THE PROTESTANT
REFORMATION
PreReformation Period
[1300 - 1499]
R ev. J ac k S m i t h
© 2017 Rev. Jack Smith
All Rights Reserved
Published by:
Redeemer Presbyterian Church
2111 Alexander Ave.
Austin, TX 78722
redeemerpres.org
THE PRE-REFORMATION PERIOD [1300-1499]
When we think of the Protestant Reformation, what usually comes to mind
is Martin Luther posting his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg church.
It was the common practice of the time and served as an invitation to debate.
In posting the 95 theses, Luther was challenging elements of Roman Catholic
doctrine, as well as a number of specific practices in the church, including
the selling of indulgences1. Though posting his invitation to debate was a
common practice, the outcome wasn’t—it was extraordinary!
But to fully appreciate the Protestant Reformation and understand its significance, we need to consider the contributions of those who preceded Luther,
Calvin, and others. Before they arrived on the scene, the need for reform, and
efforts to bring it about, already existed in northern Europe.
1 Originally “indulgences” were favors given by the Roman Catholic Church for penance
done or service rendered to the church. Later, under Pope Leo X, for a fee the living could
purchase “indulgences” for deceased loved ones to shorten their time in purgatory.
3
The years 1300 through 1499 were filled with people and events in world
and church history that God would use to purify an increasingly corrupt
church. Men like John Wycliffe, John Huss, Thomas Bradwardine, and
Girolamo Savonarola—as imperfect as their theology may have been—were
busy laying the groundwork for those who followed to bring about the
Protestant Reformation.
Luther nailed his 95 theses in October 1517, which makes 2017 the year to
acknowledge the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. As we
track the progress of the church, we’ll see how God’s providence moved in the
lives of the men and women to bring about the most significant movement in
the life of the church since the Apostolic Age.
THE BLACK DEATH [1345-1353]
From 1345 to 1353 Europe underwent the
most devastating pandemic in the history
of man. The death toll cannot be calculated, but historians estimate anywhere from
30 to 60 percent of the European population fell victim to and died from the Black
Death. It took up to 150 years in some
regions of Europe before the population
was back to pre-plague counts.
The mortality rate was staggering, and the
plague had enormous ramifications for
culture, politics, and economics, as well
as the life of the church. During the years
of the plague, many believed it was God’s
judgment on a faithless generation, the church lost credibility because it had
no answers, and mass graves were dug to bury layer after layer of the dead on
top of one another. So many died from the plague that agricultural production almost came to a complete halt, and many who had escaped the scourge
of the plague were facing starvation.
In Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and England the mortality rate among the
clergy was substantial, resulting in a shortage of priests to minister to the sick
4
and dying. To alleviate the shortage, colleges were built to train and replace
clergy who had died. The need was immediate so the training was shortened and simplified. Men were put on the fast track to the priesthood. As a
result, many of them were illiterate, spiritually ignorant, and ill-equipped to
do ministry. This, of course, only added to the already growing corruption
in the church.
These events and circumstances would shape the hearts and minds of the
people. Their view of the world would change; their thoughts on life, death,
the church, and salvation would be radically altered. And as the plague subsided, the church was left with wolves leading the sheep. The corrupt practices for which Luther would later seek reform burrowed their way deep into
the life and theology of the church.
But in the midst of all this, God raised up men like John Wycliffe, John
Huss, Thomas Bradwardine, and Girolamo Savonarola, who used the tools
that God provided them to set the stage for the much needed reform of the
church.
The need for reform was marked by any number of issues—more than can be
covered here. From heresy and theological errors to faithlessness and outright
abuse, the church was in decline. Abuse of papal authority, illiteracy, greed,
simony2, and superstition made the church a breeding ground for theological,
moral, and financial corruption.
During the Middle Ages the church in Europe had reached such a level of
superstition that all sorts of religious activities such as pilgrimages, obtaining
religious relics3, and the offer of indulgences were seen as having the power
to forgive sins. Of those practices, the sale of indulgences became one of the
major abuses, and from the 11th to 15th centuries the practice grew in popularity as the church became increasingly corrupt.
2 Simony was a practice named after Simon Magus in Acts 8. It is the buying and selling of
ecclesiastical privileges such as the selling of church offices.
3 Relics were divided into classes of importance. A first-class relic of the Roman Catholic
Church would have been the remains of a saint. A second-class relic would be the personal
effects of a saint; something like a piece of cloth from their clothing, a bone, hair, finger, or
skull. People would make pilgrimages to the places where these items resided, and praying
there was thought to increase the chance of forgiveness of sin and greater access to heaven.
