The Scripture means thereby that man’s spirit is so alienated from the justice of God that man conceives, covets, and undertakes nothing that is not evil, perverse, iniquitous, and soiled. Because the heart, totally imbued with the poison of sin, can emit nothing but the fruits of sin. Yet one must not infer therefrom that man sins as constrained by violent necessity. For, man sins with the consent of a very prompt and inclined will.” Christians are redeemed from the penalty of sin, and, by God’s Word and Spirit, we are being set free from the power of sin in our lives. However, the presence of sin will not be removed until we are translated to glory, and therefore it remains with us all our lives. Believers need to accept the fact that the law of sin within them will have to be struggled against all their days, since our “very prompt and inclined will” too easily sides with the devil when temptations arise. Believers must be taught to recognize and hate sin, and to recognize and resist the devil. But they also need to learn how to practice the disciplines of confession and repentance, or their way will always be obstructed by indwelling sin in their quest for the knowledge of God.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 13:14:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015