[318] Richard Le Fèvre, a native of Rouen, one of the martyrs of the
Reformed Church of Lyons. Seized in that town in 1551, and condemned
to death, he appealed thence to the Parliament of Paris, and was
delivered _in transitu_ by some unknown friends. Surprised, two
years afterwards, at Grenoble, he was brought back to the dungeons
of Lyons, saw his first sentence confirmed by the Parliament of
Paris, and went cheerfully to the stake the 7th July 1551. He wrote
on the 3d of May to Calvin,--"The present is to let you know, that I
hope to go to keep Whitsuntide in the kingdom of heaven, and to be
present at the marriage of the Son of God, ... if I am not sooner
called away by this good Lord and Master, whose voice i am ready to
obey, when he shall say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the
kingdom which has been prepared for you before the foundation of
the world."--(The original autograph letter, _Library of Geneva_,
Vol. 109.) During his first captivity at Lyons, Richard Le Fèvre had
consulted Calvin on some points of doctrine, and had received pious
exhortations from him regarding them.
Explanations regarding various points of doctrine in dispute
between the Romish and the Reformed Churches.
GENEVA, _19th January 1551_.
MY DEAR BROTHER,--As God has called you to give testimony to his
Gospel, never doubt that he will strengthen you in the might of his
Spirit; and that, as he has already begun, so he must needs perfect
his work, manifesting himself victorious in you against his enemies.
It is true that the triumphs of Jesus Christ are despised by the
world; for while we are under reproach, the wicked are glorifying
themselves in their pride, but yet are they still confounded by
the power of that truth which God has put into our mouth, and our
hearts are also strengthened to obtain the victory over Satan and
all his supporters, while looking for the day when the glory of
God shall be fully revealed, to the confusion of the wicked and of
the unbelieving. All that you have felt and experienced, up to the
present moment, of the abounding goodness of God, ought to confirm
you in the assured hope, that he shall not fail you in the future;
meanwhile, however, pray him that he would make you understand
always better and better what a treasure there is in that doctrine
for which you contend, so that in comparison thereof you may not
esteem even your life to be precious. Have always, besides, your
eyes lifted up on high to that kind Lord Jesus, who will be your
surety, seeing that you are only persecuted for his name. Think
upon that immortal glory which he has purchased for us, to the end
that you may be able to endure in patience the afflictions wherein
you are. Beseech this kind Lord continually that he would give you
such an issue as he has promised to all who are his own, and that
according as he has thought fit to try your faith, so he would cause
you to experience the strength of his promises. And that as he is
the Father of Light, he would enlighten you to such a degree, that
all the thick fumes which the wicked raise up before you, may not be
able to dim your eyesight, and that all their quirks and cautions
may not be able to darken your understanding, that you should ever
lose sight of the true Sun of Righteousness, who is the very Son of
God.
When you have to reply to arguments, you do well to answer in all
simplicity, speaking according to the measure of your faith, even as
it is written: _I have believed, therefore I shall speak_. True it
is that all those subtilties which they conceit themselves to have,
are nought else but silly prating; but rest you content with what
God has imparted to you of the knowledge of himself, so as to bear
clear testimony unfeignedly to the truth. For however they may sneer
at it, it will be as a thunderbolt of confusion to them, when they
hear nothing but what is founded upon God and his word. Besides,
you know who it is that has promised to give a mouth and wisdom
to his own, which his adversaries shall not be able to withstand.
Ask of him that he may guide you, according to what he shall know
to be good. They will not cease for all that to hold you convicted
of heresy; but it has been ever thus with all the apostles and
prophets, and with all the martyrs. The clerk of court will only
write what suits his own pleasure, but your confession will not
fail to be recorded before God and his angels, and he will make it
profitable to his own as is best for them.
