Excerpt from Did Christ Die for Us or for All Poor Sinners in Calvin’s Last Will and Testament? – To read the full text, click “Download” below.
In life, Calvin himself wrote about predestination: “The human mind, when it hears this doctrine, cannot restrain its petulance, but boils and rages as if aroused by the sound of a trumpet.” Institutes III:23:1. While dying, Calvin dictated and Chenelat then wrote down: “I confess to live and die in this faith which He has given me, inasmuch as I have no other hope or refuge than His predestination, upon which my entire salvation is grounded…. I humbly beg Him to wash me and cleanse me with the blood of our great Redeemer as it was shed for us poor sinners, so that I, when I appear before His face, may bear His likeness.”
