08 V. The Spread of Reformation

V. The Spread of Reformation V. THE SPREAD OF THE REFORMATION (Sermon Delivered Over WAPO, May 12, 1940) No proper history of the Reformation Movement could be given without a history of Martin Luther. However, Luther was only the harbinger of more far reaching reformation in lands other than Germany. Already in this series the work of Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and John Knox has been reviewed, and their influences upon the subsequent course of religious history noted. One must remember throughout any study of the Reformation, that this movement was largely a protest against the corruption morally among clergy and laity, and an afhrmation of the authority of the Scriptures over that of the Church represented by the Popes and Councils. Each reformer had certain ;peculiar problems to confront, which colored greatly his work and led to a more or less degree of release from the shackles 0f the Medieval Church.

Today we are concerned more with the spread of the Reformation to England and its development in the British Isles. No record of this period would be complete without the history of the foundation of the Church of England, ,which is called in America from the Greek "The Anglican Church. This Chu.ch as a separate religious institution came into existence during the reign of Henry VIII. The apostate church had been the state church of England before Henry"s time, and early in his reign Henry VIII distinguished himself for condemning Luther in the latter’s br ea k with Rome. It was his attack upon Luther that won for him the title of Def ender of the Faith. " conferred by the Pope upon him, a title which the kings of England today continue to wear. However, Henry had married Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of the famous rulers of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. Although she had borne him six children, only one had survived infancy and that was a princess later to become "’Bloody" Mary, Queen of England. He nry VIII became much dissatisfied with his marriage and desired the Pope to annul it. This the Pope refused to do, whereupon Henry coerced Parliament, which at that time was much less power ful than today, to pass two extremely important laws. One forbade the people and clergy of England to make any further payments of money to the Pope , and the second, called the Act of Supremacy, proclaimed the King of England as the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England. Thus the beginning of this Church occurred due to a monarch’s impatience with his former wife and desire to dictate to the Pope regarding his rights and privileges . Henry VIII really wanted to marry a beautiful young girl named Anne Boleyn, who was a lady-in-waiting at the court. This he did and she became the mother of the famous Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. This marriage did not satisfy him, and so several times more he married and removed his wives. Being a state church it is subject to the legislation of Parliament, and must receive Parliamentary approval in order to chan ge its creed or canon law. The archbishops and bishops and other high ranking officials sit in the House of Lords in Parliament. The ecclesiastical head of the church is the Archbishop of Canterbury, followed in power by the Archbishop of York. The Anglican church is strong wherever the English have dominion. It was planted in America by the colonists in Virginia, and remained under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Lon don until the time of the Revolutionary War. It severed its connection with the mother church at the time when the United States became free, and has since been known as the Protestant Episeepal Church in America. The creed of the church is expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith and the Book of Common Prayer contains the rituals used in the services of the church. It takes its name from its form of church government, which is episcopal-rule by bishops, as opposed to presbyterian form of government or rule by elders of the local congregation. Each Episcopal bishop has jurisdiction over a certain territory which is known as his diocese. Besides observing religious holidays borrowed from the Roman church, Episcopals have the altars, candles, vestments, crucifixes and rituals modelled after the Apostate church, sprinkle infants as baptism, and recognize confirmation as essential to one’s admittance to membership in the church. Within the American Church there are two groups, one known as the High church and the other as the Low church. The High church has sisters, uses incense in its worship, has images in the churches, uses holy water, and follows an English version of the mass, as well as practicing auricular confession. The Low church practices none of these, yet both groups are under the same bishop in the same church.

