John Calvin
317 pages
At the time of the Reformation, some persons who claimed to be Reformed pretended to be Roman Catholic, attending mass and giving their Romanist neighbours no reason to think that they were Reformed. Calvin addressed this behaviour, calling on these people (Nicodemites), if they believed in Christ, to make a public confession of their faith, rather than dissembling for the purpose of keeping their status in society. He called them to separation from a false church.
There are many Nicodemites today - people who profess to hold the biblical and Reformed faith - in departing churches. The call of the Word of God, Calvin, and the Reformed creeds (Belgic Confession 28-29) is the same: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev 18:4)! Few today dare to read and fewer still dare to practise, the great Reformer's scriptural teaching and exhortation concerning membership in a faithful, Christ-honouring church.