By 3 Examples - Quest Ministries

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Nicholas Cop - He was a professor of medicine at the University of Paris and a good friend of a young theologian named John Calvin. After being elected to be the new rector of the University, Cob delivered his first and last inaugural speech to the faculty and students assembled at the Chapel of the Franciscan Observantines. He preached on the first beatitude, putting special emphasis on the grace of God and the fact that forgiveness and eternal life are free gifts from God.

Cop’s message was bold because the University of Paris was a Roman Catholic university and the convocation took place in a Catholic monastery. The attentive crowd quickly recognized that the views being presented were reformation theology and they reacted with anger. The faculty was furious and the Franciscan monks went immediately to the Parliament of Paris to cry heresy.

This incident and similar ones continued through out Europe. The Reformers were not afraid to speak there minds and seek to persuade others that salvation was free based on the work of Christ on the cross. Many faced persecution and death, but still they continued to proclaim the good news to those who had been mislead by both the political and religious leaders of their day.

Cop was eventually convicted of heresy and fled the country when he learned that his life was in danger. King Francis I offered a reward for Cop – dead or alive. Because of his courage, Cop is viewed by many as one that led the way in introducing the Reformation and Protestantism in France.

Question: Would you be willing to risk your comfort, your job, or your life, to teach the Gospel to those who have never heard?

William Wilberforce,- He believed that slavery was wrong and he decided to do something about it. Over a period of 40 years William Wilberforce changed the course of a nation—and eventually the world. While the colonists in American were seeking to be freed politically, Wilberforce was freeing his nation morally and spiritually. Some historians have speculated that if the American colonists had postponed their pursuit of independence for just one generation, our new nation would have avoided both the American Revolution and the Civil War. All this blessing missed and yet available because of God’s work in and through a single man in England—William Wilberforce.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His masterpiece, He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Hebrews 12:1b says, “…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” In verse 5 of that same chapter, the Bible says, “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Our God is giving to each of us an opportunity today to do something that will count for all eternity. He had a plan for His Son, He had a plan for William Wilberforce, don't you think that He has a plan for you and me as well?

Question: Would you be willing to stand up for something that put your life in danger or caused others to scorn or ridicule you?

Pee Wee Reese, - He was a Hall of Fame shortstop and the captain of the legendary “Boys of Summer,” as the great Brooklyn Dodger teams of the 1940s and 1950s were known. But no mere statistic can capture what Pee Wee Reese brought to baseball. His defining moment came on May 14, 1947, when he defused an angry reaction to Jackie Robinson’s breaking of baseball’s color barrier. As fans jeered in Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, Reese, who grew up in a segregated Kentucky town, strolled from his shortstop position and put his arm around his new teammate’s shoulders, quieting the crowd. Photos of the white Southerner embracing baseball’s first black player were seen around the nation.

Question: What in life is important enough for you to stand up for? Will you stand up for Jesus? Is He important enough to cause you to take a public stand?

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