The triumph of grace - 16 February 2010 |
|
These are the questions for week 14 of the Guided Reading Course.
Before you begin, consider the following question: If our inherited corruption makes sin inevitable, how can God hold us responsible for it?
Calvin, Institutes, II.iii-v
1. What biblical texts does Calvin cite to support his view of the depravity of human nature? (II.iii.1-4) Do they adequately support the case he seeks to make?
2. How does Calvin argue that fallen man sins “willingly, not unwillingly or by compulsion” (II.iii.5)? Do you understand this distinction?
3. What does God do in us when he “corrects and cures the corruption of our nature” (II.iii.6)?
4. How does Lombard misrepresent Augustine’s teaching on this subject (II.iii.7)?
5. What scriptural testimonies does Calvin adduce to support his position (II.iii.8-9)?
6. What does Calvin believe Chrysostom means when he said, “Whom he draws he draws willingly?” Why does Calvin object to this statement? How does Calvin’s position differ from Chrysostom’s? (II.iii.10)
7. What “most wicked error” does Calvin describe in section II.iii.11? How does he respond?
8. What contrast does Augustine draw between Adam’s unfallen will and our redeemed will? What conclusions follow from this? (II.iii.13)
9. What cluster of questions is Calvin seeking to address in this chapter? (II.iv.1)
10. How are God, Satan and man all active participants in the same events? How is their participation distinguished? (II.iv.2) How do Calvin’s scriptural examples serve his point here (II.iv.4-5)?
11. Consider the objections addressed by Calvin in II.v. What do you make of his answers?
To conclude, a gem from Augustine via Calvin:
The human will does not obtain grace by freedom, but freedom by grace; when the feeling of delight has been imparted through the same grace, the human will is formed to endure; it is strengthened with inconquerable fortitude; controlled by grace, it will never perish … there is left to man no such free will … that except through grace the will can neither be converted to God nor abide in God; and whatever it can do it is able to do only through grace. (Calvin, Institutes, II.iii.14; summarising Augustine, On Rebuke and Grace)
Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Guided Reading Course, Minister's Blog