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He Makes This Favor Common To All, Because It Is Propounded To All, And Not Because It Is In Reality Extended To All; For Though Christ Suffered For The Sins Of The Whole World, And Is Offered Through God’s Benignity Indiscriminately To All, Yet All Do Not Receive Him.
-John Calvin
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He Makes This Favor

John Calvin
He Makes This Favor Common To All, Because It Is Propounded To All, And Not Because It Is In Reality Extended To All; For Though Christ Suffered For The Sins Of The Whole World, And Is Offered Through God’s Benignity Indiscriminately To All, Yet All Do Not Receive Him.
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There Is No Golden Mean Between These Two Extremes; Either This Early Life Must Become Low In Our Estimation, Or It Will Have Our Inordinate Love.
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In Truth We Know By Experience That Song Has Great Force And Vigour To Move And Inflame The Hearts Of Men To Invoke And Praise God With A More Vehement And Ardent Zeal.
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Elisabeth, Again, While She Praises Her, Is So Far From Hiding The Divine Glory, That She Ascribes Everything To God. And Yet, Though She Acknowledges The Superiority Of Mary To Herself And To Others, She Does Not Envy Her The Higher Distinction, But Modestly Declares That She Had Obtained More Than She Deserved.
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For, Since The Fall Of Adam Had Brought Disgrace Upon All His Posterity, God Restores Those, Whom He Separates As His Own, So That Their Condition May Be Better Than That Of All Other Nations. At The Same Time It Must Be Remarked, That This Grace Of Renewal Is Effaced In Many Who Have Afterwards Profaned It
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A Dog Barks When His Master Is Attacked. I Would Be A Coward If I Saw That God's Truth Is Attacked And Yet Would Remain Silent.
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In A Way, The Futile Excuses Many People Use To Cover Their Superstitions Are Demolished. They Think It Is Enough To Have Some Sort Of Religious Fervor, However Ridiculous, Not Realizing That True Religion Must Be According To God's Will As The Perfect Measure; That He Can Never Deny Himself And Is No Mere Spirit Form To Be Changed Around According To Individual Preference.
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There Is No Inconsistency In Saying That God Rewards Good Works, Provided We Understand That Nevertheless Men Obtain Eternal Life Gratuitously.
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Knowledge Of The Sciences Is So Much Smoke Apart From The Heavenly Science Of Christ.
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After 50 Years, Is It Not Clear That God Has Raised Up New Illnesses Connected With Fornication? From Where Do These Things Come If Not From The Hand Of God? [in Response To These Diseases] The World Was Astounded, And People Were Terrified For A Time, But They Have Not, To This Day, Observed The Hand Of God.
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All The More Vile Is The Stupidity Of Those Persons Who Open Heaven To All The Impious And Unbelieving Without The Grace Of Him Whom Scripture Commonly Teaches To Be The Only Door Whereby We Enter Into Salvation.
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Let It Stand, Therefore, As An Indubitable Truth, Which No Engines Can Shake, That The Mind Of Man Is So Entirely Alienated From The Righteousness Of God That He Cannot Conceive, Desire, Or Design Any Thing But What Is Wicked, Distorted, Foul, Impure, And Iniquitous; That His Heart Is So Thoroughly Envenomed By Sin That It Can Breathe Out Nothing But Corruption And Rottenness; That If Some Men Occasionally Make A Show Of Goodness, Their Mind Is Ever Interwoven With Hypocrisy And Deceit, Their Soul Inwardly Bound With The Fetters Of Wickedness.
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Hence That Dread And Amazement With Which As Scripture Uniformly Relates Holy Men Were Struck And Overwhelmed Whenever They Beheld The Presence Of God. Men Are Never Duly Touched And Impressed With A Conviction Of Their Insignificance Until They Have.
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No One Has Rightly Denied Himself Unless He Has Wholly Resigned Himself To The Lord And Is Willing To Leave Every Detail To His Good Pleasure. If We Put Ourselves In Such A Frame Of Mind, Then, Whatever May Happen To Us, We Shall Never Feel Miserable Or Accuse God Falsely Because Of Our Lot.
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There Is No Erratic Power Or Action Or Motion In Creatures But They Are Governed By God's Secret Plan In Such A Way That Nothing Happens Except What Is Knowingly And Willingly Decreed By Him.
