INTRODUCTION
Outline.
2. The Reformation Movement
Remarks.
1. This is lesson two, in our semon-series of the theme: “The Departure from the Faith.” It should be noted that Paul begins our lesson by describing “the retraction movement” or “the departure from the faith!” It should also be noted, that, before there could be a “departure from the faith”; there must have been first, an “establishment of the faith.” One must belong before they could departure. It should also be understood – that Paul called this movement, “the faith.”
2. In our second lesson, we will address the “reformation movement” or man’s attempt to “return to the faith” as outlined in the New Testament. This movement began and continued from AD 1513 to AD 1809; these dates are merely estimates. The movement’s faith is noted as beginning with “Martin Luther” in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther was a Roman Catholic priest, and found a problem with its religious practices and started a rebellion that lasted nearly three hundred years. Martin Luther attempted to reform the Catholic denomination. He was followed by many other religious leaders whose intentions were honest and good – but, could not obtain “unity of their cause”; which was guided by the “thinking and reasoning of men.” Every denomination that exists today; is a spin off from the “reformation movement,” which began by Martin Luther and others. Instead of true “reformation,” it created confusion to “the faith”; concealing the truth, rather than illuminating it to the world. These men were in truth, “the blind leading the blind,” Matthew 15:14. They neither sought the real light, which illuminates from the word of God, Psalms 119:105. With this introduction let’s discussed the “reformation”; in this three lesson series.
BODY OF LESSON
II THE REFORMATION MOVEMENT
A. The Reformation Movement: The religious movement initiated by Martin Luther in the 16th Century to reform the Roman Catholic Denomination. After about, 9 centuries of Catholicism. The Reformation began by a priest named, Martin Luther, in 1517.
1. Martin Luther was a priest by religious profession in the Catholic order. While struggling against the “Selling of Indulgence,” he became enraged and denounced this practice authorized in the Catholic order, by John Tetzel, a papal commissioner sent to sell indulgence in Germany, to raise money to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica, in Rome. Reference, Halley's Bible Handbook, Halley, p. 787.
2. While in Wittenberg, Germany, in his opposition he nailed to the cathedral door, his famous 95 thesis protest against Catholicism. He was later was excommunicated, and stripped of his priesthood. He married a nun in total defiance of the papal’s required for celibacy.
3. His followers form the Lutheran denomination after his death in 1520. This was the beginning of the “Protestant Movement” in Germany. Luther's religious reforms eventually turned into a European movement. Reference, Western Civilization Since 1500, Kirchner, p. 41-42.
4. On 31 October 1517, Luther wrote to Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting the sale of these indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences," which came to be known as, The 95 Theses.
5. Luther's writings circulated widely, reaching France, England, and Italy as early as 1519. Students thronged to Wittenberg to hear Luther speak. He published a short commentary on Galatians and his Work on the Psalms. This early part of Luther's career was one of his most creative and productive. Three of his best-known works were published in 1520: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and On the Freedom of a Christian. From these works, Luther formed his teaching regarding “justification by faith.” Notice:
a. First, Luther determined in his studies, that justification was entirely the work of God. This teaching by Luther was clearly expressed in his 1525 publication: On the Bondage of the Will, in rebuttal to an article: On Free Will, by Desiderius Erasmus, in 1524.
1) Luther based his position on predestination based upon Saint Paul's epistle to the Ephesian church, Ephesians 2:8-10.
2) Against the teaching of his day that the righteous acts of believers were performed in cooperation with God. Luther wrote that Christians receive such righteousness entirely from outside themselves; that righteousness not only comes from Christ; but, actually is the righteousness of Christ, imputed to Christians (rather than infused into them), through faith.
3) These religious positions were completely in accord with some of the teachings of the 1 century Church, conveyed in the Letter of Paul to the Romans. He, however, opposed the writings of James on “faith and works,” James 2:14-26.
b. Further, he believed, “That faith alone makes someone just and fulfills the law." He wrote, "Faith is that which brings the Holy Spirit through the merits of Christ."
c. Faith, for Luther, was a gift from God; the experience of being justified by faith was "as though I had been born again." His entry into Paradise, no less, was a discovery about "the righteousness of God" – a discovery that "the just person" of whom the Bible speaks (as in Romans 1:17), lives by faith. He explained his concept of "justification" in the Smalcald Articles:
1) The first and chief article is this: “Jesus Christ, our God, and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification,” (Romans 3:24-25). He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29); and God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all, (Isaiah 53:6). He further argues.
2) All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works and merits, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood, (Romans 3:23-25).
3) Reference, Martin Luther in the Smalcald Articles: Second Part, Article I in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005), p. 289.
c. Next, he taught God’s grace was necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us ... Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else pass away, (Mark 13:31).
d. Additionally, Luther believed: “justification was by faith only, and salvation was entirely by the grace of God.”
e. Finally, Luther's rediscovery of "Christ and His salvation," was the first two points that became the foundation of the “Reformation Movement.” His railing against the sale of indulgences brought to light these simple truths of the New Testament.
f. Conclusion: We make no attempt to judge Luther’s faith or test the sincerity of his work. Martin Luther’s convictions regarding “faith” and “grace” were the central themes of Paul’s writings in the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians and the Hebrews Letters. However, Luther’s inclusion of the word “only” as it applies to faith and justification, made his argument and conclusion an error regarding the redemptive work of Christ, and the believer’s obedience to the gospel of Christ, Romans 1:16-17; Romans 6:17-18; Romans 10:16-17.
B. Henry VIII, King of England. He desired a divorce from his wife Catherine of Aragon. He wanted to Marry Ann Boleyn, in defiance to Catholic teaching. He banded Catholicism from England, divorced his wife and married Ann Boleyn. He started the Episcopalian order in 1534, in England from an adulterous union.
