Reformers to Know- John Calvin

DAY 38- 4/7/17- DAY 38 REFORMERS TO KNOW- JOHN CALVIN
But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should to go Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out? (Ex. 3:11)

John Calvin (7/10/1509- 5/27/1564) was the greatest theologian of the Reformation.  He was born in Noyon France, where Charlemagne was crowned in 768.  John Calvin’s father, Gerard, was a lawyer for the Bishop of Noyon.  His mother, Jeanne LeFranc, died perhaps of the plague when he was three years old.  When Calvin was four Pope Leo X started selling indulgences- which was one of the last straws of corruption in the church for the Protestants.  When Calvin was seven Erasmus made his first Greek translation of the Bible, paving the way for the Bible to be translated into German (translated by Luther), French (translated by Calvin’s cousin Olivetan), and English (Tyndale and Genevan translations- which Calvin influenced). When Calvin was three, Jacques LeFevre, a professor in Paris wrote that we are saved by grace alone.  When Calvin was eight Luther posted his 95 theses on the Wittenburg door fueling the Reformation.  When Calvin was 19 (1528) Henry VIII declared the Church of England Protestant.  Calvin had a brother, Charles, who was an early Protestant in France and persecuted for his faith.  Calvin studied law at Orleans but later went to the University of Paris.  But in 1531, at 22, Calvin’s father died and Ulrich Zwingli of Zurich was killed in a battle with Catholic armies.  In 1532 he wrote a humanist commentary on Seneca that didn’t sell well.  Calvin wrote of his conversion in 1533 that “God by a sudden conversion subdued my heart.”  In Paris Calvin helped write a sermon by Nicolas Cop expressing that the Bible was more authoritative than the church.  Some authorities threatened his life.  Calvin literally jumped out of a third story window to flee some entering the door.  He changed his name to “Charles D’Espeville” (Charles of the City of Hope), and his own servant robbed him of all he had.  Calvin fled to Basel where he wrote the first (1536) Protestant theology book, “The Institutes of the Christian Religion.”  It is said that what Einstein is to physics Calvin is to theology.  In 1536 Calvin visited northern Italy and was passing through Geneva when William Farel threatened him with God’s wrath unless he stayed and preached in Geneva.  But when Farel and Calvin insisted the church (not the state) has the power to say who should take communion, they were exiled by Geneva’s City Council.  Calvin wrote, “Surely if I had merely served humans, this would have been a poor reward.  But it is my happiness that I have served Him who never fails to reward his servants to the fullest extent of his promise.”  Calvin went to Berne and then Strasburg where he preached to French exiles under the influence of Martin Bucer.  In August 1540 Calvin married a widow with two children, Idelette de Bure with whom he had no children.  Later Calvin boasted that in Christendom he had 10,000 children.  In 1541 the Genevans begged Calvin to come back.  Many from all over the world came to Geneva.  John Knox said that Geneva was “the purest school of Christ on earth.”  In Geneva Calvin preached every day, lectured three times a week, was present at every town council, yet found time to write thousands of letters and books.  There are over 2,025 sermons in the Genevan library by him.  He founded the Genevan Academy (University of Geneva and Seminary).  In a time of turmoil Calvin’s writings on Providence and the Sovereignty of God took hold.  His teaching was known as Reformed Theology and had influence over the Netherlands, Hungary, Scotland, parts of France, parts of England, Ferrara Italy, Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel, and more. At his death Pope Pius IV said,  “The strength of that heretic [Calvin] consisted in this, that money never had the slightest charm for him. If I had such servants my dominion would extend from sea to sea.”

Prayer: I offer Thee my heart Lord, promptly and sincerely. (Prayer of John Calvin) 

Reformers to Know- Zwingli and Bucer

DAY 36- 4/5/17- DAY 36 REFORMERS TO KNOW- ULRICH ZWINGLI, MARTIN BUCER
“Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8

