Latest / Philosophy and Faith / 05 - John Whycliffe - The Great Controversy

Transcript

05 - John Whycliffe - The Great Controversy · Philosophy and Faith

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter five, John Wickliffe. Before the Reformation, there were at
0:06
Speaker 1: times but very few copies of the Bible in existence.
0:10
Speaker 1: But God had not suffered his word to be wholly destroyed.
0:14
Speaker 1: Its truths were not to be forever hidden. He could
0:17
Speaker 1: as easily unchain the words of life as he could
0:19
Speaker 1: open prison doors and unbolt iron gates to set his
0:22
Speaker 1: servants free. In the different countries of Europe, men were
0:26
Speaker 1: moved by the spirit of God to search for the
0:28
Speaker 1: truth as for hid treasures. Providentially guided to the Holy Scriptures,
0:33
Speaker 1: they studied the sacred pages with intense interest. They were
0:37
Speaker 1: willing to accept the light at any cost to themselves.
0:40
Speaker 1: Though they did not see all things clearly, they were
0:43
Speaker 1: enabled to perceive many long buried truths. As heaven sent messengers.
0:47
Speaker 1: They went forth, rending asunder the chains of error and superstition,
0:51
Speaker 1: and calling upon those who had been so long enslaved
0:54
Speaker 1: to arise and assert their liberty. Except among the Waltenseys,
0:59
Speaker 1: the word of God had for ages been locked up
1:01
Speaker 1: in languages known only to the learned. But the time
1:04
Speaker 1: had come for the scriptures to be translated and given
1:07
Speaker 1: to the people of different lands in their native tongue.
1:10
Speaker 1: The world had passed its midnight. The hours of darkness
1:14
Speaker 1: were wearing away, and in many lands appeared tokens of
1:17
Speaker 1: the coming dawn. In the fourteenth century arose in England
1:21
Speaker 1: the morning star of the Reformation. John Wickliffe was the
1:25
Speaker 1: herald of reform, not for England alone, but for all Christendom.
1:29
Speaker 1: The great protest against Rome, which it was permitted him
1:32
Speaker 1: to utter, was never to be silenced. That protest opened
1:36
Speaker 1: the struggle which was to result in the emancipation of individuals,
1:40
Speaker 1: of churches and of nations. Wickliffe received a liberal education,
1:45
Speaker 1: and with him the fear of the Lord was the
1:47
Speaker 1: beginning of wisdom. He was noted at college for his
1:50
Speaker 1: fervent piety, as well as for his remarkable talents and
1:53
Speaker 1: sound scholarship. In his thirst for knowledge, he sought to
1:57
Speaker 1: become acquainted with every branch of learning. He was educated
2:01
Speaker 1: in the scholastic philosophy, in the canons of the Church,
2:05
Speaker 1: and in the civil law, especially that of his own country.
2:09
Speaker 1: In his after labors, the value of this early training
2:11
Speaker 1: was apparent. A thorough acquaintance with the speculative philosophy of
2:16
Speaker 1: his time enabled him to expose its errors, and by
2:20
Speaker 1: his study of national and ecclesiastical law, he was prepared
2:24
Speaker 1: to engage in the great struggle for civil and religious
2:26
Speaker 1: liberty while he could wield the weapons drawn from the
2:30
Speaker 1: Word of God. He had acquired the intellectual discipline of
2:33
Speaker 1: the schools, and he understood the tactics of the schoolmen.
2:37
Speaker 1: The power of his genius and the extent and thoroughness
2:40
Speaker 1: of his knowledge commanded the respect of both friends and foes.
2:44
Speaker 1: His adherents saw with satisfaction that their champion stood foremost
2:48
Speaker 1: among the leading minds of the nation, and his enemies
2:51
Speaker 1: were prevented from casting contempt upon the cause of reform
2:55
Speaker 1: by exposing the ignorance or weakness of its supporter. While
2:59
Speaker 1: Wickliffe was still at college, he entered upon the study
3:02
Speaker 1: of the scriptures. In those early times, when the Bible
3:05
Speaker 1: existed only in the ancient languages, scholars were enabled to
3:09
Speaker 1: find their way to the fountain of truth, which was
3:12
Speaker 1: close to the uneducated classes. Thus, already the way had
3:16
Speaker 1: been prepared for Wickliffe's future work as a reformer. Men
3:20
Speaker 1: of learning had studied the Word of God and had
3:22
Speaker 1: found the great truth of his free grace there revealed
3:26
Speaker 1: in their teachings they had spread a knowledge of this truth,
3:29
Speaker 1: and had led others to turn to the living oracles.
