JOHN CALVIN THE SOULWINNER
"John Calvin…is looked upon now, of course, a theologian only,
but he was really one of the greatest of gospel preachers. When Calvin
opened the Book and took a text, you might be sure that he was about to
preach "Through grace are ye saved, and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God." CH Spurgeon (14:216)
The following are quotes from J.H. Merle D’Aubigne's "History Of The Reformation In The Time Of Calvin" I
am reproducing those parts which distinctly speak of his evangelistic
efforts as opposed to those which speak of him engaging in controversy
or theology, although I recognise that in reality there would have been
an overlap.
CALVIN ALLOWED HIS COVETED STUDY TIME TO BE INTERRUPTED IN ORDER TO TEACH PEOPLE THE WAY OF SALVATION:
His admirers returned to him. Several
citizens of Orleans opened their houses to him, saying: ‘Come and
teach openly the salvation of man.’ Calvin shrank back.
‘Let no one disturb my repose,’ he said; ‘leave me in
peace.’ His repose, that is to say his studies, were his only
thought. But these souls, thirsting for truth, did not yield so easily.
‘A repose of darkness!’ replied the most ardent; ‘an
ignoble peace; Come and preach!’ Calvin remembered the saying of
St. Chrysostom: ‘Though a thousand persons should call you, think
of your own weakness, and obey only under constraint.’
‘Well, then, we constrain you,’ answered his friends.
‘O God! what desirest thou of me?’ Calvin would exclaim at
such moments. ‘Why dost thou pursue me? Why dost thou turn and
disturb me, and never leave me at rest? Why, despite my disposition,
dost thou lead me to the light and bring me into play?’ Calvin
gave way, however, and understood that it was his duty to publish the
Gospel. He went to the houses of his friends. A few men, women, and
young people gathered round him, and he began to explain the
Scriptures. It was quite a new order of teaching: there were none of
those distinctions and deductions of scholastic science, at that time
so familiar to the preachers. The language of the young man possessed
all admirable simplicity, a piercing vitality, and a holy majesty which
captivated the heart. ‘He teaches the truth,’ said his
hearers as they withdrew, ‘not in affected language, but with
such depth, solidity, and weight, that every one who hears him is
struck with admiration.’ These are the words of a contemporary of
Calvin, who lived on the spot, and in the very circle in which the
Reformer then moved. ‘While at Orleans,’ adds this friend,
Theodore Beza, ‘Calvin, chosen from that time to be an instrument
of election in the Lord’s work, wonderfully advanced the kingdom
of God in many families.’
It was at Orleans, therefore,
that Calvin began his evangelist work and manifested himself to the
world as a Christian. Calvin’s activity in this city is a proof
that he was then converted to the Gospel, and that he had been so for
some time; for his was Not one of those expansive natures which
immediately display externally what is within them. This first ministry
of the reformer negatives the hypotheses which place Calvin’s
conversion at Orleans, or at Bourges, somewhat later, or, even later
still, during his second residence at Paris.
Thus the young doctor, growing in
knowledge and acting in love, refuted the objections of the gainsayers,
and led to Christ the humble souls who thirsted for salvation. (Vol 2:
p35-37)
CALVIN BEGAN TO SPEND MORE TIME AND EFFORT IN PERSONAL SOULWINNING:
Nor was this the only call he received
at Bourges. Wolmar had spoken of him, and several famines invited him
to their houses to edify them. This took the young man by surprise, as
it had done at Orleans; he remained silent, lost in the multitude of
his thoughts. ‘I am quite amazed,’ he said, ‘at
seeing those who have a desire for pure doctrine gather round me to
learn, although I have only just began to learn myself!’ He
resolved, however, to continue at Bourges the evangelical work which he
had timidly commenced on the banks of the Loire; and he brought more
time and more decision to the task.
Calvin accordingly entered into
relations with students and townspeople, nobles and lawyers, priests
and professors. The family of the Colladons held at that time a
considerable station in Berry. Two brothers, Leo and Germain, and two
sisters, Mary and Anne, were the first to embrace the Gospel in Berry.