Ulrich Zwingli (1/1/1484- 10/11/1531) was a humanist scholar who studied at the University of Vienna and the University of Basel and became a priest.  Luther was concerned about his own salvation and studied scripture, while Zwingli was concerned about being a good pastor to his congregation, and studied Erasmus’ translation of the New Testament (Latin and Greek).  In 1519 the pope sent a representative to ask that people pay indulgences (paying to relieve sins for the living or the dead) in order to build St. Peter’s in Rome.  Zwingli convinced the rulers and the gates were shut not allowing the representative (Sanson) to come into the city.  In 1519 he became the pastor of the Grossmunster church in Zurich and began preaching straight through Matthew. This year a plague broke out that killed a fourth of the population.  Most were encouraged to leave the city, but Zwingli did not leave his post.  Eventually he contracted but survived the plague.   In 1522 he began preaching his ideas of reform by breaking the Lenten fast publicly by eating sausages.  By October 1523 Zurich had taken all images and statues of the saints out of their churches.  Zwingli was a leader of Zurich and was instrumental in forming and breaking alliances among the Swiss Cantons and Philip of Hesse and Strasburg. In 1529 Zurich formed a Christian Civic Union with Bern and Constance (other cities such as Basel joined).  Five Swiss Cantons formed the Christian Alliance of Catholic states.  A war occurred in which Zurich won and Zwingli pushed for the free preaching of Protestantism there.  In 1529 the Marburg Colloquy tried to unite Lutheran and Reformed (Zwinglian) thought.  It agreed on fourteen points but disagreed about the sacraments.  Zwingli saw baptism and the supper not as sacraments but as an ordinance (command) in which we remember Christ.  On October 11, 1531 the five catholic states attacked Zurich which was unprepared and only musterd 3,500 men to face an army twice its size.  Zwingli was killed, once again refusing to leave his people.  The love he had for Switzerland and for his people made his teachings stick with them.  Afterwards Henrich Bullinger succeeded Zwingli.  He was able to unite the Protestant Cantons and achieved a relative peace, writing the Second Helvetic Confession which is part of the PCUSA’s Book of Confessions. 
      Martin Bucer was a humanist scholar who mainly lived in Strasbourg Germany (11/11/1491- 2/28/1551).  He originally was a Dominican Friar as well.  He met Luther in 1518 and renounced his vows and was excommunicated- fleeing to Strasbourg. Bucer tried to mediate between Luther and Zwingli at Marburg, and later with the Tetrapolitan Confession and Wittenburg Concord (which he helped write with Melanchthon).  Bucer took Zwingli’s views about the supper as a memorial, but thought this was a secondary, indifferent matter.  He noted that Luther rejected “impanation” (the idea that Christ became the bread), but Luther rejected Bucer’s saying there is no difference.  In September 1530 Emperor Charles V declared that all Protestants should join the Catholic Confession or be forced to do so by the military.  Melanchthon and Bucer wrote a common nine theses in response to try again to unite the Lutheran and Reformed confessions.  Luther met with Bucer and, though he disagreed with him asked him to continue to try to unite.  Zwingli neither agreed or disagreed, but Bucer traveled to many different German and Swiss cities pleading for unity.  He once said, “If you immediately condemn anyone who doesn't quite believe the same as you do as forsaken by Christ's Spirit, and consider anyone to be the enemy of truth who holds something false to be true, who, pray tell, can you still consider a brother? I for one have never met two people who believed exactly the same thing. This holds true for Theology as well.”  Bucer continued to work to join the Lutheran and Reformed churches- helping to write the First Helvetic Confession and the Wittenburg Concord- but full agreement was never achieved.  When Calvin was fleeing for his life- Bucer welcomed him in Strasbourg.  Bucer tried to get the Catholics and Protestants to form a German National Church separate from Rome, but this failed with the Schmalkaldic Wars.  He was exiled to England in 1549 where he helped Thomas Cranmer with the second edition of the Second Book of Prayer.  When Mary Tudor came to the throne, she tried to restore Catholicism and had Bucer’s body dug up and burned.  Elizabeth I, later put a plaque down at the place of Bucer’s original burial.  Bucer lived a holy, sincere life in which he valued love over theological differences. 

Prayer: Lord, Help me to value the boldness of Zwingli and the love and unity treasured by Bucer.  

Reformers to Know- Martin Luther

DAY 35- 4/4/17- DAY 35- REFORMERS TO KNOW- MARTIN LUTHER
“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” (1 Chr. 17:16)

