Franciscus Gomarus: Stubborn Champion of God's Glory

It is a surprising fact of history that oftentimes, in doctrinal controversy, the heretic is a nice man, while the defender of the faith is, from many points of view, a miserable character. Athanasius vs. Arius: Arius the suave, diplomatic, likeable denier of Christ's divinity; Athanasius the stubborn and implacable defender of the Nicene Creed. Cyril vs. Nestorius: Cyril the haughty and cruel defender of the unity of Christ's natures in the one divine person; Nestorius the popular, gifted heretic who insisted that Christ had two persons. Augustine the crabby defender of the sovereignty of grace; Pelagius the urbane and witty defender of freedom of the will. Gottschalk the stern and unfriendly follower of Augustine who rotted in prison for his recalcitrance; Hincmar the learned and powerful archbishop of Rheims. And so the list could go on: Luther vs. Erasmus the humanist; Calvin vs. Bolsec the heretic; Knox vs. Mary Queen of the Scots. And those who know their history can find others, perhaps within their own particular denominational history.

So it was also with Gomarus. Even his friends found him obnoxious at times and barely tolerable. His opponent, Jacobus Arminius, popular with students and ministers, gracious, kind, tolerant, filled with concern for friend and foe alike, presents quite a contrast. But Arminius was the heretic, and Gomarus stood for the truth.

Why does God work this way in the history of the church? Why is the nice guy so often the enemy of the faith, while the old curmudgeon is the champion of the truth of God? I do not think that we can find a complete answer to this question. But part of it is that the truth is not popular and defenders of the truth can sometimes become crabby because of the fierce and unrelenting attacks of opponents. Sometimes the deceit and double-tongued language of heretics who hide their heresy with honey-coated words can only be exposed by sharp and impolitic language. Sometimes the defense of the faith requires a stubborn man who will not budge no matter what the consequences; and he is presented by his enemies as being unreasonable and wickedly stubborn, so that the truth for which he fights may be maligned along with him. But always God uses weakest means to fulfill his will.

There is an important truth here -- a truth to which few pay attention. So many are persuaded of their position by the character of the men involved: the nice guy has got to be right; the nasty fellow cannot possibly be correct. Yet the truth must be decided on other grounds than that of personalities: it must be decided by the Scriptures alone, regardless of any personal likes and dislikes. Without excusing what is sometimes wicked conduct on the part of orthodox men, it is important that the church remember that the truth is determined by God's Word alone. Gomarus, for all his shortcomings, was a champion of the Reformed faith. And one must, for the truth's sake, overlook personal faults.

Early Life And Education

 The family into which Gomarus was born lived in Bruges, a city in the province of Flanders, which was then a part of the Lowlands but is now a part of Belgium. Gomarus was the oldest in the family, born on January 30, 1563. He had two younger brothers and possibly a younger sister. Sometime before 1570, although probably after Gomarus' birth, his family embraced the Reformed faith.

 Gomarus began his studies in Bruges and at an early age learned Latin and Greek. But in 1577, because of the severity of the Spanish persecution in the Lowlands, the family sought refuge in Germany in the Palatinate. Because of the nearness of the family to the city of Strassburg, Gomarus was able to study there under Johann Sturm, a second-generation reformer, in the city where Calvin had lived in the years of his exile from Geneva.

 When Frederick, the Calvinist elector of the Palatinate died, his brother Louis (Ludwig) came to the electorate. He was a Lutheran and hated Calvinism passionately. He drove out of the University of Heidelberg all the Calvinist professors, including Ursinus and Olevianus, the authors of the Heidelberg Catechism. Some of these professors settled in Neustadt, and to Neustadt Gomarus went to study under Ursinus and Zanchius. His studies included Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and philosophy.

 From 1582 to 1584 Gomarus broadened his education by a trip to England where he studied first in Oxford, then in Cambridge. In 1885 Louis died, and his brother, prince Casimir, became elector. He restored to the university in 1584 the professors from Heidelberg who were still living. Gomarus returned there for two years.

Ministry And Professorship

 Gomarus had received a wide and excellent education and had become an expert in languages, including Hebrew. But his education was first of all to be put to use in the pastoral ministry to which he also aspired. He became pastor of a Dutch congregation in Germany in Frankfort-on-the-Main. The church had been established by Marten Micronius and John à Lasco in 1555, two second-generation reformers, the latter of which had played a significant role in the formation of the liturgy of the Dutch Reformed Churches.

 Work here did not last very long. The church was dissolved because of Lutheran persecution. The Lutherans were always angry that Calvinism had taken hold in Germany, which they considered their own private preserve.

 While in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Gomarus married Emerentia, a daughter of Gilles and sister of Abraham Muysenhol. They did not have long together: she died in childbirth with their first child in 1591 very shortly after they were married. Two years later Gomarus married again: a woman named Maria, a daughter of local nobility. He lived with her for many years.

 Although the congregation in Frankfort-on-the-Main was dissolved and Gomarus left without a job, within a few months he was asked to become professor of theology in the University of Leyden. His reputation for wide learning and his devotion to orthodoxy were already well known.

 While it is not known exactly what was Gomarus' wage while in Leyden, the town records indicate that he was probably rather well off. He owned a house adjacent to the University, and the taxes in the city were leveled on the basis of the number of chimneys on the house: Gomarus was charged for 11 chimneys.

 The early years in the University were probably some of the happiest in Gomarus' life. He enjoyed his work, had opportunity to advance his studies, and found a congenial home where his colleagues were all one with him in the faith. His students respected him, also for his vast learning, and his work was beneficial for the churches.

 All this changed in 1603. In that year, over the strong protests of Gomarus, Jacobus Harmsen, known as Jacob Arminius, was appointed professor of theology in the University to work with Gomarus in that faculty of learning. This proved to be the beginning of the trouble which finally resulted in a country-wide split in the Dutch Churches and was only resolved by the great Synod of Dort.

 Controversy With Arminius

 It may surprise us somewhat that Gomarus fought hard against the appointment of Arminius as professor in theology. But this surprise will evaporate when we realize that Arminius was under strong suspicion for his views before he was considered for a professorship. After he completed his studies, Arminius became minister in the church of Amsterdam It was not long after the beginning of his ministry that he began a series of sermons on the book of Romans. In connection with his treatment of Romans 7:14-25, Arminius took the position that Paul was describing in this passage his spiritual state prior to his conversion. One can readily recognize that this implies that Paul, before being converted, was able to will the good: "The good that I would...." And such a view was a denial of the total depravity of man, and paved the way for the doctrine of the freedom of the human will in the work of salvation.

 These views were challenged by Plancius, one of Arminius' fellow ministers in Amsterdam. A controversy arose in the church there which intensified when Arminius got around to preaching on Romans 9. It was in the middle of the controversy that the appointment came which Gomarus, aware of the controversy, opposed. But Arminius had powerful friends in the highest reaches of government and his appointment went through.

 In the end, Gomarus agreed to the appointment. A conference was held, prior to the final approval of Arminius, sponsored by the States General of the Dutch government, between Gomarus and Arminius. The interpretation of Romans 7 was discussed, but Arminius so managed to hide his true beliefs that Gomarus was satisfied and approved the appointment. Gomarus later spoke of regretting that approval.

 The controversy broke out again on February 7, 1604 when Arminius propounded various theses on the doctrine of predestination. The sum of these theses can be found in the following quote from them.

"Divine predestination is the decree of God in Christ by which he has decreed with himself from eternity to justify, adopt, and gift with eternal life, to the praise of his glorious grace, the faithful whom he has decreed to gift with faith. On the other hand, reprobation is the decree of the anger or severe will of God, by which he has determined from eternity, for the purpose of showing his anger and power, to condemn to eternal death, as placed out of union with Christ, the unbelieving who, by their own fault and the just judgment of God, are not to believe."

It is my guess that the majority of our readers might be hard-pressed to find any fault with this statement of Arminius. The difficulty in finding its error is probably due in part to the fact that Arminius was capable of cloaking his error in a deceptive way to make it appear Reformed; but the difficulty in detecting what is wrong may also, sadly enough, be explained by the lack of theological sensitivity in today's church.

 At any rate, the problem lies in the fact that Arminius is teaching in this paragraph a conditional predestination: "[God] has decreed ... to justify ... the faithful...." That is, God has decreed to justify those who have faith -- which makes faith a condition to election. And: "Reprobation is the decree ... of God ... to condemn ... the unbelieving...." That is, also reprobation is a conditional decree, the condition of which is unbelief.

 Gomarus attacked these statements, and the result was bitter and prolonged controversy. Arminius continued to present himself as a faithful defender of the Reformed faith, while attempting to cast Gomarus in the bad light of an enemy of true Calvinism. It is not hard to understand that Gomarus received a bad reputation for his opposition to Arminius. After all, the point seemed insignificant, as even the leaders in government were later to say. Why fight about it? And Arminius was such a nice man! He protested his innocence time and again and assured everyone that he was soundly Reformed and deeply committed to the confessions. How could Gomarus, that man who never smiled, be such a stubborn man?

 The controversy raged for four years and finally engulfed the churches. In 1608 Gomarus and Arminius conducted a public debate before the Supreme Court of the Hague in an effort on the part of the government to resolve the problems. At the conclusion of the debate, Barneveldt, a friend of Arminius and head of the government, in a short address to the two combatants, declared that he thanked God that their contentions did not affect the fundamental articles of the Christian religion. To this Gomarus replied in characteristic fashion, "I would not appear before the throne of God with Arminius' errors." The Court judged the matters in dispute to be matters of little significance.

 In further efforts to resolve the disagreements, a conference was arranged, at which Gomarus and Arminius were to submit papers outlining their respective positions on the doctrine of predestination. Each was given 250 guilders to cover the expense of preparing the papers. The conference was never held because Arminius died of what was probably tuberculosis in 1609.

 It is not our purpose in this article to trace the history of the controversy any further than Gomarus' involvement in it. As anyone with even a passing knowledge of the controversy knows, the issues were the great issues of salvation by sovereign grace alone vs. salvation based on the works of man. Ten years after the death of Arminius the controversy was settled at the Synod of Dordrecht, where Gomarus' position was vindicated.

 In 1611 Gomarus resigned from his position in the University of Leyden. The reason for his resignation is not known, but it may be that the controversy and the support of Arminius by the government wore beyond endurance the strength of the old warrior. At any rate, upon his resignation, he became pastor of a Reformed congregation in Middleburg where he also lectured in theology and Hebrew in the local University.

 In 1614 he went to Saumur in France, where he became professor of theology. It is a bit disconcerting to know that the school in Saumur, not long after Dort, became a hotbed of Amyrauldianism, a heresy not unlike Arminianism.

 In 1618-1619 Gomarus was at the Synod of Dort along with other professor advisors. He took an active role in the Synod's proceedings and was instrumental in the victory of the truth of Scripture on that great Synod meeting.

 An interesting sidelight to Gomarus' role at the Synod was his work on a committee to investigate the teachings of Maccovius. Maccovius also held strongly to the doctrine of sovereign predestination, but was charged with carrying the doctrine to such an extreme that he made God the author of sin. The Synod handed the case to government representatives who were unable to resolve the conflict. A committee was appointed to deal with the matter, on which committee Gomarus served. Later in the proceedings of the Synod, the committee reported that the matter had been amicably resolved and Maccovius was cautioned not to make radical and Biblically unwarranted statements.

 After the Synod, Gomarus went to the University of Groningen where he became professor of divinity and Hebrew. In 1633 he took part in the revision of the translation of the Bible, which work was done in Leyden. During these meetings he argued strenuously against including the Apocryphal books in the Bible, but was overruled. This translation, authorized by the Synod of Dort, was for many years to the Dutch what the KJV was (and is) to the English. Gomarus stayed in Leyden till his death on January 11, 1641.

Conclusion

 There can be no question about it that Gomarus was a difficult man, hard to get along with, prone to extreme statements, sometimes violent in his opposition to Arminius and Arminianism. He never "beat around the bush." He never left any doubt in anyone's mind as to what he believed. He never worried about "stepping on people's toes" or offending them if they were not heart and mind committed to the truth.

Sometimes descriptions of him are biased, and bitterness against his staunch defense of the faith pours out in diatribes against his personality. Thus one author can write: "[He] displayed a most violent, virulent, and intolerant spirit, and endeavored by various publications to excite the indignation of the States of Holland against his rival."

But some of this was true. Even Junius, later related to Gomarus through marriage, said: "That man pleases himself most wonderfully by his own remarks. He derives all his stock of knowledge from others; he brings forward nothing of his own: or, if at any time he varies from his usual practice, he is exceedingly infelicitous in those occasion changes."

There is a story somewhere, whether true or apocryphal it is hard to say, that at the Synod of Dort, one elder was appointed to sit alongside Gomarus to tug him back into his seat when he leaped to his feet and rather too forcibly made a point.

 In any case, Gomarus was a staunch defender of the faith. Perhaps it took a man such as he to stand against the growing tide of Arminianism. God's providence prepares men who are "stubborn" about the right things. And if this seems to condone their sins, the fact is that, though it does not, God can, as the proverb has it, draw a straight line with a crooked stick. And sometimes only very strong language will do to put to flight the clever designs of heretics.

At the Synod of Dort Gomarus defended not only orthodoxy but supralapsarian orthodoxy. And, although his views in this respect did not prevail on the Synod, for the Canons are infralapsarian, his supralapsarianism was not condemned by the Synod and his defense of the faith was of inestimable service as the Synod struggled with the errors of Arminianism.

Gomarus cared only about one thing: the glory of God. Gomarus would allow only one book to determine his theology: the sacred Scriptures. In a sort of album in which he kept various letters, tokens of friendship, and something of a diary, he had written in Hebrew: "Thy (God's) Word is Light."

He was of the stripe of Calvin, Gottschalk, Augustine, and Athanasius. He was the forerunner of others to follow, of whom one has got to be Herman Hoeksema. We need not always approve of the way in which they did things (although we can take a long and hard look at ourselves in this respect), but we ought to thank God for them, for they were men of courage and conviction who fought for truth and right against all odds. To concentrate on their weaknesses and foibles, so as to condemn their defense of the faith is to be unfaithful to the truth. To look beyond personalities and weigh all in the light of Scripture is to be faithful. To fight is the courage of faith. May God grant men like these to the church today -- even if they sometimes have difficult personalities. The church needs more than nice men.

Taken From: Portraits of Faithful Saints, Chapter 42, by Herman Hanko

John Knox: The Reformer of Scotland

God not only calls men to particular tasks in His kingdom; He also equips the men He calls with the personality, gifts, and strength to do the work.

So it was with John Knox, the Reformer of Scotland.

Born and raised in a harsh land, he emerged from his years of preparation a harsh and unbending defender of the faith. With roots deeply sunk into the soil of his motherland, he was fed with the sturdiness of Scotland's gloomy heaths. Heir of the dour, unbending individualism which so characterized Scotland's populace, he was tempered to stand alone against queens and princes, unmoved by their threats or tears. He was, in God's wisdom, the only one who could bring the Reformation to Scotland.

Youth and Education

It is quite amazing, and a perpetual testimony of the power of grace, that the Reformation came at all to Scotland. Scotland was known throughout Europe as the most backward, the most superstitious, the most Roman Catholic of all countries. And the church which had held sway here for centuries, unchallenged and unmolested, was a church in which corruption had reached depths found in the few other places. One would think that reformation here would be impossible.