3:33
Speaker 1: When Wickliffe's attention was directed to the scriptures, he entered
3:36
Speaker 1: upon their investigation with the same thoroughness which had enabled
3:39
Speaker 1: him to master the learning of the schools. Heretofore he
3:43
Speaker 1: had felt a great want which neither his scholastic studies
3:46
Speaker 1: nor the teaching of the Church could satisfy. In the
3:50
Speaker 1: Word of God, he found that which he had before
3:52
Speaker 1: sought in vain. Here he saw the plan of salvation revealed,
3:56
Speaker 1: and Christ set forth as the only advocate for man.
4:00
Speaker 1: He gave himself to the service of Christ, and determined
4:03
Speaker 1: to proclaim the truths he had discovered. Like after reformers,
4:08
Speaker 1: Wickliffe did not, at the opening of his work foresee
4:10
Speaker 1: whether it would lead him. He did not set himself
4:13
Speaker 1: deliberately in opposition to Rome. But devotion to truth could
4:18
Speaker 1: not but bring him in conflict with falsehood. The more
4:21
Speaker 1: clearly he discerned the errors of the papacy, the more
4:24
Speaker 1: earnestly he presented the teaching of the Bible. He saw
4:27
Speaker 1: that Rome had forsaken the word of God for human tradition.
4:31
Speaker 1: He fearlessly accused the priesthood of having banished the scriptures,
4:34
Speaker 1: and demanded that the Bible be restored to the people
4:37
Speaker 1: and that its authority be again established in the church.
4:41
Speaker 1: He was an able and earnest teacher and an eloquent preacher,
4:45
Speaker 1: and his daily life was a demonstration of the truths
4:47
Speaker 1: he preached. His knowledge of the scriptures, the force of
4:51
Speaker 1: his reasoning, the purity of his life, and his unbending
4:55
Speaker 1: courage and integrity won for him general esteem and confidence.
5:00
Speaker 1: Many of the people had become dissatisfied with their former
5:03
Speaker 1: faith as they saw the iniquity that prevailed in the
5:06
Speaker 1: Roman Church, and they hailed with unconcealed joy the truths
5:10
Speaker 1: brought to view by Wickliffe. But the papal leaders were
5:13
Speaker 1: filled with rage when they perceived that this reformer was
5:16
Speaker 1: gaining influence greater than their own. Wickliffe was a keen
5:20
Speaker 1: detector of error, and he struck fearlessly against many of
5:23
Speaker 1: the abuses sanctioned by the authority of Rome. While acting
5:28
Speaker 1: as chaplain for the king, he took a bold stand
5:30
Speaker 1: against the payment of tribute claimed by the pope from
5:33
Speaker 1: the English monarch, and showed that the papal assumption of
5:36
Speaker 1: authority over secular rulers was contrary to both reason and revelation.
5:41
Speaker 1: The demands of the Pope had excited great indignation, and
5:45
Speaker 1: Wickliff's teachings exerted an influence upon the leading minds of
5:49
Speaker 1: the nation. The King and the nobles united in denying
5:52
Speaker 1: the pontiff's claim to temporal authority and in refusing the
5:57
Speaker 1: payment of the tribute. Thus an effectual blows was struck
6:00
Speaker 1: against the papal supremacy in England. Another evil against which
6:05
Speaker 1: the Reformer waged long and resolute battle was the institution
6:09
Speaker 1: of the orders of mendicant Friars. These friars swarmed in England,
6:13
Speaker 1: casting a blight upon the greatness and prosperity of the nation. Industry, education,
6:19
Speaker 1: morals all felt the withering influence. The Monk's life of
6:23
Speaker 1: idleness and beggary was not only a heavy drain upon
6:26
Speaker 1: the resources of the people, but it brought useful labor
6:29
Speaker 1: into contempt. The youth were demoralized and corrupted by the
6:33
Speaker 1: influence of the friars. Many were induced to enter a
6:36
Speaker 1: cloister and devote themselves to a monastic life, and this
6:40
Speaker 1: not only without the consent of their parents, but even
6:42
Speaker 1: without their knowledge and contrary to their commands. One of
6:47
Speaker 1: the early fathers of the Roman Church, urging the claims
6:50
Speaker 1: of monasticism above the obligations of filial love and duty,
6:53
Speaker 1: had declared, though thy father should lie before thy door,
6:57
Speaker 1: weeping and lamenting, and thy mother should she show the body
7:00
Speaker 1: that bore thee, and the breasts that nurse thee, see
7:03
Speaker 1: that thou trample them under foot, and go onward straightway
7:06
Speaker 1: to Christ. By this monstrous in humanity, as Luther afterwards
7:10
Speaker 1: styled it, savoring more of the wolf and the tyrant
7:13
Speaker 1: than of the Christian and the man, were the hearts
7:15
Speaker 1: of children stealed against their parents. Thus did the papal leaders,
7:20
Speaker 1: like the Pharisees of old, make the commandment of God
7:23
Speaker 1: of none effect by their tradition. Thus homes were made desolate,
7:27
Speaker 1: and parents were deprived of the society of their sons
7:30
Speaker 1: and daughters. Even the students in the universities were deceived
7:34
Speaker 1: by the false representations of the monks and in use
7:37
Speaker 1: to join their orders. Many afterward repented this step, seeing
7:41
Speaker 1: that they had blighted their own lives and had brought
7:43
Speaker 1: sorrow upon their parents. But once fast in the snare,
7:47
Speaker 1: it was impossible for them to obtain their freedom. Many parents,
7:51
Speaker 1: fearing the influence of the monks, refused to send their
7:54
Speaker 1: sons to the universities. There was a marked falling off
7:58
Speaker 1: in the number of students in attendance of them, the
8:00
Speaker 1: great centers of learning. The schools languished, and ignorance prevailed.
8:05
Speaker 1: The Pope had bestowed on these monks the power to
8:07
Speaker 1: hear confessions and to grant pardon. This became a source
8:11
Speaker 1: of great evil. Bent on enhancing their gains, the friars
8:15
Speaker 1: are so ready to grant absolution that criminals of all
8:18
Speaker 1: descriptions resorted to them, and as a result, the worst
8:21
Speaker 1: vices rapidly increased. The sick and the poor were left
8:25
Speaker 1: to suffer, while the gifts that should have relieved their
8:27
Speaker 1: wants went to the monks, who, with threats, demanded the
8:30
Speaker 1: alms of the people, denouncing the impiety of those who
8:33
Speaker 1: should withhold gifts from their orders. Notwithstanding their profession of poverty,
8:38
Speaker 1: the wealth of the friars was constantly increasing, and their
8:41
Speaker 1: magnificent edifices and luxurious tables made more apparent the growing
8:45
Speaker 1: poverty of the nation. And while spending their time in
8:49
Speaker 1: luxury and pleasure. They sent out in their stead ignorant
8:52
Speaker 1: men who could only recount marvelous tales, legends and jests
8:56
Speaker 1: to amuse the people and make them still more completely
8:59
Speaker 1: the due of the monks. Yet the friars continued to
9:03
Speaker 1: maintain their hold on the superstitious multitudes, and led them
9:07
Speaker 1: to believe that all religious duty was comprised in acknowledging
9:10
Speaker 1: the supremacy of the Pope, adoring the saints, and making
9:13
Speaker 1: gifts to the monks, and that this was sufficient to
9:16
Speaker 1: secure them a place in heaven. Men of learning and
9:19
Speaker 1: piety had labored in vain to bring about a reform
