 The second book includes several essays on the original sin and the fall of man , which directly refer to Augustine , who developed these doctrines . He often cited the Church Fathers in order to defend the reformed cause against the charge that the reformers were creating new theology . In Calvin 's view , sin began with the fall of Adam and propagated to all of humanity . The domination of sin is complete to the point that people are driven to evil . Thus fallen humanity is in need of the redemption that can be found in Christ . But before Calvin expounded on this doctrine , he described the special situation of the Jews who lived during the time of the Old Testament . God made a covenant with Abraham , promising the coming of Christ . Hence , the Old Covenant was not in opposition to Christ , but was rather a continuation of God 's promise . Calvin then describes the New Covenant using the passage from the Apostles ' Creed that describes Christ 's suffering under Pontius Pilate and his return to judge the living and the dead . For Calvin , the whole course of Christ 's obedience to the Father removed the discord between humanity and God . 
