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DR. HONEYSWEET: THE REFORMATION INFLUENCER
Bernard of Clairvaux, St. (1090–1153) Abbot of Clairvaux. Monastic reformer, mystic, and theologian. In 1112 he entered the recently founded Monastery of Citeaux, the first of Cistercian order. Three years later, at the request of abbot St. Stephen Harding, he established a new monastery at Clairvaux (meaning “Clear Valley” or “Valley of Light”) that became one of the great Cistercian monasteries. As abbot, he was influential in both political and ecclesiastical affairs of his day. As secretary to the Synod of Troyes in 1128, Bernard obtained recognition for the rules of the new order of Knights Templar. He also developed a close relationship with Innocent II, whom he helped in his efforts against the antipope Anacletus, as well as Eugenius III, his former pupil.
Bernard led the attack on Peter Abelard at the Council of Sens in 1140. In A History of Christian Thought, Gonzalez wrote: “After Abelard had started to teach that the death of Christ did not pay a judicial penalty to God on behalf of sinners, but merely provided an example of the love of God.” As guardian of the truth he became known as the “hammer of heretics.” Posset tells of other titles from Martin Luther’s perspective, namely that Bernard was the “last of the Church Fathers,” a biblical theologian, and a greater preacher than Augustine.
Bernard is noted for his devotional works, a series of 86 sermons on the Song of Songs. This is his most famous work and is interpreted as an allegory of the spiritual love between Christ the Bridegroom and His bride, the church. He also wrote a commentary of Romans entitled, On Grace and Free and many hymns are attributed to him, “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee,” “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” and “Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts,” in which he wrote:
Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts,
Thou Fount of Life, Thou Light of men,
From the best bliss which earth imparts
We turn unfilled to Thee again. In Grace and Free Choice Bernard quotes Paul in Romans at least 18 times directly and over 20 times indirectly; an important question posed here was, “What part, then, does free choice play?” His response was salvatum. “Free choice itself is in need of redemption. Take away free choice and there is nothing to be saved. Take away grace and there is no means of saving.” Posset in Bernard of Clairvaux as Luther’s Source says of this writing: “Bernard made it perfectly clear that ‘salvation is from the Lord’ (Psalm 3:9), not from free choice.” Referring to Romans 9:16, Bernard wrote that “what was begun by grace alone is completed by grace and free will together. This happens in such a way that they contribute to each achievement not singly but jointly, not in turns but simultaneously. It is not that grace does part of the work and free will the rest. But each does the whole work, according to its peculiar contribution. Grace does it all and so does free will—except that while all is done in free will, all is done out of grace.”
His reputation endured and even survived the storms of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century. When the Reformers broke with the papacy, they made severe criticisms of many medieval saints and theologians; however, they could never bring themselves to speak very harshly of Bernard. Steve Lawson mentions in his book Pillars of Grace that John Calvin saw Bernard as the major witness to the truth between the sixth and sixteenth centuries. Also, Charles Spurgeon said that “Saint Bernard was a man whom I admire to the last degree, and I count him to be one of the Lord’s choice ones.” Spurgeon also paid him a choice compliment when he said that Bernard “seems to go into a delirium of love when he talks about his divine Master!”
Luther and Bernard
Luther by far spoke the most frequently of Bernard. As Posset writes, “Luther
