The Call of Calvin

In one of the schools of Paris was a thoughtful, quiet young man known for his blameless life, for intellectual vigor, and for religious devotion. His genius and diligence made him the pride of the college, and people confidently expected that John Calvin would become one of the most effective defenders of the church.LF 93.3

But a ray of divine light penetrated the walls of scholasticism and superstition that enclosed Calvin. Olivetan, a cousin of Calvin, had joined the Reformers. The two cousins discussed together the matters disturbing Christendom. “There are only two religions in the world,” said Olivetan, the Protestant. “The one ... which humans have invented, in ... which we save ourselves by ceremonies and good works; the other is that one religion revealed in the Bible, which teaches us to look for salvation only from the free grace of God.”LF 93.4

“I will have none of your new doctrines,” exclaimed Calvin. “Do you think that I have lived in error all my life?”^{7James A. Wylie, History of Protestantism, book 13, chapter 7.} But when he was alone in his room he thought about his cousin's words. He saw himself without an intercessor in the presence of a holy and just Judge. Prayers to saints, good works, the ceremonies of the church—all were powerless to atone for sin. Confession and penance could not reconcile the sinner to God.LF 93.5