I have spoken often against John Calvin, and I an learning that he perhaps did not coin TULIP. Beyond this I have found one of his quotes about Solus Christus to be brilliant!:
“For how comes it that we are carried about with so many strange doctrines [Heb 13:9] but because the excellence of Christ is not perceived by us? For Christ alone makes all other things suddenly vanish. Hence there is nothing that Satan so much endeavours to accomplish as to bring on mists with the view of obscuring Christ, because he knows, that by this means the way is opened up for every kind of falsehood. This, therefore, is the only means of retaining, as well as restoring pure doctrine—to place Christ before the view such as he is with all his blessings, that his excellence may be truly perceived.” (John Calvin Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians 1884-1856, repr, Grand Rapids 1993, from Christ Alone: The Uniqueness of Jesus As Savior, Stephen Wellum, pg 228-232)
What Calvin is saying is Satan tiess to use “mists” to fog ovrr Jesus as our focus. The aim to lead us astray into false doctrine, just as Peter who took his eyes off Jesus walking in the water began to sink and the the Wroter of Hebrews urges us, “” (Hebrews 12:2).
The devil is not a gentleman. He will use whatever he can to get you to take your eyes off Christ, his “mists” can be good things or sinister things, it matters little, his goal is for you to take your focus off Jesus. You must’n’t oblige him! Keep Jesus as the apple of your eyes, the treasure of your heart, and the object of your thoughts.
Now I am not endorsing or supporting all that John Calvin has written, I must re-examine his work, but as always I stand and trust Scripture, and test whatever anyone writes with the God breathed words in The Holy Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). For the Old and New Testaments are a sealed oracles of God without error. Amen.
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