John Knox was born sometime during the year 1505 in the small village of Gifford in East Lotham. His parents were sufficiently wealthy, apparently, to provide him with a good education. He received his early training in Haddington and was then sent to the University of Glasgow. In the university he earned his M.A. degree and was sufficiently proficient in his studies to gain an assistant professorship.

Somewhere near 1530 Knox went to St. Andrews, on the East Coast by the sea, just a bit north of the Firth of Forth, to teach. It may have been here that his studies included some of the old church fathers, particularly Jerome and Augustine, and that the first doubts concerning Roman Catholicism rose in his soul. At any rate, he remained a firm Roman Catholic for the present and was ordained into clerical orders.

Early Reformation and Exile

It was not until 1542 that Knox became a Protestant, under what influences or by what means is not known. So clearly did he begin to proclaim Protestant views that he was degraded from orders as a heretic, and he was compelled to go to the south part of Scotland to find hiding from those who hated him.

 While in the southern part of his country, Knox tutored the sons of two nobles and occasionally preached. It was during this period that he met and became a close friend of George Wishart, a bold minister and teacher of Reformation doctrine. Wishart was soon apprehended by the Roman authorities and was taken away to be tried and condemned to burning at the stake. Here really began Knox's commitment to the Reformation. Clinging to Wishart as he was led away, and hoping to die with him, Knox was told by his friend: "Nay, return to your bairns, and God bless you; one is sufficient for a sacrifice."

 Wishart was burned to death by Cardinal Beaton of St. Andrews in March of 1546. Nobles, sympathetic to Protestantism, stormed the castle, killed Beaton, and invited other Protestants, including Knox to take up residence in the castle.

 Knox lived in the castle for awhile, preaching and teaching, but in July of 1547 the castle was captured by a part of the French navy, Knox and others were made prisoners of the French, and, after being sentenced in France, Knox was condemned to the galleys as a slave chained to an oar.

 Who knows what agony he endured during the nineteen months of his slavery? Who knows how often he questioned the ways of God when, e.g., he could glimpse through the small oar opening the spires of St. Andrews cathedral as his galley rode the waves off the coast of Scotland? He emerged from this ordeal with infirmities which were to remain with him all his life (his own "thorn in the flesh"), but with a faith tempered in the fire of suffering and a stronger than ever determination to engage in the Lord's work.

 Knox was released only because Edward VI, Protestant king of England, directly intervened on his behalf with the king of France. The date was February, 1549, and Knox was 44 years old. It was probably because of Edward's intervention and in gratitude to him that Knox did not return to Scotland, but took up residence in England. Here he spent about five years, married Marjory Bowes, often preached every day of the week, worked with the reformers in England, and was offered a bishopric. This offer he declined, partly, it seems, because he already had some misgivings about the hierarchical form of church government practiced in the Church of England, but also partly because he foresaw "evil days to come."

 These days came soon enough with the untimely death of Edward and the accession of Mary Tudor, "Bloody Mary," as she was called, a loyal daughter of Rome and one determined to restore Roman Catholicism to England -- even at the price of the blood of the Protestants.

 Knox fled to Europe. The year was 1554. He had wanted to stay in England because, as he said with some understatement, "Never could I die in a more honest quarrel." But, prevailed upon by friends to flee, he began a new work on the continent, in Frankfurt-on-the-Main, in a church of English exiles. Things did not work out well here, for a dispute rose over liturgy, particularly responsive readings, and Knox, with some disgust, resigned his work and took up residence in Geneva.

 Calvin was at the height of his powers and influence, and the two spent much time together discussing theology and, more particularly, church polity. Knox pastored an English congregation and spent the happiest time of this life on the shores of Lake Leman, beneath the shadow of the Alps, and, to use Knox's own words: "in the most perfect school of Christ that ever was since the days of the apostles."

 His stay in Geneva was interrupted by a rather hasty trip back to Scotland. It is not entirely clear why Knox went; nor is it clear why he returned to Geneva. During his stay, however, he preached, taught, and visited day and night. His influence was great, especially on some of the nobles. The result was that events began to favor the Reformation, and the first National League & Covenant was sworn to in 1556.

 Some have charged him with cowardice for not staying in his native land; it is most likely true that if he had stayed he would have been killed. Immediately after his flight, he was condemned in absentia and burned in effigy. Nevertheless, future events proved Knox was not a coward.

 Two things resulted from his stay in Geneva: he was thoroughly equipped to establish a complete reformation in Scotland, not only in doctrine, but also in church polity and liturgy. He also authored a pamphlet entitled (in characteristic language): "First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regime of Women." The pamphlet was written primarily against Bloody Mary (although no names were mentioned), but it got him into endless trouble with Elizabeth, queen of England, and with Mary, queen of Scotland.

 In 1559 Knox returned to Scotland for good, and with his return the work of reformation advanced rapidly. It was evident that the common people hungered for the pure preaching of the gospel, a hunger created by a mighty work of the Spirit of Christ. Romanism was abandoned, superstition was condemned, the chains of Rome were broken, and the nation moved steadily in the direction of becoming a Protestant country. Knox's preaching led the way.

 A few of the outstanding events and characteristics of the progressing reformation are the following:

 The Protestants began to be called "The Congregation" and the leaders, "The lords of the Congregation." A presbyterian system of church government, which Knox had learned in Geneva and which was markedly different from England, was instituted.

 As Protestantism advanced, especially in some areas in south and east Scotland, particularly in Perth, riots broke out during which images, Romish liturgical trappings, monasteries, and altars were smashed and burned by runaway multitudes of those who had come to see Rome's idolatry.

 When war threatened because of a possible invasion from France and by the decision of England to send troops into Scotland, a compromise was reached which avoided war and called for the meeting of a free Parliament to settle religious questions. This Parliament, which met in August, 1960, established the Reformed religion by adopting a confession (The Scottish Confession of Faith which served as the confession of the church until it was superceded by the Westminster Confessions), a Book of Discipline (Church Order), and a Book of Common Order (a guide for ministers in their work and calling).

 In that same year, in December, the first General Assembly of the Scottish Church met in Edinburgh in St. Magdalene's chapel.

 In all of these activities, Knox assumed a leading role.

 Perhaps no more interesting part in all his reformatory work can be found than in his interviews with Queen Mary. Mary wanted nothing so much as to return Scotland to the papal fold. Knox stood in her way. In at least two interviews with him she tried by every means to dissuade him from his course. She argued, pleaded, cajoled, threatened, attempted to move him with her feminine wiles (of which she had plenty, for she was a beautiful woman), and even wept in an effort to move John's heart to pity. Through it all Knox stood firm and unmovable, to the point where some of his contemporaries and subsequent historians have criticized him for failure to show proper respect to his queen and for a hardheartedness which bordered on cruelty.

 But this was Knox, a man of iron will and implacable purpose; a man who did not know that the word "tact" existed in the English language, or, if he did know, did not know what it meant. He spoke forthrightly and clearly, and worried not an iota whom he offended if it was for the cause of the truth of God.

 He triumphed over incredible odds. He was shot at, ambushed, and verbally abused beyond what many others had to endure. Of an archbishop's greed, he wryly said, "As he sought the world, it fled him not." His purpose he himself defined: "To me it is enough to say that black is not white, and man's tyranny and foolishness is not God's perfect ordinance."

 As was true of the reformers throughout Europe, Knox was first of all a preacher. Every Lord's day he preached two times, and during the week three times in St. Giles Cathedral. He had a distinction which few if any had. He was a priest in the Romish Church, a clergyman in the Anglican Church, and a minister of the gospel in the first Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

 In 1563 he retired to relative privacy because his forcefulness and uncompromising attitude offended many. But his influence continued to be felt. When Mary was forced to abdicate the throne in 1567, reforms continued. It was decided, for example, that the ruler of Scotland must henceforth be protestant, and many provisions were made for the support of the clergy. Also under Knox's influence, schools were established. He wanted schools in every parish, a college in every important town, and three universities to serve the nation.