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It Is Certain That Not One Drop Of Rain Falls Without God's Sure Command.
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For What Accords Better And More Aptly With Faith Than To Acknowledge Ourselves Divested Of All Virtue That We May Be Clothed By God, Devoid Of All Goodness That We May Be Filled By Him, The Slaves Of Sin That He May Give Us Freedom, Blind That He May Enlighten, Lame That He May Cure, And Feeble That He May Sustain Us; To Strip Ourselves Of All Ground Of Glorying That He Alone May Shine Forth Glorious, And We Be Glorified In Him?
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Whomever The Lord Has Adopted And Deemed Worthy Of His Fellowship Ought To Prepare Themselves For A Hard, Toilsome, And Unquiet Life, Crammed With Very Many And Various Kinds Of Evil.
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Let Us Be Peaceable As Near As We Can: Let Us Relent Of Our Own Right: Let Us Not Strive For These Worldly Goods, Honour And Reputation: Let Us Bear All Wrongs And Outrages, Rather Than Be Moved To Any Debate Through Our Own Fault. But In The Meanwhile, Let Us Fight For God's Truth With Tooth And Nail.
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Now We Shall Possess A Right Definition Of Faith If We Call It A Firm And Certain Knowledge Of God's Benevolence Toward Us, Founded Upon The Truth Of The Freely Given Promise In Christ, Both Revealed To Our Minds And Sealed Upon Our Hearts Through The Holy Spirit.
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Involvement In Public Life Provides The Opportunity To Shape Our Manners In Accordance With Civil Justice.
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Those Who Fall Away Have Never Been Thoroughly Imbued With The Knowledge Of Christ But Only Had A Slight And Passing Taste Of It.
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The Majesty Of God In Itself Goes Beyond The Capacity Of Human Understanding And Cannot Be Comprehended By It.. We Must Adore Its Loftiness Rather Than Investigate It, So That We Do Not Remain Overwhelmed By So Great A Splendor.
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Though Satan Instils His Poison, And Fans The Flames Of Our Corrupt Desires Within Us,we Are Yet Not Carried By Any External Force To The Commission Of Sin, But Our Own Flesh Entices Us, And We Willingly Yield To Its Allurements.
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We Must Not Think That [god] Takes No Notice Of Us, When He Does Not Answer Our Wishes: For He Has A Right To Distinguish What We Actually Need.
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Christians Rejoice Even While They Truly Sorrow - Because Their Rejoicing Is In The Hope Of Heaven... While Joy Overcomes Sorrow, It Does Not Put An End To It.
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As By The Revolt Of The First Man, The Image Of God Could Be Effaced From His Mind And Soul, So There Is Nothing Strange In His Shedding Some Rays Of Grace On The Reprobate, And Afterwards Allowing These To Be Extinguished.
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God Tolerates Even Our Stammering, And Pardons Our Ignorance Whenever Something Inadvertently Escapes Us - As, Indeed, Without This Mercy There Would Be No Freedom To Pray.
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Because The Will Renewed Is The Lord's Work, It Is Wrongly Attributed To Man That He Obeys Prevenient Grace With His Will As Attendant.
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If It Seems More Horrible To Kill A Man In His Own House, Then In A Field,...it Ought Surely To Be Deemed More Atrocious To Destroy A Fetus In The Womb Before It Has Come To Light.
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Every One Of Us Is, Even From His Mother's Womb, A Master Craftsman Of Idols.
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Scripture Will Ultimately Suffice For A Saving Knowledge Of God Only When Its Certainty Is Founded Upon The Inward Persuasion Of The Holy Spirit. Indeed, These Human Testimonies Which Exist To Confirm It Will Not Be Vain If, As Secondary Aids To Our Feebleness, They Follow That Chief And Highest Testimony. But Those Who Wish To Prove To Unbelievers That Scripture Is The Word Of God Are Acting Foolishly, For Only By Faith Can This Be Known.
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The Vices Of Which We Are Full We Carefully Hide From Others, And We Flatter Ourselves With The Notion That They Are Small And Trivial; We Sometimes Even Embrace Them As Virtues.