Leo and Germain were advocates, and one of their cousins, styled
Germain II. in the genealogies, now eighteen years old, afterwards
became Calvin’s intimate friend at Geneva. These ties of
friendship had probably begun at Bourges. (Vol 2: p43)
CALVIN HAD AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY IN HIS WIDENING SPHERE OF EVANGELISM:
The evangelist soon extended his
Christian activity beyond the walls of the city. Many natives of Berry,
who had heard him at Bourges, had been charmed with his addresses.
‘Come and preach’ these beautiful words to us,’ they
said. Calvin gradually laid aside his natural timidity, and being
cheerful and fond of walking, he visited the castles and villages. He
introduced himself affectionately into all the houses at which he
stopped. ‘A graceful salutation,’ he said in after years,
‘serves as an introduction to converse with people.' He delivered
several sermons in these hamlets and country-seats. (Vol
2: p43-44)
CALVIN'S STYLE OF EVANGELISM WAS EVERY THING THAT IT SHOULD BE:
On the banks of the Arnon, ten leagues
from Bourges, there stands a little town ‘named Lignieres, at
that time the seat of a considerable lordship. Every year certain monks
came to preach in the parish church, and were bountifully received at
the chateau, where they complained of their wretchedness in the most
pitiable tone. This offended the lord of Lignieres, who was not of a
superstitious character. ‘If I am not mistaken,’ he said,
‘it is with a view to their own gain that these monks pretend to
be such drudges.’ Disgusted with their hypocrisy, M. de Lignieres
begged Calvin to come and preach in their stead. The law-student spoke
to an immense crowd with such clearness, freedom, depth and vitality,
that every one was moved. ‘Upon my word,’ said the lord to
his wife, ‘Master John Calvin seems to me to preach better than
the monks, and he goes heartily to work too.’ (Vol 2: p44)
CALVIN'S EVANGELISTIC ZEAL REACHED EVEN TO THE CHILDREN:
In this way Calvin labored in the
town, in the villages, and in the chateaux, conversing tenderly with
the children, preaching to adults, and training heroes and martyrs.
(Vol 2: p44)
CALVIN'S EVANGELISTIC ZEAL IN HIS HOMETOWN PAID DIVIDENDS:
The same persons who presided over
these several changes encouraged Calvin to preach. When a young man who
has gone through his studies for the ministry, of the Word returns to
his native place, every one is anxious to hear him. Curiosity was still
more keenly aroused in Calvin’s case, for his reputation had
preceded him, and some little charge of heresy, put forward from time
to time, served but to increase the general eagerness. The effects of
Calvin’s preaching were various. Many persons rejoiced to hear,
at last, a living word beneath that roof which had reechoed with so
much vain and useless babbling. Of this number were, no doubt, certain
notable men who were seen pressing round the preacher … All were
afterwards accused of having embraced the new doctrine, and were
condemned by the Parliament of Paris to be drawn on hurdles and burnt
in the great square of Noyon; but they had already quitted the kingdom.
The words of the young speaker did not merely communicate fresh
knowledge they worked a transformation of the heart and life. (Vol 2:
p62-63)
BUSY HERE AND THERE, CALVIN WAS FAITHFUL IF NOT ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL
He soon returned to Paris, which
opened a wider field of labor to him. On the 15th of January, 1530, he
wrote Daniel a letter which he dated from the Acropolis, as if Paris
were to him the citadel of Catholicism or the Parthenon of France. He was always trying to save some lost sheep, and such a desire
filled his mind on the 15th of January. On that day he expected two
friends to dinner. One of them, Robert Daniel, brother to the advocate
of Orleans, an enthusiastic ‘young man, was burning with desire
to see the world. Calvin, who had already done all in his power to win
him over, flattered himself that he would succeed that day; But the
giddy young fellow, suspecting perhaps what awaited him, did not come.