 In 1570 Knox was felled by a stroke, from which he partially recovered. He retired to St. Andrews, where his reformatory work had begun, and there preached even though he had to be carried to the pulpit. But he himself spoke of the fact that he was "weary of the world" and "thirsting to depart." On November 24, 1570, at the age of 65, the Lord took him home.

 Though he was small and weak, beset since his days in the galleys with many infirmities, he was of a vigorous mind and implacable will. His piety and zeal knew no bounds. He stamped his character on the church which he was instrumental in establishing. In Geneva, Switzerland stands a Reformation Monument on which appear figures of the great reformers. By Knox's figure are written the appropriate words: Un homme avec Dieu est toujours dans la majorite ("One man with God is always a majority"). Such men the church needs today.

Taken from: Portraits of Faithful Saints, Chapter 33, by Herman Hanko

Guido de Brès: Author of the Belgic Confession

Part of the power and enduring value of our confessions is the fact that they arose out of the life of the church. They were not drawn up by men sitting in ivory towers, contemplating the truth of Scripture, but far removed from the battle for the faith. They breath the life of the church's struggles.

The Heidelberg Catechism was written in the struggles between Calvinism on the one hand and Lutheranism and Romanism on the other hand, as these struggles were bitterly fought out in Frederick's Palatinate. The Canons of Dordt arose out of the fierce battle with Arminianism which all but engulfed the churches in the Netherlands in the first part of the 17th century. The Confession of Faith (Sometimes called, The Belgic or Netherlands Confession) was written during and reflects the bitter persecution of the saints in the Lowlands in the early years of the Reformation.

It is this persecution, in the midst of which it was written, that gives to the Confession of Faith its moving power. The affirmations of the confession, "We all believe ..."; "We confess ..."; "We believe and profess ..." take on new meaning when we understand that they are shouts that arise from scaffolds, burning piles of tinder, deep prison cells, and cruel torture chambers.

Its author, Guido de Brès, died on the scaffold for his faith. To his story we know turn.

Early Life And Conversion

Guido de Brès was born in Mons in 1522, the fourth child of a family of glass painters. In Mons the art of glass painting had been highly developed, and Mons deservedly had an international reputation for the skill of its artists. Guido himself was trained for this work.

 Guido's family carried on the traditions of the guilds in Mons, although the children were split on Reformation doctrine. John, the oldest, while remaining Roman Catholic all his life, helped Protestants in times of persecution. Christophe was a seller of glassware, but spent his entire life distributing Bibles and Protestant literature, often at great risk to his life. Jerome became a cloth dyer and remained within the Romish Church. Marlette, the only girl, married a Protestant in Valenciennes and, with her husband, was deeply involved in Protestant affairs.

 The city of Mons was on the border of France and the Lowlands, that part of the Lowlands which is now Belgium. Here Lutheranism had first come and had been eagerly studied by the citizens; but the Hugenots from France soon followed with the purer Reformation doctrines of John Calvin.

 Guido, already in his teens, heard from others Reformation truths and could not help but listen to the stories of those who, already then, were being killed for the sake of the gospel. He was only 14 when the news reached him of Tyndale's cruel martyrdom. It may have been Tyndale's willingness to die for the sake of translating the Bible into the language of the people that led Guido to study the Scriptures. But it was through this study that God led him to true faith in Jesus Christ.

 Guido decided, perhaps because of persecution in the Lowlands, to go to London and join a refugee Church in East London. East London was a haven for refugees from many different countries in Europe who were forced to flee because of persecution. And so in that part of London could also be found a Walloon congregation composed of French-speaking citizens of the Lowlands, to which Guido joined himself. The refugees had peace in England because of the benign rule of Edward VI who, though young, favored Protestantism. Here he studied for the ministry and listened to the powerful preaching of the great Reformers á Lasco and Martin Bucer.

Work In The Lowlands

 But Guido's love was for his native land, and in 1552 at the age of 30, he returned -- as an evangelist and traveling preacher. From that moment on his life was in almost constant danger.

 His first field of labor was the city of Lille, in which a large secret Protestant community had been established under the name, the Church of the Rose. From Lille he went to Ghent, where he published a tract entitled Le Báton de la foi ("The Staff of the Faith"), a stirring defense of the Reformed faith.

 Guido enjoyed a brief interlude at this time. Traveling to Frankfurt in Germany, Guido met Calvin and was persuaded to come to Geneva. In the three years he spent in Geneva, Guido learned the Reformed faith more perfectly, mastered Greek and Hebrew under Beza and Calvin, and was more fully equipped for the gospel ministry. During this period (1559), he also married Catherine Ramon and with her had four or five children, the oldest named Israel, and the second, Sara.

 While Guido was in Geneva, Charles V retired, weary and careworn, to a monastery in Spain, and his cruel son Philip II came to the throne. Philip was determined to stamp out all "heresy," especially in the Lowlands. While, therefore, up to this time persecution had been sporadic and relatively light, it now became more severe and bitter.

 de Brès, after returning again to the Lowlands, was forced to travel in disguise and under the pseudonym of Jerome. Although the cities in southern Belgium and northern France (Lille, Antwerp, Mons) were the area of his labor, his headquarters was in Doornik where he ministered to the congregation which had chosen as its name, the Church of the Palm.

 Here two former ministers had been burned at the stake for their faith; here the congregation knew de Brès only as "Jerome"; here the meetings of the congregation were always held in secret and at night, with small groups of not more than 12 attending at one time.

 In spite of the problems which the congregation faced, de Brès organized the church with elders and deacons and faithfully administered the sacraments.

 But even this situation did not remain, for a more radical group of the believers, under the leadership of Robert du Four, thought it cowardly and unfaithful to Christ to keep their faith secret. The group, several hundred strong, moved in public procession through the city singing Psalms in open defiance of the authorities. The next night, September 30, 1561, 500 Protestants gathered for the same purpose. The result was that Roman Catholic investigators were sent with orders to suppress Protestantism in the city.

 Although Guido managed to hide until December and flee in safety, all the information of the secret congregation was discovered, Guido's true identity was found out, the people of the church were forced to flee or be killed, and Guido's rooms were ransacked and his papers (including letters from Calvin) were burned. Guido was hanged in effigy.

 Guido concentrated his work for several years in northern France, perhaps some of the quietest years of his ministerial career. Although also in France persecution against the Hugenots raged, in Guido's area the church had peace. He worked in Amiens, Montdidier, Dieppe, and Sedan, building up the congregations and preaching faithfully the gospel.

 But he could not refrain from making periodic trips into his own country, a "lion's den" of danger. He traveled three times to Doornik, his old congregation, once to Brussels to meet with William of Orange concerning matters of union between Calvinists and Lutherans, once to a secret Synod of the Reformed Churches held in Antwerp (the password for entry was "Vineyard") where de Brès' Confession was adopted as the official confession of the Reformed Churches.

 In 1566 de Brès went to Valenciennes to become a preacher in the church there, a congregation which called itself the Church of the Eagle. While the Protestant faith grew so rapidly that the Roman Catholic authorities dared not interfere in the religion of God's people, certain radical elements once again stepped forward and created trouble. Stirring up large mobs, they went through all the cathedrals smashing, burning, destroying anything that in the least smelled like popery. Philip II, infuriated at this, sent troops to lay siege to the city, which surrendered on Palm Sunday, 1567. Although de Brès escaped with four companions, he was soon captured and imprisoned.

His Martyrdom and Importance

 de Brès spent the first part of his captivity in a prison in Doornik, where he could receive visitors. Many of his visitors, however, were enemies who came to taunt him. But just as was the case with the apostle Paul (Philippians 1:12-14), Guido's imprisonment became an occasion for him to witness to the truth. When a princess, along with many young court ladies, came to mock, and the princess said in horror at Guido's heavy chains, "My God, Mr. de Brès, I don't see how you can eat, drink, or sleep that way. I think I would die of fear, if I were in your place," Guido responded: "My lady, the good cause for which I suffer and the good conscience God has given me make my bread sweeter and my sleep sounder than those of my persecutors." And, then, still responding to the princess, "It is guilt that makes a chain heavy. Innocence makes my chains light. I glory in them as my badges of honor."

