Written by Dr. Marcus J. Serven
“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” Psalm 36:9
Introduction:
There are many significant Reformers who the Lord raised-up during the time of the Reformation. I am going to focus, however, on the four Reformers who made the most important contributions towards the growth and development of a thorough-going Protestant theology–Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Calvin, and John Knox. These four church leaders emphasized the sovereignty of God, the utter sinfulness of humanity, the centrality of God’s justifying grace in salvation, the necessity of preaching the Bible, the proper administration of the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), and a church structure based on the Bible (i.e. Elder-led). As a long-time Presbyterian Minister (since 1980), I am also extraordinarily interested in the development of European Presbyterianism. It is the foundation of Presbyterianism in America, To put it succinctly, this article will be a view of the lives and ministries of four Reformers from 30,000 feet!
Setting the Stage: Why was the Reformation necessary?
The central reason why the Reformation was necessary was for the recovery of the gospel. Without it, the church had become a place of darkness. The motto for the city of Geneva, Switzerland during the Reformation explains this viewpoint well; it declared, Post Tenebras Lux (Lat. “after darkness, light!”). Moreover, consider this analogy: The Medieval church had become like a giant ship whose hull had become so encrusted with barnacles and seaweed that it could barely move through the water. Instead of racing through the ocean at top speed, this ship (i.e. the church) had become so burdened with the excessive weight of the “traditions of men” that the gospel message was completely obscured. The only way for this situation to change for the better was for the “traditions of men” to be stripped away so that the gospel message in its simplicity could be known once again. To accomplish this the Lord raised-up godly men (i.e. the Reformers) who took the ship (the church) into a dry dock where they scraped the sides of the church getting rid of all that encumbered it. Once this was done, the church became like a freshly cleaned and painted ship that was able to race through the oceans at top speed once again. The famous Reformation scholar Roland Bainton echoes this sentiment by saying, “The Reformation was above all else a revival of religion. So much is this the case that some have looked upon it as the last great flowering of the piety of the Middle Ages.”
Martin Luther (1483-1546) and the German Reformation:
Who was Martin Luther? Certainly he must be remembered as that preeminent Protestant Reformer who recovered the true gospel and rescued the Christian church from its slavery to the “traditions of men.” He began his religious career as a well-meaning, but misguided Augustinian monk. God endowed him with a remarkably curious mind that searched after truth—not just philosophical truth, but “true truth” that would actually make a difference in changing lives. He found that life-giving “truth” in the pages of Holy Scripture. There he learned that all men and women are inveterate sinners who are unable to help themselves. He also learned that God graciously sent forth his Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for sins, and that God provided the “gift of faith” so that we could believe and trust in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This discovery brought about a fundamental change in Luther’s life so that he realized that he had been justified on the basis of Christ’s righteousness and not his own righteousness. In gratitude he dedicated himself to live to the glory of God. The Lord used him to begin a spiritual revolution in Germany, which spread throughout Europe and in time to the rest of the world. Luther’s defense of the gospel took place at the Diet of Worms in 1521 where he stubbornly affirmed, “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.” He famously quarreled with Ulrich Zwingli over the nature of the Lord’s Supper. Luther also wrote against Desiderius Erasmus, the most well-regarded Roman Catholic scholar of the day. Luther took issue with Erasmus’ assertion that man has a free will when it comes to the matter of salvation. In contrast, Luther wrote in his famous treatise—The Bondage of the Will—that man is completely unable to contribute to his own salvation. Eternal salvation is totally dependent upon God’s free grace. A notable associate of Luther was Philip Melanchthon who helped to craft the Augsburg Confession in 1530 which propelled Luther’s theology throughout the centuries.
William Tyndale (c.1494–1536) and the English Reformation:
Long before the Reformation, God raised-up a significant individual to bring the Bible to England; his name was John Wycliffe (c.1329-1384). His Bible translation positively affected the spiritual well-being of his own country for over two centuries. In the early days of the Reformation, though, the Lord raised-up another intrepid Reformer to continue Wycliffe’s work; his name was William Tyndale. Little is known of Tyndale’s early life, however he had an innate gift for languages and it is reported that he became fluent in seven different languages—Greek, Hebrew, Latin, German, Dutch, French, and Spanish! Tyndale attended Magdalen Hall at Oxford University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1512 and a Master of Arts in 1515. Later while teaching at Oxford he became deeply disturbed by the lack of Bible knowledge amongst his students and resolved to produce a new translation of the Bible. He famously quarreled with an English clergyman and said, “If God spare my life, ere many years, I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture than thou dost.” This kind of combative attitude offended the leaders of the English church, and in time Tyndale was treated as a trouble-maker, an outcast, and eventually as a heretic. He fled to the Netherlands and quietly continued his work of Bible translation. The normal way of getting copies of his Scriptures into England was to smuggle them into the country hidden in a bolt of fabric. Several sympathetic Dutch merchants assisted Tyndale in this effort. Despite the determination of the authorities in the English church to intercept these Bibles, copies of Tyndale’s work spread throughout England. Finally, while in the Netherlands Tyndale was betrayed by a fellow Englishman and captured by agents of King Henry VIII. After suffering in a dark and dank prison cell for seventeen months he was put to death by strangulation and his body was burned (1536). His final words were, “Lord open the King of England’s eyes!” In a short time, Tyndale’s prayer was answered and his associate, Miles Coverdale, was able to produce a translation of the Bible sponsored by the leader of the English Privy Council, Thomas Cromwell. Three years after Tyndale’s death The Great Bible—which is comprised mostly of Tyndale’s work—was published in 1539 and spread throughout the land. Tyndale has been rightly called “The Father of the English Reformation.”
John Calvin (1509-1564) and the Swiss Reformation:
Many Christians today have distinct impressions of who John Calvin was, but most have never read a single line from his Institutes of the Christian Religion, or benefited from the careful exegesis found in his Commentaries on the Bible. In brief, it must be noted that the Reformer John Calvin has often been misinterpreted, misread, and misunderstood. He is, perhaps, best known for his views on the doctrines of election, predestination, and reprobation. He is also known for his pivotal role in the prosecution of the arch-heretic Michael Servetus who rejected the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ. But, none of these disconnected pieces of information can demonstrate, in my opinion, the true character of the man. And so, who really was John Calvin? Hughes O. Old, a noted scholar of Calvin’s life and theology, states the opinion that, “John Calvin is chiefly remembered as a biblical scholar and a systematic theologian.” While it is clear that Calvin distinguished himself through his theological writing and teaching ministry, he also was the preeminent pastor of the city of Geneva. After being tutored by Calvin, the Scottish Reformer John Knox stated that Geneva was “the most perfect school of Christ that ever was since the time of the Apostles.” Following Calvin’s death he was succeeded in Geneva by Theodore Beza. The spiritual children of Calvin are found amongst the French Huguenots, Dutch Reformed, English Puritans and Pilgrims, Scots-Irish Presbyterians, and especially amongst the Presbyterians of North America and Korea. In time, these disparate groups around the world became known as “Calvinists.” It is the Calvinists who acknowledge the sovereignty of God over all things, the covenantal relationship that God has with his people throughout history, and who emphasize the grace of God in salvation. Good works naturally follow the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, so that they are recognized as the “fruit” of salvation. Also, Calvinists identify their beliefs as a “Reformed theology.”