5
The idea behind indulgences is that Christ had obtained an abundance of
merit and the saints had done so many good works that they didn’t need
them all. From this treasury of merit, the church possessed the power to offer
forgiveness of sin, for the right price! Men being what they are, and with this
kind of power, indulgences had become a commodity: the church set up shop
and went into the business of selling forgiveness of sin and salvation.
JOHN WYCLIFFE [1320-1384]
Wycliffe is a man familiar to most of us. He was a
prominent preacher in London who drew a large following of those who loved his preaching, adopted his
theological views, and agreed with the need for
reform within the church. Wycliffe would later be
regarded as the “Morning Star of the Reformation”
in England.
A staunch advocate for translating the Bible into the
language of the common man, Wycliffe along with
his friend John Purvey, undertook the project of translating the Latin Vulgate
into English, which was published in 1384. For the first time, the Scriptures
were accessible to the masses. In opposition to Wycliffe’s work, the church believed that, “By this translation, the Scriptures have become vulgar, and they
are more available to lay, and even to women who can read, than they were
to learned scholars, who have a high intelligence. So the pearl of the gospel is
scattered and trodden underfoot by swine.”
His work in translating the Scriptures, together with his denunciation of the
sale of indulgences, private confession, and transubstantiation4, and his persuasion that we are to “Trust wholly in Christ; rely altogether on his sufferings; beware of seeking to be justified in any other way than by his righteousness” brought Wycliffe and his followers into sharp conflict with the church.
It was a conflict that would follow Wycliffe the rest of his life, and beyond
the grave. But, he was also preparing the soil for men like Luther and Calvin.
Wycliffe’s work eventually led to the Protestant Reformation.
4 Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic view that the priest has the power, in the
Eucharist, to turn the elements of bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper into the physical body
and blood of Jesus.
6
In 1384, John Wycliffe died of natural causes. Despite opposition from the
church, the Morning Star of the Reformation pointed the way forward for
those who would follow. Forty-three years after his death, officials dug up his
body, burned his remains, and threw the ashes into the River Swift, which
flows into the Avon, down to the coastal waters, and into the ocean. The
ashes of Wycliffe’s remains have become a symbol of his doctrine, which has
spread throughout the world.
Along with Wycliffe’s devoted lay following, many scholars and serious
theologians adopted his views; one of those men was John Huss, a younger
contemporary of Wycliffe’s whose writings would have great influence on
Luther’s thinking. Huss was a preacher, theologian, and an early church reformer. Both Huss and Wycliffe had been influenced by the theological faithfulness of their predecessor, Thomas Bradwardine.
THOMAS BRADWARDINE [1290-1349]
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
Bradwardine was a man of extraordinary intellect and spiritual depth. Little is
known of his early life, and though his life was cut short by the Black Death,
he had a profound effect on those who followed him. He spoke and wrote
with authority derived from his high view of the Scriptures. It was his study of
the ninth chapter of Romans, in particular, which led him to write his defense
of God’s Sovereignty, The Cause of God Against the Pelagians.5
Bradwardine wrote:
“God is complete perfection and goodness, is good action itself, free
from even the potential of imperfection. God is only limited by his
nature, which is purity itself, and he is the first cause, of all things;
therefore, no one can act nor can anything ‘happen’ apart from God’s
sovereign decree. Divine foreknowledge is God’s will exercised long
before man’s will.
5 Pelagianism teaches that man is basically good, denying original sin, total depravity, the
imputation of Adam’s sin, and substitutionary atonement, and believes that man has the ability
(apart from divine aid) to obey God and earn eternal salvation. Pelagianism was declared
heretical at both the Councils of Carthage and Ephesus.
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PRE-REFORMATION PERIOD [1300­—
[1309]
The beginning of the
Babylonian
Captivity of
the Church.
The church
came under
Roman
Catholic rule.
[1349] Thomas
Bradwardine adopts
Augustine's doctrine
of grace, rejecting
Semi-Pelagianism. His
views would have a
significant influence on
Wycliffe.
[1377] Wycliffe is called to
appear before the bishop of
London for his opposition
to the papacy, monasticism,
confession and absolution,
and opposition to the
church’s view on grace.
[1428] The Ro
Church exhum
of John Wyclif
are burned and
River Swift.
[145
ing
1300
[1337]
Beginning of the
Hundred Years'
War
[1330]
John Wycliffe
is born.
[1371]
John Huss, a
Bohemian prereformer, was greatly
influenced by
Wycliffe. Huss
rejected the sale
of indulgences,
monasticism,
and many
other teachings
of the church,
affirming that
Christ is the
only head of
the church.
[1384] Wycliffe
completes his New
Testament translation. He dies of
natural causes.
[1300 – 1400]
The Black Death
Almost half the population of Britain is wiped out.
8
[1415] John
Huss is martyred and
his remains
thrown into
the river.
[1452]
derstan
comin
begins
author
alone.
—1499]
oman Catholic
mes the remains
ffe. His remains
d thrown into the
[1483] Martin Luther is
born in Eisleben, Saxony.
53] Guttenberg invents the printpress and prints first Bible.
[1498] Savonarola reformer of
the church in Italy was tried and
condemned as a heretic. He was
summarily hanged and burned.
1499
[1497] Philip Melanchthon
born. After reading
Erasmus’ translation of the
NT, like Luther, he came
to understand that
salvation comes
by grace alone.
A constant
collaborator
with Luther,
he died in
1560.
] Savonarola, unnding the shortngs of the church,
s teaching the
rity of scripture
[1466] Erasmus born in
the Netherlands. He was
critical of the abuses of
Rome, but recognized the
authority of the Pope. He
published his first edition
of the Greek NT in 1516.
[1492] Erasmus ordained. Erasmus's
Humanist movement
was beginning to stir
some members of
the church to moral
reform.
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The effects of predestination, justification from sin, the merit of
Christ’s righteous life, perseverance to the end, and unending bliss in
the world to come are all gifts of God’s sovereign grace.”
Thomas Bradwardine was a follower of the Augustinian movement, which
recovered Christian doctrine from being purely an academic pursuit to an
abiding personal faith in Christ.
As incomplete as some of Bradwardine’s views may have been, his intense
study of the Scriptures and his writings influenced Wycliffe’s thinking, leading
him to challenge the corruption in the church. And, it would be the writings
of Wycliffe that would influence John Huss to take a stand for church reform,
a stand that would cost him his life.
JOHN HUSS [1369-1415]
John Huss was a reformer in the
Czech church. Just as the life of
Bradwardine had overlapped and
helped shape Wycliffe, so would
the lives of Wycliffe and Huss.
Born into poverty, Huss originally trained for the priesthood to
carve out a better life for himself,
“I had thought to become a priest
quickly in order to secure a good livelihood and dress, and to be held in high
esteem by men.” For Huss the priesthood was one among many vocations to
choose from that would improve his income and social standing. He earned
his master’s and doctorate degrees, and was ordained to the priesthood in
1401. Huss became a preacher at Prague’s Bethlehem Chapel, which would
eventually become the center of reform in Bohemia6.
But it was during those years of study that Huss underwent a radical transformation, turning his interests from acquiring a “good livelihood” to an intense
interest in the Bible. And it was the writings of Wycliffe that led him to
6 Bohemia was the Christianized, westernmost region of Czechoslovakia.
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depend solely on the Word of God. Huss “desired to hold, believe, and assert
whatever is contained in the Holy Scriptures as long as I have breath.” It was
by way of John Wycliffe that Huss became an heir of Bradwardine’s views.
The Czechs, like Huss, would eventually warm up to Wycliffe’s ideas of
church reform. They were reluctant to give up traditional church doctrine,
but did want to place more emphasis on the Bible. Their desire was to lessen
the authority of the Pope and increase the authority of church councils, while
promoting moral reform of the clergy.
In Huss’ day religion and politics were inescapably entangled. Huss argued
that the people were being exploited by the Pope’s indulgences, but the king
was also receiving a cut of the proceeds. For his outspoken views, Huss—
already at odds with the church—fell into disfavor with the king.
In 1414, Huss was called before the Council of Constance7 to give an account
for his beliefs, with the promise from the Council that there would be significant church reform. Huss was also promised safe passage to appear before
the Council; instead he was arrested and immediately imprisoned upon his
arrival.
After months of imprisonment, Huss was brought in chains before the
Council and rather than being given a hearing where he could answer for his
beliefs, he was simply asked to recant.
Seeing no opportunity to defend his views, Huss addressed the Council,
saying, “I appeal to Jesus Christ, the only judge who is almighty and completely just. In his hands I plead my cause, not on the basis of false witnesses
and erring councils, but on truth and justice.”
He was taken from there to his cell, where many of his friends pleaded with
him to recant. On July 6, 1415, Huss was led to the cathedral dressed in
his priestly garments and then stripped of them one by one. Bound to the
stake, Huss refused a final chance to recant, and prayed in the presence of his
7 The Council of Constance was an ecumenical council that ended the Western Schism
of 1054 separating the eastern church (Greek Orthodox) from the western church (Roman
Catholic Church). It also condemned John Huss as a heretic and facilitated his execution by
the civil authorities.
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tormentors, “Lord Jesus, it is for thee that I patiently endure this cruel death.
