--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no inconsistency in saying that…" description: "\"There is no inconsistency in saying that God rewards good works, provided we understand that nevertheless men obtain eternal life gratuitously.\" — John..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/john-calvin-490_eternal_there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that_2452171.jpg" --- # There is no inconsistency in saying that God rewards good… ![“There is no inconsistency in saying that God rewards good works, provided we understand that nevertheless men obtain eternal life gratuitously.” quote by John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/john-calvin-490_eternal_there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that_2452171.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/john-calvin-490_eternal_there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that_2452171.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/john-calvin-490_eternal_there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that_2452171.jpg) > “There is no inconsistency in saying that God rewards good works, provided we understand that nevertheless men obtain eternal life gratuitously.” [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. God rewards good deeds, yet salvation is ultimately a free gift, not earned by works alone. **In simple terms:** Salvation is a gift, not earned. Key Takeaway Trust in grace, not just deeds. Themes faith grace salvation Mood theological reflective Type doctrinal philosophical When to use this quote - church teaching - personal faith - ethical living Key Concepts reformation theology soteriology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance grace and moral effort? - What role do deeds play in your faith? A Different Perspective May downplay the importance of good works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-life/) [Good works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-works/) [Inconsistency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inconsistency/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) ## Related quotes > [Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-half/delegating-work-works-provided-the-one-delegating-works-too/) [Robert Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-half/) > [ That is how His Majesty \[the Lord\] rewards our good works---I mean, by predisposing us to perform better ones. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/that-is-how-his-majesty-the-lord-rewards-our-good-works-i-mean-by/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [“Being a good person does not pay. Even so, I will not stop to be a good person becuase there are no rewards for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-mphela/being-a-good-person-does-not-pay-even-so-i-will-not-stop-to-be-a-good/) Audrey Mphela > [Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/rewards-for-good-service-should-not-be-deferred-a-single-day/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [In our good works nothing is our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/in-our-good-works-nothing-is-our-own/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [“There is no inconsistency when God raises up those who have fallen prostrate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-no-inconsistency-when-god-raises-up-those-who-have-fallen/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [It is a basic tenet throughout the Scriptures that God rewards diligence, faithfulness, endurance, and steadfastness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-joyner/it-is-a-basic-tenet-throughout-the-scriptures-that-god-rewards/) [Rick Joyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-joyner/) > [I don't believe we are supposed to go through life defeated and not having enough money to pay our bills or send our kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/i-don-t-believe-we-are-supposed-to-go-through-life-defeated-and-not/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [God rewards according to the mannerin which He is conceived or approached.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/god-rewards-according-to-the-mannerin-which-he-is-conceived-or/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [The idea that there is a God who rewards and punishes, and who can reward, if he so wishes, the meanest and vilest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-idea-that-there-is-a-god-who-rewards-and-punishes-and-who-can/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [God rewards the person who is diligent. And for those who will take time in their day to seek the Lord, for those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-laurie/god-rewards-the-person-who-is-diligent-and-for-those-who-will-take/) [Greg Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-laurie/) > [Love hunger and thirst for the sake of Christ. Insofar as you pacify your body, so much much will you do make your soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/love-hunger-and-thirst-for-the-sake-of-christ-insofar-as-you-pacify/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [“God rewards the soul that focuses on Him with attention and love, and God rewards that soul by exercising a rigorous compulsion on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/god-rewards-the-soul-that-focuses-on-him-with-attention-and-love-and/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [When you faithfully follow the three duties of a Christian, God rewards you openly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jentezen-franklin/when-you-faithfully-follow-the-three-duties-of-a-christian-god/) [Jentezen Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jentezen-franklin/) > [ I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his \[sic\] creatures, or has a will of the type of which we are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-cannot-conceive-of-a-god-who-rewards-and-punishes-his-sic-creatures/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## 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 Eternal quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-remain-an-eternal-optimist-about-love-i-believe-in-love/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [The time has come for us to understand that the Eternal Feminine is the greatest power in this Universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-understand-that-the-eternal-feminine-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it’s like to live without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-only-way-to-have-eternal-love-is-to-never-let-your-heart-forget/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) [Browse all 3,280 Eternal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no inconsistency in saying that God rewards good works, provided we understand that nevertheless men obtain eternal life gratuitously.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Calvin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that-god-rewards-good-works/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that-god-rewards-good-works/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/john-calvin-490_eternal_there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that_2452171.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/john-calvin-490_eternal_there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that_2452171.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f50/john-calvin-490_eternal_there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that_2452171.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no inconsistency in saying that God rewards good works, provided we understand that nevertheless…” — John Calvin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Calvin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no inconsistency in saying...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that-god-rewards-good-works/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-no-inconsistency-in-saying-that-god-rewards-good-works/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```