¤[Music]¤
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I'm John Bradshaw and
this is It Is Written.
00:01:50.47\00:01:53.24
Thanks for joining me.
Here in Geneva, Switzerland,
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there's a remarkable
monument. Now, it's remarkable
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in a number of
ways. To begin with,
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it's impressive to look
at. The International Monument
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to the Reformation,
that's its official name,
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is a hundred
meters long, 325 feet.
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That's longer
than a football field.
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But what's most
impressive is what it
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represents. The name pretty well
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gives that away.
It's commonly known
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as the Reformation Wall,
and was built a hundred or so
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years ago on the campus
of the University of Geneva,
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to commemorate the Reformation.
And in particular, the important
00:02:30.45\00:02:35.62
role played in the Reformation
by the city of Geneva.
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¤ [hopeful melody] ¤
Geneva is sometimes referred to
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as the Protestant Rome, or
the Rome of the Reformation.
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In a certain sense,
what Rome is to Catholicism,
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Geneva was to
Protestantism. It was here that
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John Calvin hugely
influenced the Reformation.
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Calvin is depicted on
this wall, about 15 feet tall
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when carved in stone. And
with him on the main part of
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the wall are John
Knox, the Scottish reformer
00:03:05.85\00:03:09.28
and the founder of
the Presbyterian church,
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Theodore Beza, certainly
less well known today than
00:03:12.62\00:03:16.06
Calvin, but incredibly important
to the Reformation and also a
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Frenchman like Calvin,
and another French Reformation
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figure, further to the
left. The four men were all
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Calvinists. That
explains why Martin Luther
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and Huldrych Zwingli, massively
influential Reformation figures,
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are featured much less
prominently off to the side.
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They had
disagreements with Calvin.
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Now, there's plenty you
could find to argue with
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John Calvin about. For example,
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does God really choose
some people to be saved
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and some people to be
lost, and there's nothing you
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can do at all
about God's decision?
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So much for freedom of
choice. But rather than arguing
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with Calvin, it's probably
better to understand him in
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context, and to recognize
the historic contribution
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John Calvin made to
the advance of Bible faith.
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When Calvin was born in
1509, the Roman Catholic Church
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was enormously powerful,
spiritually and politically.
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Lord Acton was referring
to the papacy many years later
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when he stated,
"Power tends to corrupt,
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and absolute power
corrupts absolutely."
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By the time Calvin
came to Switzerland in the
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1530s, about twenty years after
Martin Luther nailed his 95
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theses to the door of the Castle
church in Wittenberg, Germany,
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the Catholic church
was doing all it could
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to hold onto its
power. ¤ [ominous tone] ¤
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The church was trafficking
in relics and indulgences.
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People didn't have the
Bible, so they couldn't know
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what the Bible actually said.
Local priests were incredibly
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powerful, essentially the
gatekeepers to heaven, because
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it was taught by the church
that salvation came to people
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via the church.
The darkness back then
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was so dark,
Catholicism so influenced
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the world, that the motto
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above the Reformation
Wall says, "Post Tenebras Lux,"
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"After darkness,
light." Now, it might not be
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quite so easy to see
today, but that's because
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society has done a pretty bad
job of remembering the darkness
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of the Dark Ages.
The darkness that became
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virtually palpable,
because the ruling church
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shut away the Bible,
kept it from the people,
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and persecuted anybody
who dared bring it to light.
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But when the Bible
was brought to light
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by people such as John
Calvin, the light began
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to shine
brightly. So back to the man
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on the left. If it
wasn't for this man,
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John Calvin probably would
not have become John Calvin,
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and the Reformation would
never have really taken hold
00:06:04.59\00:06:07.50
in Geneva. Geneva
would never have emerged
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from the dark. It
would have been tenebras,
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darkness, period. So
who is the man on the left
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responsible for the lux,
the light, shining brightly?
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The fact is,
Calvinism owes its very
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existence to
the man on the left.
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He's the one who
recruited John Calvin
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to remain in
Geneva and minister here,
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to make the city a
fortress for the Bible,
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a place where
Bible faith flourished.
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Geneva would never have
become the city it became.
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Protestantism would never have
reached the heights it reached
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without the man on the
left. [punctuating refrain]
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His name is William
Farel, or Guillaume Farel,
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if I were to attempt to
honor his mother tongue.
