Posted on 02/05/2015 9:29:51 AM PST by RnMomof7
What caused the Reformation?
Many people might answer that question by pointing to Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.
But if you were to ask Luther himself, he would not point to himself or his own writings. Instead, he would give all the credit to God and His Word.
Near the end of his life, Luther declared: “All I have done is put forth, preach and write the Word of God, and apart from this I have done nothing. . . . It is the Word that has done great things. . . . I have done nothing; the Word has done and achieved everything.”
Elsewhere, he exclaimed: “By the Word the earth has been subdued; by the Word the Church has been saved; and by the Word also it shall be reestablished.”
Noting Scripture’s foundational place in his own heart, Luther wrote: “No matter what happens, you should say: There is God’s Word. This is my rock and anchor. On it I rely, and it remains. Where it remains, I, too, remain; where it goes, I, too, go.”
Luther understood what caused the Reformation. He recognized that it was the Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God preached by men of God in a language that the common people of Europe could understand and when their ears were exposed to the truth of God’s Word it pierced their hearts and they were radically changed.
It was that very power that had transformed Luther’s own heart, a power that is summarized in the familiar words of Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
During the late middle ages, the Roman Catholic Church had imprisoned God’s Word in the Latin language, a language the common people of Europe did not speak. The Reformers unlocked the Scriptures by translating them. And once the people had the Word of God, the Reformation became inevitable.
We see this commitment to the Scriptures even in the centuries prior to Martin Luther, beginning with the Forerunners to the Reformation:
In the 12th century, the Waldensians translated the New Testament from the Latin Vulgate into their regional French dialects. According to tradition, they were so committed to the Scriptures that different Waldensian families would memorize large sections of the Bible. That way, if Roman Catholic authorities found them and confiscated their printed copies of Scripture, they would later be able to reproduce the entire Bible from memory.
In the 14th century, John Wycliffe and his associates at Oxford translated the Bible from Latin into English. Wycliffe’s followers, known as the Lollards, went throughout the countryside preaching and singing passages of Scripture in English.
In the 15th century, Jan Huss preached in the language of the people, and not in Latin, making him the most popular preacher in Prague at the time. Yet, because Huss insisted that Christ alone was the head of the church, not the pope, the Catholic Council of Constance condemned him for heresy and burned him at the stake (in 1415).
In the 16th century, as the study of Greek and Hebrew were recovered, Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, with the New Testament being completed in 1522.
In 1526, William Tyndale completed a translation of the Greek New Testament into English. A few years later he also translated the Pentateuch from Hebrew. Shortly thereafter he was arrested and executed as a heretic—being strangled and then burned at the stake. According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Tyndale’s last words were “Lord, Open the King of England’s Eyes.” And it was just a couple years after his death that King Henry VIII authorized the Great Bible in England—a Bible that was largely based on Tyndale’s translation work. The Great Bible laid the foundation for the later King James version (which was completed in 1611).
The common thread, from Reformer to Reformer, was an undying commitment to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, such that they were willing to sacrifice everything, including their own lives, to get the Word of God into the hands of the people.
They did this because they understood that the power for spiritual reformation and revival was not in them, but in the gospel (cf. Rom. 1:16–17). And they used the Latin phrase Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”) to emphasize the truth that God’s Word was the true power and ultimate authority behind all they said and did.
It was ignorance of Scripture that made the Reformation necessary. It was the recovery of the Scripture that made the Reformation possible. And it was the power of the Scripture that gave the Reformation its enduring impact, as the Holy Spirit brought the truth of His Word to bear on the hearts and minds of individual sinners, transforming them, regenerating them, and giving them eternal life.
LOL! Read more carefully. :) I never said that. I don't regard him as necessarily any better than Nebuchadnezzar. Yet God worked through him to an ultimate good, because God can do that. Nasty kings don't stop him. Again, read what was actually said.
Peace,
SR
Another thing Luther learned at Rome's knee. So did it happen? Thought not. OTOH, history is rife with examples of the OTC doing just that. That too won't stand with Matthew staring at you in the eternal mirror of truth. All brought to you by a 'Vicar' of Christ.
Of course neither Luther's words, nor yours in his defense, will stand with Matthew staring at you in the eternal mirror of truth.
And neither Luther nor I rely upon on words when we have Matthew staring at you in the eternal mirror of truth. we stand forgiven by Christ, by grace justified by faith in our Lord Jesus as one called and gifted by God with our faith. Catholics have the assurances from Vicars such as the one described.
No, but you did write it :) According to your words, "those" refers back to its antecedent "Henry," the monster of a man. You confirm it by placing Henry, who is not mentioned in the scriptures, in the same general category as Nebuchadnezzar, who is, and is actually quoted there praising God. However Nebuchadnezzar and Henry began their reigns, their outcomes diverged. The comparison is asymmetric.