Along in the latter part of the sixteenth century there appeared some very interesting religious groups known generally by a name which simply means rebaptizers. They refused to admit any person into their churches that had~ not . been rebaptized after their ’Catholic baptism in the Apostate church. From these later grew up the churches which call themselves after John the Baptizer. There are some of their historians that have claimed they could trace a line of these particular churches back through the centuries to the New Testament times. However, the better informed scholars among them make no such claim. In fact, there is no religious group today that can trace itself back to New Testament times by a chain of succesives1ve churches. Those of the Apostate church cannot smce they have radically hanged their worship and doctrines from the New Testament patterns . However, I shall quote from the Christian Review of Jan., 1855, the outstanding quarterly of its day, with regard to such a claim. It states, "We know of no assumption more arrogant and more destitute of proper historical support, than that which claims to be able to trace the distinct and unbroken existence of a church substantially and then the denomination after John is given from the time of the Apostles down to our own." Armitage says, "Little perception is required to discover the fallacy of a visible apostolic succession, in the ministry but visible church succession is precisely as fallacious, as for exactly the same reasons." Thus it appears that prior to the 16th century no such thing existed as this particular church, at least as far as we know it. The modern Baptists had their origin in the Anabaptists mentioned above, who rejected infant baptism and rebaptized all who received this rite in infancy A small separatist congregation that fled from England to escape the persecutions of James I settled in Holland in the early seventeenth century . Under their leader, John Smyth, they came to the conclusion that infant baptism was unauthorizd by the Scriptures, and also was contrary to them. The baptism they had received from the church of England was not, therefore, valid. They introduced believers’ baptism, and repudiated their church organization, and the ordination of ministers. Thus they organized the first church of that denomination known in church history about the year 1607. Lofton says, "John Smyth founded a church upon believer’s baptism, and a regenerate church membership; but, organically speaking, this was the ’beginning of the present denomination though be gun with an unscriptural form of baptism." Most authorities claim that Smyth sprinkled himself and the others of his congregation, while some contend that he was immersed. However, this latter group of scholars are greatly in the minority. The first church of this Baptist denomination organized in England, was founded by Thomas Helwys in 1611, calling itself a General Baptist church. Later, other groups wearing the name of Calvin were organized in the British Isles. The first church of this denomination established in this country was by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island in 1639. Allof them practice immersion as the mode of baptism, and cling to the principle of congregational independence. While they are willing to cooperate with one another in conventions and associations, each congregation forms an independe nt unit of self-gov e rnment. They have also held to the principle of the separation of church and state. The main bodies in this country are listed as follows: the Southern Convention, made up of Southern churches who separated from the Northern churches over the question of slavery and kindred subjects before the Civil War; the Northern Convention, as well as such groups known as Primitive Baptists, holding the old Calvanistic doctrines of election and predestination; the Free Will Baptists holding the doctrine of the free will of man as opposed to the Primitives, and the Fundamentalists, which among other things, believe in Premillenialism. They believe in the impossibility of falling from grace after one has been a member of the church and received grace, they practice close communion at the Lord’s table, and do not observe the Lord ’s Supper regularly each week. They do not regard Pentecost as the beginning day of the church, and vote upon all their members before admitting them to the fellowship of the church. Along with other religious groups they believe in the direct operation of the Holy Spirit to save souls and use instrumental music in their worship. These distinguishing features are nowhere noted in the Scriptures as characteristics of the New Testament church. No discussion of the Reformation can be complete without presenting John Wesley and the story of Methodism. Probably no other reformer exerted a greater influence outside of Luther upon human thought in modern times than John Wesley. Born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, where his father was a rec tor, Wesley was educated at Oxford University and later becoming a fellow and lecturer at one of its college s. In 1728 he was ordained to the priesthood of the Church of England. It must he remembered that at this time the Church of England had drifted to a low ebb spiritually, and nothing but mere form and ritual characterized its services. While at Oxford he became associated with a group of students who spent certain evenings in reading the New Testament and in prayer. Be·sides, they engaged in many works of charity, such as visiting the poorhouses, and consoling the sorrowing and suffering. One of the rules of this little group required that they frequently ’’interrogate themselves whether they have been simple and recollected; whether they have prayed with fervor, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday noon; if they have used a collect at nine, twdve, and three o’clock; duly meditated on Sundays from three to four on Thomas a Kempis (who wrote the Imitation of Christ), or mused on Wednesday and Friday from twelve to one on the Passion." For their strict rules or methods they were nicknamed "Methodists," which name the religious followers of Wesley wear until this day. The first group began meeting in 1729, composed of John and Charles Wesley, Robert Kirkham, and William Morgan. George Whitefield later joined them, but John Wesley was the dominant figure of the group from its beginning and so continued to his death. Wesley did not intend to found a new religious group, but only to reform the Church of England, and inject the spiritual elements into its cold forms. He considered himself a member of the communion until his death. He and Whitefield began their famous open air revivals by first preaching to the miners around Bristol in 1739 following his famous Aldergate experience. The Aldergate experience was the time usually given by Wesley as his conversion, when a peculiar feeling came over him and he felt a change. He was a great believer in heart-felt religion, and his revivals for a period of over fifty years were great meetings of religious fervor.

