The Protestant Reformation (Part 2)

The Marks of a True Church in the Reformation

So this'll be part two of our study of the Reformation period. So this is from 1517 to 1648. And before we pick up where we left off, during the Reformation period, the reformers came up with three marks, what they believed to be three marks of a local church.

So what makes a church a true church? They said, number one, the gospel is preached. Number two, the sacraments, or as we would call them, the ordinances are administered. And number three, church discipline is practiced.

And I tend to agree with this, but this is something that came out of the Reformation. What makes a church a true church? So again, the gospel is preached, the sacraments, baptism, the Lord's Supper are administered and church discipline is practiced, that they wouldn't just welcome just anybody, okay?

So, well, they would welcome anyone, but you couldn't be a member and just live however you wanted. So that would really exclude, in their eyes, the Roman Catholic Church because Roman Catholic Church was not preaching the gospel, certainly not preaching the true gospel.

So that's something that I wanted to mention. But last time we ended talking about, remember the Anabaptists? So we covered that lesser known part of Reformation history. So if somebody didn't catch that or somebody watching online didn't catch that, I would recommend that you watch that, go back and listen to it.

But now we'll cover some of the more well-known figures as well as do maybe a brief overview of all of the churches that came out of the Reformation. Who is the most prominent figure? We've talked about him.

Luther, Calvin, and the Protestant Reformers

Yeah, Martin Luther.

Other important figures of the Reformation were John Knox. He started the Presbyterian Church. King Henry VIII started the Anglican Church or the Church of England. Remember, he wanted a divorce, but the Pope would not grant him a divorce.

So he said, that's it. You know, they broke away and he declared himself to be head of the church. His archbishop, Thomas Cranmer, was another important Reformation figure. And then you have William Tyndale who did what?

Translated the Bible.

Right, he translated the Bible into English. Of course, there is John Calvin. He's probably the second most well-known figure of the Reformation era. There's Luther and Calvin. They're sort of the big ones.

Calvin founded the Reformed Churches and Jacob Arminius. He was also part of the Reformed Church. And from those two men, you get the competing theologies of Calvinism and Arminianism. So that's at least a 500-year-old debate.

Just a few comments on that. We're not gonna spend much time, but you've heard these terms enough by now, right? Calvinism and Arminianism. So named after these two men, John Calvin, Jacob Arminius. Calvinism stresses the sovereignty of God.

Arminianism stresses the free will of man. So typically a church is gonna lean a little more in one direction than another. And I don't wanna get into the whole debate, except to say that today Calvinists tend to be found in Presbyterian churches and sometimes Baptist churches.

The Arminians would be more like the United Methodists or the Salvation Army. So those denominations that came out of the Wesleyan holiness movement, so Church of England, John Wesley, the Methodists, this is Arminianism.

And then today that would be the Charismatics and Pentecostals, Assemblies of God. And they all believe that you can lose your salvation. The Calvinists said, no, you can't lose your salvation. So that's kind of the differences between those two groups.

So when we talk about the Reformation, we're almost always talking about the Protestants, but there's actually a Catholic Reformation or what is called the Counter Reformation. Now, before we get into that, any questions on the Calvin, Arminian, Arminius thing?

Okay, nobody wants to get into that. I can see, so we'll just move along. But yeah, there is the Catholic Reformation. So let's talk about that. So the Catholic Church, they reacted to what the Protestants were doing and their reaction was a church council and it was called the Council of Trent.

And since the Catholic Church believes that not only is the Pope infallible, so they say, they believe that church councils are infallible. So at the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church anathematized all of the Protestants and that would include the Anabaptists.

So basically, if you're not Roman Catholic, if you believe in the gospel salvation by faith alone, the Catholic Church said, let them be anathema. And the church council can't be changed, it's infallible.

So that's technically still the official position of the Roman Catholic Church that we are all accursed. Now, they kind of put a friendly face on things today, but that's still the teaching. It's still the divide between Catholics and Protestants, Mark.

Was there one individual who they dug up who was buried and dead for 40 years and burned his bones and turned them into powder.

And threw them in the river?

Right, there was somebody. Wycliffe or Tyndale, it seemed like it was, yeah, don't quote Wycliffe. Okay, so they took his bones. They didn't want his burial site become some sort of shrine or rallying point.

So yeah, they took his bones, burned them, ground them up into powder and threw them into the river so there'd be no remains. So nobody could go to this place and remember the spot where this happened.

So yeah, I'm not exactly sure, but Wycliffe or Tyndale, one of those guys. So yeah, that did happen. That's the kind of thing that took place back then. So a lot of people were dying on both sides. So during the counter reformation in the Catholic Church, this is when they established the Jesuit order.

The Jesuits and the Catholic Counter-Reformation

So who are the Jesuits? Who knows what the Jesuits are? Well, the current Pope, Pope Francis, he is a Jesuit. He is the first Jesuit Pope in Catholic history. The Jesuit order was instituted by Pope Paul III.

The Jesuit society demands four vows from its members. So poverty, chastity, obedience to Christ and obedience to the Pope. So the purpose of the Jesuits is the propagation of the Catholic faith by any means possible.

So just think about that, that they're willing to spread the faith by, yeah, whatever's necessary. So they spread the faith, not just by preaching and opening schools, they have also been involved in warfare and also covert activity.

So many people believe that the Jesuits will often pose as Protestants to infiltrate churches and Protestant movements in order to move the Protestants more in a Catholic direction. Now, obviously they would dispute that because it's like the CIA for the Catholic Church almost, if you wanna look at it like that.

There are many claims of this type of behavior, but a lot of it's sort of underground. So it's hard to really point to something that's indisputable. But they say that, that they were willing to spread the Catholic faith by any means possible.

The article continues the counter-reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries was largely due to the Jesuits. With their vows of total obedience to the Pope and their strict military style training, the Jesuits became feared across Europe as the storm troopers of the Catholic Church.

And they led armies which recaptured large areas for the Roman Catholic Church. And along with the military actions, their work centered on education and missionary expansion. And by the end of Loyola's life in 1556, there were Jesuits in Japan, Brazil, Ethiopia, and many parts of Europe.

So they did a lot of good things. And I think this is one thing we have to say about the Catholic Church. They have been involved in charities and hospitals and they've done a lot of good. But the Jesuits were also involved in a lot of questionable activities as well.

So they sent out explorers that were accompanied by a Jesuit priest eager to bring Catholicism to new lands. The last thing on the Jesuits, it says the Jesuits are still active in the world today, though the military actions of those early years have been left behind.

The goal of spreading the Catholic faith is their primary objective and they do it through missionary work and education. At least they're doing that right now. So any questions on the Jesuits? Have you ever heard anything about the Jesuits?

A lot of conspiracy theories. And again, with conspiracy theories, sometimes there ends up being an element of truth to some of that stuff, but I'm not gonna get into all that. It's sort of like the Freemasons.

There's people that say all sorts of things and you don't really know how much of that is accurate. So at this point, I'd like to go over some of the Reformation churches. So how did these churches get started?

What did they believe? So this will be a brief summary of the Reformation churches. So who's the first one? Yeah, so the first, the original Protestants, I would say are the Lutherans. And just that word Protestant, what does it mean?

Lutheranism and the Doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration

Yeah, I mean, the idea is that Martin Luther protested the Catholic church. Okay, so Lutheran, that was a nickname given to the followers, obviously, of Martin Luther. So this name Lutheran or Lutheranism was given to them by their friends or their enemies.

Yeah, it was a derogatory term, like the Lutheran, they're following Luther. So after a while, they just embraced the label as their own, which is probably, that happens throughout history,.

Oftentimes.

Like I said, the term Christian, it's believed that Christian was probably first a derogatory term and it just stuck. You could argue that the Lutheran church began in 1517, when Luther nailed his thesis to the church door.

And that's when the first Protestant denomination was born. Although if you, and I'm sure you've probably heard this, Luther himself said, I never set out to start my own church. Luther, at least at first, considered himself a devout Roman Catholic.

So he said, I did not leave the Catholic church, the Catholic church left me. Although many Lutheran denominations, especially today, have strayed far from what Luther believed, this is still the tenets of the Lutheran church, that salvation is by faith alone, scripture alone.

And do the average Lutheran, the average Lutheran church today, do they really believe that and teach that? There are some, but many, many do not. But they said that the Roman Catholic church and the papacy have no divine right in things spiritual.

So obviously this is what caused the Catholic church to, or the Pope to put a contract out on the head of Martin Luther. So a few other of their teachings, Lutherans rejected the idea of a special priesthood and taught the priesthood of all believers, which is largely accepted by all Protestants and evangelicals.

In 1529, Luther wrote his longer and shorter catechisms. A year later, a statement of faith known as the Osberg Confession was authored by his scholarly associate, Philip Melanchthon. And these documents help make up the basis, theological basis of Lutheranism.

And it's argued today that Melanchthon kind of took control of the church and that really they're following more of his teachings than Luther. But that's what some people say. Here's something that you should know about Lutherans.

They hold to the position of, this is the big problem with the Lutheran church. They believe in the doctrine known as baptismal regeneration. Who knows what that is? Yeah, not only do they baptize infants, which a lot of Protestants do, but they say you need to be baptized in order to be saved.

So the baby is saved upon baptism. So the water literally washes away sin. So baptismal regeneration. So they baptize babies. They also believe Jesus is present in the Eucharist, although their belief from the Catholic church is different.

They don't believe that the elements turn into the literal flesh and blood of Jesus, but they do believe that Jesus is spiritually present in the Lord's Supper. So instead of transubstantiation, they believe in the doctrine of consubstantiation.

So that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. So a lot of these teachings are very similar to the Roman Catholic church. And really, this is one of the problems, I think, of the Reformation. They didn't reform enough.

They reformed a lot, and I think they got the gospel right, but they didn't reform with these other things. All right, any questions about the Lutherans? And of course, today, there's conservative Lutherans who still believe in salvation by faith alone.

Then there's the progressive Lutherans who, and there's progressives and liberals in any denomination where they got the rainbow flag, they don't believe the Bible, they're totally off in left field doing their own thing.

And that's true, really, in almost every denomination at this point, unfortunately. Not back then, though. None of that stuff going on then. All right, the Anglican church. So what's the other name for the Anglican church?

Anglicanism, the Church of England, and the Episcopal Church

The Church of?

England.

England.

Right, so this began in 1534, again, when King Henry VIII wanted a divorce from his wife, but the Pope wouldn't allow it, so he declared himself to be head of the church instead of the Pope. So the church broke away from Rome.

The doctrine of the Anglican church is an interesting mix of Catholicism and Protestant theology. I think there's a lot of Anglican churches, if you just went there and sat down and watched what was happening, it would look like a Roman Catholic mass.

I mean, sometimes it's really hard to see the differences, but they do have some differences. For example, obviously, the Anglicans don't recognize the Pope, they don't believe in purgatory. Those are a couple things.

The doctrine of the Anglican church, so it's a mix of Catholic and Protestants. They believe in the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed. They recite those things during their worship services. They have the 39 Articles that was developed during the reign of Elizabeth I.

They deliberately wrote that so it would be so vague that it would be open to various interpretations by both Catholics and Protestants. There's actually a lot of Anglicans, especially in Europe, they've, honestly, they consider themselves Catholics.

They recognize there's a rift between them and Rome, but many Anglicans, in their heart of hearts, they're Catholics. And some of them do recognize the Pope. There's actually been some Anglican priests that sort of swap in and out of Catholic churches and Protestant churches.

So the two are very, very close together. One Anglican that I came across, he said, we are like Catholics minus the guilt. I'm just, I don't know, I always found that funny. So again, they reject purgatory.

More and more these days are rejecting, you know, eternal punishment and hell. But back then, they still believed in that. Here's the thing with the Anglican Church. Who is the head of the Anglican Church?

Who?

Yeah, the King, right, the King of England. So that, we'll touch on that in a second. So the Catholic Church, or excuse me, yeah, the Catholic Church, in their celebration of the Eucharist, the Anglican, sometimes there are Anglicans who believe in transubstantiation.

But they would say that Christ is present in the Eucharist. The American version of the Anglican Church is called what? The, begins with an E, the Episcopal Church. So the Greek word, I think it's episkopos, it means bishop.

So a lot of these churches are named after, you know, their form of church government. So the Anglican Church and the Episcopal Church are run by bishops. So the Anglican Church is Europe, or England, and the American version is the Episcopalians.

So the head of the church is not the Pope. The head of the church is the monarch. So Queen Elizabeth, I don't know, what number was she? Elizabeth the second? Okay, yeah, she was the head of the Anglican Church for, you know, whatever, 60 years, or however long she reigned.

Some of you know exactly how long was it. But, you know, that's sort of an honorary thing. Is she really in charge of the church? No, like the monarchy in England is sort of a, yeah, they're just figureheads at this point.

But technically, the new head of the Anglican Church is King Charles the third. So, and a lot of people would question, is Charles even a Christian? You know, I mean, most people today would say there's not a whole lot of evidence that the man's born again.

But that's just the way it is. Whoever is the king or queen, they are the head of the church, the way that it is. King Henry the eighth declared himself to be defender of the faith. And that's been the title of the monarchs ever since.

Okay, one final note. The Methodist Church, which began in 1784, was a breakaway from the Episcopal Church. So just remember that line. It went from Rome to the Anglican Church to the Episcopalians, and then the Methodists.

And then the Pentecostals. So it's that kind of line that goes through. Okay, any questions on that? All right, the next is the Reformed and the Presbyterian churches. So we're just gonna kind of lump these two together.

Reformed Theology, Presbyterian Polity, and Predestination

So Reformed and Presbyterian. Both groups look to the writings of who? So the Lutherans look to Luther. The Reformed and Presbyterians, their main guy is the number two man of the Reformation, John Calvin, right?

Although, again, John Knox is considered to be the father of Presbyterians, but Calvin is the man who kind of looms large. So John Calvin lived from 1509 to 1564. He was originally, I believe he was a lawyer, but he was training for the Catholic priesthood.

He started out originally as a Catholic, but turned Protestant. John Knox lived from 1514 to 1572. So why are they called Presbyterians? Well, it's the same idea with the Episcopalians. It has to do with the form of church government.

So the Greek word for elder in the New Testament is presbyteros. So Presbyterian means it's a church run by a pastor. No, it's a church run by a bishop, pastor, bishop, same thing. The Presbyterians are run by a board of elders.

So here's the thing. While Presbyterians are reformed in their theology, not all reformed churches are Presbyterian. And reformed theology places a strong emphasis on the doctrine of predestination, that God chooses who goes to heaven and who goes to hell based solely on God's sovereign choice.

So the Methodists really don't like that very much. A lot of people don't like that, but that's part of reformed theology. God predestines who goes to heaven, who goes to hell, and it's all God's choice.

And that kind of view is really everywhere, but the Armenians would strongly oppose that. So the Presbyterians in reform, they baptize babies. They're usually amillennial in their theology. So they don't believe in a literal kingdom here on the earth.

Matter of fact, John Calvin, because you remember our church is premillennial. We believe Jesus is going to return, set up a kingdom on earth for a thousand years. John Calvin was reported to say that the premillennial view, according to him, was so childish, it shouldn't even be worthy of consideration.

I would disagree with that. I would say, well, that's what the Bible says. So that was apparently John Calvin's view. So if you meet a reformed person and they kind of scoff at the idea of a rapture and a tribulation and a kingdom here on the earth, you will find that, that they think all that's ridiculous.

So I've run into that many times. Yeah, they do not like dispensationalism. So, but dispensationalism, that's going to come in the next era. So yeah, but these are kind of the competing theologies that most people have been dispensational over the past 100 years.

