Being assured of the good cause, we must be on fire, as is right, to follow God wherever he may call us; his word must have the authority over us that it deserves, and, having forsaken this world, we must be possessed with the quest of the life of heaven.
It is beyond strange that although the light of God shines as fully today as ever it has done, yet there is so little zeal that it is a crying shame. If we are not confounded with embarrassment, it is even worse; for we shall indeed have to appear shortly before the great judge, where the evil we try to conceal shall be set forth with such reproaches that there will be plenty to overwhelm us completely. For, if we are obliged to give testimony to God according to the measure of the understanding which he has given us, why is it, I ask you, that we are so cold and fearful about entering the fray, seeing that God is go greatly manifested in these times that one may say he has opened and displayed before us the great treasure of his secrets? Must we not say that we do not reckon with the fact that it is God with whom we have to do? For, if we had any regard for his majesty, we would not dare thus turn the doctrine that proceeds from his mouth into I know not what sort of philosophy or speculation.
In short, there is no excuse for this not being a great embarrassment to us, indeed, a horrible condemnation, to have such knowledge of the truth of God, and have had so little courage to maintain it. Especially when we consider the martyrs of the past, we really must detest the poor character that is in us. Most of them indeed, were not people greatly trained in the holy scriptures, so that they would know how to debate any point. They knew that there was one God only, whom one was to adore and serve. They knew they had been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, so that they would put complete trust for their salvation in him and in his grace. They also knew that whatever had been dreamed up by men was nothing but rubbish and filth, so that they could condemn every idolatry and every superstition. In sum, their theology was: there is only one God, who created the whole world, and declared his will to us through Moses, by his prophets and finally by Jesus Christ and his apostles; we have only one redeemer, who has bought us by his blood, and by whose grace we hope to be saved; all the idols of the world are accursed and abominiable. Having only this, they went bravely on their way to the flames, or to another sort of death. This was not merely two or three, but in such troops that the number of those who came into the hands of the tyrants is almost endless. [John Calvin-- Second sermon on Hebrews 13:13]
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