On the Trail of the Reformation - Number Two

   
As many of you who read this blog know, I was away in late June and early July in Europe on a Reformation History Tour, with author Douglas Bond.  That was probably one of the most wonderful, insightful, and enjoyable trips I have ever been on.  And it got me thinking about many things regarding the Reformation itself - one of which is here:

The Reformation was One of the Key Events in the Whole History of the Church

      Over the course of many hundreds of years, the then dominant religious power, the Roman Catholic Church, had slowly regressed into non-biblical teaching, sadly leading almost all who were in the Church astray.  But then came along men who looked at the Scriptures - and saw in it the life-giving Gospel.  Men like John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible into English;  Jacques Lefevre d'Etaple, who taught the Reformed faith in Paris long before 1517;  Martin Luther, who wrote the 95 Theses, starting a major part of the Reformation;  John Calvin, who wrote clear and solid theology - these were men who had been called by God to bring people in darkness back to the light of a right and full understanding of the Gospel.  These men saw that the Church needed to be brought back to the doctrines of salvation by grace and faith alone, and by God's strength, they succeeded in doing it.
      I believe that the Reformation was one of the key events in the history of the church because of this:
      If there had not been a Reformation, the Gospel could not have been preached freely and without hindrance - and could not have spread as it did.  If there had not been a Reformation, Scripture would still be shrouded in mystery and secrecy, and again, the Gospel would be hidden.  But since there was a Reformation, the living Gospel impacted the lives of an enormous number of people.  Since there was a Reformation we can look back and see the marvelous ways God has spread His kingdom over that particular period in history. Since there was a Reformation, we can see that God is continually reforming his Church - and in the end he will restore heaven and earth, and we will glory in his wonderful works of salvation in my life and yours.

Written and Posted by William A Moore

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Traveling through Switzerland on a Sunday morning.