Reformed Wisdom

On Acts 5:8 –

“We see how Paul looks at the matter. After stating categorically that he faithfully executed his office, he adds that he was not thereby justified (1 Cor. 4:1-4). He was well aware that when a man has done his utmost in the service of God, he is still unable to do what he should, not even by a tenth. If Paul, with his degree of perfection, states categorically that he is not justified by having done all that he could for the increase and preservation of God’s church, and if he is bold enough, as I said, to declare openly that he walked in complete uprightness, we need to consider that that will be our lot too. Let us realize, then, that after making every effort to walk before God in complete uprightness, we will not be perfectly acquitted of our responsibility, and that the only thing left for us to do is to begin again. That is because, as I have already said, we have vices in us which God alone can recognize and punish, vices which we cannot see” – John Calvin, Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 1-7, 206-207.