Calvin and the Reformed Protestant leaders called Martin Luther “the Apostle of the Reformation.”  Most of them had deep respect for Luther, even if Luther disagreed with some of their thinking, because he broke the glass ceiling of sacerdotalism in the church. 
Luther was born 11/10/1483 in Eisleben Saxony (Southeast Germany) the son of Hans and Margarette Luther.  Hans was a successful miner but wanted his son to be a lawyer and Luther studied to be one earning an MA at the University in Erfurt.  In 1505 Luther was caught in a terrible thunderstorm and he cried out, “Save me St. Anne and I will become a monk.” Most think Luther was headed toward the monastery anyway in his efforts to save himself from God’s wrath and hell.  At the monastery Luther was constantly doing acts of penance for perceived sins and continually confessing to the abbot in true anxiety for his soul.  At 27 he went to Rome for a church conference but came away more disillusioned by the immorality and power he saw.  He went to the University in Wittenburg, received his doctorate and became a professor there.  1513-1515 Luther’s thinking changed.  He read in Romans, “The just shall live by faith” and realized that salvation did not depend on his actions as much as on putting his faith in what Christ had already done.  On October 31, 1517 he nailed his 95 these to the Wittenburg church door as a means to try to stop indulgences for forgiveness and to reform the church of Rome.  In October 1518 Luther was called before Cardinal Cajetan in Augsburg to recant his 95 theses but he did not.  Luther was excommunicated in January 1521 for saying that the Pope did not have the exclusive right to interpret scripture.  He was summoned before the secular authorities (Emperor Charles V) at the Diet of Worms where he still refused to recant.  His famous statement at Worms was “My conscience is captive to the Word of God…  Here I stand.  I can do no other.  God help me, Amen.”  On May 8, 1521 Luther’s writings were banned and he was declared a heretic.  This made him a condemned man threatened with death.  Friends whisked him away to a castle in Wartburg where he spent months translating the Bible into German.  In 1522 Luther began organizing the Lutheran church from his followers and with the protection of some German princes.  In 1524 a Peasants Rebellion broke out.  At first Luther seemed to side with the peasants (his father was considered a peasant), but in the end he saw this rebellion as wrong and encouraged the defeat of the peasants.  In 1525 he married Katharina Von Bora and together they had six children.  He remained as professor in Wittenburg dying February 18, 1546 at the age of 62.  Philip of Hesse called Luther and Zwingli together October 1-4, 1529 to work out an agreement between the Protestant states.  The Lutherans and Reformed could agree on 14 of 15 points- but the last one (in what sense Christ is present at the Lord’s Super) separated them.  Initially Luther refused to call the Reformed Christians but later he softened his stance and came up with the Marburg Articles that pointed to the fourteen theological agreements.  Luther also believe the body of Christ was ubiquitous (available everywhere) and thus could be present in the elements- whereas reformed thinking spoke of the body of Christ ascended into heaven.  Luther got in trouble along with Melanchthon and Bucer for advising Philip of Hesse to not divorce his wife but to marry again (using as justification the polygamy of the Old Testament).  Luther is often criticized for his attitude toward the Jews and Muslims.  Luther refused to call for a holy war against the Turks, but did encourage a secular war against them.  Luther also criticized the Annabaptists for their aversion against all authority, adult baptism and pacifism, and the antinomians who thought the law did not apply to them.  Luther was the closest thing to a prophet of the Reformation.  Luther was also known for writing many hymns including one we still sing, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”  Like David and others in the Old and New Testaments we can learn from his faults as well as his good qualities.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for raising up a Luther.  Help us to learn from his mistakes and his boldness.  

Glory to God Alone- Introduction to the Reformation- Lenten Devotion

A Reformation

Primer

On the 500^th Anniversary

(A 6 Week Devotional Study)

  Glory to God Alone

DEDICATED To those who Teach me to reform and be ever reformed according to the Word of God:
Kay Yarborough Sloan, Rebekah Sloan Gilliam, Sarah Sloan Batson, John Benson Sloan Jr, Etta Sloan Batson, Josie Bellotte Sloan, Sarah Bellotte Sloan, Earle Dendy Sloan Sr., Marcus Dupre Sloan, Blaine Hill, Tracie Stewart, Jim Glatz, Danny Murphy, Paul Peterson, Barry Jenkins, Richard Burnett, Alice Ridgell.

Solo Dei Gloria                                                                                       

Dr. J. Ben Sloan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) Background of the Reformation- Climate, Pavers of the Reformation Road

2) Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura)

3) Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)

4) Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
5) Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be Glory)

6) Solus Christus (Christ Alone)

7) Priesthood of All Believers

8) Reformers to Know

9) Summary

A word about the five solas.  These are five theological principles found in each other Reformers of the Reformation.  However, the recognition of these five was made in the 20^th century. In  (1916) by Theodore Engelder, a Lutheran scholar recognized three: faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone.  Emil Brunner added Soli Deo Gloriam (glory alone to God).  Karl Barth added solo Christo as another common theme of the Reformation leaders.  Others have added church alone and love alone- but these are clearly secondary ideas that do not distinguish the Protestant from the Roman Catholic church.  Others still have added the “Priesthood of all Believers.” 

The Reformation radically changed the church.  The Roman Catholic reaction at the Council of Trent took some of these reforms to heart.  Vatican I and Vatican II especially opened the doors for mutual respect of Protestant and Roman Catholic churches.  The Roman Catholic church (until Vatican I) discouraged the reading of the scriptures in the vulgar language and the Mass was primarily in Latin and not understood by most.  Vatican II recognized some validity in Protestant churches. 

This study is not just about the past, it is perhaps more relevant than ever in our Post-modern, Post-Christian, Post-truth world.  Many are denying any idea of truth or thoughts of holy living.  In a pluralistic society that values tolerance above most other values to say just the words “alone” appear to be proud or offensive.  The claims that “scripture alone is our standard”, “that salvation is of Christ alone”, or that “our good deeds do not save us” rubs many the wrong way.  Yet, false hope is no real hope at all.  The hope is not that truth doesn’t matter or that what we believe is ambivalent.  True north means false directions are not true. While we know we need to be gracious and kind to all does not mean that behavior or holiness is passé.  The hope is to always hold love and truth together.  The world still needs both.