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He Makes This Favor Common To All, Because It Is Propounded To All, And Not Because It Is In Reality Extended To All; For Though Christ Suffered For The Sins Of The Whole World, And Is Offered Through God’s Benignity Indiscriminately To All, Yet All Do Not Receive Him.
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The Human Heart Is A Factory Of Idols...everyon E Of Us Is, From His Mother's Womb, Expert In Inventing Idols.
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It Is Certain That Man Never Achieves A Clear Knowledge Of Himself Unless He Has First Looked Upon God's Face, And Then Descends From Contemplating Him To Scrutinize Himself.
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Firsts
For As The Aged, Or Those Whose Sight Is Defective, When Any Book, However Fair, Is Set Before Them, Though They Perceive That There Is Something Written, Are Scarcely Able To Make Out Two Consecutive Words, But, When Aided By Glasses, Begin To Read Distinctly, So Scripture, Gathering Together The Impressions Of Deity, Which, Till Then, Lay Confused In Our Minds, Dissipates The Darkness, And Shows Us The True God Clearly.
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Two
How Do We Know That God Has Elected Us Before The Creation Of The World? By Believing In Jesus Christ.
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We Are Not To Reflect On The Wickedness Of Men But To Look To The Image Of God In Them, An Image Which, Covering And Obliterating Their Faults, An Image Which, By Its Beauty And Dignity, Should Allure Us To Love And Embrace Them.
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The Surest Source Of Destruction To Men Is To Obey Themselves.
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We Explain Justification Simply As The Acceptance With Which God Receives Us Into His Favor As Righteous Men. And We Say That It Consists In The Remission Of Sins And The Imputation Of Christ’s Righteousness.
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But, As Sculpture And Painting Are Gifts Of God, What I Insist On Is, That Both Shall Be Used Purely And Lawfully, That Gifts Which The Lord Has Bestowed Upon Us, For His Glory And Our Good, Shall Not Be Preposterously Abused, Nay, Shall Not Be Perverted To Our Destruction.
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Sculpture
Painting
All The Blessings We Enjoy Are Divine Deposits, Committed To Our Trust On This Condition, That They Should Be Dispensed For The Benefit Of Our Neighbors.
Trust
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Prayer
The More Closely We See Ourselves Being Watched By Our Enemies, The More Time Intent We Should Be To Avoid Their Slanders.
Enemy
Should
More Time
God Does Not Bestow His Spirit On His People In Order To Set Aside The Use Of His Word, But Rather To Render It Fruitful.
Faith
Order
People
Whatever A Person May Be Like, We Must Still Love Them Because We Love God.
Godly
Christian Love
May
The Happiness Promised Us In Christ Does Not Consist In Outward Advantages-such As Leading A Joyous And Peaceful Life, Having Rich Possessions, Being Safe From All Harm, And Abounding With Delights Such As The Flesh Commonly Longs After. No, Our Happiness Belongs To The Heavenly Life!
Peaceful
Doe
Delight
Let Us Not Cease To Do The Utmost, That We May Incessantly Go Forward In The Way Of The Lord; And Let Us Not Despair Of The Smallness Of Our Accomplishments.
Motivational
Accomplishment
Despair
This Is Plainly To Ascribe Divinity To 'free Will.'
Divinity
Free Will
Let Our Chief Goal, O God, Be Your Glory, And To Enjoy You Forever.
Goal
Forever
Glory
The Lord Has Given Us A Table At Which To Feast, Not An Altar On Which A Victim Is To Be Offered; He Has Not Consecrated Priests To Make Sacrifice, But Servants To Distribute The Sacred Feast.
Sacrifice
Thankfulness
Tables
I Have Not So Great A Struggle With My Vices, Great And Numerous As They Are, As I Have With My Impatience. My Efforts Are Not Absolutely Useless; Yet I Have Never Been Able To Conquer This Ferocious Wild Beast.
Struggle
Effort
Vices
The Word "hope" I Take For Faith; And Indeed Hope Is Nothing Else But The Constancy Of Faith.
Christian
Christian Inspirational
Constancy
The Glory Of God Shines, Indeed, In All Creatures On High And Below, But Never More Brightly Than In The Cross.
Shining
Glory
Crosses
In Forming An Estimate Of Sins, We Are Often Imposed Upon By Imagining That The More Hidden The Less Heinous They Are.
