REVELATION – chapters 2-3 (CONT):
THE REFORMATION
7 CHURCH AGES
7 PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamum
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodicea
30 – 100
100 – 300
300 – 600
600 – 1500
1500 – 1700
1700 – 1900
1900 –
Apostolic Church
Persecuted Church
State Church
Papal Church
Reformation Church
Missionary Church
Apostate Church
Sower
Wheat and Tares
Mustard
Seed
Leaven
Hidden Treasure
Pearl of Great Price
Dragnet
The CONDITION of the church
Primacy of Rome & Peter
Infant Baptism & Baptismal regeneration
Priestcraft
Hierarchical Governance (Episcopal)
Simony
Restriction of access to Scripture
Prayer to saints and Mary
Veneration of Mary
Veneration of relics, images & icons
Transubstantiation
Repeated sacrifice of the Mass
Compulsory celibacy of priests
Confession & penance
Purgatory
Indulgences
Leo X (1513-1521) was pope at the time of the Protestant Reformation. Made an Archbishop at age 8; and a Cardinal at 13, he later bargained for the Papal chair.
He maintained the most luxurious and licentious court in Europe. As a great patron of the arts, he exhausted the Vatican treasury in two years.
Faced with large debt, the Church sought relief with reprehensible schemes: a trade in indulgences and selling offices to the highest bidder.
Leo was in endless negotiations with kings and princes, jockeying for secular power, utterly indifferent to the religious welfare of the church.
Those trying to reform the church were routinely declared heretics and burnt at the stake. Leo X declared the burning of heretics a divine appointment. Pope Paul IV (1555-59) said: “Even if my own father were a heretic, I would gather wood to burn him.”
View of salvation: pre-Reformation
Before the Reformation, the ‘yeast’ had well and truly worked through the dough. The Church had gradually adopted a view that resembled a “good works” religion. Rather than God’s property to be offered at his sole discretion, grace had become a sort of spiritual currency with the Church as its banker.
Believers acquired grace by participating in the Church’s sacraments.
In addition to sanctifying grace, merit was earned by good works; by this merit, believers could earn the right to rewards from God.
Conversely, sins reduced one’s merit before God and incurred a debt to him in the divine economy.
Less serious (venial) sins, incurred loss of merit.
Serious (mortal) sins not only removed merit, but also extinguished sanctifying grace in the baptized believer’s soul, which could be restored by the sacrament of penance (confession).
Those whose accounts were ‘overdrawn’ at the final accounting went to hell.
Believers without enough merit for heaven went to purgatory, where they could work off the debt they owed to God.
PURGATORY
THE Treasury of merit
Fortunately, some saints achieved so much merit in their lifetimes on earth that they got into heaven with some to spare.
The purchase of a letter of indulgence was essentially a spiritual shortcut; the pope could draw from this spiritual treasury on your behalf - at a price.
People could buy indulgences for themselves, or for their loved ones in purgatory, in order to have salvation from punishment in the form of a parchment stamped with the seal of the pope.
Actual drafts of indulgence sermons from this time exist. One sermon reads as follows:
“So why are you standing about idly? Run, all of you, for the salvation of your souls… Do you not hear the voices of your dead parents and other people, screaming and saying: ‘Have pity on me, have pity on me… for the hand of God has touched me’ (Job 19:21)?
We are suffering severe punishments and pain [in purgatory], from which you could rescue us with a few alms, if only you would. Open your ears, because the father is calling to the son and the mother to the daughter.” *
* Heiko A. Oberman, “Luther, Man Between God and the Devil”, 1992.
Indulgences could even be bought in advance.
Translation of this Indulgence as sold by John Tetzel : By the authority of all the saints, and in mercy towards you, I absolve you from all sins and misdeeds and remit all punishments for ten days.
Matt 13:44 (NIV) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.
When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
Contrary to popular opinion the treasure in this parable is not Jesus and we are not the man.
We must interpret Scripture with Scripture.
What is the treasure & who is the man?
Field
The world
In these kingdom parables the field has always been the world. (Matt 13:37 “The field is the world…”)
Man
Jesus
The parable is about a man who sold all he had to purchase the field (the world) so that he could possess a treasure.
DID WE SELL ALL WE HAD TO PURCHASE THE WORLD, OR DID JESUS?