 Soon Guido was transferred to Valenciennes and thrown into a dark, cold, damp, rat-infested dungeon known as The Black Hole. In spite of the cold, the hunger, the horror of this hole, Guido wrote a tract on the Lord's Supper and letters to his friends, his aged mother, and his wife. A letter to his wife is an especially moving testimony of his faith.

My dear and well-beloved wife in our Lord Jesus.

 Your grief and anguish are the cause of my writing you this letter. I most earnestly pray you not to be grieved beyond measure . . . . We knew when we married that we might not have many years together, and the Lord has graciously given us seven. If the Lord had wished us to live together longer, he could easily have caused it to be so. But such was not his pleasure. Let his good will be done . . . . Moreover, consider that I have not fallen into the hands of my enemies by chance, but by the providence of God . . . . All these considerations have made my heart glad and peaceful, and I pray you, my dear and faithful companion, to be glad with me, and to thank the good God for what he is doing, for he does nothing but what is altogether good and right . . . . I pray you then to be comforted in the Lord, to commit yourself and your affairs to him, he is the husband of the widow and the father of the fatherless, and he will never leave nor forsake you . . . .

 Good-bye, Catherine, my well-beloved! I pray my God to comfort you, and give you resignation to his holy will.

Your faithful husband, Guido de Brès.

Guido was publicly hanged on May 31, 1567 at the age of 47. He was pushed off the ladder while comforting the crowd which had gathered and urging them to faithfulness to the Scriptures. His body was left hanging the rest of the day and buried in a shallow grave where dogs and wild animals dug it up and consumed it.

Guido de Brès is the author of our Confession of Faith, although he was assisted by Adrien de Saravia (professor of theology in Leyden), H. Modetus (chaplain of William of Orange), and G. Wingen. It was written in the vain hope that it would persuade the cruel Philip II to see that the views of the Calvinists were truly biblical and to stop persecution against them. Roman Catholics had lumped the Calvinists with the radical and wild-eyed Anabaptists who rejected the authority of magistrates, and the Confession sets the Reformed faith over against Anabaptism.

The Confession was thrown over the wall in Doornik and ultimately did reach the king but it served only to arouse Philip to greater fury against the saints of God.

In a letter which was added to the Confession, Guido and his co-workers protested being called rebels. They solemnly averred that though they number over 100,000 and were cruelly oppressed by "excommunications, imprisonments, banishments, racks, and tortures, and other numberless oppressions which they had undergone," they obeyed their government in all things lawful, and that "having the fear of God before their eyes, and being terrified by the threatening of Christ, who had declared in the Gospel that he would deny them before God the Father, in case they denied him before men, they therefore offered their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives, their mouths to gags, and their whole bodies to the fire."

From this spilled blood God caused to emerge a confession of faith which has held a special place in the hearts of Reformed believers. It is as if, knowing that the confession was written in blood, the saints receive it as a sacred trust, precious and vibrating yet with the faith of their fathers.

Our fathers both knew what they believed and were faithful to it, even to death. We have received, by the Spirit of truth, the glorious fruit which God worked through them. It is entrusted to our care that we may be faithful to it and teach it to our children.

 We ought earnestly to pray that we may know as they did the faith, and that we may be faithful to it as they were, for persecution shall soon also be our lot.

Taken from: Portraits of Faithful Saints, Chapter 31, by Herman Hanko

Zacharias Ursinus & Caspar Olevianus: Authors of the Heidelberg Catechism

Without question the Heidelberg Catechism is one of the most, if not the most, beloved Confession of all time. Those who cherish the heritage of the truth and turn to the Confessions of the church to learn it will rejoice in the Heidelberger as a precious gift of God through the Spirit of Truth Whom Christ promised the church.

 Not only those who belong to churches which have made the Catechism their theological basis, but God's people from any tradition and from all ecclesiastical backgrounds, love and cherish this glorious creed.

 Its attractiveness lies in two characteristics. The first is its warm and personal style. It speaks to the experience of the child of God. It tells him what the truth means to him personally in his own life and calling in the world. The second is its dominating theme of comfort. The personal and experiential aspect of the Catechism looks at the truth in all our life as a truth which brings comfort. It echoes the words of God in Isaiah 40:1: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God."

 In the last chapter we described the role that Frederick the Pious played in the writing of the Heidelberg Catechism. In this chapter we will let the authors themselves step out of the obscure past and take their place momentarily on the stage of history to tell us of what God worked in them.

Zacharias Ursinus

Ursinus's Early Life

 Zacharius Ursinus was born on July 18, 1534 in the town of Breslau of Silesia, a province of Austria. He was born of a family by the name of Baer, or Bear. Those who know the Big Dipper as Ursa Major will also know that Ursinus is only the Latin word for bear.

 His parents were poor, for the wages of a tutor were meager and his father was a tutor. Two advantages, however, were his, brought up as he was in a tutor's home. The first was that he was surrounded from infancy with learning, and the second was that he had an opportunity to meet many of the rich and famous in the course of his early years.

 Ursinus studied in Breslau until his 15th year, when he went to Wittenberg. Four years after Luther's body had been laid to rest in the cathedral of Wittenberg, and while Philip Melanchthon, Luther's colleague and close friend, was still teaching, Ursinus came to this notable and famous school. Because his parents could not support him, his expenses were underwritten by the Senate of Breslau, with the understanding that he would return to his native town to teach after he had completed his education.

 Although he was a very able and gifted student, Ursinus was shy and retiring, tending somewhat to be moody, and not at all inclined to participate in the intellectual rough and tumble of classroom life in a university. Nor did he eagerly seek the companionship of his fellow students who, oftentimes with excessive gaiety, would celebrate the freedom of an academic life. He preferred to compose Greek and Latin verses in the solitude of his study.

 He would probably have passed through the halls of the university scarcely noticed if it were not for the fact that Melanchthon observed his ability, took Ursinus into his own home, and became a friend and companion as well as teacher to the shy student. It was a strange but rich friendship, a 53 year old gifted theologian with a poor student of 16.

 The Lutheran Reformation had penetrated Breslau prior to Ursinus's birth and had influenced his parents. Wittenberg was the center of Lutheran studies. It is not surprising that Ursinus became an ardent Lutheran. But already Melanchthon was having second thoughts about Luther's view of the Lord's Supper and was more inclined to agree with the Swiss theologians on the presence of Christ in the bread and wine. Ursinus was influenced by Melanchthon and developed his own views, which were more like those of his mentor.

 Ursinus spent seven years with Melanchthon and even accompanied him to Worms and Heidelberg in 1557. Heidelberg was the city in which Ursinus would do his most important work. He saw it for the first time in the golden autumn of October. On the hillside covered with trees stood the imposing castle in which the Elector lived. The city was in the narrow valley of the Neckar River which flowed through the Black Forest to the Rhine just a few miles away. The Church of the Holy Spirit dominated the city with its spires soaring above the roofs of the houses. Almost at the feet of the spires was the most famous and oldest university in Germany, the University of Heidelberg. It had been Roman Catholic; it was now Protestant. Whether it would be Lutheran or Reformed had yet to be decided. It was Melanchthon's home, the land for which he longed. But Melanchthon had not come to stay; his life's work was on the sandy and dusty soil of Wittenberg.

 After traveling together to Heidelberg, Ursinus and Melanchthon parted ways, Ursinus to travel for a year throughout Europe visiting the Protestant centers of learning in Germany, France, and Switzerland. He could read the Hebrew lectures of Jean Mercier in Paris, sit at the feet of Bullinger in Zurich, and talk with Calvin in Geneva. In fact, Calvin presented him with a gift of a complete set of Calvin's works, signed by their illustrious author.

