By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to he called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. —Hebrews 11: 24–26
You have already felt, as I think, that the sharpest and most difficult assault is that of those who under color of friendship, with insinuating arts, seek to make you swerve from the right way. Those persons are never unprovided with plausible pretexts and allurements; so much the more then you have need to put in practice the doctrine of the apostle, to take good heed and to steel yourself against flatteries as well as fears.
It was the resolution of Moses, who, having it in his power to be great at the court of Egypt, preferred the reproach of Christ to all the pomps and perishing delights which would have cost him too dear, had he allowed himself to be detained. Now the apostle shows whence he derived this courage; it was in hardening himself by looking upon God.
Thus, Monseigneur, elevating your thoughts, learn to stop your ears against all the blasts of Satan, which strive only to overthrow your salvation, by shaking the constancy of your faith. Learn to shut your eyes to all distractions that would tend to turn you aside, aware that they are but so many deceits of our mortal enemy. And by whatever wiles they engage you to purchase your own safety in breaking the faith pledged to the Son of God, let this saying be deeply stamped on your memory, that he will be confessed by you on pain of your being disavowed and renounced by him.
Many, indeed, nowadays, think they have but to wipe their mouth, after it has denied the truth; but for all that the confession thereof is too precious to God to be so lightly esteemed. And though it seems lost pains to bear witness to the gospel among those who are rebels to it, or even that such witnessing gives rise but to derision and reproach; yet, since it is a sacrifice well pleasing to God, let us content ourselves with being approved by him. One thing is certain; he will cause our simplicity to bring forth more fruits than we imagine, provided only we observe what he commands. —Correspondence
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John Calvin (1509 - 1584)
Was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where he published the first edition of his seminal work The Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536.Calvin's writing and preachings provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. The Reformed, Congregational, and Presbyterian churches, which look to Calvin as the chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world.
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of his seminal work Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, which look to Calvin as a chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major religious figures and entire religious movements, such as Puritanism, and some have argued that his ideas have contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the West.
Founder of Calvinism. John Calvin, a French scholar who became a leading preacher and dominant force in the Reformation of the 16th Century, studied at the University of Paris and at the University of Orleans. He became dissatisfied with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and allied himself with the cause of the Protestant Reformation in 1532.
When the king of France decided to settle the religious question in his country in favor of the Catholics, Calvin fled to Geneva, Switzerland, where his writings and lectures made Geneva the Rome of Protestantism. His institutes of the Christian religion became the basis for the Presbyterian way of thought and church life. Calvinism is the main doctrine of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches.