The French Reformation grew to 10% of the population of France from almost nothing. It was a great revival but how did it start?
1.Lefevre converts
In 1510 Lefevre, Professor of Thelogy at the famous Paris University, read the Bible for the first time at 70! He was a devout Papist and a scholar and theologian. Lefevre had a great love for the saints and wished to give them honour. He thought to collect and re-write their lives. He was succeedingin his task when he wondered if a study of the Bible mightgive him some useful insights. On reading Paul’s Epistles, hediscovered justification by faith and converted!!
2.Lefevre teaches the Gospel to his students
In 1512 he wrote a commentary on Paul’s Epistles, translatingthem into French, and taught his students justification byfaith, seven years before Luther’s Theses.
3.Farel receives Christ
One of Lefevre’s students, Farel, received Christ and beganimmediately to preach publically, but was persecuted, and fledto Meaux, then Switzerland.
Before entering Geneva he sought to preach in the surrounding areas. He first worked in Aigle as a school teacher under an assumed name. When his lessons had attracted a congregation of students and their families, he announced himself as Farel the preacher. He immediately mounted the pulpit and preached with his characteristic thunderous, yet eloquent voice and with power, immediately winning converts.
Farel would at times enter other towns and while the priest was offering the mass, he would mount the pulpit and his preaching would drown out the mass. This sometimes resulted in his being pulled violently from the pulpit, but at other timesit led to conviction of sin and the priest would throw off his robes and join the people in dismantling the altar and destroying their images.
4.Calvin comes to Christ
In 1523 Calvin studied at Paris University, then in 1526 at a seminary to become a priest.
His cousin Olivetan, a disciple of Lefevre, came to Paris and told him about justification and encouraged him to read the Bible for himself. So Calvin did. Olivetan had himself translated the whole Bible into French by 29 years old! In
1527, after much struggle with God and conviction of sin, Calvin converted and significantly came to know Lefevre and Farel.
5.Calvin starts a Missions School
In 1559 at Geneva, Calvin started an Academy, with Beza as the professor of theology (but effective director) and they continued to send many of their French refugee students back to France to preach the Gospel and aided by secret printing presses. This started a revival in France.
In 1555 there was only one fully organised Reformed church in France. 7 years later there were 2000! In the 1560s they had 2-2.5million members (10% of the pop’n of France!). Viretpastored a church of 8000 in Nimes.
We can learn a lot from the French Reformation. It was a great revival.