Calvin sent a messenger to Robert’s lodging. ‘He has
decamped,’ said the landlord; ‘he has left for
Italy.’ At Meaux Calvin had desired to win over a great
personage; at Palls he had hoped to win over a young adventurer’
in both cases he failed. ‘Alas!’ he said, ‘I am but a
dry and useless log!’ And once more he sought fresh strength in
Christ. (Vol 2: p70)
CALVIN EVANGELISED IN THE MOST HUMBLE OF PLACES:
But the hour had not yet come when
Calvin was to proclaim these great truths with the authority of a
reformer. A modest and devout man, he was now performing a more humble
work in the remotest streets and loneliest houses of the capital. One
would have taken him for the most insignificant of men, and yet he was
already a conqueror. The light of Scripture, with which his mind was
saturated, was one day to shine like the lightning from east to west;
and no man since St. Paul was to hold the Gospel torch so high and with
so firm a hand. When that student, so thin, pale, and obscure, in
appearance so mean, in manner so timid, passed down the street of St.
Jacques or of the Sorbonne; when he crept silently past the houses, and
slipped unobserved into one of them, bearing with him the Word of life,
there was not even an old woman that noticed him.
CALVIN WAS ALWAYS BUSY. THE GOSPEL MADE PROGRESS DAILY:
Mere preaching did not satisfy Calvin:
he entered into communication with all who desired a purer religion,
made them frequent visits, and conversed seriously with them. He
avoided no one, and cultivated the friendship of those whom he had
formerly known. He advanced step by step, but he was always busy, and
the doctrine of the Gospel made some progress every day. All persons
rendered the strongest testimony to his piety. The friends of the Word
of God gathered round him, and among them were many burgesses and
common people, but there were nobles and college professors also. (Vol
2: p137)
Calvin had not quitted Paris.
He was at one moment on the boulevards with the merchant De la Forge,
at another in the university quarter with Cop; in the dwellings of the
poor, and the mansions of the nobles, ‘increasing greatly the
work of the Lord,’ says Beza, ‘not only by teaching truth,
but also by opposing the heretics.' (Vol 2: p189)
CALVIN AIMED HIGH IN HIS EVANGELISM AS WELL AS LOW:
These Christians were full of hope,
and even Calvin entertained the bold idea of winning the king, the
university, and indeed France herself, over to the Gospel. (Vol 2: p137)
CALVIN PENNED THE GOSPEL SERMON WHICH ANOTHER PREACHED AT THE UNIVERSITY TO THE MONKS ETC.,
During the month of October Cop was
much occupied with a task that had fallen to him. It was the custom of
the university for the rector to deliver an inaugural address in Latin
on All Saints’ Day in one of the churches of Paris. Calvin
thought that it was his duty to take advantage of this opportunity to
proclaim the Gospel boldly in the face of France. The rector replied
that he was a physician, and that it was difficult for him to speak
like a divine: ‘If, however, you will write the address,’
he said, ‘I will promise to deliver it.’ … They
agreed to explain the essence or the Gospel before the university,
giving it the academic name of Christian Philosophy …. Nobody
suspected that it Calvin who was about to set the university, and
indeed all France, in commotion. The hour having come, all the
dignitaries, professors, and students fixed their eager eyes upon Cop
as he rose to speak. He pronounced the opening address ‘in a very
different fashion,’ says Theodore Beza, ‘from what was
usual.’ There was a simplicity and life in his delivery which
contrasted strongly with the dryness and exaggeration of the old
doctors. The discourse is of importance in the history of the
Reformation…
University professors,
priests, monks, and students — all listened with astonishment to
such unusual language. Here and there in the congregation signs of
approbation might be observed, but far more numerous signs of anger.
Two Franciscans, in particular, were so excited that they could
scarcely keep their seats; and when the assembly broke up they were
heard expressing their indignation in loud terms: ‘Grace…
God’s pardon… the Holy Ghost… there is abundance of
all that in the rector’s discourse; but of penance, indulgences,
and meritorious works… not a word!’ It was pointed out to
them that the rector, according to custom, had ended his exordium with
the salutation which the angel had addressed to Mary; but that, in the
opinion of the monks, was a mere form. The words being in Scripture,
how could the rector refuse to pronounce them? Had he not besides begun
by saying that Christ is the only true intercessor, verus et unus opud
Patrem intercessor?… What is left then to Mary, except that she
is the mother of the Savior? The Sorbonne was filled with anger and
alarm... To select the day of the festival of All Saints, in order to
proclaim that there is only one intercessor! (Vol 2: p189-192)
OF THE CHIEF WOMEN…NOT A FEW (ACTS 17:4)
Calvin, as it will be remembered, had
studied and evangelised at Orleans, and his teaching had left deep
traces, particularly among the students and with certain ladies of
quality. The wife of the city provost seems to have been one of the
souls converted by the ministry of the young reformer. The narrative he
has devoted to her, the full details into which he enters, show the
interest he took in her conversion. This woman, who occupied a
distinguished rank in the city, had found peace for her soul in faith
in Christ; she had believed in the promises of the Word which Calvin
had explained; she had felt keenly the nothingness of Roman pomps and
superstitions; the grace of God was sufficient for her; and caring
little for outward adorning, she strove after that which is not
corruptible, the ornament of the women who trusted in God. (Vol 2: p250)
CALVIN SENT FORTH SOME THIRTY OR FORTY MISSIONARIES EACH YEAR FROM GENEVA:
That man whose hand was one day boldly
to raise the standard of the Gospel in the world, whose teaching was to
enlighten many nations, and whose eloquence was to stir all France;
that man who was yearly to send forth from Geneva some thirty or forty
missionaries, and whose letters strengthened all the Churches; that
man, still young, pursued by the lieutenant-criminal and his sergeants,
had been forced to steal out of his chamber into the street and
disguise himself in strange garments. Vol 3: p28)
CALVIN TEACHING TWO BRETHREN GREEK FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT LEADS THEM TO CHRIST:
About this time their circle was
increased: John Du Tillet, afterwards bishop of Meaux, arrived at
Angouleme. He too became attached with his whole heart to Calvin: the
latter, wishing to make himself useful to the two brothers, offered to
teach them Greek, and while teaching them to read the New Testament, he
led them to seek Christ. (Vol 3: p35)
CALVIN SUPPLIED EVANGELISTIC SERMONS TO BE READ OUT IN THE PARISH CHURCHES IN THE VILLAGES:
Calvin’s sphere widened
gradually: he wrote to those to whom he could not speak; and ere long
his friends asked why they should keep for themselves alone the bread
of life on which they fed?… One of them giving utterance to this
thought to the young doctor, added: ‘But you can only reach the
people in the churches.’ It was scarcely possible that Calvin, a
fugitive from Paris, could visit the churches of the Angoumois as an
evangelical missionary. ‘Compose some short Christian
exhortations for us,’ said his friends to him, ‘and we will
give them to well-disposed parish priests to read to their
congregations.’ He did so, and humble clerks read these
evangelical appeals from their pulpits, as well as they could. Thus
Calvin preached through the mouths of priests to poor villagers, as he
had addressed the imposing Sorbonne by the mouth of the rector. (Vol 3: p38)
CALVIN - A LIFE LONG EVANGELIST:
Calvin, by labouring thirty years for
Geneva and France, laboured for the whole Christian world, He made the
first experiment at Poitiers, and (if we may use the word) began that
glorious evangelising campaign, which he was to direct until the close
of his life. Not content with evangelising the city, the young and
zealous doctor visited the castles, abbeys, and villages of the
neighbourhood. (Vol 3: p71)
CALVIN PREACHES THE GOSPEL TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS IN THE ABBEY:
The abbot announced to his monks that
a Picard, brought up in the university of Paris and the holder of a
benefice at Noyon, would preach in the abbey-church. Accordingly Calvin
went into the pulpit and declared that whosoever had a firm and lively
faith in the grace of Christ was saved. Some of his hearers were
startled at a doctrine which made the Romish priesthood of no use.
