May 11, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends! As we continue our journey through the book The Great Controversy, we see that in spite of terrible persecution, and even martyrdom, God’s truth could not be stopped. Today, we will be looking at the life of another young man God raised up in the country of France.
And if you are just joining us, I encourage you to download your free copy of this marvelous book at the URL shown at the bottom of the screen. [greatcontroversyproject.org]
John Calvin was a thoughtful, quiet youth who, as a college student, was already giving evidence of a powerful and penetrating mind. He exhibited a sincere religious devotion to God and the Roman Church, and his professors expected he would one day become one of the strongest defenders of the Church.
When Calvin first heard the teachings of the Reformation, he shuddered, thinking the heretics deserved the fire they were given. But one day, he was brought face to face with the new teachings, as his own cousin, Oliveton, had accepted the Protestant faith.
“There are [only] two religions in the world,” said Oliveton. “The one class . . . are those which men have invented, in all of which man saves himself by ceremonies and good works; the other is . . . revealed in the Bible, and which teaches man to look for salvation solely from the free grace of God” (The Great Controversy, p. 220).
While Calvin immediately rejected these thoughts, the seeds his cousin had sown stayed in his mind and he continued wrestling with them. Calvin was convicted of sin in his own life and realized that no matter how many good works he did, or how many ceremonies he participated in, nothing could reconcile his soul to God.
One day as he was walking across a public square, Calvin witnessed the burning of a heretic. He was amazed at the peace resting upon the martyr’s face. “Amid the tortures of that dreadful death, and under the more terrible condemnation of the church, he manifested a faith and courage which the young student painfully contrasted with his own despair and darkness, while living in strictest obedience to the church” (The Great Controversy, p. 221). Calvin knew the so-called heretics rested their faith upon the Bible, and he was determined to study it and discover, if he could, the secret of their joy.
Eagerly the young student searched the sacred pages and found peace in Christ. He had been educated to become a priest, but now realized he could no longer follow that path. Deciding to devote his life fully to the Gospel, Calvin left Paris and, for a time, worked in a small provincial town, beginning with people in their homes. “Surrounded by…members of the household, he read the Bible and opened the truths of salvation” (The Great Controversy, p. 222). Those who heard the message soon carried the good news to others, and quickly, the message was spread from house to house and village to village.
A few months later, Calvin returned to Paris, where he continued going from house to house, opening the Bible, and sharing the good news of salvation in Christ. Eventually, however, the authorities learned what he was doing and were determined to make him a martyr.
Calvin was surprised one day when friends burst into his room with the news that officers were on their way to arrest him. At that moment, there was a loud knocking on the outside entrance to the home where he was staying. While his friends detained the authorities at the door, Calvin quickly escaped through a window and ran to the outskirts of the city where he found refuge in the cottage of a friend.
Dressing in the humble clothing of a peasant and carrying a hoe across his shoulder, the Reformer started on his journey south. While public preaching was not allowed, a cave was found, and Calvin, along with little companies of believers, gathered there to read the Bible and pray. It was in this place where the Lord’s Supper was celebrated for the first time by the Protestants of France, and it was from this little church that several faithful evangelists were sent out.
Eventually, Calvin returned to Paris but found almost every door closed. Worse yet, some of the French Reformers, “eager to see their country keeping pace with Germany and Switzerland, determined to strike a bold blow against the superstitions of Rome, that should arouse the whole nation” (The Great Controversy, p. 224).
They “succeeded,” but not in the way they expected! In one night, they zealously posted placards all across France condemning the Roman Catholic mass. One of these placards was even attached to the door of the king’s private chamber. This zealous but ill-judged movement brought ruin, not only to the ones who carried out this act, but to the friends of the Reformation throughout France.
Terrible persecution followed, with measures taken to arrest every single Lutheran in Paris. A grand procession headed up by church officials and the king himself, wound its way through the city streets, dragging believers from their homes and torturing them mercilessly before burning them alive in the public squares.
The example of what some of the reformed believers did in France on that one fateful night should serve as a warning to us today. While we are called to share God’s truth, it should always be done in love. Never should we have a condemnatory spirit or take rash actions, thinking we can accomplish God’s work using Satan’s methods.
In Zechariah 4:6, we read: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” It is only through His Spirit that we can accomplish His work.
Sadly, the Reformation in France suffered much loss and Papal supremacy was regained, and along with it, the dreaded Inquisition, and “atrocities too terrible to bear the light of day were repeated in its secret dungeons” (The Great Controversy, p. 235). Thousands upon thousands were slain or forced to flee to other countries.
But despite severe persecution, the Reformation was not stamped out. Calvin, along with many other Reformers, fled to Geneva, Switzerland, for safety. This city became a refuge for the hunted Reformers of all Western Europe, and it was from Geneva where publications and teachers went out to spread the good news.
We stand on the shoulders of these brave ones who risked all to share the Bible truth with everyone who would listen. And today, God is calling us to keep that light burning brightly in a world where darkness continues to fall.
I invite you to pray with me just now.
Dear Lord, thank you for being with reformers like John Calvin and others who helped to keep the Bible at the forefront. Who went door to door. Who spoke person to person, helping individuals to know the whole truth. Lord, thank you for those who stood firmly for you, even in the face of death. Now we ask that you will guide each one of us as we understand our role in these last days of Earth’s history just before Jesus’ return, that we too must stand completely for the whole Bible truth, and proclaim it and share it, even at the risk of our lives. Please encourage and sustain us, and thank you for the Word of God. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen.