The reason most Calvinists do not completely follow Calvin is that they don't read ALL of his writings or they could not call themselves by his name. They also never say; "I am a follower of Jesus Christ", which is too embarrassing but saying "I follow Calvin" makes them sound intellectual.
Calvin was a Catholic who left the church and brought with him to the protestant denomination many Catholic doctrines that are not Biblical. He murdered real Christians who wanted to be rebaptized when they left the Catholic church, they no longer believed in infant baptism, so he killed them for their "heresy" as he saw it.
If followers of Calvin read all his writings and prayed to compare them with the scriptures they would no longer follow Him. It's the "pick and choose" syndrome, follow what you like and pretend you do not see what you don't like. Very common and childish.
Many Christians do this all the time and those who are pretenders. The pretenders are those who came into the church merely to feel safe but have no interest in the Word of God or Jesus Christ, only in the system that keeps them safe.
Matthew 7:21-23 "21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
No one will enter heaven who tried to be good without Christ or who has no interest in a relationship with Him. Some even say it takes a relationship with Christ but do not know what that really means.
I have had more side-ways glances as though something is wrong with me when I mention depending on the Holy Spirit. Those who do this think it is a "cop-out" or "pat-answer" because they have never experienced hearing from the Holy Spirit nor do they consult Him regularly for matters in their lives.
Those who walk with the Holy Spirit guidance every day understand what it is like to depend on Him moment by moment.
Isaiah 11:1-5
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins."
This passage was describing Christ's walk on this earth. Because we have Christ's Holy Spirit living in us we can walk this way too.
When the Holy Spirit comes to reside in us after we have been born again, we too have what Jesus Christ had, the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:13
13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
Perhaps those who mock the Holy Spirit's guidance do not have Him.
Romans 8:8-10 "8 Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness."
John 14:17
"the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."
John 14:23
"Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
1 Corinthians 3:16
"Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
Galatians 4:6
"And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"
Ephesians 3:17
"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,"
Philippians 1:19
"because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance."
Born again believers understand the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they do not mock Him or the one who speaks of Him. If there is mocking and resisting then it is possible the one who does this is not saved.
Just some thoughts to move us toward greater dependence on the Holy Spirit and greater discernment about all things as we move through this world.