Sin
Institutes
Institute
A Soul, Therefore, When Deprived Of The Word Of God, Is Given Up Unarmed To The Devil For Destruction
Soul
Devil
Destruction
The Whole Gospel Is Contained In Christ.
Christ
Whole
Faith Consists, Not In Ignorance, But In Knowledge, And That, Not Only Of God, But Also Of The Divine Will.
Ignorance
Divine Will
Divine
How Can It Be Said That The Weakness Of The Human Will Is Aided So As To Enable It To Aspire Effectually To The Choice Of Good, When The Fact Is, That It Must Be Wholly Transformed And Renewed?
Choices
Weakness
Facts
Sometimes It Seems Things Go By Too Quickly. We Are So Busy Watching Out For What's Just Ahead Of Us That We Don't Take The Time To Enjoy Where We Are.
Sometimes
Busy
Enjoy
A Perfect Faith Is Nowhere To Be Found, So It Follows That All Of Us Are Partly Unbelievers.
Perfect
Found
Unbelievers
Men Are Undoubtedly More In Danger From Prosperity Than From Adversity. For When Matters Go Smoothly, They Flatter Themselves, And Are Intoxicated By Their Success
Adversity
Men
Matter
Everyone Flatters Himself And Carries A Kingdom In His Breast.
Kingdoms
Breasts
Carrie
Whenever Our Sins Press Hard Against Us, Whenever Satan Would Drive Us To Despair, We Must Hold Up This Shield, That God Does Not Want Us To Be Overwhelmed In Everlasting Destruction, For He Has Ordained His Son To Be The Salvation Of The World.
Son
Despair
Doe
The Whole Comes To This, That Christ, When He Produces Faith In Us By The Agency Of His Spirit, At The Same Time Ingrafts Us Into His Body, That We May Become Partakers Of All Spiritual Blessings.
Spiritual
Blessing
Agency
For, To My Mind, This Is A Certain Principle, That Nothing Is Here Treated Of But The Visible Form Of The World. He Who Would Learn Astronomy, And Other Recondite Arts, Let Him Go Elsewhere. (on Commenting The Text Of Genesis 1:6)
Art
Mind
Principles
Man Is Never Sufficiently Touched And Affected By The Awareness Of His Lowly State Until He Has Compared Himself With God's Majesty.
Men
Majesty
Awareness
For It Is Better, With Closed Eyes, To Follow God As Our Guide, Than, By Relying On Our Own Prudence, To Wander Through Those Circuitous Paths Which It Devises For Us.
Eye
Path
Guides
If The Gospel Be Not Preached, Jesus Christ Is, As It Were, Buried.
Jesus
Christ
Buried
Integrity Is The Best Of All Protectors...we Cannot Be More Secure Than When Fortified By A Good Conscience.
Integrity
Secure
Conscience
All Truth Is God's Truth.
Truth Is
The Holy Spirit Is The Bond By Which Christ Efficaciously Unites Us To Himself.
Spirit
Christ
Holy Spirit
When We Come To A Comparison Of Heaven And Earth, Then We May Indeed Not Only Forget All About The Present Life, But Even Despise And Scorn It.
Heaven
Earth
May
When The Bible Speaks, God Speaks.
Speak
The Name Of Christ Excludes All Merit Of Our Own.
Names
Merit
Christ
I Gave Up All For Christ, And What Have I Found? Everything In Christ.
Christ
Found
Gave Up
But The Present Life Should Never Be Hated, Except Insofar As It Subjects Us To Sin, Although Even That Hatred Should Not Properly Be Applied To Life Itself.
Hatred
Sin
Should
The Lord Has Not Redeemed You So You Might Enjoy Pleasures And Luxuries Or So That You Might Abandon Yourself To Ease And Indolence, But Rather So You Should Be Prepared To Endure All Sorts Of Evils.
Luxury
Evil
Ease
When We See That The Whole Sum Of Our Salvation, And Every Single Part Of It, Are Comprehended In Christ, We Must Beware Of Deriving Even The Minutest Portion Of It From Any Other Quarter.
Christ
Salvation
Quarters
The Unborn Baby, Though Enclosed In The Womb Of Its Mother, Is Already A Human Being, And Should Not Be Robbed Of The Life Which It Has Not Yet Begun To Enjoy.
Mother
Baby
Should
Now Among The Other Things Proper To Recreate Man And Give Him Pleasure, Music Is Either The First Or One Of The Principal;and We Must Think That It Is A Gift Of God Deputed For That Purpose'.
Men
Thinking
Giving
If We Believe Heaven To Be Our Country, It Is Better For Us To Transmit Our Wealth Thither, Than To Retain It Here, Where We May Lose It By A Sudden Removal.
Country
Believe
Heaven
Nearly All The Wisdom We Possess, That Is To Say, True And Sound Wisdom, Consists Of Two Parts: The Knowledge Of God And Of Ourselves.
Two
Sound
Knowledge Of God
In Knowing God, Each Of Us Also Knows Himself.
Knowing
Knowing God
Knows
The Cross Of Christ Only Triumphs In The Breast Of Believers Over The Devil And The Flesh, Sin And Sinners, When Their Eyes Are Directed To The Power Of His Resurrection.
Life Changing
Eye
Devil
Let That Ethical Philosophy Therefore Of Free-will Be Far From A Christian Mind.
Christian
Philosophy
Mind
Bien Que Les étoiles Ne Parlent Pas, Même En étant Silencieux, Ils Crient. Although The Stars Do Not Speak, Even In Being Silent They Cry Out.
Stars
Cry
Speak
We Are Nowhere Forbidden To Laugh, Or Be Satisfied With Food...or To Be Delighted With Music Or To Drink Wine.
Wine
Laughing
Drink
We Must Make The Invisible Kingdom Visible In Our Midst.
Kingdoms
Invisible
Midst
We Cannot Rely On God's Promises Without Obeying His Commandments.
Promise
Rely
Obeying
The One Condition For Spiritual Progress Is That We Remain Sincere And Humble.
Spiritual
Humble
Progress
It Is Evident That Man Never Attains To A True Self-knowledge Until He Has Previously Contemplated The Face Of God, And Come Down After Such Contemplation To Look Into Himself.
Men
Self
Looks
The Poor Yield To The Rich, The Common People To The Upper Ten, The Servants To Their Masters, The Ignorant To The Scholars; But There Is Nobody Who Does Not Imagine That He Is Really Better Than Others.
Yield
People
Ignorant
It Is Amazing How Much Our Lack Of Trust Provokes God If We Request Of Him A Boon That We Do Not Expect
Boon
Lack Of Trust
Provoking
Unless Men Establish Their Complete Happiness In God, They Will Never Give Themselves Truly And Sincerely To Him.
Men
Giving
Sincerely
Hatred Grows Into Insolence When We Desire To Excel The Rest Of Mankind And Imagine We Do Not Belong To The Common Lot; We Even Severely And Haughtily Despise Others As Our Inferiors.
Hatred
Desire
Common
The Subject Then Of These Chapters May Be Stated Thus, - Man's Only Righteousness Is Through The Mercy Of God In Christ, Which Being Offered By The Gospel Is Apprehended By Faith.
Faith
Men
Mercy Of God
Doctrine Is Not An Affair Of The Tongue But Of The Life.
Doctrine
Tongue
Affair
Thus The Woman, Who Had Perversely Exceeded Her Proper Bounds, Is Forced Back To Her Own Position. She Had, Indeed, Previously Been Subject To Her Husband, But That Was A Liberal And Gentle Subjection; Now, However, She Is Cast Into Servitude.
Husband
Gentle
Casts
But A Faithful Believer Will In All Circumstances Mediate On The Mercy And Fatherly Goodness Of God.
Faithful
Mercy
Goodness
For There Is No One So Great Or Mighty That He Can Avoid The Misery That Will Rise Up Against Him When He Resists And Strives Against God.
Godly
Misery
Strive
Let This Point Therefore Stand: That Those Whom The Holy Spirit Has Inwardly Taught Truly Rest Upon Scripture, And That Scripture Itself Is Self-authenticated. . . . Therefore, Illumined By His Power, We Believe Neither By Our Own Nor By Any One Else's Judgment That Scripture Is From God; But Above Human Judgment We Affirm With Utter Certainty (just As If We Were Gazing Upon The Majesty Of God Himself) That It Has Flowed To Us From The Very Mouth Of God By The Ministry Of Men.
