Romans 1
gnv
16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Grecian.
17 For by it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
I’m using the first name only and in French of this 16th century pastor, teacher, and reformer because he has been so misrepresented that it’s almost impossible for some people to give him a hearing, and for others not to idolize him. There has to be a middle road.
Jean was a studious man who didn’t really want any position of authority until he was convinced that it was the Lord Who had prepared him for this. He listened to the counsel of his friends and mentors about this.
He took part in the infamous trial of a heretic that ended in the heretic’s execution. He is pretty much blamed for all of it, a reproach that has become associated with his name.
He lived in exile from Catholic France for many years. His only son died in infancy, and his beloved wife also died. He made provisions to be buried in an unmarked grave.
🌿
“[Jean] chose Romans as the object of his first commentary because he believed it opened ‘the understanding of the whole of Scripture.’ He underscored a point that he felt ‘can never be sufficiently appreciated’ –namely, ‘when anyone gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture.’
[Jean]: Pilgrim and Pastor, W. Robert Godfrey, Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois, 2009, p. 51.
Jean’s wife
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lord bless you today and always, brother!!
LikeLike
Likewise Sister 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 you okay?
LikeLike
Recovering from colon reattachment surgery, which went well…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Praise God! I’m so glad for you, Vincent! I will pray for a good recovery.
LikeLike
Thank you so much Maria, is there anything I can pray for you
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vincent, please pray that the Lord would lead us in our decision about a church fellowship, and for our health. Thank you!!
LikeLike
Will do Maria 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
Maria, I’ve seen several attacks on Calvin because of his involvement in the execution of Michael Servetus. This is unfair. Many people aren’t aware of history. The doctrines of church-state symbiosis and suppression of heresy through violent means were unfortunately carried over from Catholicism. We didn’t see the beginnings of religious freedom in Colonial America until the middle of the 1600s. It’s easy to judge Calvin from our 21st-century vantage point, when we take religious freedom for granted, but it was enough at the time that Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and the others restored the New Testament Gospel of grace.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tom, it is a comfort and edifying to know that you understand these things. Thank you for commenting!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m currently reading a fascinating and heart-wrenching new book titled “The Burning Time: Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, and the Protestant Martyrs of London.” Review to follow at some point. Both Catholics and Protestants burnt “heretics” under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth, although executions were highest during the reign of Bloody Mary. Last night I read a passage in which John Foxe (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs) pleaded with a Protestant bishop to show mercy to a radical non-conformist, warning him that the day would come when he would need mercy. Sure enough, he was burnt at the stake during Mary’s reign.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Then and now the world has gone mad.
Maranatha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jean…Calvin
LikeLiked by 1 person
Forgot to answer you, Pastor Jim! Yes, Jean…Calvin!
=)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I concur that Romans does hold many of the answers to our most perplexing questions. The concepts brought out in the Olive Tree are extreamly enlightening. Paul’s understanding of what constitutes a true Jew. The Roman road to salvation. Man’s struggle with the flesh. Much meat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jerry, yes! Jean was right when he said that Romans opened ‘the understanding of the whole of Scripture,’ beginning with how we are justified before our Holy God, and going on to matters such as the reality of Israel’s partial hardening
LikeLiked by 1 person