6
February 1564 A.D. Calvin’s
Last Sermon
Graves,
Dan. “Calvin’s Last Sermon.”Christianity.com. Jun 2007.
http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/the-last-sermon-of-john-calvin-11630007.html. Accessed 14 Jul 2014.
John Calvin's mouth filled with
blood as he preached his last sermon.
It was a significant moment. For
twenty-three years he had led Geneva. In the process he planted the seeds of
modern democracy and constructed a logical framework on which to interpret
Reformation doctrine.
John Calvin first came to Geneva
in July 1536, planning to spend only one night. He had already published the
first edition of his famous theology, Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Having received some training as a priest and then his BA as a lawyer, Calvin
was equipped to write on the subject of moral law. William Farel, Geneva's most
prominent preacher and the man most eager to improve the city's morals, saw in
Calvin the helper he needed. He tried to persuade young Calvin to stay in
Geneva. Calvin made excuses. Farel issued Calvin a stern warning which he said
was from the Lord. Calvin gave in. That was the beginning of the partnership
between Farel, Calvin and the people of Geneva.
Geneva was a fun-loving city.
Like the other Protestants, Calvin taught that salvation is by the merit of
Christ alone. At the same time, he insisted that the man who hopes for
salvation must show a changed life. Farel and Calvin cracked down on the
immorality of the city. Within a year, Geneva expelled them. When told he must
leave, Calvin calmly replied, "If we had sought to please men, we should
have been badly rewarded, but we serve a higher Master, who will not withhold
from us our reward." He became the Professor of Theology at Strasburg.
With the two outspoken pastors
gone, Geneva slipped into moral and political deterioration. The citizens
changed their minds. They invited Calvin back. He hesitated to return, knowing
that he might be in for years of tough opposition. In the end, his conscience
made him go back. He proposed a new form of rule. As biographer Richard Taylor
Stevenson writes: "Catholicism is a religion of priests, Lutheranism of
theologians, Calvinism of the believing congregation."
Ideas of government created by
Calvin found wider expression in Scotland and the United States when Calvinists
brought them to those countries. Calvin's model of church government became the
model for national governments. Thus millions of individuals, Christian and non-Christian
alike, felt the influence of Calvin's theology even where his name was little
known.
Bibliography:
Morgan, Robert J. On this Day; 365 amazing and
inspiring stories about saints, martyrs & heroes. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 1997.
Stevenson, Richard Taylor. John Calvin;
the Statesman. Men of the Kingdom. Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham,
1907.
Various encyclopedia articles.
Last updated June,
2007
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