John Calvin Commentary Exodus 32:33

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book." — Exodus 32:33 (ASV)

Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out. In these words, God adapts Himself to the comprehension of the human mind when He says, “him will I blot out.” For hypocrites make such a false profession of His name that they are not accounted aliens until God openly renounces them, and therefore their manifest rejection is called erasure.

Moreover, God reproves the preposterous request of Moses, since it is inconsistent with His justice to reject the innocent. From this, it follows that Moses had prayed inconsiderately.

The sum is that God, whenever He punishes the ungodly and iniquitous, pays them the wages they have earned, whereas He never punishes the just.

Yet it is to be observed that when God declares He will be the avenger of sins, His mercy is not excluded, by which He buries the transgressions of His people so that they do not come to mind.

Thus, when Paul says, “Neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor murderers, nor revilers, shall possess the kingdom of God,”³⁵⁸ (1 Corinthians 6:9–10) it would be incorrect to conclude that they were all shut out from the hope of salvation, since he only speaks of the reprobate, who never repent, so that, being converted, they may obtain grace.

³⁵⁸ It will be seen that C. here, as is often the case, quotes from memory. here, as is often the case, quotes from memory.