--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Free will does not enable any man to…" description: "\"Free will does not enable any man to perform good works, unless he is assisted by grace; indeed, the special grace which the elect alone receive throug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-calvin-490_doe_free-will-does-not-enable-any-man-to-per_382126.jpg" --- # Free will does not enable any man to perform good works… ![“Free will does not enable any man to perform good works, unless he is assisted by grace; indeed, the special grace which the elect alone receive through regeneration. For I stay not to consider the extravagance of those who say that grace is offered equally and promiscuously to all” quote by John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-calvin-490_doe_free-will-does-not-enable-any-man-to-per_382126.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-calvin-490_doe_free-will-does-not-enable-any-man-to-per_382126.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-calvin-490_doe_free-will-does-not-enable-any-man-to-per_382126.jpg) > “Free will does not enable any man to perform good works, unless he is assisted by grace; indeed, the special grace which the elect alone receive through regeneration. For I stay not to consider the extravagance of those who say that grace is offered equally and promiscuously to all” [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human effort alone cannot achieve moral good; divine grace is essential, and this grace is bestowed selectively on the elect. **In simple terms:** Good works need divine help, not just human will. Key Takeaway Seek divine grace, not self-reliance. Themes theology grace free will predestination salvation Mood serious inquisitive Type theological doctrinal When to use this quote - church teachings - personal faith - ethical decision making - spiritual counseling Key Concepts reformation doctrine elect spiritual dependence Questions to Reflect On - Is it just that grace is limited? - How does this view affect moral responsibility? A Different Perspective Grace may be seen as exclusive, raising questions of fairness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extravagance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extravagance/) [Free will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-will/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Regeneration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regeneration/) ## Related quotes > [A carefully cultivated heart will, assisted by the grace of God, foresee, forestall, or transform most of the painful situations before which others stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/a-carefully-cultivated-heart-will-assisted-by-the-grace-of-god/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [And now let me address all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to accept of mercy and grace while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/and-now-let-me-address-all-of-you-high-and-low-rich-and-poor-one-with/) [George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/) > [I guess I am trying to get the point across that all of us are in need of salvation; that we are dead in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eugene-edwards/i-guess-i-am-trying-to-get-the-point-across-that-all-of-us-are-in/) David Eugene Edwards > [O my God, since thou art with me, and i must now, in obedience to thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brother-lawrence/o-my-god-since-thou-art-with-me-and-i-must-now-in-obedience-to-thy/) [Brother Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brother-lawrence/) > [When the course of experience made me see that there is no saviour and no special grace, no remission beyond the human, that pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/when-the-course-of-experience-made-me-see-that-there-is-no-saviour/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The amount of sanctifying and special grace bestowed by a Sacrament depends chiefly on the disposition of the recipient.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pohle/the-amount-of-sanctifying-and-special-grace-bestowed-by-a-sacrament/) [Joseph Pohle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pohle/) > [I believe God gives us special grace to help us in moments of persecution. But I also believe he often uses his own words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-moore-jr/i-believe-god-gives-us-special-grace-to-help-us-in-moments-of/) [Johnnie Moore, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-moore-jr/) > [Some of my academic friends think I've fallen from a very special grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/some-of-my-academic-friends-think-i-ve-fallen-from-a-very-special/) [A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/) > [On the path of love we feel that if we love today, it's only because God is loving through us, because there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/on-the-path-of-love-we-feel-that-if-we-love-today-it-s-only-because/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Some of my academic friends think Ive fallen from a very special grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/some-of-my-academic-friends-think-ive-fallen-from-a-very-special-grace/) [A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/) > [Faith does not proceed from ourselves, but is the fruit of spiritual regeneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/faith-does-not-proceed-from-ourselves-but-is-the-fruit-of-spiritual/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [But we have nothing of the Spirit except through regeneration. Everything, therefore, which we have from nature is flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/but-we-have-nothing-of-the-spirit-except-through-regeneration/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [We Japanese enjoy the small pleasures, not extravagance. I believe a man should have a simple lifestyle - even if he can afford more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaru-ibuka/we-japanese-enjoy-the-small-pleasures-not-extravagance-i-believe-a/) [Masaru Ibuka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaru-ibuka/) > [One defining symptom of decadence is a fondness for vast and nonsensical extravagance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/one-defining-symptom-of-decadence-is-a-fondness-for-vast-and/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [I adore extravagance but I abhor waste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-copland/i-adore-extravagance-but-i-abhor-waste/) [Aaron Copland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-copland/) ## More by John Calvin > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [But a most pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/but-a-most-pernicious-error-widely-prevails-that-scripture-has-only/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [For earthly princes lay aside their power when they rise up against God, and are unworthy to be reckoned among the number of mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/for-earthly-princes-lay-aside-their-power-when-they-rise-up-against/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [It is no small honour that God for our sake has so magnificently adorned the world, in order that we may not only be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/it-is-no-small-honour-that-god-for-our-sake-has-so-magnificently/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [The word "hope" I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/the-word-hope-i-take-for-faith-and-indeed-hope-is-nothing-else-but/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [No man can come to God but by an extraordinary revelation of the Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/no-man-can-come-to-god-but-by-an-extraordinary-revelation-of-the/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [There cannot be a surer rule, nor a stronger exhortation to the observance of it, than when we are taught that all the endowments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-cannot-be-a-surer-rule-nor-a-stronger-exhortation-to-the/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [The surest source of destruction to men is to obey themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/the-surest-source-of-destruction-to-men-is-to-obey-themselves/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [The whole gospel is contained in Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/the-whole-gospel-is-contained-in-christ/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [For Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which, as nothing is omitted that is both necessary and useful to know, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/for-scripture-is-the-school-of-the-holy-spirit-in-which-as-nothing-is/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [“For earthly princes lay aside their power when they rise up against God, and are unworthy to be reckoned among the number of mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/for-earthly-princes-lay-aside-their-power-when-they-rise-up-against-2/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [If a preacher is not first preaching to himself, better that he falls on the steps of the pulpit and breaks his neck than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/if-a-preacher-is-not-first-preaching-to-himself-better-that-he-falls/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Again I ask whence it happened that the fall of Adam involved, without remedy, in eternal death so many nations, together with their infant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/again-i-ask-whence-it-happened-that-the-fall-of-adam-involved-without/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Unless God's Word illumine the way, the whole life of men is wrapped in darkness and mist, so that they cannot but miserably stray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/unless-god-s-word-illumine-the-way-the-whole-life-of-men-is-wrapped/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) [Explore all 520 John Calvin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) ## More Doe quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; 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Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/sometimes-a-sign-or-a-quote-is-simply-interesting-by-itself-and-does/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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