Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

John Calvin

Calvin’s Life

Childhood

Born in 1509 in Noyon, Picardy, 60 miles north of Paris.

Came from a home with some difficult experiences

One of five children born to his mother.

Charles, John, Antoine, Francois, and another Antoine.

Antoine and Francois both died young.

John’s mom died when he was no more than 6 years old.

His dad remarried and his new wife gave birth to two more sisters.

Sent away to Paris for college at the age of 11 or 12

Youth

Went to a monastery to be trained for the priesthood

In a bad part of town - open sewers, thieves and cutthroats

Up at 4am, classes and work all day, only two evenings with free time a week

Went to the University of Paris to get his bachelor of arts degree before studying theology

Because of Luther’s influence, John was sent from the university to a law school at 16 or 17

During this time he preached in the local church and learned Greek

John’s dad died when he was 21 in 1531, he wrote a letter at the time that indicated he wasn’t close to his father

Fled to the countryside briefly when the plague broke out in Paris, returned a year later with his doctoral thesis on a Roman stoic - Seneca

In 1533, Calvin’s friend Nicolas Cop gave a fiery sermon about reforming the church along the lines of Luther to open the winter session of the University of Paris

The sermon sparked a riot

By December a warrant for Cops arrest had been issued

It is speculated that the sermon was actually written by Calvin who at this time, along with Cop, disappeared from France.

John escaped from his bedroom window using sheets and disguising himself as a vinedresser

Calvin laid low around Paris until 1534 when we was forced to flee France after a Protestant defiance of Mass led to the king arrested and executing many protestants

Early Adulthood

Calvin began to openly identify with the Reformation and experienced a transformation in his theology as he sought to be teachable under the Scripture

In 1536, while living in Basel, Calvin finally released the first edition of his greatest work, Institutes of the Christian Religion

Calvin returned to Paris, picked up his brother Antoine and sister Marie, and intended to move to Strasbourg and study, perhaps for the rest of his life

Calvin had to detour because of a local war between the French and the Holy Roman Emperor, the detour was through the Swiss city of Geneva

In Geneva, Calvin met a protestant leader named Guillaume Farel, who recognized Calvin and threatened to curse him if he left Geneva

Calvin settled into Geneva where he would remain for most of the rest of his life

Adulthood

John’s first goal in Geneva was to establish a church that would preach the Word and practice it

He ran into conflict with some of the wealthy Genevans, but eventually was able to submit Articles on the Organization of the Church and its Worship in Geneva and have it accepted by the civil authorities

During this period, Servetus was executed as well

Conflict grew with the city leaders over who was in charge of aspects of the church until the Tuesday after Easter, after being in the city only 18 months, Calvin and Farel were kicked out

Calvin moved to Strasbourg and did a tremendous amount of writing, including a major revision to his Institutes

Farel and others kept trying to set Calvin up with a wife, but he didn’t want to marry...

…until he met Idelette de Bure, a widow with two children, to whom he was married very quickly

They had a happy marriage, but a short one marked with tragedy

Idelette died nine years after marriage, being sick most of the time

They had one son together, Jacques, who died shortly after birth

Calvin was called to return to Geneva in 1540, but didn’t want to initially

“because I know that I am not my own master, I offer my heart as a true sacrifice to the Lord.”

Calvin returned to Geneva, and preached from the next verse in the book he had left off at when he was kicked out of town

Calvin reformed the church and the local government in Geneva

He preached twice on Sundays, and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

After a break from this rigorous schedule, he preached twice on Sunday and then every day of alternate weeks - averaging 250 sermons a year

During this period he experienced person loss and family shame

His life was publicly threatened by those in the city who didn’t like him

His older brother Charles was accused of heresy and kicked out of the church and then died

His younger brother Antoine, who had a rough marriage, had an affair with Calvin’s household servant and then was divorced

Calvin’s stepdaughter was found guilty of adultery

Calvin wrote that he felt too ashamed to leave his house

Calvin persevered through these difficulties and more attacks from the elites in the city

His sermons also began to be fully recorded - 2,043 of them!

In 1559, after 20 years of planning, he was able to build The Academy of Geneva to train preachers

Final Days

Calvin published the final edition of his Institutes in 1559, now four times longer than the first edition

He had failing health, but taught and served as much as he could

He died in 1564 at the age of 55 and was buried in a simple box with only a mound of dirt as a grave marker, at his own wishes

Calvin’s Legacy

Transformed - the Gospel of Jesus at work in the heart of John Calvin redirected his life from being a priest or lawyer, to a preacher of the Word of God

Humbled - Calvin’s life was dominated by holiness and humility

“I am convinced that [the holiness of God] is one of the most important ideas that a Christian can ever grapple with.

It is basic to our whole understanding of God and of Christianity.”

“…if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second, third, and always I would answer, ‘Humility.’”

Faithful - He remained joyfully committed to God despite so many losses, difficulties, and setbacks

Caring - He spent a good deal of time comforting people and counseling them through very difficult experiences

Biblical - He loved God’s Word and loved sharing it with others.

In contrast to the Roman Catholic Church that didn’t even want to translate the Bible into a language people could read, Calvin preached thousands of sermons and his collected works fill actual bookshelves (well over 100 volumes) of commentaries, theological writings, letters, sermons, tracts, education and civil documents, and more!

Today we often hear people speak of Calvinism, by which they usually mean a particular view of theology that magnifies the sovereignty of God in all things, but I want us to not pigeon hole Calvin into a system of theology, but learn from him as a man who loved God so completely, and was so mastered by God in all that he was, that his life continues to be a blessing to the church right down to this day

Katherina von Bora

Katherine’s Life

Childhood

Born in January of 1499

Her mother died and her father remarried when she was 10 and sent her to a nunnery at Nimschen

At the age of 16 she took the vows of a nun

Escape

She heard of Luther’s teaching in her 20s

She and 8 other nuns secretly met with Luther and plotted to escape, which was dangerous since the duke hated Luther and had executed a man already for helping nuns escape

They were smuggled out by Leanard Kopp, a friend of Luther’s, who delivered smoked herring to the nunnery - this all happened the night before Easter when Jesus rose from the tomb

They arrived in Wittenberg, and were eager to marry

“A wagon load of vestal virgins has just come to town all more eager for marriage than for life.

May God give them husbands lest worse befall.”

Luther worked hard to marry the nuns off, including Katherine who was quite beautiful (she was given a gold ring by a visiting duke)

She almost married a young man roughly her age, but he eventually decided against it

Luther tried to marry her to a friend Dr. Glatz, but she sent a friend to let Luther know that she would under no circumstances marry him - but…she would consider marriage to Luther or Amsdorf

Marriage

Luther did not want to be married “not because I am a sexless log or stone, but because I expect daily the death of a heretic.”

Eventually, however, he gave in to the idea of marriage for the following reasons: his marriage would please his father, rile the pope, make the angels laugh and the devils weep, and would seal his testimony (he was also encouraged to marry by Argula, whom we will meet later…)

Endured sharp and public criticism

“Woe to you, poor fallen woman, not only because you have passed from light to darkness, from the cloistered holy religion into a damnable, shameful life, but also that you have gone from the grace to the disfavor of God, in that you have left the cloister in lay clothes and have gone to Wittenberg like a chorus girl.

You are said to have lived with Luther in sin.

Then you have married him, forsaking Christ your bridegroom.

You have broken your vow and by your example have reduced many godly young women in the cloisters to a pitiable state of body and of soul, despised of all men.”

Faced great danger and was warned by Luther that she would face martyrdom at his side most likely if they married