John Calvin: Early Years in France Season 1 | Episode 26
John Calvin was born in Nyon, near Paris, on the 10th of July, 1509.
He was thus only a child of 8 years old when Martin Luther, a man of 34 years old,
nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg.
Calvin did not experience the harsh upbringing that Luther had,
but had a happy start to life
enjoying every prospect of success and numerous educational advantages.
At the age of 12 he was appointed to a chaplaincy
in a church in his hometown.
His head was shaved and he received a tonsure.
As he grew up, he wanted to become a priest,
and was soon noted for his intellectual ability,
his blameless life, and his religious devotion.
It was confidently anticipated
that he would grow up to become a great defender of the Catholic Church.
Calvin had heard of the new doctrines with a shudder,
not doubting at all that those who believed them, the heretics,
were worthy and deserving of the fires to which they were often taken.
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At the age of 14 a plague hit the town where Calvin was living,
and so he moved from his town here to Paris
and studied at the University of Paris.
An interesting coincidence took place whereby one of his fellow pupils
was a boy by the name of Ignatius Loyola.
Ignatius Loyola would grow up to found the Jesuits,
a movement very very different
from the one that Calvin would lead later in his life.
Two pupils, both outstanding,
but who would both have a vastly different impact on the world.
Calvin later on left studying for the priesthood
and went to study law after his father's footsteps
and after his wishes as well.
He completed his doctorate in law at the University of Orleans,
but after the death of his father,
he would re-evaluate his course and direction in life.
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Calvin's cousin had joined with the Reformers
and whilst in public when speaking with him,
Calvin would strongly defend the positions of the church
and reject new teachings.
But when he was alone, he would ponder the words.
Conviction of sin gripped him. He saw himself without an intercessor.
Confession and penance were resorted to in vain,
but none could bring about peace.
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One day he decided to visit a public square
and he witnessed the burning of a martyr.
He was filled with wonder at the expression of peace that was on his face,
and he contrasted this with his own feelings of emptiness, doubt, and darkness.
He knew that the martyrs rested their faith on God's Word,
and so he proposed that he would study the Bible
to see if he could find the secret of their joy.
As he studied the Bible, he found Jesus Christ.
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No one knows for sure when Calvin experienced conversion,
but that he did is not open to question.
His conversion was definite enough
to cause him to relinquish all income from church sources
and abandon any idea of entering the legal profession.
This decision would have been costly, causing him to give up an immense salary
and all comforts that he was accustomed to in life.
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Calvin joined a small band of Protestants
and preached the gospel from home to home for two years.
The authorities were determined to capture him and kill him,
and they came to his place of abode.
But due to the quick thinking of some of his friends,
they detained the officers at the door for long enough
to allow others to lower him out of the window
and he was able to flee the city.
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One thing that we learn from the life of Calvin
is that no matter what you start out doing in life,
it doesn't have to be that way for the rest of your life.
He started out wanting to be a priest, his father wanted him to be a lawyer,
he ended up doing neither of these things and would go on to be a great reformer
who changed the face of the whole of Christendom.
Maybe you're in a course of study
that you don't really enjoy or know why you're there;
maybe you're doing something that your parents have imposed upon you
and that you don't really feel is your calling.
and God may be calling you to something different.
And I want to appeal to you, that if that is the case,
then follow the leading of the Lord.
You may have to change your course of study,
you may have to change your occupation,
but when you do that,
that's when true satisfaction, purpose, and meaning come in our lives.