 For a few short years he fulfilled his obligations to Breslau by teaching there. But the Lutherans suspected him of being more Reformed than Lutheran in his views of the Lord's Supper. They were right; but it was a whispering campaign against him, finally exploding into public debate, which persuaded Ursinus to resign his position and leave the city. He never did enjoy controversy, and the bitterness of the hatred in Breslau was more than he could bear.

 From Breslau Ursinus went to Zurich for a short time of peace and quietness in which he became a close friend of Peter Martyr, the Reformer from Italy who had made such a notable contribution to the Reformed doctrine of the Lord's Supper. His decision to go to Zurich was a difficult one. He told his uncle:

Not unwillingly do I leave my fatherland, since it does not permit the confession of the truth, which I can not with good conscience give up. If my teacher Melanchthon still lived, I would go nowhere else but to him. But as he is dead, I will go to Zurich where there are pious, great and learned men. As for the rest, God will care.

Ursinus found companionship and fellowship here with men with whom he was in complete agreement.

 Frederick the Pious wanted a Reformed professor in Heidelberg and called Peter Martyr. Martyr declined the call on the grounds of old age, but recommended Ursinus. When Ursinus received the call from Frederick, he was most reluctant to go. He as well as anyone knew the tensions and controversies which were tearing apart that city. To a friend he wrote: "Oh that I could remain hidden in a corner. I would give anything for shelter in some quiet village."

 But God has a way of calling a person to a work from which he shrinks. So it was with Moses. So it was when Calvin, at the threats of the fiery Farel, was persuaded to stay in Geneva. So God called Ursinus, shy and retiring, to the swirling ecclesiastical and doctrinal hubbub of Heidelberg.

Years In Heidelberg

 Times in Heidelberg were trying. Although through the wise and godly rule of Frederick the Pious Roman Catholicism had been pretty much rooted out of the city, Lutheranism and the Reformed faith were vying for dominance. The differences were almost exclusively over the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, but violent and radical Lutherans were doing everything they could to rid the city of any men who disagreed with their position.

 Ursinus was appointed head of the Collegium Sapientiae, the College of Wisdom, as it was called. But it was not long after, that he was appointed to occupy the chair of Dogmatics. And every imaginable chore and obligation were thrust upon him, as Frederick and others sought to make use of his enormous abilities and clear understanding of the truth.

 It was not as a joke that Ursinus put a sign on the door to his office in the University which contained on it a bit of Latin doggerel which translated read: "Friend who enters here: be quick, or go; or help me with my work."

 Yet his work for which he is renowned is his authorship of the Heidelberg Catechism. With Caspar Olevianus, he was instructed to draw up a confession which could be used for the instruction of the people of the Palatinate and could serve as a basis of unity.

 Ursinus had earlier written a small Catechism in Latin, which also had proceeded from the idea of comfort. It had suggested to Ursinus the theme of this Catechism, and much of this earlier work was absorbed into the Heidelberger. It is hard for us to believe that Ursinus was only 28 years old at the time, but he had been steeped from infancy in Reformational theology and he was a man of brilliant gifts with which God had endowed him. The work began in 1562 and took nearly a year. It was a great time for Confessions: the Thirty-Nine Articles had been adopted by the Church of England; Bullinger had written his beautiful Second Helvetic Confession; and Spanish persecutors in the Lowlands were hunting the author of the Belgic Confession, Guido de Brès.

 Frederick pressed the work forward at the swiftest possible rate. When the Catechism was nearly ready in early 1563, he summoned a large company of ministers and teachers from throughout the Palatinate to meet in solemn assembly to discuss and, if possible, approve the work. After solemn worship services and lengthy discussion, the assembled group was so moved by the genius of the work that they unanimously recommended to Frederick that it be adopted without change. And so it was.

 In the second edition, Frederick ordered Q. & A. 80 to be added, though without the sharp language concerning the mass; but when the attacks of Roman Catholics increased in bitterness and intensity, Frederick made another change in this same question and answer which included the words which have ever afterward vexed the souls of Roman Catholics, words which branded the mass as "an accursed idolatry." Frederick also ordered that it be divided into 52 sections, or Lord's Days, so that it could be preached from beginning to end in one year.

 It quickly ran through many editions and was soon translated into different languages, including the Dutch, where it became a treasured confession of the Dutch Reformed Churches.

Ursinus's Post-Heidelberg Years

 The rest of Ursinus's years in Heidelberg were busy and relatively unhappy. Not only did his duties continue in the University, but he was now also asked to preach each Lord's Day on the Heidelberg Catechism. Furthermore, he became the chief defender of the Catechism against the many and vicious attacks made against it by Roman Catholics and Lutherans alike. They so wearied him who loved peace, so physically exhausted him, and so impaired his health, that in 1566 he ceased writing and two years later resigned his chair of Dogmatics. The chair went to the esteemed Italian reformer, Hieronymous Zanchius, whose work on "Predestination" is still widely read.

 Disputes in Heidelberg continued, now over church government. Did the discipline of the impenitent rest with the State or with the church? The controversy was sharp and bitter. The main defender of Presbyterianism was an Englishman named George Withers. Bullinger and Beza were called in to give advice. Finally, annoyed by the silence of Ursinus, Frederick ordered him to express his views. He did so in a public assembly and in such a candid and kindly way that his views carried the day, and Presbyteries were established with discipline safely in the hands of the church.

 All these years he had remained unmarried and had lived with the students in the dorms of the University. But in 1572, at the age of 38, he began to consider the possibility of marriage. He had noticed a quiet and friendly woman only a block away from the University, and one day, summoning up his courage, he took time out from his studies to propose to her. She accepted; they were married -- perhaps one of the shortest courtships on record. They lived together nine years, and brought forth one son.

 But things were soon to change in Heidelberg. Frederick died, worn out by the cares of his kingdom. The Elector Louis came to the electorate. Louis was an ardent Lutheran and determined to force Lutheranism on the Palatinate. Within one year he succeeded in doing this, and the Reformed faculty at the University, including Ursinus, were dismissed. Over 600 teachers and preachers left the Palatinate during this unhappy time.

 Although Ursinus was invited to teach at Lausanne in Switzerland, he chose instead to go to Neustadt, where he set up a school in a nunnery with the help of his good friend Casimir, son of Frederick the Pious. The school obtained a good faculty and soon attracted many students from throughout Europe.

 But Ursinus taught only briefly in it. He was asked by a Reformed Convention which met in Frankfurt in 1577 to draw up a confession which could serve as a basis for unity of all Reformed Churches in Europe, but he declined on the grounds of ill-health.

 The great work of these years was the writing of his well-known commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, a volume which all who love this creed ought to purchase. The volume was put together from his lectures on the Catechism in Neustadt, lectures which he edited and prepared for publication, although this latter work he never finished. The book was published in 1584 after his death.

 His health continued to decline and his teaching became increasingly sporadic. Finally on March 6, 1583, at the age of 49, he died in Neustadt, leaving his wife a widow and his child without a father.

Summary

 Ursinus was not a very good preacher; his gifts lay in the classroom, where his lectures were learned, incisive, instructive, and delivered in a most interesting way. He was ever the cautious man, so much so that when questions were asked of him in class, he almost always postponed the answers to the following day so that he could have time to formulate a careful answer. His strength was in his penetrating mind and his deep commitment to the truth. The truth was not for him an intellectual matter however; it was his "comfort," that which alone could sustain him through the grueling years of his work in Heidelberg.

 God thrust this shrinking man into the maelstrom of Heidelberg. God knows what to do with His appointed servants even when it seems all wrong to them and others. But we are the beneficiaries , for to us has been given the time-honored treasure of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Caspar Olevianus

Introduction

 God used more than one man to write the Heidelberg Catechism. Frederick III, elector of the Palatinate, ordered it written and supported the project, even offering suggestions from time to time. Zacharius Ursinus was its theologian. But Caspar Olevianus left his own indelible mark on it.