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Farel was French,
born in a town called Gap,
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nestled in the Alps in the south
of France. But as idyllic as it
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might look today, all was
not well on the French landscape
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when Farel lived there, that
is, today in most places in the
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Western world, a person is free
to own a Bible and follow that
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Bible according to
the dictates of his
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or her
conscience. And that's how
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most people like it.
But 500 years ago, people
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didn't have religious
freedom. You believed what you
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were allowed to
believe, by a church that was
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in desperate need of
reform. ¤ [music continues] ¤
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Farel was influenced by
a mentor, a Roman Catholic
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priest named Jacques Lefevre.
Lefevre believed that the Roman
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Catholic Church
should be reformed.
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He had no intention of
ever leaving the church and,
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in fact, he never did. But
he was banished from France
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for disagreeing with the
church. Now, let that sink in.
00:08:02.71\00:08:07.58
Run out of his home
country because he disagreed
00:08:07.58\00:08:10.95
with the church. He taught that
00:08:10.95\00:08:13.19
it is God who gives us,
by faith, that righteousness
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which by grace alone
justifies unto eternal life.
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And that got him kicked
out of his home country.
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[thoughful melody]
Let's think about that again.
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In an age where the
church offered salvation,
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where salvation could be
obtained through penance and
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indulgences and receiving
the sacraments, the idea that a
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person could be saved by the
grace of God through faith in
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Christ was
monumental. To put it simply,
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the idea meant that a
person didn't need the church
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for salvation, but
could receive salvation
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directly from God,
without the church.
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That's not what
Catholicism taught.
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People like Lefevre,
then, who talked of reforming
00:09:00.20\00:09:03.00
the church, were a real
problem, and he was kicked out
00:09:03.00\00:09:07.38
of France. But before this,
00:09:07.38\00:09:11.01
Farel and Lefevre would
visit churches together,
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adoring the saints
and worshiping at shrines.
00:09:13.48\00:09:16.58
But Farel found that in
spite of all of that, he wasn't
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experiencing peace in his
heart. He heard Lefevre say,
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"Salvation is of grace.
The innocent one is condemned,
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while the
criminal is acquitted."
00:09:30.37\00:09:32.20
He was talking about Jesus
taking the place of the sinner,
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and the sinner going
free. These words impacted Farel
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so much, they led
to his conversion,
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which he described like
this. He said, instead of having
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a heart like a
murderous and ravening wolf,
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his heart became like
a meek and harmless lamb,
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its affections totally
withdrawn from the Pope
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and fastened on Jesus Christ.
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[music] Now, it's hard to know
00:10:02.50\00:10:03.83
just what he meant
by meek and harmless.
00:10:03.83\00:10:07.24
Because if you look
at Farel as he's depicted
00:10:07.24\00:10:09.47
on the Reformation Wall,
you notice his likeness is a
00:10:09.47\00:10:13.44
little different to the others.
Calvin is holding a Bible.
00:10:13.44\00:10:18.48
Beza is holding a
book in his right hand.
00:10:18.48\00:10:20.95
Knox, he's holding a
Bible. Farel is holding a Bible
00:10:20.95\00:10:25.65
in his left
hand. What's he holding
00:10:25.65\00:10:29.12
in his right hand?
Nothing, because his right hand
00:10:29.12\00:10:33.60
is formed into a fist.
00:10:33.60\00:10:36.36
¤ [serious underscore]
¤ Now, why would that be?
00:10:38.47\00:10:40.30
Why would Farel be
shown with his hand formed
00:10:40.30\00:10:43.77
into a fist? I'll tell you
00:10:43.77\00:10:46.57
in just a
moment. [pastoral melody]
00:10:46.57\00:10:49.74
Announcer: You are watching
the weekly It Is Written program
00:10:49.74\00:10:52.35
with Pastor John
Bradshaw. But did you know that
00:10:52.35\00:10:54.82
there's a daily program, too?
"Every Word" is a one-minute
00:10:54.82\00:10:58.65
Bible-based daily devotional
presented by Pastor John
00:10:58.65\00:11:01.69
Bradshaw and designed especially
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00:11:01.69\00:11:05.13
Look for "Every
Word" on selected networks,
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or watch it online
every day on our website,
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Watch "Every Word."
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00:11:16.50\00:11:24.81
¤ [Every Word Theme] ¤
JB: I've read any number
00:11:24.81\00:11:28.08
of inspirational stories about
people who suffered for their
00:11:28.08\00:11:31.15
faith in God, often in communist
countries, where at the time
00:11:31.15\00:11:34.19
Christianity was outlawed.