Believe
Men
Self
The Church Is The Gathering Of God's Children, Where They Can Be Helped And Fed Like Babies And Then Guided By Her Motherly Care, Grow Up To Manhood In Maturity Of Faith.
Christian
Baby
Children
Accursed Is That Peace Of Which Revolt From God Is The Bond, And Blessed Are Those Contentions By Which It Is Necessary To Maintain The Kingdom Of Christ.
Blessed
Kingdoms
Christ
The Answer Of Our Prayers Is Secured By The Fact That In Rejecting Them God Would In A Certain Sense Deny His Own Nature.
Prayer
Answers
Facts
The Scriptures Obtain Full Authority Among Believers Only When Men Regard Them As Having Sprung From Heaven, As If There The Living Words Of God Were Heard.
Men
Heaven
Scripture
There Is No Group Or Type Of People Anywhere In The World That Is Excluded From Salvation, Because God Desires That The Gospel Be Proclaimed To All Without Exception.
People
Desire
Groups
God Works In His Elect In Two Ways: Inwardly, By His Spirit; Outwardly, By His Word.
Two
Way
Spirit
No Man Is Excluded From Calling Upon God, The Gate Of Salvation Is Set Open Unto All Men: Neither Is There Any Other Thing Which Keepeth Us Back From Entering In, Save Only Our Own Unbelief.
Godly
Men
Entering
The Whole Life Of Christians Ought To Be An Exercise Of Piety, Since They Are Called To Sanctification. It Is The Office Of The Law To Remind Them Of Their Duty And Thereby To Excite Them To The Pursuit Of Holiness And Integrity. But When Their Consciences Are Solicitous How God May Be Propitiated, What Answer They Shall Make, And On What They Shall Rest Their Confidence, If Called To His Tribunal, There Must Then Be No Consideration Of The Requisitions Of The Law, But Christ Alone Must Be Proposed For Righteousness, Who Exceeds All The Perfection Of The Law.
Christian
Integrity
Exercise
Holiness Is Not A Merit By Which We Can Attain Communion With God, But A Gift Of Christ, Which Enables Us To Cling To Him, And To Follow Him.
Merit
Holiness
Christ
Because I Know That I Am Not My Own Master, I Offer My Heart As A True Sacrifice To The Lord.
Heart
Sacrifice
Lord
Humility Is The Beginning Of True Intelligence.
Faith
Humility
Christianity
The Invention Of The Arts, And Other Things Which Serve The Common Use And Convenience Of Life, Is A Gift Of God By No Means To Be Despised, And A Faculty Worthy Of Commendation.
Art
Mean
Use
Prayer Doesn't Change Things - God Changes Things In Answer To Prayer.
Faith
Religious
Prayer
Men Will Never Worship God With A Sincere Heart, Or Be Roused To Fear And Obey Him With Sufficient Zeal, Until They Properly Understand How Much They Are Indebted To His Mercy.
Heart
Men
Worship
It Is Permissible To Use Wine Not Only For Necessity, But Also To Make Us Merry...... [it Must Be Moderate] Lest Men Forget Themselves, Drown Their Senses,.....in Making Merry [those Who Enjoy Wine] Feel A Livelier Gratitude To God.
Gratitude
Wine
Men
Nothing, Including Human Suffering, Happens By Chance.
Suffering
Chance
Inevitable
If A Preacher Is Not First Preaching To Himself, Better That He Falls On The Steps Of The Pulpit And Breaks His Neck Than Preaches That Sermon.
Fall
Firsts
Steps
For What Is Idolatry If Not This: To Worship The Gifts In Place Of The Giver Himself?
Worship
Giver
Idolatry
Hypocrisy Can Plunge The Mind Of A Man Into A Dark Abyss, When He Believes His Own Self-flattery Instead Of God's Verdict.
Self Esteem
Believe
Dark
Were The Judgments Of Mankind Correct, Custom Would Be Regulated By The Good. But It Is Often Far Otherwise In Point Of Fact; For, Whatever The Many Are Seen To Do, Forthwith Obtains The Force Of Custom. But Human Affairs Have Scarcely Ever Been So Happily Constituted As That The Better Course Pleased The Greater Number. Hence The Private Vices Of The Multitude Have Generally Resulted In Public Error, Or Rather That Common Consent In Vice Which These Worthy Men Would Have To Be Law.