 History has not recorded for us what precise part each of the two authors of the Catechism played in its formation; and speculations on the subject by historians have proved fruitless. But it does seem to be a manifestation of God's great wisdom when, in the formulation of this marvelous creed, God used both the theologian Ursinus and the preacher Olevianus. Not only is the Catechism an unsurpassed summary of the Christian faith with the touch of a theologian; but it is a confession eminently suitable to preach: it has the touch of a man who was himself a gifted and eloquent preacher and pastor.

 Early Life and Training

 Caspar Olevianus was born on August 10, 1536, two years after the birth of his colleague Ursinus. He was born in one of the most famous cities in Trans-Alpine Europe, the city of Trier, or, as it was sometimes called, Treves. The city was built on the banks of the Moselle River on the border of Germany and Luxembourg. It boasted of the fact that its history went back to the days before the birth of Christ, and it claimed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest city north of the Alps. The Emperor Caesar Augustus had started the city in 15 B.C. and had made it an important city in an ocean of barbarians.

 The city had the distinction of being briefly the home of the great church father Athanasius, when, because of his uncompromising defense of the truth of Christ's divinity, he had been banished from his church in Alexandria in Egypt. That was back in the first half of the 4th century.

 The prominence of the city in the Middle Ages was due in large measure to the fact that the cathedral in the city claimed to have in its possession the seamless robe of Christ over which the soldiers gambled at the cross. (This robe is still put on public display at 25-year intervals, and hundreds of thousands crowd the city to look at it.) Further, the abbey church in the city claimed to be the burial place of the apostle Matthew, the only apostle, so tradition said, to be buried north of the Alps.

 Olevianus was born of Gerhard von der Olewig and Anna Sinzig. The name "Olewig," which means "olive," actually refers to a part of the city, perhaps even a small village annexed to the city, known by that name. "Olevianus" is the Latinized form of that name.

 Caspar's father was a merchant, relatively wealthy, and a prominent citizen of this historic place. He was a baker, a president of the Bakers' Guild, a member of the city council, and treasurer of the city. He followed a family tradition of service to the city, for Caspar's grandfather was president of the Butchers' Guild and also a member of the council. These positions in the city were important, for Trier, because of its ancient and illustrious past, was a "free" city in Germany.

 Caspar's mother was a pious and godly woman who exerted great influence on her family and son. It is striking, if I may make here a somewhat parenthetical remark, that so many of those men who occupied places of great importance in the cause of God and of His church, had very godly and pious mothers. It is a fact of history that ought to give all covenant mothers pause: they never know what the effect of their piety and humble service of God will be upon their children and how God will use their godliness for His cause.

 Trier was a Roman Catholic city. It remained such even though the Lutheran Reformation spread through much of Germany. It remained immune to Lutheran teachings. Caspar was brought up, therefore, in a Roman Catholic home and taught in a Roman Catholic school in Trier the first 14 years of his life.

 Offsetting this Roman Catholic influence was one incident which made a deep impression on Casper during these years, an incident of which he himself later spoke. While Casper was at school, an aged but kindly and saintly priest planted a seed in his heart which was eventually to bear fruit. It was nothing more than a remark which the old priest made to him in the corridors of the school. Recognizing the abilities of the young boy, the priest put his arm over Casper's shoulder and said to him: "Never forget that salvation and comfort are to be found only in Christ's perfect work." Again and again, through those dark and dreary centuries when Roman Catholicism held sway over the minds and consciences of men, we find these isolated individuals who, in spite of Rome's denial of Christ's perfect sacrifice for sin, held to the truth that all our salvation is only in Christ. It must have been these lonely and scattered men who enabled the church of Christ to stay alive during those perilous times.

 In 1550, at the age of 14, Caspar completed his studies in Trier. His grandfather stepped in and offered to support Caspar's further education in France provided Caspar would study law. This was somewhat strange, for Trier had its own university; but it becomes a bit understandable when we remember that Trier was solidly Roman Catholic and its schools were steadily losing students, while the universities of other parts of Europe were becoming very popular because of openness to Renaissance and Reformation teachings.

 It was in France that Caspar's life took an extraordinary turn.

Conversion and Early Work

 The years Olevianus spent in France were profitable, if for no other reason than that they led to his conversion to the Reformed faith.

 Caspar attended the universities of Paris, Orleans, and Bourges, the same universities in which Calvin had received his training. Although he studied law, he came under the influence of leading thinkers in the universities who were more or less committed to Lutheranism; but more importantly, he came under the influence of Huguenot teaching. The Huguenots were French Calvinists who had been delivered from Roman Catholicism, but who were forced to meet secretly because they were severely persecuted by the king and the church. The shadow of the stake, the hangman's noose, and the sword hung constantly over them and their families. Not only did Caspar come in contact with them, but he became persuaded of their position and even attended their secret meetings.

 Especially one experience changed his life. While walking with a friend, a prince from Germany, along the river which ran by Bourges, Caspar and this friend were invited to cross the river in a boat in which were other students. Caspar refused because the students in the boat were drunk, but his friend took up the offer. In midstream the students began rocking the boat and it overturned. Caspar dived into the water to save his friend, but was unable to do so because of the swift current. He was himself in danger of drowning. At that crucial point, Caspar promised that, if God would spare his life, he would preach the gospel in Trier. His friend's valet, thinking Caspar was his master, hauled Caspar from the water, while the friend drowned. Although Caspar continued his studies in law, that promise, made in the cold waters of the river Auron, was not forgotten.

 After completing his studies in France, Caspar returned to Trier -- not yet to preach (for this he was untrained), but to practice law. His promise, however, sat heavily upon his soul, and he found no satisfaction in the legal niceties of 16th century law practice. In disgust and restlessness, Caspar traveled to Geneva for the express purpose of talking with Calvin.

 The two years he spent in Switzerland were important ones. He not only met with and talked to Calvin, but had opportunity to spend many hours with Theodore Beza, Henry Bullinger, Peter Martyr, William Farel, and Peter Viret, all luminous stars in the Reformation heavens. The years were not spent, though, in idle chatter; he studied in Geneva under Calvin, learned Hebrew, mastered theology, was instructed in the art of preaching, and prepared himself for the ministry.

 It must have been good instruction which he received in preaching because, along with the development of his native gifts, this instruction made Caspar one of the outstanding and most eloquent preachers of the times -- and the times were blessed with many gifted preachers!

 The year 1559 was an important one in the history of the Reformation. During this year French Protestants held their first Synod in Paris, John Knox returned to Scotland to establish the Presbyterian Church there, William the Silent made his vow to drive "the Spanish vermin" from the Netherlands, Elector Frederick III the Pious began his reign in Heidelberg, and Calvin opened his Academy in Geneva and published the last edition of his Institutes.

 In June of this important year, at the urging of Farel -- that firebrand of a Reformer who had been instrumental in keeping Calvin in Geneva, Olevianus returned to Trier.

 Trier was still a Roman Catholic City, and Caspar's presence as a minister of the truth of the Calvin Reformation would not have gone over very well there. But two men, Otto Seele and Peter Sierk, influential in the city, were known in Geneva to have some Calvinistic leanings. To them Calvin wrote to try to encourage them to work towards reformation in the city, and especially to bring Caspar Olevianus to the city to help.

 It seems as if Caspar went without really revealing what his position on reformational matters was. He must have, for the time being, concealed his true purposes, for he had no difficulty, because of the reputation of his parents and grandparents, obtaining an appointment to teach philosophy in the school of a solidly Roman Catholic city. He chose to teach Melanchthon's Dialectics. The instruction was in Latin, and Dialectics was rather boring to any but the most ardent students; so Olevianus could be of little influence. Here he stayed for awhile, in his home town, in a sense flying under false colors, eager to keep a vow he had made long before, stuck in a philosophy class in a dying school.