But one thing I've noticed
00:11:34.19\00:11:36.99
about each of those people
is that they were persecuted
00:11:36.99\00:11:39.59
not for doing
wrong, but for doing right.
00:11:39.59\00:11:42.56
It's hard to endure being
misrepresented when you're
00:11:42.56\00:11:44.63
doing what's right,
when you're serving God.
00:11:44.63\00:11:46.94
But listen to I
Peter 2, verse 20. It says,
00:11:46.94\00:11:49.50
"When you do good and suffer,
if you take it patiently,
00:11:49.50\00:11:52.51
this is commendable before God."
It goes against the grain of it,
00:11:52.51\00:11:56.08
doesn't it? But
Christianity reveals
00:11:56.08\00:11:58.21
what we really are on the inside
when things don't go our way.
00:11:58.21\00:12:03.02
And to have that sort of faith
in God that allows you to be
00:12:03.02\00:12:05.19
constant and faithful, even when
you're not being fairly treated,
00:12:05.19\00:12:09.42
you know, that's something.
And that's how Jesus lived.
00:12:09.42\00:12:13.33
¤ [Every Word
Theme] ¤ I'm John Bradshaw
00:12:13.33\00:12:14.66
for It Is Written. Let's
live today by Every Word.
00:12:14.66\00:12:19.40
¤ [orchestral jaunty melody]
¤ JB: This is It Is Written.
00:12:20.10\00:12:29.71
I'm John Bradshaw.
Thanks for joining me today.
00:12:29.71\00:12:32.55
I'm in Geneva, Switzerland.
It's not the capitol
00:12:32.55\00:12:39.12
of Switzerland.
That's Bern, about a hundred
00:12:39.12\00:12:40.86
miles away, or
here, 158 kilometers.
00:12:40.86\00:12:42.52
It's not the
largest city in Switzerland,
00:12:42.52\00:12:44.63
that's Zurich, 175 miles or 280
00:12:44.63\00:12:48.86
kilometers northeast of
here, getting over toward
00:12:48.86\00:12:52.70
Lichtenstein.
Geneva's really a global city.
00:12:52.70\00:12:55.30
It's the home of an
enormous amount of international
00:12:55.30\00:12:58.84
organizations.
The United Nations
00:12:58.84\00:13:01.84
Palace of Nations is
here, and the World Trade
00:13:01.84\00:13:05.48
Organization. So too is the
00:13:05.48\00:13:06.85
World Health
Organization, as well as
00:13:06.85\00:13:08.88
the International Red Cross.
In fact, the Red Cross flag was
00:13:08.88\00:13:13.36
derived from the Swiss flag;
the colors were simply inverted.
00:13:13.36\00:13:18.69
Incidentally, the World Wide
Web was born here in Geneva.
00:13:18.69\00:13:21.66
British computer scientists Tim
Berners-Lee was working here at
00:13:21.66\00:13:26.20
CERN in the late 1980s,
and, well, the rest is history.
00:13:26.20\00:13:33.17
But what happened
in this city almost
00:13:33.17\00:13:35.28
500 years ago is, in
all reality, probably the
00:13:35.28\00:13:39.71
most important thing
that ever took place here.
00:13:39.71\00:13:44.29
On the Reformation
Wall in the Park de Bastogne
00:13:44.29\00:13:47.49
in Geneva, Farel is
the man on the left,
00:13:47.49\00:13:51.79
or on Calvin's right.
The only one of the four
00:13:51.79\00:13:55.10
main figures who doesn't have a
book in his right hand. Instead,
00:13:55.10\00:13:59.07
his right hand is
clenched into a fist.
00:13:59.07\00:14:02.10
The French sculptors who
formed the figures were telling
00:14:02.10\00:14:05.84
us something about
their fellow countryman.
00:14:05.84\00:14:07.91
¤ [punctuating underscore]
¤ Farel was the oldest
00:14:07.91\00:14:11.51
of seven children.
His family once belonged
00:14:11.51\00:14:14.18
to the nobility, but
then they fell on hard times.
00:14:14.18\00:14:17.09
He was raised a Roman Catholic,
once describing himself as
00:14:17.09\00:14:20.96
"more Popish than Popery."
He was dedicated to his church.
