Calvin and the Gospel

Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? says the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Ezekiel 18:23

'In the gospel, we hear how familiarly God addresses us when he promises pardon (Luke 1:78). We can know salvation by embracing the mercy of God that he offers us in Christ.

It follows, then, that what the prophet now says is true, that God does not will the death of a sinner. God meets the sinner of his own accord. He is not only prepared to receive all who fly to his pity, but also calls them toward him with a loud voice when he sees how alienated from all hope of safety. Note that the manner in which God wishes all to be saved, namely, that they turn away from their wicked ways. God does not wish all men to be saved to renounce the difference between God and evil. Rather, he stresses that repentance, or turning aside from wicked ways, must precede pardon.'

365 days with Calvin published by Day One

I love it that Calvin lets the text speak rather than imposing a different position on the text, Calvin was prepared to hold his beliefs in tension.

Shalom
Stephen