Men
Law
Numbers
It Is Entirely The Work Of Grace And A Benefit Conferred By It That Our Heart Is Changed From A Stony One To One Of Flesh, That Our Will Is Made New, And That We, Created Anew In Heart And Mind, At Length Will What We Ought To Will.
Heart
Grace
Mind
Augustine Does Not Disagree With This When He Teaches That It Is A Faculty Of The Reason And The Will To Choose Good With The Assistance Of Grace; Evil, When Grace Is Absent.
Evil
Grace
Doe
When We Recognize The Rod Of A Father, Should We Not Show Ourselves Docile Children Rather Than Rebelliously Desperate Men Who Have Been Hardened In Their Evil Doings?
Children
Father
Men
For Until Men Recognize That They Owe Everything To God, That They Are Nourished By His Fatherly Care, That He Is The Author Of Their Every Good, That They Should Seek Nothing Beyond Him - They Will Never Yield Him Willing Service. Nay, Unless They Establish Their Complete Happiness In Him, They Will Never Give Themselves Truly And Sincerely To Him.
Men
Yield
Giving
There Is Nothing In Afflictions Which Ought To Disturb Our Joy.
Joy
Affliction
Ought
Their [the Jews] Rotten And Unbending Stiffneckedness Deserves That They Be Oppressed Unendingly And Without Measure Or End And That They Die In Their Misery Without The Pity Of Anyone.
Rotten
Misery
Pity
Nor, In Truth, Is It Of Little Importance To Prevent The Suspicion Of Any Difference Having Arisen Between Us From Being Handed Down In Any Way To Our Posterity; For It Is Worse Than Absurd That Parties Should Be Found Disagreeing On The Very Principles, After We Have Been Compelled To Make Our Departure From The World.
Party
Differences
Departure
You Must Submit To Supreme Suffering In Order To Discover The Completion Of Joy.
Order
Joy
Suffering
Human Will Does Not By Liberty Obtain Grace, But By Grace Obtains Liberty.
Grace
Liberty
Doe
It Would Be The Height Of Absurdity To Label Ignorance Tempered By Humility "faith"! (institutio Iii.2.3)
Faith
Ignorance
Humility
No One Will Calmly And Quietly Submit To Bear The Cross Except Those Who Have Learned To Seek Their Happiness Beyond This World.
Joy
Suffering
World
All The Arts Come From God And Are To Be Respected As Divine Inventions
Art
Invention
Divine
Since No Daily Responses Are Given From Heaven, And The Scriptures Are The Only Record In Which God Has Been Pleased To Consign His Truth To Perpetual Remembrance, The Full Authority Which They Ought To Possess With The Faithful Is Not Recognized Unless They Are Believed To Have Come From Heaven As Directly As If God Had Been Heard Giving Utterance To Them.
Giving
Heaven
Remembrance
The Most Accomplished In The Scripture Are Fools, Unless They Acknowledge That They Have Need Of God For Their Schoolmaster All The Days Of Their Life.
Needs
Scripture
Fool
God Preordained, For His Own Glory And The Display Of His Attributes Of Mercy And Justice, A Part Of The Human Race, Without Any Merit Of Their Own, To Eternal Salvation, And Another Part, In Just Punishment Of Their Sin, To Eternal Damnation.
Race
Punishment
Justice
For We Are Not All Equally Afflicted With The Same Disease Or All In Need Of The Same Severe Cure. This Is The Reason Why We See Different Persons Disciplined With Different Crosses. The Heavenly Physician Takes Care Of The Well-being Of All His Patients; He Gives Some A Milder Medicine And Purifies Others By More Shocking Treatments, But He Omits No One; For The Whole World, Without Exception, Is Ill (deut 32:15).
Medicine
Giving
Physicians
We Should Ask God To Increase Our Hope When It Is Small, Awaken It When It Is Dormant, Confirm It When It Is Wavering, Strengthen It When It Is Weak, And Raise It Up When It Is Overthrown.
Wavering
Weak
Dormant
Creatures Are So Governed By The Secret Counsel Of God, That Nothing Happens But What He Has Knowingly And Willingly Decreed.
Secret
Creatures
Happens
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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