00:14:20.96\00:14:26.66
So what happened, then,
that Farel not only left his
00:14:26.66\00:14:29.86
church but dedicated his life
to working against the church's
00:14:29.86\00:14:34.20
influence and authority?
Well, to understand that,
00:14:34.20\00:14:37.64
let's go back
again to Farel's time.
00:14:37.64\00:14:39.27
The church was
the way of salvation,
00:14:39.27\00:14:42.88
yet idolatry and simony
and tradition were everywhere.
00:14:42.88\00:14:48.68
Many of the priests enriched
themselves at the expense
00:14:48.68\00:14:51.59
of the people, and dissenters
were often ruthlessly killed
00:14:51.59\00:14:55.79
and persecuted.
The priests held a huge
00:14:55.79\00:14:59.16
amount of power
over the common people.
00:14:59.16\00:15:01.90
In the church they were
God's intermediaries on earth.
00:15:01.90\00:15:05.10
Yet they conducted mass
in a language few people
00:15:05.10\00:15:08.57
could understand.
[inspirational melody]
00:15:08.57\00:15:12.11
You didn't have to
be as bright as Farel
00:15:12.11\00:15:14.21
to realize that the
system was badly broken.
00:15:14.21\00:15:17.55
When he heard the
teachings of Martin Luther,
00:15:17.55\00:15:19.61
Farel was convinced.
He'd accepted the Gospel;
00:15:19.61\00:15:24.35
the Bible was now the
foundation for his life.
00:15:24.35\00:15:27.52
He believed that salvation
was by grace through faith and
00:15:27.52\00:15:31.16
didn't come through the church.
He believed that a sinner
00:15:31.16\00:15:34.36
could approach God
directly for forgiveness,
00:15:34.36\00:15:36.87
and didn't have to go
through a priest. He didn't
00:15:36.87\00:15:39.77
see images and idols as being
in harmony with the will or the
00:15:39.77\00:15:43.84
Word of God.
The more he believed
00:15:43.84\00:15:46.34
the Bible, the
more he hated errors
00:15:46.34\00:15:49.38
that were based on tradition.
Farel saw what the church
00:15:49.38\00:15:53.05
was teaching about relics,
the idea that a little part
00:15:53.05\00:15:56.45
of a dead so-called
saint's body should be kept
00:15:56.45\00:16:00.69
and venerated.
He didn't like that,
00:16:00.69\00:16:03.09
nor should he
have. And he didn't agree
00:16:03.09\00:16:05.43
with the teaching that
the dead saints possessed
00:16:05.43\00:16:08.36
the power to work wonders
in people's lives long after
00:16:08.36\00:16:11.97
they were dead.
Farel saw the Word of God
00:16:11.97\00:16:15.17
and the law of God being
relegated while tradition
00:16:15.17\00:16:18.97
was being elevated.
Farel saw it all for
00:16:18.97\00:16:24.01
what it was. Superstition.
He wanted people to know
00:16:24.01\00:16:27.92
what he knew-- the
church was hindering
00:16:27.92\00:16:30.69
and not helping.
And the Bible was a much
00:16:30.69\00:16:33.59
better way than tradition.
That fist on the statue
00:16:33.59\00:16:37.73
represents Farel's
unwillingness to yield.
00:16:37.73\00:16:40.80
This was a man who
wouldn't back down.
00:16:40.80\00:16:43.97
And that unwillingness
to yield was what brought
00:16:43.97\00:16:47.07
John Calvin to Geneva.
¤ [Triumphant melody] ¤
00:16:47.07\00:17:13.43
¤ Sound the battle cry!