I shall mention briefly some points upon which they have endeavoured
to trouble you. In order to persuade you that we are not justified
by the grace of God alone, they have alleged that Zacharias and
several others are called _just_. Well, you must consider how God
has accepted them as such. If on inquiry you find that it is on
account of his own free grace in pardoning all that might have been
charged against them, and not imputing to them their faults and
vices, behold merit entirely excluded; for in saying that faith
alone in Christ justifies us, we understand, in the first place,
that we are all of us accursed, and that there is nothing in us but
sin; and that we are neither able to think, nor to do any good,
except in so far as God governs us by his Holy Spirit, as members
of the body of his Son. Furthermore, that even when God vouchsafes
us the grace to walk in his fear, we are very far from discharging
ourselves of our duty. Now, it is written: Whosoever shall not
fulfil all whatsoever is commanded, shall be cursed; and therefore
we have no other refuge but to the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who cleanses and washes us in the sacrifice of his death, which is
our sanctification. Thus God also accepts as well-pleasing the good
works which we perform in his strength, although they must always
be tainted with some shortcomings. And so in this way, whosoever
thinks to rest upon his own merits, will find himself, as it were,
suspended in the air, to be driven about of every wind. In short,
those who think to merit anything, would fain make God their debtor,
whereas we must hold everything of his pure bounty. We shall be rich
and abounding in merits, if in Jesus Christ: while we are strangers
to his grace, we need not think to have one drop of good in us.
If the enemies bring forward the word _wages_, let it not trouble
you, for God gives wages to his own, although they are in nowise
worthy of them; but inasmuch as he accepts the service which HE
has enabled them to render, having consecrated them in the blood
of his Son Jesus Christ, on purpose that they may derive all their
value from thence. Wherefore, the wages which God promises to his
faithful ones, presupposes the remission of their sins, and the
privilege they have of being supported as his children. And in truth
this word, _justification_, implies that God holds us as just, and
therefore loves us, the which we obtain by faith alone: for Jesus
Christ is the sole cause of our salvation. It is true that St. James
takes another signification, when he says, _that works help faith
for our justification_; for he means to prove by the effect that
we are justified: neither does he dispute at all in regard to the
foundation of our salvation, and wherein our confidence must be
placed; but only how the true faith is known, so that no one may
make mistakes in regard to it, glorifying himself in the empty name.
Should they return to you with further importunity on this point, I
hope God will furnish you wherewithal to overcome them.
Concerning the intercession of the Virgin Mary and departed saints,
come back always to this principle, that it is not for us to appoint
advocates in paradise, but for God, who has ordained Jesus Christ a
single one for all. Also, that our prayers ought to be offered up
in faith, and therefore ordered by the word of God, as saith St.
Paul in Romans x. Now, it is certain, that throughout the word of
God there is not a single syllable of what they say; wherefore all
their prayers are profane and displeasing to him. If they further
reply to you, that it is not forbidden to us, the answer is easy:
that it is forbidden to us to set about anything according to our
own proper fancy, yea, in matters of far less moment; but above all,
that prayer is a most high privilege, and too sacred to be directed
according to our fantasy. Nay more, they cannot deny that their
having recourse to the saints arises from pure distrust that Jesus
Christ alone would be sufficient for them.
As for their continual reply, that the charity of the saints is
not diminished, the answer is easy: that charity is regulated and
limited by what God requires from each individual. Now, he desires
that the living exercise themselves in prayer for one another. Of
the departed there is no mention made, and in such important matters
we must imagine nothing out of our own brain, but keep to what is
told us in Scripture.
In regard to what the adversaries allege, that it is said in
Genesis that the name of Abraham and Isaac was to be invoked after
their decease, true it is that the text runs thus; but it is pure
absurdity to bring it forward for the present purpose. That is
written in the forty-eighth chapter of Genesis, where it is said,
that Jacob in blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph,
prayed to God that the names of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, and
his own, may be called upon these two lads, as on the heads of the
tribes lineally descended from himself. Now, that is as much as if
he had said, that they were to be reputed and reckoned as being of
the number of the twelve tribes, and that they should form two heads
of tribes, as if they had been his children in the first degree; as
also that they were born in Egypt. He binds them together by his
prayer to the lineage which God had blessed and sanctified, because
at that time they were separate, according to outward appearance.
And so that form of expression signifies nothing more than the
bearing of the name of Abraham, and being owned as of his lineage,
as it is said in chap. iv. of Isaiah, that the name of the husband
is called upon the wife, inasmuch as the wife is under the shadow
and guidance of her husband.
So far as they bring forward Saint Ignatius, you do not require much
of an answer. There is one passage where he says: _That Jesus Christ
stands for him instead of all ancestry_. Arm yourself then with that
single word, to bring them back to the pure doctrine of the Gospel.
Because I have made use of that expression against the Papists,
they take advantage of it to say, that I approve and value the
book whence it is taken. Now, that you may not be deceived thereby,
I assure you, that it contains such a heap of silly folly, that
the monks of the present day could not write greater nonsense. But
seeing that you are not acquainted with the Latin tongue, and still
less with the Greek in which Saint Ignatius has written, (if indeed
we have anything which is truly his,) you need not enter upon this
question. Be content to answer them, that you can never go wrong
while following Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the world. As for
the early doctors, those who are better read in their writings will
be able to tell them quite enough to stop their mouths. Let it be
enough for you to possess the assurance of true faith in the word
of Jesus Christ alone, which can neither fail you, nor deceive. And
it is even thither that all the early doctors send them, protesting
that they have no wish to be believed, excepting in so far as what
they speak shall be found conformable to what is taught us of God,
and which is contained in his word.
On the subject of the Sacrament of the Supper, when they speak to
you about transubstantiation, you have a ready answer: that all
those passages which they bring together, even if they could be
taken in the sense which they adduce, cannot be applied to the mass.
For, when it is said, _This is my body and my blood_, it is also
then and there added, _Take, eat ye, and drink ye all of this cup_.
Now, among them, there is but one who eats the whole; and even at
Easter, he gives but a part of it to the people. But there is even
yet a sorer evil, that instead of what Jesus Christ said,--_Take_;
they presume to offer a sacrifice, which was to be unique and of
perpetual efficacy. And, besides, in order to have some help from
these words, they ought to maintain the observance of the Supper,
which they do not. Moreover, you can always protest, that you do
not deny that Jesus Christ gives us his body, provided that we
look for it from heaven. In reply to all the cavils which they may
allege, you have only to declare to them that which you have seen
and heard, well knowing that it is from God you have it; for our
faith would be very slender indeed, if it were founded only upon
men. There is nothing better, then, than continually to meditate
the doctrine wherein lies the true substance of our Christianity,
so that in due time and place, you may be able to manifest that you
have not believed in vain. And as I have said from the beginning, if
the enemies of the truth are stirred by their ambition to contend,
manifest on your part, that it is enough for you that you glorify
God in opposing their tricks and sophistries. Content yourself with
having for your buckler a simple confession of that which God has
imprinted upon your heart. Least of all need you torment yourself,
if they deal in impudent calumnies against me or others, seeing that
they have leave to speak evil without rhyme or reason. Let us bear
patiently all the reproaches and slanders which they cast upon us;
for we are not better than Saint Paul, who tells us that we must
walk in the midst of false accusing and vituperation. Provided we do
what is right, when they speak evil concerning us, we may bear it
with unconcern. Besides, when they lay fresh calumnies upon us, we
may well render thanksgiving to God, that we have a clear conscience
in his sight and before men, and that we are free from all suspicion
of evil. And on the other hand, albeit that we are wretched sinners,
so full of wretchedness and poverty, that we groan by reason of it
continually; still he does not permit the wicked to speak evil of
us, unless falsely; yea, to condemn them from their own mouth, of
having invented regarding us that which they had not very far to
search for, inasmuch as it is in themselves. Let us therefore glory
in the grace of God with all humility, when we see that these poor
unhappy men, like drunkards, glory in their shame. If you are vexed
to hear them speak evil thus deceitfully concerning me, you ought
to be far more deeply grieved to hear them blaspheme against our
Saviour and Master, to whom belongs all honour, since, making full
account of all the innocence which shall ever be in us, we might
well be overwhelmed in utter confusion.
Meanwhile, comfort yourself in our Almighty God, who has vouchsafed
us the grace to knit us together so entirely with his Son, that
all the devils of hell, and all the wicked of the world, can never
be able to separate us. Rejoice, therefore, that you uphold his
quarrel, with a good conscience, hoping that he will strengthen you
to bear whatsoever it shall please him you should suffer. We have
such remembrance of you in our prayers, as we ought to have, in
beseeching the God of all grace, that seeing it has pleased him to
employ you in the maintenance of his truth, he would vouchsafe you
all that is needful for the discharge of so honourable a service;
that he would strengthen you in true perseverance; that he would
give you true spiritual truth, so as that you may seek only the
advancement of his name, without regard to self; and that he would
show himself your protector in such wise, that you may feel it to
your own consolation, and that others also may take knowledge of it
for their edification. All the brethren hereabouts salute you in the
Lord, rejoicing greatly that he has wrought so powerfully in you,
having also compassion on you in your captivity, and desiring that
it may please this gracious God to unfold his goodness and mercy
upon you.
Your brother in our Lord,