Wesley was a tireless worker, travelling an average of forty miles on many of his preaching days, and speaking two to four times each day. His notes on the Scriptures are still read and he is responsible for a very admirable translation of the New Testament from the Greek. The Church of England looked with disfavor upon Wesley’s attempt to reform its worship, and, therefore, denied him the use of its churches. Even at Epworth where his father lived and preached, he was refused entrance, but being undaunted he stood by his father’s tombstone and preached to the people gathered in the churchyard. The first Methodist society was formed in Bristol, England, in 1739. From this place.the movement spread rapidly throughout England, Scotland, and to America in 1766. Phillip Embury and Strawbridge were among the first laborers in this country for the Methodist denomination. Division later arose in its ranks regarding the form of church government, the majority clinging to the episcopal form of rule by bishops, but others rejecting the episcopal government. Those who rejected the rule by bishops called themselves Protestant Methodists, the others Methodists Episcopal. Recently the Northern and Southern branches of the Methodist Episcopal church united with the Protestant Methodist church to form a United Methodist church in America. Methodists practice three forms af baptism, sprinkling, pouring or immersion, and also baptize babies, although they do not teach this latter practice necessary to the child"s salvation. They receive their pastors by appointment through their conferences. The creed of the Methodist church is the Discipline which contain·s the church laws and rules of action, as well as the articles of faith. Also, a ritual book containing the necessary rituals for various services is a companion volume. The Discipline is revised periodically by the church authorities as new laws are made to guide Methodists.

These facts have been brought to your attention in this series because we have felt that truth should be stated with regard to the course of church history. It is our trust that a better understanding of present religious conditions will be brought about because of such a series. Sometimes individuals ask, "How did so many religious groups come into being?" The study of this kind will reveal to you their origin and the circumstances which brought their rise, as well as their divergence from New Testament teachings. The great men which the Reformation produced were all men who desired to exalt the authority of the Scriptures. Not all the errors into which some of their followers have fallen can be laid to their charge. The sacrifices which men like Luther, Knox, Wesley, and others made in behalf of teaching the Scriptures excite our admiration. It likewise is a shame that we today have probably not developed so intensely our love for truth nor desire pains takingly to study the glorious things of God’s word. However, let us take courage by their lives and face forward in this day when Christianity is challenged. Let us also realize that they were fallible men, and made mistakes. Only wherein they have followed Jesus and His t eac hin gs are they proper guides for humanity . As Paul admonished, ’"Be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ." We should not worship men, nor should we endeavor to follow any man. We should exalt Christ and His .will above all else, and strive day by day to fulfill what He would have us to do. His commands are to be implicitly obeyed, and anything else can only bring God’s displeasure upon us. The Reformation should teach us the great mistake of manmade cre e ds, and the failure to follow only the teachings of Jesus. The creeds made by these various leaders became walls to separate their followers from other believers. We can unite when we are willing to do always those things well pleasing in the sight of God, recognizing the value of an obe