¤ ¤ See, the foe is nigh; ¤
00:17:13.43\00:17:17.50
¤ Raise the standard
high ¤ ¤ for the Lord; ¤
00:17:17.50\00:17:21.70
¤ Gird your armor on, ¤
¤ stand firm every one; ¤
00:17:21.70\00:17:25.67
¤ Rest your cause
upon ¤ ¤ His holy Word. ¤
00:17:25.67\00:17:30.01
¤ Rouse, then, soldiers, ¤
¤ rally round the banner, ¤
00:17:30.01\00:17:34.28
¤ Ready, steady, ¤ ¤
pass the word along; ¤
00:17:34.28\00:17:38.42
¤ Onward, forward, ¤ ¤
shout aloud, "Hosanna!" ¤
00:17:38.42\00:17:42.76
¤ Christ is Captain of
the ¤ ¤ mighty throng. ¤
00:17:42.76\00:17:49.50
¤ ¤ [patriotic interlude] ¤
¤ ¤ Strong to meet the foe, ¤
00:17:49.50\00:18:02.14
¤ marching on we go,
¤ ¤ While our cause ¤
00:18:02.14\00:18:05.51
¤ we know must prevail; ¤
¤ Shield and banner bright, ¤
00:18:05.51\00:18:10.15
¤ gleaming in the light,
¤ ¤ Battling for the right ¤
00:18:10.15\00:18:14.16
¤ we ne'er can fail. ¤
¤ Rouse, then, soldiers, ¤
00:18:14.16\00:18:18.53
¤ rally round the
banner, ¤ ¤ Ready, steady, ¤
00:18:18.53\00:18:22.80
¤ pass the word
along; ¤ ¤ Onward, forward, ¤
00:18:22.80\00:18:27.14
¤ shout aloud, "Hosanna!"
¤ ¤ Christ is Captain ¤
00:18:27.14\00:18:31.04
¤ of the mighty throng. ¤
00:18:31.04\00:18:37.05
¤ O Thou God of all, ¤
¤ hear us when we call, ¤
00:18:38.65\00:18:43.08
¤ Help us one and
all ¤ ¤ by Thy grace; ¤
00:18:43.08\00:18:47.39
¤ When the battle's done,
¤ ¤ and the vict'ry's won, ¤
00:18:47.39\00:18:51.56
¤ May we wear the
crown ¤ ¤ before Thy face. ¤
00:18:51.56\00:18:56.36
¤ Rouse, then, soldiers, ¤
¤ rally round the banner, ¤
00:18:56.36\00:19:01.04
¤ Ready, steady, ¤ ¤
pass the word along; ¤
00:19:01.04\00:19:05.74
¤ Onward, forward, ¤ ¤
shout aloud, "Hosanna!" ¤
00:19:05.74\00:19:10.55
¤ Christ is Captain ¤
¤ of the mighty throng. ¤
00:19:10.55\00:19:15.88
¤ Christ is Captain ¤
¤ of the mighty throng. ¤
00:19:15.88\00:19:26.26
[thoughful melody]
00:19:30.83\00:19:40.31
¤ [Driving Theme]
¤ "Babylon Rising"
00:19:41.01\00:19:43.41
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¤ [string ensemble] ¤
Why is it that William Farel,
00:21:07.96\00:21:17.27
the man on the left
on the Reformation Wall
00:21:17.27\00:21:20.04
at Geneva, is
depicted with a clenched fist?
00:21:20.04\00:21:24.21
Well, listen to this.
This is what Farel said
00:21:24.21\00:21:27.52
back in 1535 when he seized this
church. Here's what he said:
00:21:27.52\00:21:33.76
"I have been baptized
in the name of the Father,
00:21:33.76\00:21:37.76
the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
I go about preaching Christ,
00:21:37.76\00:21:42.40
why he died for our
sins and rose again for our
00:21:42.40\00:21:45.97
justification.
Whoever believes in him
00:21:45.97\00:21:50.07
will be saved.
Unbelievers will be lost.
00:21:50.07\00:21:54.91
I am bound to preach
to all who will hear.
00:21:54.91\00:21:58.85
I am ready to dispute with you."
00:21:58.85\00:22:03.69
Farel incited a wave of
destroying religious images,
00:22:03.69\00:22:07.26
idols and statues in
Geneva. Images were removed from
00:22:07.26\00:22:11.39
churches, and the
mass itself was abolished.
00:22:11.39\00:22:14.20
In another city, he
snatched an image of St.
00:22:14.20\00:22:17.70
Anthony out of the hand of a
priest and threw it off a bridge
00:22:17.70\00:22:22.27
into a river. He
was fortunate to escape
00:22:22.27\00:22:25.11
with his life.
When Farel was forced
00:22:25.11\00:22:28.44
to flee his home
country of France,
00:22:28.44\00:22:31.28
he intended initially to
travel to Wittenberg, Germany,
00:22:31.28\00:22:34.05
the home of Martin
Luther. But he didn't quite make
00:22:34.05\00:22:37.45
it that far. He
got to Strasberg,
00:22:37.45\00:22:39.89
and then he went to
Basal. But when he was in Basal
00:22:39.89\00:22:43.36
he criticized the Roman
Catholic Church with so much
00:22:43.36\00:22:46.19
gusto that the people there,
including Erasmus, demanded that
00:22:46.19\00:22:50.60
he be kicked out of town.
