The morning of August 24th, 1572, started like any other morning. Before the sun came up, few people were stirring. Many Reformed Christians (known in France as "Huguenots") were in Paris for the wedding of Henry of Navarre and Princess Marguerite from France, which had taken place a few days before. Admiral Gaspard Coligny was up, as he normally was at an early hour, to have his morning devotions. His family chaplain, Peter Merlin, was with him, along with a few other associates and family members. Devotions were taking place in his personal chambers because, two days before, Coligny had been shot in the shoulder and hand in an assassination attempt by the Roman Catholic Guise family. Still, Coligny stayed in Paris and continued his morning routine of prayer and worship of his savior Jesus Christ. It was during the middle of this devotional that the noise of people knocking down the door could be heard. A guard rushed in and explained that armed men were coming into the house to finish the job started a few nights before. Coligny prayed and sent everyone else out in hopes that they would survive. The murderers found Coligny there in prayer. He identified himself, and they ran him through with swords. His body was thrown from a window so that Henry Guise could identify it, which he did. Then Coligny's head was sent to the palace as a gift for the King and his body dragged through the streets, mutilated, and dumped into the river. In the distance, the church bells of the Roman Catholic churches began to ring, earlier than normal. It was a signal to the rest of the Romanist population of Paris. Now was the time to rise up and slaughter the Protestants. So began the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

The massacre then spread through the rest of Paris. Many were killed simply for being Reformed believers. Women and children were slaughtered in the streets. Few were spared as famous teachers like Peter Ramus and noble family men like Charles Teligny, son-in-law of Admiral Coligny, were murdered. The murderous hordes knew only one tenet: if someone is Reformed, he dies. So many were killed that day that the Seine River ran red with blood.

The Massacre was not confined to Paris either. Apparently the Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici, had sent a note to all the governors instructing them to start a massacre of their own in each province. Some did just that, letting their hatred of true religion cloud their minds. In cities like Orleans, more people were pulled from their homes and killed. In other places, local magistrates tried to protect the Protestants. Some refused to obey Catherine's decree, citing the despicable nature of the order. In Lyon the Reformed believers were rounded up by the police and put in jail to protect them. However, the mob broke down the doors, and the Reformed believers became sitting ducks. They met a martyr's fate there in the jail that was supposed to be protecting them.

No one knows for sure the number of Reformed believers who died in the murderous rampages. Estimates are that around 10,000 died in Paris alone, 3,000 by noon on the 24th, according to the Spanish ambassador. Some, including Theodore Beza, said about 300,000 total were put to death throughout France, although modern estimates are usually lower. This, of course, does not include those who fled for their lives and escaped to Switzerland, the Netherlands, or Germany. Still others found refuge in the few Protestant strongholds in France, such the city of La Rochelle, which was soon put under siege by the French Royalists. Some escaped death by pretending they were Catholic, like the Duke of Sully, who visibly carried a Roman Catholic devotional book until he got to a safe place.

You might be wondering what exactly this has to do with you as a Reformed believer today. Why this gruesome history lesson? Well, frankly because we need it. How often do we hide our faith because we feel uncomfortable at the office when people make fun of religion or Christianity? How often do we refrain from speaking up about Christ and defending His name when our friends blaspheme in their jokes or make light of sin? How often do we ditch church and the worship of our living God because we are on vacation or at a sporting event? We live in an age and a country where we are blessed in that we do not have to fear another Saint Bartholomew's Massacre. But if we were honest, we'd admit that that safety, that freedom also allows us to deny our faith long before being confronted by physical violence.

Today we often focus on the threats to Christianity around the world. We talk about Islam, Communism, brutal dictators, and maybe even still Romanism. But the biggest threat to the church has always been an internal one. It has always been our willingness to stray from Jesus Christ; it is always our apathy and unbelief. That is the real threat that the Bible focuses on. The story of the twelve spies in Numbers 13 is a good example of this. Ten spies spent forty days in the promised land, saw that it was good and bountiful, but came back to report that the people of Israel would be unable to defeat the Canaanites for they believed the Israelites were "like grasshoppers" compared to their enemies (v. 33). Yet their problem was not that they had poor military skills or that they were outnumbered. The problem was unbelief. "How long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?" (14:11). The main problem was not the enemies of Christ, but unbelief, lack of faith, and disobedience to God.

We see this pattern all through the Old Testament. In the book of Judges, the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and then the enemies took over. The problem was more the unbelief of Israel than the evil of the Amalakites. This is why God is always calling His people to choose Him. Joshua has to call upon the people to "choose you this day." Elijah asks the people not to "hesitate between two opinions. If the LORD is God follow Him." The same is true in the New Testament. Christ is always rebuking the Pharisees for their unbelief. Remember, the Pharisees were not Gentile unbelievers; they were professing religious leaders of Israel. John in Revelation calls out the church for this problem. "I know your works, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead" (Rev. 3:1). And again, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth" (Rev.  3:16).

Even when the enemies of God do take away our mortal lives, they will not destroy the church, and their victory will be temporary. Such was the case during the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Peter Merlin, the aforementioned chaplain of the murdered Admiral Gaspard Coligny, survived the massacre. He managed to escape through a window in the roof and make his way to a nearby farm. There he hid in the hen house for three days as the killing continued. He survived because every morning a hen came and laid an egg right in front of him and then walked away. God provided his "daily bread", so that he would survive. He would go on to pastor churches and even be elected moderator of the National Synod of France. His experience during the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre is one of grace, and he never turned from his loving Lord all the days of his life. Other such stories abound. God preserved His church, and the world had seen a glimpse of true faithfulness.

The enemies of Christ will rage, and they will hate, and they will go to any lengths to destroy us. But these pagan hordes will never truly win. Christ has already won the victory. Nothing and no one will ever overcome Him. The danger is that believers will lose interest in the battle, fail to follow the standard of Christ the King, and take for granted the great grace He has given us. Our job, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is to follow Him in faith. Pray we never tire, never fail, and when our time comes, that we are found faithful.