‘What a perverse doctrine!’ they said; ‘why does the
abbot allow this Picard to preach it in his church?’ (Vol 3:72)
BURDENED FOR HIS NATIVE FRANCE, CALVIN SENDS OUT MISSIONARIES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD:
When Calvin saw this movement of life
going on around him, he thought of France. Would she remain behind
Germany and Switzerland? No. France will awakE. She is
already waking; ere long she will receive the Gospel in its holy
purity, and will increase in morality, in light, and in liberty: such
were his hopes. But for their realisation, men were needed who, being
regenerate themselves, should be fellow-workers with God in this new
creation. Calvin asked himself whether some of the converts of Poitiers
were not called to this work? One day being at the usual
meeting, he said: ‘Is there any one here willing to go and give
light to those whom the Pope has blinded?’ Jean Vernou, Philip
Veron, and Albert Babinot stood forward. Calvin had not forgotten the
Angoumois where he possessed beloved friends; thither and into the
adjacent provinces he will first send his missionaries and commence the
evangelisation of France: ‘You, Babinot, will go into Guyenne and
Languedoc,’ he said; ‘Philip Veron, you will go into
Saintonge and Angoumois; and you, Jean Vernou, will stay at Poitiers
and the neighbourhood.’ Calvin and the other brethren did not
think that these missionaries required regular theological studies; had
they not received the necessary gifts from God, ‘neither more nor
less than if He had given them with His own hand?’ But they had
need to be recommended to the almighty grace of God. They therefore
prayed together, and Calvin Called upon the Lord to accept the services
of these pious men. He told them to go and proclaim the Gospel, not in
the name of any man, but in the name of the Lord, and because God
commanded it. A collection provided for the expenses of this mission,
and the evangelists departed. (Vol 3:72-73)
[Historical
note: Calvin’s three missionaries, Babinot, Veron, and Vernou,
were soon famous throughout the west of France, and the wrath of the
clergy of all ranks, and even of laymen of note, knew no bounds...When
Calvin was subsequently settled at Geneva, Babinot, Veron, and Vernou
paid him a visit. They were delighted to find the Christian professor
surrounded with respect, and were never tired of listening to him from
whose lips they had heard at Poitiers the first words of life. They did
not, however, stay with him. Babinot and Veron returned to the west of
France to continue to propagate the Gospel there, which they did until
their death. As for Vernou, he was seized while crossing the mountains
of Savoy, and was burnt alive at Chambery, confessing Jesus Christ his
Saviour. (Vol 3:76-77)]
LIKE ANDREW OF OLD, CALVIN FIRST WON HIS OWN FAMILY TO CHRIST:
He had found in his father’s
house two brothers and a sister, Anthony, Charles, and Mary: these were
the first persons he invited to Christ, in affectionate and pious
conversations. He then turned to some members of the episcopal clergy
and other inhabitants of Noyon. He put his hand (to use his own
expression) on those who were running elsewhere, ‘to stop them
short.’ Anthony and Mary were the first to answer to him. Charles
resisted longer; he received however at that time a seed in his heart
which germinated afterwards. (Vol 3:79)
EVEN IN THE SAD INCIDENT CONCERNING SERVETUS, CALVIN HAD FIRST CHERISHED THE DESIRE THAT HE MIGHT WIN HIM TO CHRIST:
Calvin resolved to accept
Servetus’s invitation. These two young men, born in the same
year, gifted each of them with marvelous genius, unshakeable in their
convictions, are about to enter the lists. What blows they will deal
each other! What a struggle! Which will come off conqueror? If Luther,
Zwingle, and Bucer are so animated, what will Calvin be? He was the one
who showed the most moderate sentiments with regard to Servetus. Alas!
why did he not continue so to the last? ‘ I will do all in my
power to cure Servetus,’ he said. ‘If I show myself in
public, I know that I expose my life; but I will spare no pains to
bring him to such sentiments, that all pious men may be able to take
him affectionately by the hand.’ (Vol 3:95)
CALVIN ASSISTED IN TRANSLATING THE BIBLE:
In his retirement on the Wartburg,
Luther had translated the New Testament. Calvin engaged in a similar
task at Basle. On March 27th, 1534, a translation was published by
Pierre de Wingle at Neuchatel: it was a small folio, printed in double
columns, and was from the pen of Lefevre of Etaples, but had undergone
a revision with regard to certain expressions which still retained a
Romish colouring. It would appear that this edition was suppressed,
either because it had been made without resorting to the original
texts, or because Wingle himself was dissatisfied with it. He was soon
to publish a more perfect version, in which Calvin assisted while at
Basle. (Vol 3: p154-155)
Pierre Robert of Noyon, called
Olivetan, had finished the work the Church had entrusted to him. On the
4th of June, 1535, appeared the first French Bible of the Reformation.
‘Possessing a keen and penetrating mind,’ said one of its
readers who was thoroughly capable of appreciating the work, ‘the
translator is not deficient in learning; he has spared neither labour,
research, nor care, and has ably discharged the duties of a translator
of the Bible.’ ‘I have done the best I could,’ said
the translator himself, on presenting the book to his brethren;
‘I have laboured and searched as deeply as I possibly could into
the living mine of pure truth; but I do not pretend to have entirely
exhausted it.’… It has been calculated that the new
translator had corrected the biblical text of the Sorbonne doctor in
twenty-three thousand five hundred places, and in more than sixty
thousand, if account be taken of all the minutiae of style.
Calvin’s share has reference particularly to the later editions
of this Bible. (Vol 5: p232)
CALVIN LED SOME HIGH RANKING WOMEN TO CHRIST BY HIS WISE AND FAITHFUL CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM:
It was not the men of learning,
however, whom the young theologian had come to see: it was the duchess
herself. That princess, who had already received in France a few rays
of evangelical light, did not yet possess a sufficient knowledge of
Christian truth: she felt this, and was determined to seek above all
things peace with God. She therefore had frequent interviews with
Calvin. Holy Scripture was the subject of their conversation; the
reformer explained to Renee one passage by another, and the light of
heaven beaming from all these passages of Holy Writ, carried brightness
and warmth into the princess’s heart. The young doctor spoke with
simplicity and modesty, but at the same time with affection and
decision. ‘If I address you, madam,’ he said, ‘it is
not from rashness or presumption, but pure and true affection to make
you prevail in the Lord. When I consider the pre-eminence in which He
has placed you, I think that, as a person of princely rank, you can
advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ.’ But even this consideration
was not necessary to arouse the zeal of the evangelist of Noyon. The
princess’s noble character and her love for the Gospel touched
him deeply. ‘I observe in you,’ he added, ‘such fear
of God, and such a real desire to obey Him, that I should consider
myself a castaway if I neglected the opportunity of being useful to
you.’ Calvin was the most profound and most earnest commentator
of Holy Scripture; and Renee embraced with her whole heart the truths
that he proclaimed, so that the reformer was able to say to her some
time later: ‘It has pleased God, madam, to enlighten you with the
truth of His holy Gospel. Let us now confess that if God has withdrawn
us from the depths of darkness, it is in order that we should follow
the light straightforwardly, turning neither to this side nor to
that.’ The duchess profited by this advice. (Vol 5: p.342)
Soon after his arrival at the
court of Ferrara, Calvin had remarked a lady of great intelligence and
learning, who was one of its principal ornaments. This as Anne de
Parthenay, first lady of honour to the duchess, and wife of Antoine de
Pons, count of Marennes, first gentleman to the duke. The countess of
Marennes was a great musician, and often sang in the duchess’s
apartments, where she was admired for the beauty of her voice. But Anne
busied herself with more serious labours. Not satisfied with studying
the Latin authors, she had a taste for Greek, and
‘intrepidly’ translated the poets and prose writers. That
eminent woman did more: she read books of divinity, and even took a
particular pleasure in ‘discussing almost every day with the
theologians the matters of which they treated.’ She therefore
talked with Calvin on these subjects, and before long the pure and
living faith of the reformer gave a new direction to her soul. Hitherto
she had been somewhat of a ‘blue-stocking,’ but now she
‘ceased to have any confidence in herself,’ and sought in
the holy books and in her Savior the means of quenching the thirst for
knowledge and the divine life which tormented her. From that hour she
became a new creature and a ‘good Huguenot.’ She even won
over her husband to the convictions that were dear to herself, and, so
long as the countess lived, the latter showed himself a great lover of
virtue and of truth. (Vol 5: p.345)
CALVIN'S ZEALOUS EFFORTS TO TURN A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST TO THE TRUE PATH:
It was not only among his compatriots
at Ferrara that Calvin was a fisher of men. The traditions of certain
families of the peninsula place several eminent Italians there. Calvin
had been a faithful and active workman in his Master’s vineyard,
yet he did not always meet with friendly and docile hearers, even in
Ferrara. Among the persons forming the duchess’s court, he had
noticed a cringing person with insinuating manners, whose look and
expression displeased him greatly. That man, by name Master Francois,
chaplain to Renee was one of those double-hearted people who wish to
satisfy God and their own cupidity. Calvin had heard that the life of
that priest was far from saintly. Calvin tried, therefore, to
convince Francois that the celebration of what he called ‘the
sacrifice at the altar’ was contrary to Holy Scripture. Whenever
the chaplain went astray the reformer admonished him. ‘I have
often tried to bring him into the true path,’ he said. The priest
would then appear sorrowful, and ashamed of his weakness, and Calvin,
pressing him still more closely, would succeed in ‘making him
confess his iniquity.’ But human respect still prevailed in
Francois, and if any one about the court happened to be present at his
conversations with the reformer, he would make excuses for himself
before them. (Vol 5: p349-350)
CALVIN'S DEBATES WITH ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS LEAD TO A ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK GETTING SAVED:
A monk of the order of Cordeliers, the
Franciscan Jean Tandy, who had been present at the disputation from its
opening, listened with eager interest to Calvin’s speech, and
felt that its truth reached him. His heart was affected, his
understanding was satisfied. He embraced by faith the sacrifice of the
Saviour; and, according to the expression of the Evangelist, he ate of
his flesh and drank his blood. For a while he sat silent, awaiting the
objections which might be offered. But when he saw that those who had
taken part in discussion till that hour had their lips closed, he took
courage, rose and said, the assembly listening to him attentively
— ‘Holy Scripture teaches that there is no remission for
the sin against the Holy Ghost. Now this sin is that of men who,
through unbelief, willing to contend against the clearest truth, choose
rather to exalt themselves against God and his Word than to humble
themselves and obey him. As I desire now not to resist the truth, but
to receive it and confess it openly, I acknowledge before you all that
I have long been mistaken. While I thought that I was living in a state
of perfection, as they had given me to understand, I have been, on the
contrary, only the servant of men, submitting myself to their
traditions and commandments. Nothing is good but that which God
commands. I have heard the truth. I see that I must hold fast to Jesus
alone, must stand to his Word, and must have no other head, leader, or
Saviour, but him who by his sacrifice has made us acceptable to the
Father. I will henceforth live and die according to his Gospel. I ask
forgiveness of God for all that I have done and said against his
honour. I ask pardon of you and of all the people, so far as by my
preaching or by my life I taught you amiss, or have given you a bad
example. And since, by following the rule of the Cordeliers and
assuming this garb of dissimulation, I have been led out of the right
way; at this moment in which I renounce all superstition, I abandon
also this garb full of all hypocrisy and trumpery.’ As he uttered
these words, Jean Tandy cast off his monastic dress, and then added
— ‘Let no one be offended, but let each examine himself and
confess that if the state in which he has lived be contrary to the will
of God, he ought not to persevere in it, nor to re-enter after quitting
it. I will live as a Christian, and not as a Cordelier; according to
the Gospel of Jesus, and not according to the rule of the monks; in
true and living faith in Christ, and united with all true Christians.
To this God calls us all, to the intent that, instead of being divided
into so many rules, we may be all one in Jesus Christ.’ This
frank, noble, and affecting conversion gave great joy to those who
loved the Gospel, and Farel, as their spokesman, said, ‘How great
God is! how good and how wise! How he smites and heals, how he casts
down to hell and brings up again to heaven, we see with our own eyes.