Farel and Calvin were even
00:22:50.60\00:22:54.20
booted out of Geneva,
although Calvin did come
00:22:54.20\00:22:56.91
back a few years later.
00:22:56.91\00:22:58.87
[melancholic melody]
His preaching has been
00:23:00.44\00:23:01.88
described as full of fire and
fury, which is interesting for
00:23:01.88\00:23:06.15
man who, when he came to Geneva,
first started teaching the Bible
00:23:06.15\00:23:10.49
to children, knowing that
through the children he could
00:23:10.49\00:23:14.19
reach their
parents. Theodore Beza,
00:23:14.19\00:23:17.69
the man to the right hand
of Calvin as we look at the
00:23:17.69\00:23:20.13
Reformation Wall, and Calvin's
successor in Geneva, said that
00:23:20.13\00:23:24.53
Farel's words were like
thunder. Farel called the pope
00:23:24.53\00:23:29.40
the anti-Christ. He
called the mass idolatry.
00:23:29.40\00:23:33.74
Of course, he surely wasn't
alone in making those claims.
00:23:33.74\00:23:37.15
He got the attention of
the people, that's for sure.
00:23:37.15\00:23:40.48
And if Farel seems a
little harsh in his words,
00:23:40.48\00:23:43.85
remember this: at that time,
00:23:43.85\00:23:46.72
the church was putting
people to death for disagreeing
00:23:46.72\00:23:50.19
with its doctrines, for
showing any disloyalty to
00:23:50.19\00:23:53.40
the church at all.
People were being burned
00:23:53.40\00:23:56.03
to death by the
church. No one Farel got
00:23:56.03\00:23:59.70
a little strident. In
fact, it was when he stumbled
00:23:59.70\00:24:03.57
across the burning of a martyr
that Farel was deeply affected.
00:24:03.57\00:24:08.24
He considered the serenity,
the peace of the poor victim,
00:24:08.24\00:24:12.65
and he realized he
didn't have that same
00:24:12.65\00:24:14.65
peace in his own
heart. So when you consider
00:24:14.65\00:24:18.15
the times, it's
no wonder Farel got
00:24:18.15\00:24:20.92
a little bit bold.
This was life and death.
00:24:20.92\00:24:24.33
Now, Farel realized
his own limitations.
00:24:24.33\00:24:28.73
He wasn't the most
diplomatic, and he realized that
00:24:28.73\00:24:31.57
he wasn't a true
theologian. When he met Calvin,
00:24:31.57\00:24:35.17
he realized that in Calvin
was the Reformation and Geneva's
00:24:35.17\00:24:38.81
great chance.
Calvin came to Geneva
00:24:38.81\00:24:41.64
one night and
Farel sought him out.
00:24:41.64\00:24:44.58
He discovered that Calvin's
intention was to go to Strasberg
00:24:44.58\00:24:48.35
to study, and
Farel wasn't having
00:24:48.35\00:24:50.65
any of it. He came
to where Calvin was
00:24:50.65\00:24:54.06
staying and he
said to him, "May God
00:24:54.06\00:24:57.09
curse your studies, if
now, in her hour of great need,
00:24:57.09\00:25:00.83
you do not lend your aid
to the church." Strong stuff.
00:25:00.83\00:25:06.00
Calvin heard in the voice
of Farel the voice of God.
00:25:06.00\00:25:09.74
He was shaken; not only shaken,
00:25:09.74\00:25:12.74
but moved. And what he intended
00:25:12.74\00:25:14.68
to be one night in
Geneva ended up being 30 years.
00:25:14.68\00:25:19.48
Geneva became an
incredibly influential center
00:25:19.48\00:25:23.12
for the Reformation.
John Knox was one of
00:25:23.12\00:25:25.92
many who came to Geneva, and
he left Switzerland to lead the
00:25:25.92\00:25:29.86
Reformation in
Scotland. Farel was to Calvin
00:25:29.86\00:25:33.86
what Barnabas was
to the Apostle Paul.
00:25:33.86\00:25:37.23
He was the great enabler.
It was he who gave impetus.
00:25:37.23\00:25:41.97
He used his gifts so that
the gifts as another could
00:25:41.97\00:25:45.54
be as effective as possible.
