- Home
- Speakers
- John Bradford
- Brief Admonition Written In The New Testament Of A Friend
John Bradford
John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English preacher, reformer, and martyr whose brief but impactful ministry left a lasting mark on the Protestant Reformation in England. Born in Blackley, near Manchester, he received a solid education and initially pursued a secular career, serving as a paymaster under Sir John Harrington during Henry VIII’s wars and later studying law at the Inner Temple in London. Around 1547, a sermon by Hugh Latimer convicted him of a fraud he had concealed for his master, prompting a profound conversion. Abandoning law, he enrolled at Cambridge University in 1548 to study divinity, earning an MA and a fellowship at Pembroke Hall, where Martin Bucer encouraged his preaching. Ordained a deacon in 1550 by Bishop Nicholas Ridley, he became a royal chaplain to Edward VI and a prebendary of St. Paul’s Cathedral, preaching widely across London, Lancashire, and Cheshire. Bradford’s ministry ended abruptly with the accession of Queen Mary I in 1553. Arrested within a month for alleged sedition after calming a riot at Paul’s Cross—ironically protecting a Catholic preacher—he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. There, he continued preaching to fellow prisoners, including reformers like Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, and wrote extensively, earning the nickname “Holy Bradford” for his piety and humility. On July 1, 1555, he was burned at the stake in Smithfield alongside John Leaf, facing death with courage, famously saying, “Be of good comfort, brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night.” Often credited with the phrase “There but for the grace of God go I,” Bradford’s legacy endures as a symbol of steadfast faith and sacrificial devotion to the gospel.
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
John Bradford emphasizes the necessity of embracing the cross in the Christian walk, highlighting that every disciple of Christ must be willing to bear their cross, regardless of their profession or station in life. He challenges the misconception that following the gospel can be without trials, as the devil, the world, and the flesh oppose it. Bradford encourages believers to deny themselves and be prepared to take up their cross, echoing the words of Jesus in the Gospels.
Brief Admonition Written in the New Testament of a Friend
Brief Admonition written by John Bradford in the New Testament of a Friend This book is called, The word of the Cross, because the cross always accompanies it: so that if you will be a student thereof, you must needs prepare yourself to that cross which you began to learn, before you learned your alphabet. And Christ requires it of every one that will be His disciple, therein not swerving from the common trade (manner, editor) of callings or locations, for no profession or kind of life wants its cross. So that they are far overseen (much mistaken, editor) who think that the profession of the gospel, which the devil most envies, the world does hate's, and the flesh most repines at, can be without a cross. Let us therefore enable us to take up our cross by denying ourselves. From prison, 18th February, 1555. John Bradford
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English preacher, reformer, and martyr whose brief but impactful ministry left a lasting mark on the Protestant Reformation in England. Born in Blackley, near Manchester, he received a solid education and initially pursued a secular career, serving as a paymaster under Sir John Harrington during Henry VIII’s wars and later studying law at the Inner Temple in London. Around 1547, a sermon by Hugh Latimer convicted him of a fraud he had concealed for his master, prompting a profound conversion. Abandoning law, he enrolled at Cambridge University in 1548 to study divinity, earning an MA and a fellowship at Pembroke Hall, where Martin Bucer encouraged his preaching. Ordained a deacon in 1550 by Bishop Nicholas Ridley, he became a royal chaplain to Edward VI and a prebendary of St. Paul’s Cathedral, preaching widely across London, Lancashire, and Cheshire. Bradford’s ministry ended abruptly with the accession of Queen Mary I in 1553. Arrested within a month for alleged sedition after calming a riot at Paul’s Cross—ironically protecting a Catholic preacher—he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. There, he continued preaching to fellow prisoners, including reformers like Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, and wrote extensively, earning the nickname “Holy Bradford” for his piety and humility. On July 1, 1555, he was burned at the stake in Smithfield alongside John Leaf, facing death with courage, famously saying, “Be of good comfort, brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night.” Often credited with the phrase “There but for the grace of God go I,” Bradford’s legacy endures as a symbol of steadfast faith and sacrificial devotion to the gospel.