John Calvin

It seems that many have a love-hate relationship with John Calvin, oftentimes because of his doctrine on predestination. Woodbridge said, “Despite his often negative reputation, Calvin is properly judged the great theological heir of Augustine and the theological refiner of Luther’s theological insights. He belongs in the pantheon of the greatest theologians in all of church history.”1

Let that statement sink in for just a minute. It is as though Christian theological thought reached its pinnacle in Augustine. Then began slowly declining through the medieval period, reached bottom during the 14^th century with the Avignon Popes; and yet, there remained a bright and morning star shining in the likes of Wycliffe and Hus. Then theological thought began the arduous task of ascending the mountain once again with Martin Luther. Thought continued with Zwingli and Bullinger in Zurich. Bucer at Strasbourg and Peter Martyr in England, but attained to the level that it once had with Augustine in John Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion.

Have any of you ever read the institutes? I have not read the full 1559 version, but have read an abridged version of the 1559 edition edited by John Lane; I encourage you to get a copy. John Calvin is pastor, theologian, and writer in that order.  It is because of this that John Calvin was significant to the course of the reformation; we have what he wrote. It is pastor/theologian who would stand in the pulpits of reformational churches thereafter. It is his writings that make him highly significant to the course of the reformation. He wrote on almost every book in the New Testament and much of the Old Testament. His theological treatise in the institutes is widely regarded as one of the greatest theological writings in the history of the church.2

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1 John D. Woodbridge and Frank A. James, Church History Volume 2: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day. The rise and growth of the Church in its cultural, intellectual, and political context (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013) 181-183.

2 Ibid, 171-172.

Renaissance to Protestant Reformation

Joseph Fiennes in the Motion Picture Luther 2003

Beginning with the Acts of the apostles there has been a constant struggle from within and without. The time of 1300 AD to 1500 AD is no exception. During this time the black plague ravaged much of Europe, within the papacy there was crisis, social and political order outside the church was changing.

With the papacy in crisis, a Conciliar movement took authority; decreeing its own authority, and if anyone (including the pope) did not obey the authority of the council they were to be punished. Such was the case with the pre-reformer John Hus who was burned at the stake by the council of Constance for his refusal to obey their demands to recant his writings. John Hus appealed to the Lord and Judge Jesus Christ and stood on scripture alone.

After the crisis was over (the crisis regarding multiple popes); the pope disbanded the council and once again regained authority. At this same time a Renaissance of ancient art and writing was gaining ground in Italy and spreading throughout Europe. It was the study of scripture in the original languages and reading the patristics that caused some to question the soteriology and ecclesiology of the Roman Catholic church. The Renaissance and the Christian faith became linked; therefore, it was Christian humanist who called for reformation based on scripture. These Christian humanists believed that it was their knowledge of Greek and Hebrew that helped them better understand scripture.1

One of those men was Martin Luther; Luther recommended that citizens receive a classical liberal arts degree and instruction in Hebrew and Greek so that they could diligently study scripture.2 Martin Luther became a doctor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg. Through diligent study, while lecturing on the Psalms and Romans, Martin Luther had a breakthrough. The Catholic Church taught active righteousness through works, in Romans 1:17 Luther saw that the scripture taught imputed righteousness through faith in Christ Jesus alone.3

Medieval Catholic doctrine taught a system of planks in salvation. The first plank baptism, the second plank penance and the third plank purgatory. Baptism washed away the guilt of original sin, but there was still sin done in the flesh that must be punished. Penance was required to remove temporal sin. In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council defined penance as requiring: contrition, confession, and satisfaction all done as a responsibility of the sinner. Contrition is a sorrow for committing sin. Confession is an oral admission of sin to a priest. Satisfaction required that God be compensated; typically, a special prayer, fasting, almsgiving, or a pilgrimage. All three most be completed successfully to receive absolution which is then granted by a priest. If all three are not done perfectly the sinner most spend time in purgatory to punish temporal sin.4

While studying this, a question enters my mind; how could anyone believe this Catholic doctrine, and not live in constant terror of death? It was under the confines of the sacrament of penance that indulgences were sold, because it was believed that the pope had the keys to the kingdom, and could give out merits. Pope Sixtus IV decided that indulgences were good for the sinner in this life, and good for their family members in purgatory. It was in this context that John Tetzel sold indulgences using the sales pitch, “Once a coin into the coffer clings, a soul from purgatory springs.”5 Martin Luther was outraged; therefore, he nailed his 95 Theses to the church door on October 31, 1517, in Wittenberg, Germany, which became a catalyst for the protestant reformation.6

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1 John D. Woodbridge and Frank A. James, Church History Volume 2: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day. The rise and growth of the Church in its cultural, intellectual, and political context (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013) 105.

2 Ibid, 101.

3 Ibid, 107-112.

4 Ibid, 112-113.

5 Ibid, 112.

6 Ibid, 112-114.

Why it is Essential to Know the Essentials

Last week I completed the first year and first third of the total course work for the Master of Theological Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Of the classes that I am taking in pursuit of this degree, all are online except one (Leadership Practicum). I will be fulfilling this requirement during a unique experience. I just completed History of Christianity I and will be taking History of Christianity II during the second term of the spring semester.

History of Christianity I covered the apostolic age through the middle ages up to the reformation. History of Christianity II will cover the reformation to the modern church age. Following that class I have been blessed to go on a trip with the seminaries Historical Theology professors (Dr. Owen Strachan, Dr. Jason G. Duesing and Jared C. Wilson) to fulfill the Leadership Practicum requirement. We will be going on a historical tour of New England; studying the reformation as it occurred in New England, as well as the gospel work going on there today. My wife will be taking part in the experience alongside me.

This recalls a concern that I have regarding historical theology. My concern regards some of the post that I have seen on social media. Social media is a strange phenomenon, because of this I have been on and off social media a few times in the past. At present, I endeavor to remain on social media in order that I might keep up with those who I know and love.

The problem that I have noticed is a tendency, by those on social media to make non-essentials an essential. I will explain by comparing two men and their beliefs; let’s call them Bill and Bob. Bill and Bob both believe that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit; one God in three persons, a Holy Trinity. Both men believe that Jesus is the God Man; fully God and fully Man except in sin. Both men believe that Jesus death on the cross was a sin sacrifice; Christ died for our sins per the scriptures. Both men believe that on the first day of the week Jesus rose bodily from the dead. Both men believe that Jesus will return and all the dead will rise to face Him in judgment; the goats to eternal punishment and the sheep to eternal life. However, the two men disagree on how to interpret Genesis 1-3. Bill believes Genesis 1-3 to be an historical narrative of creation and the fall of man. Bob believes Genesis 1-3 to be an allegorical narrative on the sovereignty of God and total inability of man. Which one of these two men’s beliefs are orthodox?                           

The correct answer throughout the history of Christianity is that both Bill and Bob’s beliefs are orthodox. A word of warning; if you chose one man’s beliefs over the other there is a chance that you are not orthodox in your beliefs. Notice that I did not ask which man was correct with regards to Genesis 1-3, nor do I endeavor to do so, but I only asked which one of these two men’s beliefs are orthodox. Orthodoxy is based on one’s beliefs regarding the essentials alone. How one interprets Genesis 1-3 is not essential to the Christian faith, it is an important discussion, but not essential to the Christian faith.

These two men can have a brotherly discussion as to why each believes his view of Genesis 1-3 is correct. The conversation must occur where both Bill and Bob affirm the other to be a Christian based on his faith in the essentials alone. They also must end the conversation on those same grounds. If at any time Bill or Bob believes the other to not be Christian, because they do not hold the same position on a tertiary belief like the question in prose, though holding to the previously mentioned essentials, he has crossed the line and is the one in need of repentance. He needs repentance, because he is adding too orthodoxy by making a non-essential an essential.

Dr. Duesing, my last instructor and provost at the seminary described seminary as formal, structured, discipleship. I have learned so much during this past year. Therefore, if you are willing, pray that I continue to grow in faith and knowledge of God, the Father, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and the church. May I also grow with regards to love; love both for the church and the lost. Blessings to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The New World

When did the protestant, reformation begin? Many mark October 31, 1517, as being the day that the protestant reformation began. It is, because on this day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses against the sale of indulgences to the church door in Wittenberg.¹ Why is this act by Martin Luther called reformational history, but the acts of Wycliffe and Huss pre-reformational history? As I studied through some writings about Luther, as well as his own writings, I concluded; it was not Luther’s act that set the reformation rolling, many had already done that before him. Martin Luther’s act was significant, because it stood; it was the act of another man that allowed Martin Luther’s writings to stand. 

