Was John Calvin saved?

==Don't know, but I suppose we will find out one day.

 

I don't know so I'm asking.... did Augustine give his personal salvation testimony? How about many of the other great theologians? Maybe they didn't think that their own testimonies meant anything? I know my personal testimony means a lot to me.... and that is why i'm so strongly calvinist. It is because of His Sovereign grace that i'm saved.... and if I can be saved... anyone can be.

 

Augustine's conversion is quite famous in his "Confessions" although it was probably dramatized just a tad by him.

John Calvin was not unique and was part of a larger movement, and there is a paucity of these testimonies from this period and earlier. I don't know if you'll find an account of his conversion but the first place to look would be his sermons.

Who cares?

What is the infatuation with John Calvin's salvation on this board lately? Is there something in the water?

 

That seems like an odd statement if you're a Calvinist. According to Calvinism, NOT anyone can be saved.

 

Fair enough Bill, but the lack of one demonstrates the lack of John Calvin's personal influence in what is known as calvinism, especially on Baptists today. I do encourage you to read Calvin's writings, and use good secondary sources like Muller and Steinmetz to help you read him objectively, which is a difficult task.

If more and more posters here continue asking about his salvation, perhaps it's worth it to come up with the "evidence." :laugh: I'm only a few hundred feet away from the Meeter Center, so if such evidence exists, then it's not that far away from me.

BJ

 

Proof please?

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

I agree with this verse, but I thought according to Calvinism, God already chose the elect before they had a chance to believe.

 

According to the Bible God chose the elect before they were born..... does that count? Eph 1:4-5

Whosoever believes savingly are the elect. The non elect can not do so. When I say that if I can be saved, anyone can be.... I'm saying that it does not matter what a person has done....... they can be saved if they believe in a saving way... (born again). Hope this helps.

 

Yes, that helps. Thanks.

 

==Sorry, can't be of any help. If you have read Calvin's Institutes then you are much more educated on Calvin than I am. I might could help you on Luther, Wesley, or someone like that but I will be of no help on Calvin.

 

I can't think of any of Calvin's writing that was personal, actually. Maybe he was just a very private guy! Why would this cast doubt upon his salvation? Most of the believers I have the utmost respect for have never revealed this sort of intimate info, not to me, anyway.

 

two thoughts on this:

1. I've read the Institutes and you can't leave those texts without believing that the writer (Jean Calvin) is saved. His words and Scriptural exegesis are too finely pointed to have a veil over his eyes.

2. The following phrase:

Didn't exist in Christianity until the late 1800s. Therefore while Calvin does have testimony of salvation, he won't express it like you or I.

(For what it's worth Augustine is very direct about his conversion. "Take and read!" is a powerful little line.)

 

Don't you feel every believer should have an experience when they came to Christ?
I say this because a John Macarthur once stated along the lines that he cant' recall a time in his life when he wasn't saved. This sounds like he believes he was born saved. I have to question this line of thinking, and I would hope every child of God would.
I have Macarthur's study Bible, and he is very knowledgeable when it comes to Scripture. I just pray that he and Calvin won't stand before God withGod saying "I never knew you". Our testimony is the most powerful tool we have in spreading the Gospel. Never stating it publicly throws up red flags IMO.

 

==I agree but some believers don't recall an exact moment. This could be because they were saved at a very young age or it could be because they went through the "process" (sinners prayer, etc) several times and they are not really sure which time was "real". This latter situation exists, in my opinion, because of false doctrine that focuses on feelings and "processes" instead of a relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm not against using the sinner's prayer (etc) but I do think there is a danger of focusing too much on the process and not enough on the relationship aspect of salvation. In my view it does not matter if a person can point to an exact day/hour (etc) when they "accepted Christ". What matters is that they had such a day/hour and that they know they had such because they current have an active relationship with the Lord Jesus (1Jn 5:13). If a person does not have a relationship with Christ, it does not matter how many times they have been through a process, they are still lost. A person who has a relationship with Christ is saved even if they can't remember the day/hour they accepted Christ.

==I have never heard MacArthur make that kind of statement before. Considering his theology/teaching whatever he said does not mean he believes he was "born saved". What he may have been saying, or trying to say, was that he does not recall the day/hour he was saved. I have an interview that was recorded with MacArthur several years ago in which he talks about his salvation (etc). I will try to go back and listen to that tape again this weekend and see if he states when he was saved.

==Knowing a day/hour is not a testimony. A proper testimony is a person who has an active relationship with Jesus Christ and can tell people what wonderful changes Christ has done in their lives.

 

A very good friend and great teacher has the same testimony of his salvation experience. He was born and bred in church..... (figure of speech). One day he simply learned that he was saved... at quite an early age. Everyone's salvation experience is different. Mine was quite remarkable with much emotion. I had been drawn to Jesus for a long time, but never felt that I could be saved... I knew my innermost heart. When I learned of God's sovereign grace, and His choosing me before the foundation of the world, and the fact that Jesus died for me just as I was, it broke my heart that He would do what He did, while I was still self absorbed, and really against Him. I was born again of the Spirit and it was so emotional that I could not hold back the tears. I was in a class with about half a dozen other preachers.... and although I felt embarrased, the feeling of the reality of my sin, and the great sacrifice of Jesus was overwhelming. It would be easy for me to say that if you have not had that kind of experience, then maybe you are not saved. Where do we draw the line? If someone's experience was not like mine are they saved? Do they have to have a testimony? I don't think so... and I pray that I never judge someone about such a thing as a salvation experience.
By the way........ Good morning brother!

 

No, the most powerful tool we have in spreading the Gospel is the Word of God.

I am not willing to judge someone merely because they haven't expressed themselves in post-18th century Christian-eze jargon that they have "accepted Jesus into their heart". If a man tells me that he currently has faith in Christ alone for the fogiveness of his sins, then that is enough for me. It may be that he came to believe at a very young age and the memory is foggy (not everyone has a steel trap memory of their youth). And I don't limit God in saving people through other ways that are not in line with revialistic American conversion experiences.

We also need to remember that when we read a book by someone, we are only getting a glimpse of that person. We don't know them. We haven't sat down with them and discussed their "experience". Some books may discuss those issues, while others are not intended to.