Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
John CalvinRead
Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True churches exist where the Word of God is preached, despite human imperfections.
John Calvin emphasizes the idea that the essence of a church is rooted in the faithful preaching and hearing of God's Word. Even if the people within the church are flawed, the presence of authentic teachings creates a legitimate church community, highlighting the centrality of divine truth over human imperfections.
Themes
ChurchGodPreachingFaithCommunity
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about community and grace, a pastor might reference this quote to remind congregants of the importance of faith over perfection.
More from John Calvin
All quotes βThe pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.
John CalvinRead
Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty.
John CalvinRead
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.
John CalvinRead
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.
John CalvinRead
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
John CalvinRead
Similar quotes
If we take the poor away from the Gospel, we won't be able to understand the whole message of Jesus Christ.
Pope FrancisRead
If what we need to dream, to move our spirits most deeply and directly toward and through promise, is discounted as a luxury, then we give up the core -- the fountain -- of our power, our womanness; we give up the future of our worlds. (From "Poetry is Not a Luxury")
Audre LordeRead
Buddhas move freely through birth and death, appearing and disappearing at will.
BodhidharmaRead
To complain that man measures God by his own experience is a waste of time; man measures everything by his own experience; he has no other yardstick.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
Europe and the world are waiting for us to defend the spirit of Enlightenment, threatened in so many places.
Emmanuel MacronRead
There is a great deal of pain in life and perhaps the only pain that can be avoided is the pain that comes from trying to avoid pain.
R. D. LaingRead