Now, I doubt that Farel
00:25:45.54\00:25:49.48
was a perfect man, nor
Calvin, for that matter.
00:25:49.48\00:25:52.88
Both men had their
issues. And their understanding
00:25:52.88\00:25:55.68
of the Bible lacks just
a little bit when you look
00:25:55.68\00:25:58.59
at it through a lens that's
had 500 more years' experience
00:25:58.59\00:26:02.86
and development. [bells ringing]
00:26:02.86\00:26:04.89
But to point out the
flaws of these men is to
00:26:04.89\00:26:10.47
quibble with the big
picture. Farel was a man of the
00:26:10.47\00:26:14.40
moment, a man used by God in a
time of crisis, a man who risked
00:26:14.40\00:26:20.34
everything so that he could hand
to others a biblical faith based
00:26:20.34\00:26:25.05
on God's Word and not
on tradition, superstition
00:26:25.05\00:26:29.48
and ignorance.
[thoughful melody]
00:26:29.48\00:26:33.56
Farel ended up
living here in Neuchatel,
00:26:33.56\00:26:36.02
80 miles or 130
kilometers from Geneva.
00:26:36.02\00:26:39.69
Of course, the Neuchatel of
today looks nothing like the
00:26:39.69\00:26:41.90
Neuchatel of Farel's day. He
preached in this very church.
00:26:41.90\00:26:47.30
He died in 1865
at the age of 76.
00:26:47.30\00:26:51.34
Exactly where he's
buried isn't known.
00:26:51.34\00:26:55.78
We do know that he died broke,
00:26:55.78\00:26:57.81
and that's because he put God's
cause ahead of personal gain.
00:26:57.81\00:27:02.18
He was beaten frequently;
he survived murder attempts
00:27:02.18\00:27:06.02
because, to him, God's
cause was more important
00:27:06.02\00:27:09.19
than personal
safety. He wasn't afraid of
00:27:09.19\00:27:12.33
swimming upstream.
He believed that faith
00:27:12.33\00:27:14.56
was not a matter of preference,
but was a matter of principle.
00:27:14.56\00:27:19.27
Farel's life was
defined by his faith in God.
00:27:19.27\00:27:22.34
It was who he was. And
God was able to use him
00:27:22.34\00:27:27.34
powerfully, not only
change his own world,
00:27:27.34\00:27:31.81
but to change the whole
world. [thoughful melody]
00:27:31.81\00:27:50.50
Would Geneva be the city
it is today if not for Farel
00:27:50.50\00:27:54.74
and Calvin? No way in the world.
00:27:54.74\00:27:58.51
He might just be
the man on the left,
00:27:58.51\00:28:01.68
but where he stood and how
he stood changed the world.
00:28:01.68\00:28:06.98
¤ [music continues]
¤ We don't know where
00:28:11.92\00:28:13.25
Farel is today; the location of
his grave is a bit of a mystery.
00:28:13.25\00:28:16.12
But maybe that's not
what's most important.
00:28:16.12\00:28:18.83
Perhaps the question
we should be asking is,
00:28:18.83\00:28:22.23
where are the Farels of
today? Let me pray with you now.
00:28:22.23\00:28:26.57
Our Father in
Heaven, we are thankful that
00:28:26.57\00:28:28.80
we've been able to examine
a life lived for your glory,
00:28:28.80\00:28:31.67
a life that impacts us
even now, a life that you used
00:28:31.67\00:28:36.24
to change the world.
And we thank you for Jesus,
00:28:36.24\00:28:39.95
who came into this world
that we all might be saved and
00:28:39.95\00:28:44.65
know you eternally.
Bless us now I pray,
00:28:44.65\00:28:47.79
and take our
hearts, make us yours.
00:28:47.79\00:28:50.66
We look forward to
eternity with you by faith
00:28:50.66\00:28:54.10
in Jesus Christ. And
we pray in Jesus' name.
00:28:54.10\00:28:58.73
Amen.
00:28:58.73\00:29:00.40
[music interlude]
Thanks for joining me today.
00:29:00.97\00:29:18.39
I look forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:29:18.39\00:29:20.99
Until then, remember, it
is written, man shall not
00:29:20.99\00:29:25.89
live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds from
00:29:25.89\00:29:30.87
the mouth of God. [theme music]
00:29:30.87\00:29:46.78