Calvin Defines Us

I haven't read Calvin's Intsitutes of the Christian Religion but some of the blogs I read occasionally quote them. Often the quotes remind me I need to read them, below is one such quote. I took this one from the blog Wittenberg Door and I thank them for it:

"For what is more consonant with faith than to recognize that we are naked of all virtue, in order to be clothed by God? That we are empty of all good, to be filled by him? Blind, to be illuminated by him? Lame, to be made straight by him? Weak, to be sustained by him? To take away from us all occasion for glorying, that he alone may stand forth gloriously and we glory in him? When we say these and like things our adversaries interrupt and complain that in this way we shall subvert some blind light of nature, imaginary preparations, free will, and works that merit eternal salvation . . . For they cannot bear that the whole praise and glory of all goodness, virtue, righteousness, and wisdom should rest with God. But we do not read of anyone being blamed for drinking too deeply of the fountain of living water. The Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559"

Clearly, without Christ man has no hope through anything he thinks he can do to be saved. Without Christ's illumination prior to our participation in salvation we are hopeless. We can walk all the altar call aisles, say all the prayers, freely choose to accept Christ (in our dead natural condition), remember the times we did those things, but unless Christ through his Holy Spirit has first pulled us from our grave wherein we are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Col 2:13) we are lost without hope. We can't even assist in this renewing - it is all of Grace.

I think many who believe they are saved, mistakenly believe human temporal abilities to "choose" are co-equal with spiritual abilitites. They are not. We can choose a hamburger or a taco, but until God acts upon us spiritually we cannot choose eternal life with Christ. That life is given to us, whether we like it or not, by God's Grace alone. (Oops! Did I really say that?)  Only after we have been "quickened" spiritually can we or do we want to repent and obey. (2 Cor. 4:2,3,4)

My concern is that when we witness to others of Christ's saving power we often leave out the fact that only He can effectually change us. As lost humans our only hope is to be on our knees begging to be "chosen" by God not the other way around.