David Ponter’s John Calvin Bomb

After years of reading and research, David has posted a massive amount of Calvin quotations on the Calvin and Calvinism blog that should transform opinion about the great Reformer! As David says:

…the following list, I believe, will be the most comprehensive list regarding Calvin’s view on the extent of the expiation and redemption that is available either online or in hard-print.

These are just a few of his findings taken from Calvin's most recently published Sermons on Acts 1–7:

On the other hand, when Luke speaks of the priests, he is speaking of the responsibility of those who hold public office. Principally, they are ordained to bear God’s word. So when some falsehood appears or Satan’s wicked disseminations proliferate, it is their duty to be vigilant, confront the situation, and do everything in their power to protect poor people from being poisoned by false teachings and to keep the souls redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ from perishing, from entering into eternal death.

John Calvin, Sermons on Acts 1–7, Sermon 9, Acts 4:1–4, p., 112.

And that speaks not only to those who are charged with the responsibility of teaching God's word, but to everyone in general. For on this point the Holy Spirit, who must be our guide, is not disparaging the right way to teach. If we wish to serve our Master, that is the way we must go about it. We must make every effort to draw everybody to the knowledge of the gospel. For when we see people going to hell who have been created in the image of God and redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, that must indeed stir us to do our duty and instruct them and treat them with all gentleness and kindness as we try to bear fruit this way.

But still Stephen had a special reason. He. was speaking to the Jews, who professed to be God's people. That then has to do with the 'brothers' Stephen was talking about at the outset. That is the relationship we now have with the papists, although they differ from us. They confess that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world and then destroy his power while still retaining some sign of the gospel. They confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that what the Evangelists wrote about him must be adhered to as God's truth, even though they do not believe it. So if we have that in common with the papists, there is some appearance of brotherhood.

John Calvin, Sermons on Acts 1–7, Sermon 41, Acts 7:51, p., 587–588.

And now there is another reason we must extend this teaching a bit further. It is, as I have already said, that, seeing that men are created in the image of God and that their souls have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, we must try in every way available to us to draw them to the knowledge of the gospel. First, we try to reach them through gentleness and kindness. But have we determined whether men can be brought into obedience unto God in this way? Since we see that there is such hardness and rebellion in them that they cannot be won in this way, it is no longer a matter of using gentle tactics. Rather, we must storm out against them, as the Holy Spirit shows us here. And because of that, we understand why many people think they would like for us to refrain from all harshness when we speak of the pope and his ilk, calling him an antichrist, a murderer, a robber who kills poor souls, a thief who pillages God's honour.

John Calvin, Sermons on Acts 1–7, Sermon 41, Acts 7:51, p., 593.

I would like to echo the sentiments of Reid Ferguson, and also say to David:

On behalf of many many folks, and hopefully generations to come, thank you for your tireless efforts in this regard. We will all be better for it.