Adolphe Monod (1802-1856) was from a family prominent in the French Reformed Church. Though descended from a line of protestant ministers, he struggled for many years before coming to a personal faith in Christ. As a young man, he joined the pastoral staff of the Reformed Church in Lyon, where his strong gospel-centered preaching soon drew opposition and led to...Adolphe Monod (1802-1856) was from a family prominent in the French Reformed Church. Though descended from a line of protestant ministers, he struggled for many years before coming to a personal faith in Christ. As a young man, he joined the pastoral staff of the Reformed Church in Lyon, where his strong gospel-centered preaching soon drew opposition and led to his dismissal. Staying on in Lyon, he founded a rapidly growing independent evangelical congregation. He then spent a decade as a professor at the seminary in Montauban and another decade at the Reformed Church in Paris. The vibrant clarity and warmth of his preaching made him a leader in the evangelical church of his day, with his sermons and books widely published during his lifetime.
Those facts, however, fail to capture the spirit of the man. His was a strong and passionate faith, in part because of his early spiritual struggles. He was also a man of deep integrity, a keen mind, and a caring, pastoral heart. All of these qualities were augmented and set off by his natural gift for speaking. Yet even as his renown grew, Adolphe Monod remained a truly humble man. A week before his death he said “I have a Savior! He has freely saved me through his shed blood, and I want it to be known that I lean uniquely on that poured out blood. All my righteous acts, all my works which have been praised, all my preaching that has been appreciated and sought after—all that is in my eyes only filthy rags.†| more | less