I pray thee to have mercy on my enemies.” He was heard reciting the Psalms
as the flames engulfed him.
Huss was one of many men who would give their lives for their evangelical
beliefs. It was John Huss’ commitment to the Christ of Scripture that cost
him his life; this would be his contribution to the reform of the church in the
years to come.
At his death, after the fire had subsided, Huss’ executioners gathered up
his ashes and threw them into a lake so that nothing would remain of the
“heretic.” But his execution fanned the flames of resistance and religious zeal
in Bohemia that would lead to the founding of the Moravian Brethren8. Years
later, it was that movement that would be instrumental in the conversion of
John and Charles Wesley.
GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA [1452-1498]
Girolamo Savonarola was an
Italian poet, preacher, and
prophet who had a menacing
and apocalyptic9 focus in his
writings, preaching, and lectures. He also had an acute aptitude for a study of the Scriptures,
philosophy, politics, and logic.
But being repelled by the corruption in the world around him, he told his father he wanted to be a “knight
of Christ” and in 1475 Savonarola joined the Convent of San Domenico. As
8 The Moravian Church is still in existence today. The church (Moravian Brethren) was
established through the reforming efforts of John Huss. They preached in the language of the
people, rather than Latin, returned Holy Communion to the people, and called their priests to
follow their vows of poverty and return to shepherding the people.
9 Savonarola preached and wrote with a sense of unexpected, catastrophic, and sudden
judgment coming on the world. His quote, seen on page 14, is not the exception; it was
characteristic of all his thinking.
12
a friar, Savonarola took his vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. A year
later, he was ordained to the priesthood.
Having become a serious student of the Scriptures and seeing the moral corruption of the clergy, Savonarola’s preaching, lectures, and writings would
call the church to repentance and renewal. He warned that the “Sword of the
Lord would come over the earth quickly and soon” if they did not repent.
Savonarola engaged in ongoing correspondence with the Pope, denouncing
the moral corruption in the church and calling for repentance. Pope Alexander
VI, in an effort to silence him, offered to make Savonarola a cardinal, which
he refused. The Pope, aggravated by Savonarola’s wild charges against the
church and his abrasive style, finally denounced and excommunicated him.
Savonarola unsuccessfully tried to persuade European leaders to remove
Alexander from the papacy. He also was rejected by most of those who had
followed him.
Savonarola escaped the wrath of God through faith in Jesus Christ, but suffered the wrath of the Roman church for his outspoken views on moral corruption in the church. He was sentenced to death, and while in prison awaiting his execution, he was severely tortured on the rack. On one day alone, 14
times he was bound and lifted high in the air by ropes and then dropped in
free fall to the floor.
In the face of severe torture and his impending death, Savonarola prayed, “O
Lord, a thousand times have you wiped out my iniquity. I do not rely on my
own justification, but on thy mercy.” In between his tortures, he wrote meditations on Psalms 32 and 51, which Martin Luther later published, calling
them “a piece of evangelical testing and Christian piety.”
On May 23, 1498, Girolomo Savonarola appeared for his execution dressed
in his ecclesiastical garb. As the bishop stripped him of his priestly vestments,
one by one, he said, “I separate thee from the church militant and from the
church triumphant.” Savonarola replied, “That is beyond your power.” He
was then hanged for a while, taken down, and burned at the stake.
Unlike Bradwardine, Wycliffe, or Huss, Savonarola didn’t oppose the doctrinal teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. He was much more a moral
13
reformer than a theologian. Still, through his study of the Scriptures he had
laid hold of a biblical understanding of justification by faith:
“God forgives the sins of men, and justifies them by his mercy, for
none are saved by their own works. No man can boast of himself;
and if, in the presence of God, we could ask all these justified sinners,
‘have you been saved by your own strength?’ —all would reply with
one voice, ‘Not unto us, O Lord! not unto us; but to thy name be
the glory!’”
CONCLUSION
As we commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation we
are thankful for the men who rose up in protest, defying the church’s adoption of views that were contrary to Scripture. These were brave men who laid
their reputations, ministries—and some of them their lives—on the line for
the integrity of God’s Word and the purity of the gospel.
But we should be even more thankful to the God who moved them and
sustained them by his grace as they labored in the face of opposition, hazard,
and threat of life.
Hopefully, as we commemorate this great historical period, our appreciation
will grow for the faithfulness of our forebears, and we will realize that we
stand in the tradition and on the shoulders of these great men of God. And
even though the battles we face in the church today are not the same, the
stakes are.
Over the next several months we’ll be looking at the lives of other men and
women who played their part in serving Christ’s church through their sacrifice, commitment, and faithfulness to the purity of God’s Word and the
church.
Semper Reformanda
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