The man in all the other kingdom parables has been Jesus.
Treasure
The true church
Jesus bought his ‘treasure’ with His blood (Acts 20:28 Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. )
As a secondary application, this parable corresponds to the period of the Reformation Church.
After a period when error prevailed, Jesus finds a treasure in the world – the Protestant Reformers.
The movement began as an attempt to reform the Catholic Church. Many western Catholics were troubled by the false doctrines and malpractices within the Church.
In 1514, Luther became priest for Wittenberg’s City Church. He came to realise that the sale of indulgences was unscriptural.
In 1517, Pope Leo X offered indulgences to fund the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The Dominican friar Johann Tetzel arrived in Saxony using aggressive marketing practices in promoting this cause.
This provoked Luther to write his now famous 95 theses, which he posted on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517.
Protesting what he saw as the sale of salvation, he not only denounced indulgences as worldly, but denied the Pope’s right to grant pardons on God’s behalf in the first place.
The 95 Theses were quickly translated from Latin into German, printed, and widely copied, making the controversy one of the first in history to be aided by the printing press. Within 2 weeks, the theses had spread throughout Germany; within 2 months throughout Europe.
Thesis 27: Referring to Tetzel, Luther writes: "They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory".
Thesis 28: The only thing indulgences guaranteed was an increase in profit. ("It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased …”)
Thesis 37: “Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.”
Thesis 52: “It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.”
Thesis 54: “Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.”
Thesis 62: “The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.”
Thesis 82: Luther argued that if the Pope were able to forgive sins for money, why not do so out of love.
To wit: - “Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial.”
Thesis 90: he requests reasons, rather than force, as a response to these questions.
A bull (decree)of Pope Leo X issued on June 15, 1520, gave Luther 60 days to recant. Luther burned the bull publicly. A bull of 3 January 1521 then excommunicated him.
Summoned to appear before Charles V, Emperor of “the Holy Roman Empire” at the Diet (council) of Worms in April 1521, he was asked before the assembled secular and ecclesiastical rulers to recant.
Johann Eck, speaking on behalf of the Empire, asked Luther whether he stood by the statements he had made in his books.
He prayed, consulted friends, and gave his famous response the next day: “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God.
“I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me, Amen.”
total depravity
Luther taught that men were helpless and without a plea before God’s justice, and their acts of piety were utterly inadequate before God’s holiness.
Isa 64:6 (NIV) All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Our inability to achieve salvation by our own effort suggests that even our best intention is somehow tainted by our sinful nature (total depravity).
Rom 3:10 (NIV) As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT
Were God only just, and not merciful, everyone would go to hell, because everyone, even the best of us, deserves to go to hell.
As opposed to the treasury of merit which believers can make withdrawals from, salvation is a declaration of spiritual bankruptcy, in which penitents acknowledge the inadequacy of their own resources and trust only in God to save them.
As Luther studied and taught, he gradually began to realize that the New Testament teaches that grace cannot be earned or bought. God freely accepts people. This became the doctrine of “justification by grace through faith.”
Rom 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…
Luther: “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands.”
Five Solas
The Five solas are 5 Latin phrases that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers’ basic theological beliefs in contrast to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.
The Latin word sola means ‘alone’ or ‘only’ in English.
Sola Scriptura (“by Scripture alone”)
Soli Deo Gloria (“glory to God alone”)
Solus Christus (“Christ alone”)
Sola Gratia (“by grace alone”)
Sola Fide (“by faith alone”)
Authority of Church Traditions: The Catholic Church emphasized the authority of church traditions and papal pronouncements alongside Scripture.
The Reformers' focus on Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) was seen as undermining the church's established authority.
Role of Works: Catholic doctrine taught that grace was infused through the sacraments and that good works, in cooperation with God's grace, played a role in achieving salvation.
The Reformers' emphasis on Sola Gratia (grace alone) and Sola Fide (faith alone) was seen as dismissing the importance of good works.
Justification Process: The Catholic Church believed in a process of justification that involved both God's grace and human cooperation.
The Reformers taught that justification was an immediate act of God, imputed to believers through faith alone, without the need for human effort.
Sacramental System: The Catholic Church's sacramental system was integral to its understanding of grace and salvation.
