Tracts & Letters (Vol 5) - Calvin - XII - Letters CCCXXVII to CCCXXXIX

Required reading
Tracts and Letters (Volume 5) by John Calvin (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Letters CCCXXVII to CCCXXXIX.

My summary
Today we read letters from 1553 addressed to Sulzer, a 'Captive Lady', the 'believers in the isles', Farel, Madame De Pons, Viret, Bullinger, the Pastors and Doctors of the Church of Zurich, an 'Italian Lady' and a seigneur of Jersey.

The content of today's letters included:
(i) the execution of Servetus;
(ii) encouragement and advice to Protestants experiencing persecution;
(iii) English refugee churches;
(iv) trouble with exercising ecclesiastical discipline in Geneva.

What grabbed me
I enjoyed the counsel Calvin gave to a persecuted Protestant lady: 'Although I have heard that God has endowed you with admirable constancy, for which I bless and magnify his name, I would yet rather strive to increase you still more in such courage than in any degree lessen it. For when we are brought to such an extremity as to have no way of deliverance from the tyranny of the enemies of the truth, save by subterfuges which draw back and estrange us from the right path, there is no doubt but that God calls us to seal with our blood the confession of faith which we owe to him. For which reason if it were a question as to declining either on one side or the other, it were better to die. And in order that you may not be shaken by threatenings or by anything whatsoever, look to the Son of God, who did not spare his own life for the sake of our salvation, in order that we might not reckon our life too precious when needed to further his glory. Look to that heavenly crown which is prepared for those who have fought courageously. And above all, beware of drawing back, rather than which, we ought to use our utmost endeavours to press forward to the mark which God sets before us.'

Fix your eyes upon Christ and you will even have the strength to die for the faith.

Next week's reading
Commence Tracts and Letters (Volume 6) by John Calvin (Available from Amazon or free here) by reading Letters CCCXL to CCCLV.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.