Replies

"When that which professes to be the Word of God is acknowledged to be so, no person, unless devoid of common sense and the feelings of a man, will have the desperate hardihood to refuse credit to the speaker."
Emphasis added by Calvinist_Dark_Lord

A logical progression has been postulated so far in the writings.

1)God gave revelation of Himself to all men

A) Directly in the mind (immediate imputation)
B) Through the media of the Creation

2) Some men can and do suppress the knowlege that they have, and are therefore condemned for rejecting what they know to be true
3) Other men accept the recieved knowlege of God, yet still stand condemned, because this knowlege is not sufficient for the purpose of salvation.
4) This class of men who accept the implanted knowledge need further revelation from God for the purpose of salvation.
5) Man must acknowlege that the bible is that further revelation of God.
6) When or After it is acknowleged as God's revelation, men do not reject it unless they are mentally or emotionally unstable.

i wonder just what Calvin means by the term "refuse credit".

In the Apologetics class I just finished we had to memorize what our professor called "Calvin's System of Apologetics" which he got from Bernard Ramm's Varieties of Christian Apologetics, pp. 163-178.

Here it is:

1. There is a valid general revelation to which all men are accountable (Ro 1:18ff)

a. There is in Man's nature a general revelation of God

i. Man has a sense of Diety

(1) It is the witness of God within the creature
(2) A continuous reflection of the Divine Majesty upon the consciousness of Man (Ro 1:19;2:15)

ii. This sense of Diety creates in man the seed of religion
iii. If the seed of religion is allowed to flourish without interference then there issues true religion
iv. Several of Man's characteristics are revelational

(1) Talents or gifts point to a Giver
(2) Intelligence - "unfailing signs of divinity within us
(3) Moral sense - Moral experience is meaningless unless there is a Judge in Heaven
(4) Existence - A witness to the existence of God
(5) Depravity - "Purity of righteousness rests in the Lord alone"

b. There is in creation a general revelation of God (Ps 19:1;Ro 1:20)
c. There is a general revelation of God in God's providential care of Man

i. In nature (Ge 9:1-4;Ac 14:17;17:24-26)
ii. In history (I Co 10:1-10)

2. The general revelation of God is rendered helpless by Man's Depravity so that it does not produce a true knowledge of God or a true worship of God (Ro 3:11)

a. Even though Man is depraved he is without excuse (Ro 1:20)
b. Intense philosophical thought cannot remedy the darkness occasioned by our depravity (Ro 8:6-7;Col 2:8)
c. There will always be corrupted religion. There is no natural theology.

3. It is special revelation which alon can overcome the depravity of man and restore a true knowledge of God (Ro 10:17;He 4:12)

a. The emphasis on revelation as redemptive is very important and very strong
b. Calvin discusses Soteric Revelation in Principle before he discusses Sacred Scripture
c. For all practical purposes the written Word is the Word of Special Revelation to Calvin

4. Special Revelation as objective revelation preserved in the form of Scripture needs the witness of the Spirit to establish it in the heart as the Truth of God (I Co 2:14;Jn 16:8,13)

a. Calvin places the Church and human reason beneath the Scriptures and as inferior to the witness of the Spirit
b. Calvin believed that there are substantial reasons or evidences which in themselves manifest the Divine Origin of the Scriptures and the Christian faith
c. However, these evidences are no match for human depravity
d. It is the witness of the Spirit which is the match for human depravity
e. Christian evidences play a confirming role AFTER the Spirit has sealed His witness in our hearts

So far our study has pretty much paralled this outline.