Calvin and the Libertines

When John Calvin arrived in Geneva in 1553, he was met by the godless Libertines. This group appealed to the freedom of the Spirit as an excuse to indulge the desires of the flesh. They argued against the Evangelists, jeered at the Apostles calling each of them nicknames, and denied the resurrection. Some have said of the Libertines, that the "communion of saints" meant the common possessions of all goods, including other men's wives. They were sexually immoral and proud of their liberty, and all the while insisting on their right to attend the Lord's Table.

But the Reformer opposed them. ‘A dog barks if it sees someone attacking its master,’ says Calvin. ‘I would be cowardly if I remained silent and did not make a single sound when I see the truth of God being attacked.’

Calvin was concerned about the well-being of the church and community. Experience taught him that “the upshot of serious doctrinal deviation was moral mischief.” No tolerance whatever should be shown to heretics. Calvin entered this conflict, determining that “nothing short of their suppression and extinction” be settled for. His love for the Church and for the Gospel demanded manly courage in this situation. Indeed, true pastors will be known by such a zeal for the truth burning them up. Calvin knew nothing of a “nice quiet country living” for the minister! Ministry for him meant daily battles with “the enemies of the truth.”

To Calvin, the shepherds of the church must not only provide good food for Christ’s flock, but must also keep watch against wolves and thieves. Calvin saw it as his God-given responsibility to argue against this dangerous sect, in his view, the most pernicious in the world. In addition, believers had asked him to speak out against this sect in view of the havoc they were creating, but Calvin held back to see if this evil would go away, not the wisest decision the Reformer ever made. It didn’t, and he had to speak out.

This sect was led by Quintin Thieffry, and Calvin simply had to expose their use of Scripture, in which they interpreted it allegorically, and even expected Calvin and Co. to go beyond it in search of new revelations. Such a suggestion angered Calvin, who viewed it as heretical to go beyond the clear teaching of Scripture. If these ‘theologians’ were prepared to tamper with the Scriptural data, they would have Calvin to answer to. Making Scripture say what the writers never intended it to say was anathema to the Reformer, a lesson we all need to keep in mind.

These Libertines were dogma-driven, but Calvin was data-driven; they had made up their minds about what the Scripture taught, and then looked for texts to back up those beliefs. Calvin sought what God was saying in His Word, and drew his doctrine from that. The two methodologies could not have been more different. And the doctrines they arrived at were also very different. The truth of God was being attacked by these men, and Calvin could not remain silent. And neither can we!

The Libertines were quite a troublesome lot, and became very concerned about there being too many ministers (Geneva only had four, but for them, this was four too many), too many sermons, and Calvin was writing too many books. These men wanted to abolish the sermon from church services because in these sermons, their promiscuous life-styles were being lashed by this faithful preacher, and this condemnation found its way into the press and from platforms. They preferred a harmless kind of worship – we might say, a user-friendly form of worship where anything goes, where large numbers of contemporary worship-tasters are attracted, where there is a high level of worldly entertainment, where the Word read and preached is kept to a respectable minimum, and where the young are catered for fully – this is the kind of worship services the Libertines desired, the kind of thing we see in all liberal evangelical churches around our country. Tozer puts it well when he talks about "that part of the church that cannot be satisfied without a vists from the latest gospel peddler, who promises cowbells, a musical hand-saw, and a lot of other novelties." These Genevan ‘liberals’ were prepared to tolerate, as a minimum, the “Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments,” as the content of teaching. More than that was too much, too dangerous, and not needed.

Those who denigrate and who wish to minimum the reading of the Word and biblical preaching, are not keeping very good company!

Here is what one historian writes on the occasion of these Libertines wishing to come to the Lord’s Supper:

"The eventful morning dawned. The bell invited the people to the church of St. Peter. The Libertines were present, with their swords (drawn), determined to communicate (saying, ‘Administer communion to us or you will die.’ ). Calvin preached on the intention of the sacred ordinance, and spoke of the state of mind necessary for obedience to the Lord’s command. At the close, he said: “As for me, so long as God shall leave me here, since He hath given me fortitude, and I have received it from Him, I will employ it, whatever betide; and I will guide myself by my Master’s rule, which to me is clear and well known. As we are now about to receive the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ, if anyone who has been debarred by the Consistory shall approach this table, though it should cost my life, I will show myself such as I ought to be.” - He then left the pulpit, and stood at the table. Removing the white cloth, and covering the bread and wine with his hands, he said, with a voice that rang through the building, “These hands you may crush; these arms you may lop off; my life you may take; my blood is yours, you may shed it but you shall never force me to give holy things to the profane, and dishonor the table of my God.”

As if the very power of God prevailed, a calm succeeded, and the Libertines retired.... A solemn silence enabled the Reformer to celebrate the sacred ordinance in awe, as if the Lord Himself had been manifestly present. The question in the mind of Calvin was not whether he or the Libertines should succeed; but whether the Reformation should be wrecked at the very table of the Lord. He stood firm; and victory remained with him."
Calvin's courage against the Libertines was tested because it wasn't easy to face down the threat of swords. But it was obvious to Calvin that the thought of the Libertines participating in the Supper of the Lord was a thought worse than death. Calvin’s determination to fence the Lord’s Table displayed tremendous courage, a trait that is seldom found within modern evangelicalism, and a lesson we still have to learn.