C. John Calvin arrived in Switzerland in 1536. He denounced papacy and professed Protestantism. He organized the Presbyterian order that same year. He set up headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. His work with Martin Luther; formed the major basis of the “Protestant Movement.” Notice:
1. He believed the Bible was the infallible guide for the church, however, he also believed the Bible could be properly interpreted only by the “elect of God.”
a. He gave the Ten Commandments a very important place in theology.
b. He taught that the purpose of life was to glorify God instead of seeking pleasure.
2. Calvin’s discipline was excommunicated for those who would not conform to his rule. He required every church member to partake of the communion at least four times a year, but he believed the sacraments were only to be taken by the “elect of God.”
3. At Geneva, Switzerland, 1536 – He cursed the world with his doctrine – which entailed the Augustinian Influence – or the Tulip Doctrine. This form of teaching was influenced largely by St. Augustine of Hippo. Luther teaching proposed:
a. Total Hereditary Depravity - (Sin of Adam inherited by all mankind.)
b. Unconditional Election - (Predestination.)
c. Limited Atonement - (Jesus died for a limited amount of people.)
d. Irresistible Grace - (Given to those predestined irresistibly to salvation.)
e. Perseverance of The Saints - (Once Saved Always Saved.)
4. He was a prolific writer and published many volumes regarding his teachings. John Calvin and Martin Luther were men of similar belief regarding the salvation of the sinners were “by faith and without works from the Law.”
5. Later, he began to preach the doctrine of the “Reformation Movement.” Notice:
a. First, he became the organizer of a “Systematic Protestantism” and laid down principles which have influenced a large part of the Protestant world, even today.
b. Further, the term "Calvinism" was used to designate the system of theology defined by him. This was the teaching of salvation for the sinner as formed by his thinking and beliefs.
c. Finally, the word "Presbyterian" was adopted to describe the system of government Calvin believed should define the organization of the church in Switzerland.
6. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) became the counter-reformation movement, organized by the Catholic Council. This was prompted by the Reformation Movement.
a. As well as decrees, the Council issued condemnations of what it defined to be heresies committed by Protestantism and, in response to them, key statements and clarifications of the Catholic dogma was agreed upon and published.
b. The tenants of the Trent Council were that it:
1) Declared the traditions of the church to be equal in authority with the Bible.
2) Reasserted the divine character of the papacy.
3) Condemned as heresy the Lutheran doctrine of “justification by faith only.”
4) Made everything so clear that no one need err either in doctrine or duty; and demanded that the lives of priests and bishops should be an exemplification of Christian purity and morality.
c. The Council thought that these measures would establish controls on the “Protestant Movement.” Reference, Mediaeval and Modern History, Myers, p. 310-311.
7. Calvin died in 1564 and Theodore Beza took his place as leader. Reference, the Eternal Kingdom, Mattox, p. 257-260.
D. John Smythe, an Episcopalian by confession, became dissatisfied with “infant baptism and church membership.” He broke from their ranks in 1607 and founded the Baptist Denomination in Holland around, 1609-1611.
1. The first group of Baptist in America was formed at Providence Rhode Island, NY, in 1639, by Roger Williams.
2. The Baptist Denomination was made up of many great men that opposed the teaching of the Catholic religion. Their intentions were admirable, but they did not bring “unity to the body” of religious believers, through their work in the Reformation.
E. John Wesley sought faith for the “common man.” He founded the Methodist Denomination in England, in 1739.
1. He believed:
a. Party names were unscriptural.
b. Baptism was a burial in water (not sprinkling or pouring).
c. The Lords Supper should be observed every “first day of the week,” and
d. Instrumental music should not be allowed in the worship of God.
2. Wesley’s views are a far cry from what Methodists believe today.
3. There were, of course, many more reformers. All their efforts failed in a reformation of organized religion. Instead, they started more and more denominations. These men determine it was impossible to reform something when its origin was wrong in the beginning. Each reformer created his/her own doctrine in their reformation attempt, Judges 21:25; Proverbs 14:12.
4. None sought out the divine pattern already revealed in the New Testament, Ephesians 4:1-6; John 14:6. There was no “search for the ancient order of things,” Jeremiah 6:16; John 5:39.
5. These were not all of the great Reformers, but the ones that made a tremendous impact on the rejection of the Catholic dogma, order and its teaching throughout the world. 6. This movement created more and more denominations, religious confusion and division. This was due entirely because they sought to correct religious problems, without agreeing that God’s word must be the standard of their work, and not of human wisdom. This failure made it necessary for another movement to rise to correct this error. That movement was called: “the Reformation.” Let’s consider now some of the restoration preachers, their work and their ultimate success.
CONCLUSION
A. Outline.
2. The Reformation Movement
B. Remarks.
1. Second, in this series, we addressed the “reformation movement” or man’s attempt to “return to the faith” as outlined in the New Testament. This movement began and continued from AD 1513 to AD 1809; these dates are merely estimates. The movement’s faith was noted as beginning with “Martin Luther” in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther was a Roman Catholic priest, and found a problem with its religious practices and started a rebellion that lasted nearly three hundred years.
2. Martin Luther attempted to reform the Catholic denomination. He was followed by many other religious leaders whose intentions were honest and good – but, could not obtain “unity of their cause”; which were guided by the thinking and reasoning of men. Every denomination that exists today; is a spin-off from the “reformation movement,” which began by Martin Luther. Instead of true “reformation,” it created confusion to “the faith”; concealing the truth, rather than illuminating it to the world. These men were in truth, “the blind leading the blind,” Matthew 15:14.
3. In lesson three of this series, we will discuss the “restoration movement.”
C. Invitation. Extend heaven's invitation, Matthew 11:28-30.
D. Motivate.
E. Persuade.
