My dear readers,

The Sixteenth Century Reformation -- Back to Basics!

Romans 1:17: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

From the moment man fell into sin, the LORD God has been saving man by His amazing grace. These men and women were to remain on earth as His witnesses after they were saved, even though they all could have been taken up to heaven immediately after salvation. These witnesses were to show Christ to a world that was dying in sin. They needed to share the gospel according to Scriptures to every sinner so that he might be saved. The gospel according to Scriptures is “the basics” that has been lost to ecumenical Christianity. Without this gospel there is no salvation! We need to go back to basics.

Before Moses’ time, God used individual families like Abraham’s, Isaac’s, Jacob’s, and Job’s. They held the role of priests as they offered offerings on behalf of their respective families. Since Moses’ time, God used Israel, a national witness. This national witness lasted from the time of Moses till the first coming of Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ walked on earth, He was His own witness. Hebrews 1:1-2: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” From Pentecost (cf. Acts 2) onwards God replaced the national witness of Israel with the local church witness. This will remain so until the time of the Rapture when all God’s sheep will be taken up, and only the goats will remain thus forming the harlot church of the Antichrist of the last days (cf. Revelation 17).

During the period of the local church witness, the devil hijacked it for his own end from the 4^th century A.D. onwards. The Roman Emperor Constantine was the first to call himself a Christian. He gave credit to God and his Christian faith for his many victories in battle. “Throughout his life, Constantine ascribed his success to his conversion to Christianity and the support of the Christian God.” [J.F. Matthews. https://www.britannica.com/ biography/Constantine-I-Roman-emperor.] He was the king who married the Christian religion with politics by making himself the head of the church as well as king. This was the birth of the Roman Catholic Church.

From the time of the Pentecost, Christianity was a persecuted religion. Jews who became believers were persecuted grievously by the Jewish Sanhedrin Council who had jurisdiction over the Jews in Roman times. From A.D. 64 onwards, when Emperor Nero blamed Christians for burning his beloved capital city Rome, all Christians suffered persecution under the hands of every Roman emperor. The fire of persecution gave birth to a strong and vibrant church, for only truly born-again believers dared to confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Many lost properties, every means of livelihood, families and loved ones, their freedom, including their lives. However, when Constantine made Christianity a state religion, the dilution of the Christian faith began. After he married religion and politics, Christianity became respectable, and counting the cost before believing in Christ was lost completely. There were more gains than losses for becoming a Christian. Soon, the local church witness metamorphosized into a political-religious entity where religion and politics were meshed into one single whole.

The church as a whole was not called Roman Catholic until around the 17^th century. There was no reason for it to be called by another name as it was the only Christian Church at that time. When did the term Roman Catholic begin to be used? “The terms ‘Romish Catholic’ and ‘Roman Catholic’, along with ‘Popish Catholic’, were brought into use in the English language chiefly by adherents of the Church of England. The reign of Elizabeth I of England at the end of the 16th century was marked by conflicts in Ireland. Those opposed to English rule forged alliances with those against the Protestant Reformation, making the term ‘Roman Catholic’ almost synonymous with being Irish during that period, although that usage changed significantly over time. Like the term ‘Anglican’, the term ‘Roman Catholic’ came into widespread use in the English language only in the 17th century.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_%28term%29]

For the next 1,000 plus years (after Constantine) till the 16^th century, the Church became so powerful that it had a stranglehold over almost all things Christian especially the Word of God. No one was permitted to translate the Bible into the vernacular language of the people without the church’s permission. Anyone caught doing so would be arrested, tried and killed. The Church kept the Bible away from the common people. This period was known as the Dark Ages. If God were to save the Church’s holy witness, He must begin from within the Church where the Word of God was still easily available. God did exactly that.

Martin Luther was born on 10^th November 1483. He was a sincere monk who wanted to draw near to God by means of the good works taught to him by the Church. He would scourge himself, fast and pray, and would literally mortify his flesh because of the guilt of sins that haunted his poor bereaved soul. No matter what he did, the guilt of sin came rushing back. The relief he felt in the midst of his mortification of the flesh was easily replaced by the guilt of sin, and a deep sense of condemnation of his soul returned just as quickly as it departed. There was no relief until he found Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. As a doctor of Theology, Luther had access to all the books of the Bible. The LORD used three books of the New Testament to save his bereaved soul: Hebrews, Galatians and Romans. These three books taught the amazing truth that “the just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38)! By the grace and mercies of God, the light of God’s powerful truth shone through the darkness of Luther’s monkish penance. Luther realized that it was by faith and not works that he might receive the forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus.

When Johann Tetzel, aDominican friar, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money to rebuildSt Peter's Basilicain Rome, Luther was told of Tetzel’s mission. The refrain of Tetzel that offended Luther’s righteous soul was: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” On 31^st October 1517, Luther nailed his ninety-five theses on the church gate at Wittenberg, Germany. Luther’s 95 theses categorically denounced the false teaching of selling indulgences so that departed loved ones can get out of purgatory and into heaven. Salvation is by grace in Christ alone and it is through faith alone. This sparked the flames of the 16^th Century Reformation that continues to burn till today albeit very weakly because of the ecumenical movement that is trying its utmost to snuff out these flames! The LORD in His mercy will not let it succeed as He promised us that He will have His remnant.

To return to basics is to return to the very beginning of salvation which is the gospel of Jesus Christ: the just shall live by faith. Soon the “Five Pillars of the 16^th Century Reformation” was declared as the Roman Catholic Church fought back to counter the reformation with a reformation of her own. These five pillars include: Scripture alone; Grace alone; Faith alone, Christ alone; and the Glory of God alone. These are the pillars that the basics of our Christian Faith are built upon. May God help us to go back to the basics in these last days. Amen.