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by John Calvin

12. The manifestation of God is choked by human superstition and the error of the philosophers

Hence arises that boundless filthy mire of error wherewith the whole earth was filled and covered. For each man’s mind is like a labyrinth, so that it is no wonder that individual nations were drawn aside into various falsehoods; and not only this—but individual men, almost, had their own gods. For as rashness and superficiality are joined to ignorance and darkness, scarcely a single person has ever been found who did not fashion for himself an idol or specter in place of God. Surely, just as waters boil up from a vast, full spring, so does an immense crowd of gods flow forth from the human mind, while each one, in wandering about with too much license, wrongly invents this or that about God himself.

Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volumes 1 & 2, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, The Library of Christian Classics (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011) Vol. 1.5.12. p. 64-65.

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“Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.”

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More Resources from Calvin on Idolatry
The Necessity of Reforming the Church (eBook)

It always saddens to me see those who once stood with us to go out from us by capitulating to the world and its narrative. It is especially distressing to see this among professing Christians. Dr. Adrian Warnock's recent article, among other things, is a call for Christians to apologize and repent for calling to those with same-sex attraction to faith and repentance. He clearly seems to be advocating the idea that those Christians who proclaim the gospel to those with same-sex attraction are Pharisees because, he believes, very few persons in this category can change, so it is abusive and hurtful to call them to repent of something they are unable to repent from.  Never mind what they Bible teaches.

I am wondering whether Dr. Warnock understands that the Bible declares that none of us can change ourselves. Does he think those with same-sex attraction are alone in their moral inability to change? As such would he affirm the following statement which the Bible indicates is true about all sinners?

I was born into this world with certain sinful dispositions and inclinations, and neither therapy nor willpower could produce real change to my fallen human nature. God's holy laws could only expose to me, as a fallen creature, my utter moral impotence and accountability to God (Rom 3:19, 20) but gave me no ability to obey them. The gospel, on the other hand, is not a simple call to behavior modification, but instead, the granting of a renewed heart, a new nature, which loves God's commands (1 John 3:9, 5:1-4; Deut 30:6; Ps. 119:97; Ezek 36:26). And by grace I was declared righteous for Jesus's sake, who fulfilled God's law for me, not because I brought anything of my own to the table. As a result the gospel of grace awakens me to the fact that other sinners are also fallen human beings. So how can I look down on anyone, when God had such amazing mercy on a great sinner like me? I now only want to point others to the light of the gospel of Christ that they might also know Him.

What about the person without the Bible? Will they be held accountable for breaking God's Law? Or Face God's judgment? According to Scripture, "the work of the Law is written on their hearts." And the Bible even gives multiple examples of God judging peoples and nations who have never heard God's Law. Consider some of them- even before God gave Moses the Law at Mount Sinai God held men accountable for their wickedness against the work of the Law written on their consciences. 1) God flooded the whole earth and saved Noah's family because "the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5). 2) The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were likewise annihilated for practices they knew were wrong (Genesis 19:7; Genesis 18:20-19:25). 3) And after the exodus, God employed Israel to destroy the wicked Canaanites for their sin, just as He had indicated to Abraham 400 years earlier that He would give Israel the land after a period of slavery but they would have to wait "until the iniquity of the Amorite was complete" (Genesis 15:12-16).