Sunday 3 May 2009

Calvin and Servetus

Calvin’s life and ministry were characterised by many and varied controversies. Perhaps the most damaging to his memory and legacy, in the eyes of some, is the Servetus affair. Miguel Servetus, of similar age to Calvin, and a man of great, though erratic, genius, came from Spain to Geneva. At this time, Calvin was holding his power in Geneva with difficulty, and in the February elections of 1553, the polls went in favour of his opponents. Servetus’ arrival in Geneva was providential because it was early in 1553 that he published his book, Restitution of the Christian Religion. In it, he argued that the Nicene Creed with its doctrine of the Trinity, the Christology of the Chalcedon creed, predestination, total depravity, hereditary guilt, and the doctrine of infant, or covenant, baptism which was of no efficacy unless preceded by repentance and the illumination of the Spirit; these doctrines, according to Servetus, were the chief sources of the corruption of the church. Indeed, as early as 1545, he had begun an exasperating correspondence with Calvin, whose Institutes he contemptuously criticised.

Living and working as a medical man and under an assumed name, Servetus’ saw his calling in life to disturb, not only the Roman Catholic leaders, but the entire Reformed world as well. When he got in touch with the various Reformation leaders, and eventually with Calvin, Servetus sought to convince them of the errors of their ways and to persuade them to accept his views. Servetus demanded that Calvin be exiled and that his goods given to him. The people of Geneva were not prepared to openly support such a notorious heretic, and supported Calvin’s action against him. His true identity was finally exposed and, because of his heretical views, he, along with his books, were condemned. The heresy trial, which lasted for two months, and conducted by a large competent jury, ended with Servetus being found guilty and condemned to death by a slow fire on 27th October 1553. At the stake, the condemned man displayed “frantic terror” and yielded up his soul with the suffocating cry, “Jesus Christ, Thou Son of the Eternal God, have mercy upon me.” Even in death, Servetus would not recognise Christ as the Eternal Son of God.

While some voices were raised at this, many supported Calvin’s decision to have Servetus executed, agreeing that it was “justly done.” Many regard this trial as odious and the outcome tragic; but for Calvin, it was a great victory, because it freed the Swiss churches from any imputation of unorthodoxy regarding the Trinity. Calvin’s detractors “ruined themselves by making difficult the punishment of one whom the general sentiment of that age condemned.”

In such a tenuous position, it took great courage in Calvin to see this matter through to its conclusion. Humanly, his position was somewhat precarious, but from heaven’s perspective, he could do no other than remove the theological poison from the churches of that day. Obviously he believed that what he was doing was agreeable with, and conformable to, the Word of God, and thus for the ultimate good of the church. His own comfort and success were not uppermost in his mind, but the overall good of the church and of the Gospel in the church. Servetus he saw as “an enemy of the truth,” who was to be removed from the church, and even from the world. They must not be tolerated in the church who find the everlasting Gospel intolerable.

How sparse courageous ministers are in the church today! How few men there are who take the Gospel seriously, when it is challenged by theological liberalism and ecumenism, and other ‘isms’! Where are the men of ‘true grit’ in the modern church? Where are the “Calvins” who not only profess they believe in the Gospel, but demonstrate in practical terms that they do? They are not hard to count! Even those regarded as men of theological principle can and do fall to pragmatism and the lure of ecclesiastical politics and position, counting the Gospel as a matter of personal preference rather than biblical principle.

But not so Calvin. He knew his Book, he knew his God, and he remained true, regardless of personal consequences.

It is quite interesting and disturbing that the modern liberal evangelical churches sing "worship songs" that teach the very doctrine for which Servetus was burned at the stake. He was put to death for denying that Christ was the Eternal Son of the Eternal God. Unthinking and untaught liberal evangelicals do exactly that today. The words of one popular song go, "I believe in Jesus; I believe He is the Son of God." Servetus believed Christ was the son of God, but not the Eternal Son of God. Christians are sons (children) of God, and no different from Jesus, according to Servetus and the liberal evangelical religion of today. Yet there are not the reformed men of courage and conviction who are prepared to oppose such heresy being taught as evangelical truth, why? Because these are the very men who include such heretical teaching in the services of worship for which they are responsible.

I ask again, "Where are the Calvins" in today's decadent churches? Answers please in the comment box.

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