Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - May/77

Contributor - Harvey Van Farowe

Title - Bullinger, One Who "Practiced What He Preached"

Topic - Church History

In our last article we told how death in war abruptly ended the reformation labors of the great Swiss Protestant, Ulrich Zwingli. He was but forty-seven years. Would there be someone to "fill his shoes" and provide continuing leadership to the Reformation cause in Switzerland?

There was. God had raised up a good and able successor, Heinrich Bullinger.. Bullinger, a son of a priest, was born in 1504 or 1505. In God's providence he had been influenced by the Brethren of the Common Life, and by writings of Luther and Melanchton. He had studied theology and was closely acquainted with Zwingli. In fact when the latter lost his life Bullinger opened his home for his widow. That same year he was chosen to be Zwingli's successor as minister of the Great Minster church in Zurich.

Bullinger was a strong spokesman for the Reformed emphasis. When others might have conceded some truths he upheld them and proclaimed them. But he was more than strong. He was wise and sought to establish "a more independent, though friendly, relation between Church and State" than did Zwingli. And he truly lived what he preached. Jesus once said of the scribes and Pharisees, "they preach but do not practice". But our subject truly practiced his preaching. A very charitable and gracious Christian, he lived his faith in an outstanding way. His house was said to be "open from morning till night to all who desired his help". He was a liberal giver to the needy though his income was modest. Presents he received were not accepted though sometimes designated for hospitals. He was a helper of the persecuted from near or far. He interceded to the king of France on behalf of oppressed Huguenots. "Christ-like" even to those who opposed and wrote against the reformed faith, Schaff could comment, "he never returned I the abuse of fanatics

In his helpful spirit, Bullinger wrote a lot of letters in encouraging and supporting fellow believers. His counsel was sought by many, from other countries too. Beza called him "the common shepherd of all Christian churches". He often advises moderation and love in an age of budding controversy and was a unifying factor in the reformation cause. The Encyclopedia Americana pointed out that he and Calvin worked out an agreement on the Lord's Supper from differing Reformed views. Bullinger was not a compromiser on essentials but was blessed with a "conciliatory" spirit.

His home life as well illustrated his Christian spirit. It is said that "his house was a happy Christian home". Somehow, amidst all his labors, he managed time to play with his children and took a vital interest in them. And when his son, Henry, went away to study theology he took time to pen several suggested rules for Lis conduct. I list a few of them:

"Fear God at all times and remember that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."

"Humble yourself before God and pray to Him alone through Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate."

"Pray above all things for strong faith active in love."

"Be reticient, be always more willing to hear than to speak, and do not meddle with things you do not understand."

"Study diligently Hebrew and Greek as well as Latin, history, philosophy, and the sciences, but especially the New Testament, and read daily three chapters in the Bible, beginning with Genesis".

"Keep your body clean and unspotted, be neat in your dress, and avoid above all things intemperance in eating and drinking."

How privileged is the son who has that kind of a wise and interested parent! Bullinger's own parents were cared for in his home until their deaths.

Sorrow was known to this godly man too. In an epidemic he lost not only his wife but three daughters and a brother-in-law. It is said he "bore these heavy strokes with Christian resignation". He himself was very sick but recovered and was given around ten additional years. He was sometimes quite lonely following the loss of members of his family yet he continued to accomplish much in preaching and writing. He died in 1575 after he had recited Psalms 51, 16 and 42 and some prayers, including the Lord's Prayer.

Some of Bullinger's writings were translated into other languages, including the Dutch language. This was true of the Second Helvetic Confession which wag largely the fruit of this man's own faith and which became a very prominent confession. HE began to write it "as a testimony of the faith in which he had lived and hoped to die" and for "big private use".

However, in Germany, the Elector of the Palatinate, Frederick III, under pressure to defend what he believed, requested of Bullinger a complete statement of Reformed truths. Bullinger sent him his "private" confession. Frederick III was greatly impressed by it and asked for permission to have it translated in Latin and German. It was also made public in Swiss and French and later in several more languages. Schaff wrote, "the Helvetic Confession is the most widely adopted, and hence the most authoritative of all the Continental Reformed symbols, with the exception of the Heidelberg Catechism" and wrote that "it was well received also in Holland, England, and Scotland as a sound statement of the Reformed faith". It no doubt has been a great blessing to many as has our Heidelberg Catechism. Coming from a man of Bullinger's sound theology and loving Christian spirit, one would expect this.

Yet Bullinger himself, along with a colleague, Leo Judae, in commenting about an earlier confessional statement, the First Helvetic Confession, cautioned that a Confession has "relative authority" but the Holy Scriptures have "absolute authority". The Word of God stands above any human document.

With that we can be reminded that our own Belgic Confession of Faith states, "Neither may we compare any writings of men, though ever so holy, with those divine Scriptures". And with that, let us, above all, be stimulated to read and hear God's Word faithfully. Bullinger's own suggestion to his son to read daily three chapters strikes me as an excellent and very sound guideline for personal reading of the word.

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