Good question. The quote is ambiguous. It is in the form of a general request, with nothing specific. One could think Tyndale was asking for the whole enchilada. Conversion, repentance, openness to the word of God. Hard to say. But we do see that despite Henry's defects, God did use him to make the word of God more widely known, and as this is in keeping with God's own purpose, we see it as the work of the sovereign God overruling the devices of men. All things work together for good to those who love God.
The Protestant argument that people can skip the God-given authority of appointed men does not hold up to scripture. Men have always been placed in positions of authority over God’s people. Whether those men were good or bad.
King David had a few issues along the way, as did many other Kings of Israel yet they were still God’s people. God did not break His promise because of bad Kings and He does not do so with the Church here on earth.
Christ established His Church on earth and gave Peter the Keys until Christ returns. Of course Protestants try to wipe that away in order to justify their beliefs.
Luther, who had some valid points, decided to remain obstinate and start his own way while many others remained inside the Church and remained loyal.
Pardon me jumping in here between you and afvet but you seem to want it both ways.
You claim that God can make good things happen from the evil that men do, except where the Catholic church is concerned.
Where the Church is concerned you claim it is evil and must be abandoned.
Henry was no more than a janitor wasn’t he? At least that’s what I learned today.
Nope. Try again. I quoted Scripture “All things work together for good to those who love God.” That’s just a true statement. The “antecedent” is self-contained in the passage, those who love God are the ones for who all things work together for good, whoever and wherever they may be. That you think Henry is the antecedent is your mistake, especially after I led up to that point by talking about God overruling the devices of men. Usually that’s not understood as complimentary to the individual God is overriding. I suppose I could have made it more clear by saying “evil devices of men,” but I didn’t want to be redundant. Oh well. I am sorry if I confused you.
Peace,
SR
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
-Book of James, Catholic chapter two, Protestant verse fourteen, as authorized by King James, and not burned by Martin Luther
I thought not.
____You claim that God can make good things happen from the evil that men do, except where the Catholic church is concerned.
Where the Church is concerned you claim it is evil and must be abandoned.____
Just because God can, and does, use evil for good doesn’t mean we should cling to evil practices. Nay, we are to flee evil.
Genesis 5:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Rom 5:
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Twisting James is a Catholic hallmark. Justification is by faith apart from works.
If I use Protestant logic all men are evil, only the Word is trustworthy. And with no authority from Jesus nobodies interpretation is better than anybody else’s.
That is evidenced in Protestant Christianity today. Talk about sects, schism and heresy. Protestant churches are marrying sodomites, singing praises of thanksgiving for abortion and everything else under the sun.
At least with the Catholic church those who actually read the Catechism, the teachings of the Church can know where they stand. I am not going to say there are not unfaithful Catholics in the Church because there are, there always has been and there always will be. Just like the people of Israel. This sadly includes some bishops, cardinals and priests but they are outside the lines.
There can only be one truth. That is borne out by looking at Christianity today. There is either one truth or there is no truth.
So you really meant "those who love God" are only those for whom all things work together for good, and not Henry VIII.
Unfortunately, that self-contained antecedent is only obvious in scripture, such as the Hebrews Hall of Fame. Otherwise, one would have a hard time identifying "those" to whom it applied when they suffer and die miserable deaths. There is an alternative, which is wholly scriptural, and it is works, as evidenced by James and others. We can use works to intensify "those who love God." Someone who says he loves God, whom he has not seen, and hates his brother, whom he has seen, is a liar.
So which Alter Christus creed to you subscribe to? You are defending Luther but I do not want to assume. Are you telling me that Luther was sinless and never committed any evil? Are you telling me that Luther and only Luther had everything right? Were the men who wrote down the inspired Word of God trustworthy? How do you know? Because you are relying on the word of man. If I follow Protestant logic unless Christ Himself came to you and told you what to believe your opinion matters no more than anybody else’s.
I have no idea why you are taking the turn you are. This is not difficult. If you wish it to be, that is your choice. But if you don’t mind, I will sit out the rest of this dance.
Peace,
SR
True. And yet all of us agree that salvation is through faith in Jesus alone. The Holy Spirit is constantly ignored by FRoman Cathlics when making this accusation.
That is evidenced in Protestant Christianity today. Talk about sects, schism and heresy. Protestant churches are marrying sodomites, singing praises of thanksgiving for abortion and everything else under the sun.
And we also know that there will be false religions, and told how to identify them. Scripture tells us to be discerning. If you want to cling to this how about Catholic priests raping children and the hierarchy covering it all up? Is that the sign of a true church?
Source?
And who said that? Rominists like to point to the sin of others to avoid facing their own sin... Crunch..when the day of judgement comes..God will not say "welcome..you are not as "bad" as so & so".... Heaven will be full of sinners.. that have a Savior ..Hell will be full of people that lived "good lives"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.