Refusing God's Salvation

David accuses us of horrible blindness, as if he should say, ‘Surely you are all senseless and without wit.’  And to say the truth of there were but one drop of reason in us, without doubt, we would not so … refuse our salvation of a set purpose as we do.  See here how mercifully our good God deals with us, who shows us how and in what manner we may be blessed, and yet we, for all that, draw altogether backward.  Does not David then of very right justly condemn us?  But because every[one] of us protests to know the right way, he adds, they “who walk in the law of the LORD!”  He has said, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way,” that is, who walk aright.

And who are they?  It is very true indeed as I have said before, that they are a great number who will boast themselves to walk aright, and that is such sort as that it can be much amended.  And yet notwith- standing, if they assure them that they shoot at the true mark, they do not know what answer to give.  For there is but one way which leads to salvation, which is the law.  As David hereof speaks, wherefore as many as walk in the Law of the Lord, says he, go not out of their way.

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Calvin understands well what is in our human nature.  We are all inclined to refuse the salvation that God graciously offers us; yet God deals mercifully with us in order to bring us into the way of peace. We stand condemned because of our stubbornness.  We imagine that we walk aright before God, but alas this is dangerously flawed thinking.  To be sure of our salvation, we must come to God’s Law, because there we see what God is like, and also what we are really like.  Such sights can but drive us to Christ, the Saviour of the world.