What superstition is there equal to that of the Cordeliers, in which
the enemy has with so much skill coloured his work that, even the elect
are deceived! Let us rejoice, therefore, that the poor sheep which was
straying on the mountains and in the deserts, in the midst of wolves
and wild beasts, now, by the grace of the Lord, abandoning the barren
deserts, the vexatious thorns of human traditions, is entering into his
fold, and finds now his pasture in God’s holy Word.’ (Vol
6: p.213-214)
CALVIN PREACHED EVERY DAY FOR MOST OF THE YEAR AND OFTEN TWICE A DAY, SOMETIMES TO CATHOLIC PRIESTS, EXPOUNDING THE SCRIPTURES:
It is indispensable, however, to give
in this place some account of Calvin’s preaching. He was, with
Luther, the most important actor at the epoch of the Reformation; and
there is no character in history more misunderstood than he is. It is a
duty to come to the aid of one who is assailed—were it even the
weakest that offers his aid to the strongest. Besides, it is no task of
special pleading that we undertake. We shall confine ourselves to
laying before the reader the documentary evidence in the trial. Two or
three thousand of Calvin’s sermons are extant, he could not spend
weeks on the composition of a homily. During great part of the year he
preached every day, sometimes twice a day. He did not write his
sermons, but delivered them extempore. A shorthand writer took down his
discourses during their delivery. These sermons opened the treasures of
the Scriptures, and spread them abroad amongst men; and they were full
of useful applications. Calvin usually selected some book of the Bible,
and preached a series of sermons on the divine words contained in it.
These were published in large infolios. One volume appeared which
contained a hundred and fifty-nine sermons on Job; another which
consisted of two hundred sermons on Deuteronomy; in a third were given
a hundred on the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. There are volumes of
sermons on the Epistles to the Ephesians, the Corinthians, the
Galatians, etc…Calvin used to preach in the cathedral church of
St. Peter, which was more particularly adapted for preaching. A great
multitude thronged the place to hear him. Among his hearers he had the
old Genevese, but also a continually increasing number of evangelical
Christians, who took refuge at Geneva on account of persecution, and
who belonged, for the most part, to the most highly cultivated of their
nation. Among them were also some Catholic priests and laymen, who had
come to Geneva with the intention of professing there the reformed
doctrines, and to these men it was very necessary to teach the doctrine
of salvation. (Vol 7: p.90)
CALVIN
RECOGNISED THAT MANY WERE INTERESTED IN THE GOSPEL JUST TO ESCAPE FROM
ROME - HE SUCCESSFULLY ENLIGHTEN MANY TO THE TRUTHS OF A GREATER
LIBERTY AGAIN i.e. FROM SIN:
But at the time when Calvin appeared
in the city of the first Huguenots, morality was far from being
irreproachable; religion, scarcely disengaged from the forms and errors
of Rome, was with the majority neither personal nor evangelical,
deep-seated, pure, vital, or active; and civilization itself was hardly
at a higher level there than it had reached in other countries. The
heroes of independence had need themselves of being enlightened by the
light of the Gospel, and of being transformed by its fire. Their first
education was defective, and it was necessary to begin it again. Their
intercourse with all that surrounded them exerted an influence over
them which needed to be counterbalanced. The great advantage of the
Reformation having been, in their view, their deliverance from the
pretensions of priests and of princes, it was needful that they should
learn to recognize in the Gospel the tidings of a higher order, of a
spiritual enfranchisement, which would deliver them from sin and would
give them the liberty of the children of God. They had availed
themselves of the reformation as a political instrument; they must now
learn to have recourse to it as a religious, moral, and divine
instrument, capable of making them citizens of another and more
glorious city. Many did this. (Vol 7:101-102)
* CALVINIST INDEX
* PROTESTANT INDEX
* CH SPURGEON INDEX
* EVANGELISM INDEX
* HERE AND THERE INDEX
* YOUTUBE VIDEO INDEX
* 3 MINUTE AUDIOBOO INDEX