John Knox (c.1514-1572) and the Scottish Reformation:
Briefly stated, John Knox was born in Scotland, attended classes at St. Andrews University, experienced a life-changing conversion to Jesus Christ at twenty-nine, and a call to the ministry shortly thereafter. Following a year-long exile in St. Andrew’s Castle due to civil war, Knox was enslaved by the French and forced to row all over the North Atlantic. He came close to death while in captivity, but in God’s kind providence he was released and became a diligent and esteemed pastor in England. During the reign of Mary Tutor (i.e. “Bloody Mary”) he fled to Europe, and while there he ministered to English exiles in Frankfurt, Germany and later in Geneva, Switzerland. Knox studied Bible and theology at the feet of John Calvin. He was a husband to Marjorie Bowes, and after her untimely death, to Margaret Stewart; he was a father to two sons and three daughters. In 1559 he returned to his native Scotland where he courageously advanced the cause of the Reformation as an evangelist and later as the pastor at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. By his preaching and teaching, he was able to bring virtually all of Scotland to a thorough-going knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and he engendered in the Scots a stalwart resolve to advance Christ’s Kirk (or, Church) here on earth. The rallying cry of the Scottish Presbyterians (i.e. the Covenanters) was “For Christ’s Crown and Covenant.” This motto is directly connected to the preaching of John Knox, but it also expresses how the Scots rejected the claim that a King or Queen could rule over Christ’s Church. Knox and his followers assert that only Jesus Christ is head of the Church (or Kirk). After his death, Knox became widely known as the author of his gripping book, The History of the Reformation in Scotland.
The Westminster Assembly (1643–1648):
The Westminster Confession of Faith was composed during a time of intense strife and armed conflict in England (1642-1660). The two warring parties—the Royalists who were led by King Charles I and his son Charles II, and the English Parliament which was dominated by the Puritans, Independents, and Oliver Cromwell—struggled over the theological reform of the Anglican Church and the right of the reigning monarch to impose a religious system upon the English people. The English Civil War arose from this contentious struggle. In the midst of this conflict the English Parliament urged the writing of a statement of faith that would more clearly reflect the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation. As a result, the Westminster Assembly was made up of English pastors, scholars, and laymen; which consisted of 121 Divines, 10 Lords, and 20 Commoners. Representatives of the Scottish Covenanters were also invited to participate in the debate and formulation of a new Confession of Faith. These sessions were held from July 1, 1643 through February 22, 1649 and took place in St. Margaret’s Chapel, at Westminster Abbey in London, England. Amongst its key documents are a Confession of Faith in thirty-three chapters with numerous proof-texts from Scripture, a Larger Catechism of 196 questions, a Shorter Catechism of 107 questions, a Directory for Public Worship, and a Form of Presbyterial Church Government. Later a Book of Discipline, based on the Second Book of Discipline (1578) crafted by Andrew Melville of Scotland, was added to the Book of Church Order by many Presbyterian denominations to establish a procedure for dealing with church discipline and for settling disputes within the church. A volume containing a metrical version of the Psalms was also approved by the Westminster Assembly to be used in congregational and family worship. The Westminster standards were adopted by the Church of Scotland in 1647 and by the English Parliament in 1649. They are the sole foundational documents for all Presbyterian Churches throughout the world, especially those that are English-speaking. Those who hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith assert that the Bible is the primary standard, and the Confession of Faith and its Catechisms are considered to be a secondary standard.
Resources for Further Study:
Atherstone, Andrew. The Reformation: Faith and Flames. Oxford, England: The Lion Press, 2011.
Bainton, Roland. The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. Boston, Massachusetts: The Beacon Press, 1952.
Daniel, David. William Tyndale: A Biography. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1994.
Dawson, Jane. John Knox. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2015.
George, Timothy. Theology of the Reformers. Revised Edition. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Academic, 2013.
Kittelson, James M. Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and his Career. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986.
Letham, Robert. The Westminster Assembly: Reading its Theology in Historical Context. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2009.
Lindsey, T. M. The Reformation: A Handbook. First Published 1882; Edinburgh, Scotland: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2006.
Westminster Confession of Faith. First Published in 1646; Glasgow, Scotland: Free Presbyterian Publications, 1946.
Vollmer, Philip. John Calvin: Man of the Millennium. San Antonio, Texas: The Vision Forum Inc., 2008.
Dr. Marcus J. Serven, ThM and DMin
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