Work In Trier

 Because few people in Trier could understand Latin (even most of the students were not very proficient in the language) Olevianus, though able to slip in a few Reformed remarks from time to time, could scarcely be an effective teacher of the truths he had learned to love.

 In his discomfort over his vow that he would preach, and determined to reach the common people, he decided to hold a public lecture in German, the language of the people. It was subsequently announced. A large crowd assembled. The success of the lecture was the beginning of a series of lectures in the German tongue, lectures which became expositions of a Reformation Catechism.

 Because the people received what he had to say eagerly and because the crowds continued to grow, he asked permission of the council to preach to the people, which permission was reluctantly given. He chose for this sermon the subject of justification by faith, which he ably set forth in a crowded room, and which became an occasion for him to attack various Romish practices. At last he was beginning to keep the vow he had made to God in the river of Bourges.

 Although the town clerk supported this public proclamation of the gospel, Olevianus was brought before the city council, which was less receptive to the idea. Somewhat reluctantly and probably because the city council did not really understand what was at stake, the men of the council voted to permit him to preach.

 The crowds grew rapidly and soon a Protestant and Calvinistic congregation was organized. But Archbishop John, a cleric in the church of Rome as well as Elector of that region, heard reports of what was going on. He knew the significance of it, and soon, marching with a number of soldiers to the gates of the city, he demanded that such "nonsense" stop. When the city refused to open the gates to him, he took up headquarters near the city and began to harass the citizens by taking away their status as a free city, burning their crops, seizing and attacking citizens as they traveled to and from the city, threatening the city with many fierce threats, cutting off their water supply, preventing supplies of food from entering the city, and summoning more soldiers to make a determined march on the city.

 Finally John attacked the city, threw Olevianus into jail, banished all who upheld Protestant practices, and restored Roman Catholicism. It was a total triumph for Rome. John, to add insult to injury, instituted an annual "Olevian Procession" to celebrate the banishment of this man of God. It was nearly 250 years before any worship services other than Romish were held here again.

 Olevianus was held in prison for ten weeks and was finally released only at the insistence of the Elector Frederick the Pious, who paid an enormous ransom for the release. Olevianus never again returned to the city of his birth.

 He had thought (and promised) to preach the gospel in Trier; he kept his promise, though only for a short time; God had need of him elsewhere. The year was 1560; Olevianus was only 24 years old.

Work In Heidelberg

 Although Olevianus had many offers to work elsewhere, he chose to go to Heidelberg at the invitation of Frederick. In Heidelberg he became leader and director at the college. There he completed his doctoral studies in theology and was appointed to the chair of dogmatics. For use in his lectures, he made a summary of Calvin's Institutes, which book was the major textbook in the class.

 His abilities were not, however, primarily the abilities of a professor; he was above all a preacher. And so, when Zacharius Ursinus came to the university, Olevianus moved out of the chair of Dogmatics to make room for Ursinus, and Olevianus became chief pastor in St. Peter's Church and later in the Church of the Holy Spirit. Here, on the pulpit, expounding God's Word, he felt at home. Here God used his gifts to the advantage of the church.

 And so it was that both a professor, gifted in theology, and a preacher, eloquent and faithful in the pulpit, were, under God's providence, chosen to write the Heidelberg Catechism. Ursinus was 28 years old; Olevianus was 26. It is hard to believe that they were so young. The Catechism gives evidence of authorship by spiritually and theologically mature men. And so they were. Maturity before one's thirties -- that is the measure of their God-given abilities.

 The Catechism is a teacher's book and a preacher's book. It is a systematically-arranged treatise covering the whole of the Christian faith; but it is not the doctrine of the classroom or lecture hall; it is the doctrine of the pulpit and the faith of the people of God. The systematic theology of the creed reflects the gifts of Ursinus; the passionately pastoral approach of comfort in doctrine is the delicate touch of the preacher.

 Olevianus's work on the Catechism was by no means all he did in Heidelberg. His congregational responsibilities were enough to keep him busy, but he was also deeply involved in continuing reform in the Palatinate. He was instrumental in bringing into the Palatinate hundreds of Reformed teachers to teach in the schools and preachers to preach in the pulpits. He was deeply involved in the defense of the Reformed faith over against Lutheran and Roman Catholic attacks. He was especially instrumental in solidifying genuine biblical church government in the Palatinate, although not without a bitter battle with those who wanted the State to rule the church.

The Last Years

 But even such good things as Olevianus's work in Heidelberg had to come to an end.

 There are so many things in God's eternal purpose that seem all wrong to us. Just at that point when so many battles seemed to be won and when Heidelberg was becoming a center for Reformational studies, God stopped it all.

 The cruelty which Ursinus suffered came also to Olevianus. Ludwig came to the throne. The pulpits and schools were the first objects of Ludwig's attacks. Olevianus was fired from his post and put under house arrest. When this arrest was lifted it was only to banish from the entire Palatinate anyone who breathed a Reformed word. Over 600 preachers and teachers, including Olevianus, fled, and the Calvin Reformation came to an abrupt halt.

 Olevianus went for a short time to a castle of a friend in central Germany to tutor his son and help in the Reformation work which was being done in that area. In 1548 he went to Herborn, another city in Germany, as the chief preacher of the church there and as promoter of the Reformation. The result was that, although Lutheranism was the dominant faith in Germany, there were various places where Calvinism flourished and a Reformed church grew strong.

In the same year that Olevianus came to Herborn he started a Seminary, more properly, an Academy, for the school taught also the subjects which were necessary for pre-theological studies. Olevianus once again occupied the chair of dogmatics. Under his labors and leadership the Seminary expanded and grew with incredible speed. A year after it had been started, the famed Piscator came to the school along with 12 other teachers of prominence in the Reformed movement. The student body was a cross-section of Europe's Calvinists.

 But we near the end of the story.

Though only 51, Olevianus was worn with labor and toil in the cause of the gospel. As he lay dying, he confessed: "I have only learned to know in this sickness what sin is, and how great is the majesty of God." He spoke of a dream he had had: "Yesterday I was filled for more than an hour with unspeakable joy. It appeared to me that I was walking in a meadow resplendent with light, and while I was moving about, heavenly dew fell on me, not in drops but in streams. Both my body and soul were filled with exceeding great joy."

Piscator, hearing this, said: "So the good Shepherd has led you into His green pastures." Olevianus replied: "Yes, he has led me to the fountain of living water." He requested that Psalm 42 and Isaiah 53 be read to him. He asked that those at his bedside sing a Reformation hymn, with whom he joined in a weak voice. He died shortly after telling those around him: "I would no longer postpone my journey to the Lord. I desire to depart and be with Christ." He said his farewells to his wife, his aged mother, his children, and his friends, taking the time to bless each of them. And so living and dying in that "only comfort in life and in death," he went to be with the Lord.

 Olevianus's power was in his preaching. Nevertheless, one more accomplishment, and that in the field of theology, must be mentioned. He wrote a book, undoubtedly the best of all his writings, entitled "The Covenant of Grace." What is so striking about this book is that, although Olevianus often spoke of the covenant as a pact or an agreement (an idea in keeping with his times), he also, amazingly, spoke of the covenant as a bond of friendship and fellowship, an idea which was not to be fully developed in all its beauty until the theology of Herman Hoeksema. Such is a measure of the stature of this eminent man of God through whose hands God gave us our Heidelberg Catechism. No wonder that in that very Catechism should appear the profound truth: "Are infants also to be baptized? Yes: for since they, as well as the adult, are included in the covenant and church of God; and since redemption from sin by the blood of Christ, and the Holy Ghost, the author of faith, is promised to them no less than to the adult; they must therefore by baptism, as a sign of the covenant, be also admitted into the Christian church . . . " (Q & A 74).

Taken from: Portraits of Faithful Saints, Chapter 29, by Herman Hanko