The Reformers' rejection of certain sacraments and their emphasis on faith alone challenged the church's sacramental theology.
TRYING TO EARN SALVATION
The medieval church taught that a person had to earn God’s acceptance. Like many others in his time, as a monk, Luther had been terrified of a God who wanted vengeance on sinners.
He was obsessed with trying to please God and kept his monastic vows with an intensity that went far beyond the already strict requirements. He wore himself out with prayer and fasting.
He wore out his superiors with his excessive and regular confessions of his sins (often taking up hours on end to list each and every individual sin).
He submitted reverently to all
ascetic ‘severities’, said 25
Paternosters (Our Father) with
the Ave Maria at the 7 appointed
hours of prayer… *
Luther wrote after his conversion,
“If ever a monk got to heaven by
monkery, I would have gotten there.”
He desired to attain heaven at
whatever cost and would do anything
to appease the roaring conscience of
sin that hovered over him, and the
dreadful wrath of a God who sat in
judgment of his every deed. *
He wrote, “If I had kept on any longer, I
should have killed myself with vigils, prayers,
readings and other work.”
* The German Reformation by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
Despite diligently observing all the rules in the monastery, Luther did not find the peace he had expected. The more he studied, the more troubled he became.
In 1510 he decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome in hopes of finding the peace he needed. He performed the religious duties customary for a pious visitor, but was shocked by the worldliness of the Roman clergy.
He would later say he was glad he had seen Rome with his own eyes; otherwise, “I might have been afraid of being unjust to the Pope.”
After receiving his doctorate in Theology in 1512, Luther took a position as Theology Professor at the Wittenberg University ‘Leucorea’. He gave lectures on the Psalms, Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. *
This time is characterised by Luther’s grappling with religious understanding. His decisive religious enlightenment is said to have come during his intensive study of the Letter to the Romans during which time he realized that people receive justice through the grace of God, not through good works. *
* http:// www.luther.de
Faith ALONE
“Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that ‘the just shall live by his faith.’ (Rom 1:17)
“Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which, through grace and sheer mercy, God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.
“The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the ‘justice of God’ had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven…” *
* Glimpses of Christian History
Through his laborious studies of the
Scriptures, Luther came to see that
the guilt that consumed him could
not be lifted by more religion, and
the God he dreaded so much was
not the God that Christ has
revealed.
Luther wondered, would a God of
Love be more inclined to condemn
than to show tenderness and mercy?
“We have made of Christ a task-
master far more severe than Moses.”
God is not obliged to save anyone; men cannot make themselves good enough to earn their way into heaven.
It is only through the redemption bought by Christ’s sacrifice that anyone is saved, and the path of salvation for men lies in participating in that redemption.
Rom 3:21-25 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…
It is by God’s Grace (unmerited favour), therefore, that salvation is granted to man, on the condition that we put our faith, meaning belief or confidence, in other words, trust) in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, that is, belief that Jesus is from God, and that his death on the cross has the power to take away our sins, thus making us blameless in the sight of God.
Rom 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
Luther: “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times.”
Addressing Jewish believers, Peter says of the perceived requirement of Gentile believers keeping
the Jewish laws:
Acts 15:9-11 “He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Grace ALONE
According to Luther only the unearned, unmerited grace of God can save anyone. No one can have a claim of entitlement to God’s grace, and it is only by his generosity that salvation is even possible.
2 Cor 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
This is the gospel (good news):
Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace
Grace is the distinguishing feature of the New Covenant:
John 1:16-17 (ESV) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Grace refers to the favour of God for humankind — especially in regard to salvation — irrespective of actions (‘deeds’), earned worth, or proven goodness.
2 Tim 1:8-9 …God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
Grace, then, is God’s initiative and choice to make a path of salvation available for men.
Eph 2:1-5 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ
even when we were dead in transgressions—
it is by grace you have been saved.
Grace is an action of God towards mankind by which he provides a benefit, without consideration of merit.
Titus 3:3-6 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Paul wrote the epistle to the Galatians
warning them about trying to earn their
salvation by works and external acts
like circumcision.
Gal 5:2-4 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell
you that if you let yourselves be
circumcised, Christ will be of
no value to you at all. Again I
declare to every man who lets
himself be circumcised that
he is obligated to obey the
whole law. You who are
trying to be justified by
law have been alienated
from Christ; you have
fallen away from grace.