On May 4, 1521, while on the way home, after having taken his stand at the Imperial Diet at Worms; five soldiers under orders from Elector Prince Fredrick the Wise intercepted Martin Luther’s wagon and kidnapped him to Wartburg Castle. This was part of an elaborate scheme by Elector Fredrick to protect Luther from being put to death. No one knows if Elector Fredrick agreed with Luther’s writings, or if he ever talked with Luther, but this bold act not only saved Luther’s life; it kept the protestant reformation alive and growing.² For the next few centuries the protestant reformation, and counter reformation by the catholic church would take center stage in Europe.

Have ever wondered why there are so many Catholics in Central and South America? While the protestant reformation was happening in Europe, then later, North America; Catholicism was being spread through Central and South America by Imperial force. This happened by order of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and they did so using the same principles as the Crusades. If the Indians cannot be converted by missionaries, then conquest must happen by whatever means necessary.³ Gonzales said, “The impact of the Iberian (Spain and Portugal) enterprise in the Western Hemisphere was so momentous—and so tragic—that it tends to eclipse the parallel impact of the Western Hemisphere on Europe and the events taking place.”⁴ Despite all the ruthless devastation, many people would come to hear the name of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must trust in the sovereignty of God always; even through the acts of evil men.

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1 John D. Woodbridge and Frank A. James III, Church History: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day. Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 112.

2 Ibid, 124-127.

3 Justo L. Gonzales, The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation, 2^nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), 449-485.

4 Ibid, 487.

Pre-Reformation

Among the many ideals that captivated the imagination of western Christendom during the Middle Ages, no other was as dramatic, as overwhelming, or as contradictory, as was the crusading spirit. Tragically romanticized by many, the Crusades have the distinction of being one of the most blatant of the many instances in which Christianity, fueled in part by its own zeal, has contradicted its very essence—on this score, only the Inquisition can be compared with it.¹

The Crusades and the Inquisitions both demonstrate the wrong thinking that had overwhelmed the church. The church in the Middle ages and the Renaissance was in desperate need of reformation; both ecclesiastic and theological reformation. This was most diffidently a destructive time in the life of Christ’s church. The Crusades which began towards the end of the 11^th century had run their course by the end of the 13^th century. One may speak if the crusades as first crusade, second crusade, and so on, but the reality is that they were not isolated campaigns.²

Therefore, the pope is not the head, nor are the cardinals the whole body of the holy, Catholic and universal church. Only Christ is the head, and his predestined are the body, and each is a member of that body.³

The church during this time had lost sight of the gospel. We see, what is called a pre-reformation in the likes of John Wycliffe and John Huss. These men, and men like them leading up to the reformation would be persecuted in the Inquisitions. During this time, there was a conciliar movement which formed a universal council who would use the Inquisition to demonstrate their authority. Huss a teacher in Bohemia began to follow the teachings brought by students from Oxford to Prague.⁴ 

Wycliffe taught that the scriptures were the position of the predestined body of Christ. Therefore, he taught that the Bible should be put back into their hands, and should be translated into a language that they could understand. He also taught that the church is not the pope or his visible hierarchy, but the invisible who are predestined for salvation; no one knows who they are, but there are indications in their fruit.⁵

The thirteenth century reached the apex of papal power under Innocent III. During the same time the mendicant monk orders were set out on a mission to bring the world to Christ. Also, universities were being developed, and Gothic art was being used to depict the gospel to the illiterate. During this time the Black Plague ravaged much of Europe.⁶

While there was much bleakness about the Middle Ages there are some bright spots. Anselm of Canterbury was one of those bright spots. Anselm was educated as a Benedictine monk, he was a theologian, and a scholar.⁷ 

Anselm was the first theologian to pose the satisfaction theory of atonement. He said, “To sin is to fail to render to God His due.” Anselm said that what God is due is righteousness; therefore, only a righteous being can satisfy God. God is the only righteous being, so only God can satisfy His righteousness, and since man sinned, man must die. The only way to satisfy the righteousness of God and the justice of God with the death of man is for a God/Man to take man’s place.⁸ This view of the atonement is the standard view among evangelical Christians today.

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1 Justo L. Gonzales, The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation, 2^nd ed., (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), 371.

2 Ibid, 346-351.

3 Ibid, 406.

4 Ibid, 409.

5 Ibid, 413.

6 Ibid, 380-393.

7 “Who is Saint Anselm? S. Accessed March 4, 2017. http://www.anselm.edu/About-SaintAnselm/Who-was-Saint-Anselm.htm.

8 Henry Bettenson and Chris Maunder, Ed., Documents of the Christian Church, 4^th ed., (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 146-147.