Calvin - God the Deciever of False Faith

In this section Calvin perpetrates one of the most disgusting teachings found in his Institutes of the Christian Religion for he portrays God as a deceiver who provides a false sense of faith and grace to those that he has determined not to be saved.

 

Calvin starts with

 

John Calvin [a.d. 1509-1564]

Institutes of the Christian Religion - Chapter 16 - Section 9
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.iii.xvii.html

 

"Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, the better to convict them, and leave them without excuse, instills into their minds such a sense of his goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption."

 

We see above God "instills into their minds such a sense of his goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption." and he does this to for "the better to convict them".

Calvin continues

 

"But in this there is nothing to prevent an inferior operation of the Spirit from taking its course in the reprobate. We may add, that the reprobate never have any other than a confused sense of grace, laying hold of the shadow rather than the substance, because the Spirit properly seals the forgiveness of sins in the elect only, applying it by special faith to their use.

 

So it is an "inferior operation of the Spirit" that takes its course in the reprobate. These teachings totally contridict the scriptures and what they teach us in regard to the character of the Almighty God. The sad truth is that Calvin teaches a different God than that of the scriptures and it is very clear for he continues with.

 

"Nor do I even deny that God illumines their minds to this extent, that they recognize his grace; but that conviction he distinguishes from the peculiar testimony which he gives to his elect in this respect, that the reprobate never attain to the full result or to fruition. When he shows himself propitious to them, it is not as if he had truly rescued them from death, and taken them under his protection. He only gives them a manifestation of his present mercy.

 

 

This makes God into nothing less than a deciever on par with Satan.

 

James 1:16-17

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

 

The scriptures are clear DO NOT BE DECIEVED for every good thing and every perfect gift is from above.