NOT BY WORKS
Rom 11:5-6 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
If salvation were achieved by works (any human effort that intends earning), men could take pride in their efforts toward holiness.
No boasting
However, salvation is a gift so there is no room for boasting:
Eph 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.
Rom 3:24-28 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus…Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart
from observing the law.
When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage.
When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.
When a person receives appropriate recognition
for his long service or high
achievements, that is an award.
But when a person is not capable
of earning a wage, can win no
prize, and deserves no
award—yet receives such a
gift anyway—that is a good
picture of God’s unmerited
favour. This is what we mean
when we talk about the grace of God. *
* Clip-Art Features for Church Newsletters, G.W. Knight, p. 53
We earn wages, but a gift is free:
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eph 1:6 … his glorious grace, which he has freely given us…
Rom 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
A gift
Jesus was the one who gave us the gift of grace:
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17)
Jesus taught the concept of grace. He told many parables that underlined that grace was freely offered by God.
His parables indicate grace broad enough to forgive any sin, and to be available regardless of the seeming unworthiness of its recipient. Examples of this included the parable of the Prodigal son and lost sheep.
Parables such as well known story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 contain the teachings of Jesus on God’s forgiveness and grace to the underserving.
A son demands the family fortune and subsequently wastes it, then returns home expecting little in the way of good treatment.
However the father welcomes him handsomely, despite the objections of his other son who had stayed at home and served dutifully.
Similarly, the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16, tells of an employer (God) who hires some workers early in the day, some later, and some an hour before quitting time, then pays each of them the same amount.
The workers who worked all day complain but the employer’s response is, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”
Like the wages of the labourers in the parable, grace is God’s gift at God’s sole discretion.
Those workers who worked all day felt they had worked harder and deserved their pay, while the latecomers didn’t.
In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the elder brother felt that he deserved his father’s
favour because he had stayed at home
dutifully, while his brother didn’t.
So there is a common
thread in these
parables: the grace
of God upsets
human notions
about merit and
about what is
deserved from
God.
a license to sin?
Rom 6:14-18 For sin shall not be
your master, because you are
not under law, but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we
are not under law but under grace?
By no means! Don’t you know that
when you offer yourselves to someone
to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you
obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or
to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
If grace is simply a reusable “Get Out Of Jail Free” card, then the gospel will be reduced to a new type of indulgence system, except that you don’t have to pay.
Rom 6:1-2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Jude 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about a long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age
Rom 3:24-31 … and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus … since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
WORKS ARE A FRUIT, NOT A ROOT
Good works are something the believers should undertake out of gratitude towards their Saviour; but they are not necessary
for salvation and cannot earn anyone salvation; there is no room for the
notion of ‘merit’ in Luther’s doctrine
of redemption. *
There are, however, degrees of reward for the redeemed in heaven.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_in_Christianity
Eph 2:6-9 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works…
However the same passage goes on to show that works are a fruit of the convert:
Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The benefits of God’s grace
By God’s grace: Jesus took our punishment.
Heb 2:9 … Jesus … suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
By God’s grace: we can approach God with confidence:
Heb 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
By God’s grace: we are justified (God’s act of declaring or making a sinner righteous before God):
Rom 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace …
By God’s grace: we have forgiveness and redemption (purchasing back something previously sold):
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
By God’s grace: we have eternal life and are God’s heirs:
Titus 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
A brief overview of the main themes Luther addressed:
Authority of Scripture: Luther emphasized that the Bible is the sole authority for Christian faith and practice, rejecting the Church's reliance on traditions and papal authority.
Faith and Good Works: He argued that salvation is achieved through faith alone (Sola Fide) and not by good works or financial contributions.
Penance and Repentance: Luther stressed the importance of genuine repentance and inner spiritual transformation, rather than external acts or payments.
Critique of Church Wealth: He criticized the Church's accumulation of wealth and its focus on materialism, urging a return to spiritual values.
Critique of Indulgences: Luther challenged the Church's practice of selling indulgences, which were payments to absolve sins. He argued that this practice exploited people's fear of punishment and misled them about the nature of repentance and forgiveness.
AUTHOR: Gavin Paynter
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