And yeah, the reformed people do not like that at all. So, all right. And John Calvin has his critics, not only because of that, but one thing that people always bring up about John Calvin, he had a man named Cervetus.

He turned Cervetus into the Geneva authorities and Cervetus was burned alive at the stake. So Cervetus was a heretic. I mean, that's true. He denied the doctrine of the Trinity. So he came into town and John Calvin said, nope.

And he turned him in and the man was burned, burned alive. So some of the things that the Catholic church did with the torture and the killing over doctrinal issues, Calvin and some of the Protestants were involved in that type of thing as well.

So, although back then, it was a different mindset. These people deserve it. They're leading people to hell and in their mind, there's a rationale. And there's actually some Old Testament verses with Moses and the children of Israel that they used to support it.

So it's, it opens up a whole other subject really, but that's the type of thing, again, that happened during the Reformation. All right, any questions on Calvin or the Reformed or Presbyterians? Okay, next would be the congregational churches.

Congregationalism, the Puritans, and the Roots of Moores Corner Church

So in the 1500s, after the Church of England broke away from the Catholic church, there was a group within the congregational, or excuse me, there was a group within the Church of England known as the Puritans.

So they wanted to complete the reform of the Church of England. So yeah, there's the Catholic church, Church of England reform, but they didn't go far enough. And the Puritans said, no, you need to keep reforming.

They wanted to abolish all practices that seemed too popish, that's how they put it. So what are they talking about? Getting rid of clerical vestments, getting rid of kneeling for communion, calling the minister a priest, making the sign of a cross, anything that seemed Catholic, get rid of it.

That was their approach. I think they, I read something, they even wanted to ban organ music. I'm pretty sure that was during this time, but don't quote me on that. Many Puritans believed the Church of England should follow the example of the Reformed churches in other parts of Europe and adopt a Presbyterian form of church government.

So there is an argument about that. So the Puritans, what did they do? They experimented with a new form of church government, which is congregational. So people who believe in democracy, they like congregational church government to where everybody gets a vote, right?

Because that's not the way it was. That certainly wasn't the way it was in the Catholic church. Even today, if the Catholic bishop wants to close down a dozen churches, he has the right, he can just say so, and that's the way it is.

Nobody has to say. With the Presbyterians, yeah, a board of elders can make whatever decision, and that's it. But congregational church government, the people have a say. Do you like that form, that people have a say?

I mean, I think that's, I think it's good.

What?

Depends on the people.

Yeah, that's true. Because every form of church government has its problems, because there could be abuses in either one. So the Puritans were Calvinists, and they wanted to abolish all the remnants of potpourri, but they left the established church, and because they finally left the Church of England, they were known as separatists.

Robert Brown, who lived from 1550 to 1633, he is considered the founder of congregationalism. So we have Luther, King Henry VIII, Calvin, John Knox, and now Robert Brown. While studying for ordination, Brown became convinced, because I think he was originally Catholic, as most of these guys were, but when he was studying for ordination, he became convinced that the Church of England was a false church.

He determined that the Church of England, all the way back in the 1500s, was a false church. Congregationalism came to America with who? The pilgrims. Like the Baptists, they had a congregational form of church government, but unlike the Baptists, the Congregationalists did practice infant baptism.

One final note to end this era. Our church, Moores Corner Church, when it was first established in 1896, the original name of this church was Moores Corner Congregational Church, so we were part of the Congregationalist denomination, but as the story goes, one of our former ministers, while studying the Bible for himself, he came to the realization that infant baptism was not biblical.

So that, along with the fact that the Congregationalist denomination was going liberal, the denomination was telling its ministers, don't talk about the blood of Christ, don't preach on the cross, they were taking hymns that mentioned the blood of Christ.

Out of the hymnal,.

So he saw that infant baptism was not biblical, they saw that the denomination was straying into apostasy, so this church broke away and began practicing believer's baptism, and we've been independent ever since.