9:22
Speaker 1: in these monastic orders, but Wickliffe, with clearer insight, struck
9:25
Speaker 1: at the root of the evil, declaring that the system
9:28
Speaker 1: itself was false and that it should be abolished. Discussion
9:32
Speaker 1: and inquiry were awakening as the monks traversed the country
9:35
Speaker 1: vending the pope's pardons. Many were led to doubt the
9:38
Speaker 1: possibility of purchasing forgiveness with money, and they questioned whether
9:42
Speaker 1: they should not seek pardon from God rather than from
9:45
Speaker 1: the Pontiff of Rome. Not a few were alarmed at
9:48
Speaker 1: the rapacity of the friars, whose greed seemed never to
9:51
Speaker 1: be satisfied. The monks and priests of Rome said, they
9:55
Speaker 1: are eating us away like a cancer. God must deliver
9:58
Speaker 1: us or the people will perish. To cover their avarice,
10:02
Speaker 1: these begging monks claimed that they were following the Saviour's example,
10:06
Speaker 1: declaring that Jesus and his disciples had been supported by
10:09
Speaker 1: the charities of the people. This claim resulted in injury
10:13
Speaker 1: to their cause, for it led many to the Bible
10:15
Speaker 1: to learn the truth for themselves, a result which of
10:18
Speaker 1: all others was least desired by Rome. The minds of
10:21
Speaker 1: men were directed to the source of truth, which it
10:24
Speaker 1: was her object to conceal. Wickliffe began to write and
10:27
Speaker 1: publish tracts against the Friars, not however, seeking so much
10:31
Speaker 1: to enter into dispute with them, as to call the
10:33
Speaker 1: minds of the people to the teachings of the Bible
10:36
Speaker 1: and its author. He declared that the power of pardon
10:39
Speaker 1: or of excommunication is possessed by the pope in no
10:42
Speaker 1: greater degree than by common priests, and that no man
10:45
Speaker 1: can be truly excommunicated unless he has first brought upon
10:49
Speaker 1: himself the condemnation of God. In no more effectual way
10:53
Speaker 1: could he have undertaken the overthrow of that mammoth fabric
10:56
Speaker 1: of spiritual and temporal dominion which the Pope had erected,
10:59
Speaker 1: and in which the souls and bodies of millions were
11:01
Speaker 1: held captive. Again, Wickliffe was called to defend the rights
11:05
Speaker 1: of the English crown against the encroachments of Rome, and
11:09
Speaker 1: being appointed a royal ambassador, he spent two years in
11:11
Speaker 1: the Netherlands in conference with the commissioners of the Pope.
11:15
Speaker 1: Here he was brought into communication with ecclesiastics from France,
11:19
Speaker 1: Italy and Spain, and he had an opportunity to look
11:22
Speaker 1: behind the scenes and gain a knowledge of many things
11:25
Speaker 1: which would have remained hidden from him in England. He
11:28
Speaker 1: learned much that was to give point to his after labors.
11:32
Speaker 1: In these representatives from the papal court he read the
11:34
Speaker 1: true character and aims of the hierarchy. He returned to
11:38
Speaker 1: England to repeat his former teachings more openly and with
11:41
Speaker 1: greater zeal, declaring that covetousness, pride, and deception were the
11:45
Speaker 1: gods of Rome. In one of his tracts, he said,
11:49
Speaker 1: speaking of the Pope and his collectors, they draw out
11:52
Speaker 1: of our land poor men's livelihood, and many thousand marks
11:56
Speaker 1: by the year of the King's money for sacraments and
11:58
Speaker 1: spiritual things. That is cursed heresy of simony, and maketh
12:02
Speaker 1: all Christendom assent and maintain this heresy and certees. Though
12:06
Speaker 1: our realm had a huge hill of gold, and never
12:09
Speaker 1: other man took thereof, but only this proud worldly priest's collector.
12:12
Speaker 1: By process of time, this hill must be spended. Where
12:15
Speaker 1: he taketh ever money out of our land, and sendeth
12:18
Speaker 1: not again but God's curse for his simony. Soon after
12:21
Speaker 1: his return to England, Wickliffe received from the King the
12:24
Speaker 1: appointment to the rectory of Lutterworth. This was an assurance
12:28
Speaker 1: that the monarch at least had not been displeased by
12:30
Speaker 1: his plain speaking. Wickliffe's influence was felt in shaping the
12:34
Speaker 1: action of the court as well as in molding the
12:36
Speaker 1: belief of the nation. The papal thunders were soon hurled
12:41
Speaker 1: against him. Three bulls were dispatched to England, to the University,
12:45
Speaker 1: to the King, and to the prelates, all commanding immediate
12:48
Speaker 1: and decisive measures to silence the teacher of heresy. Before
12:53
Speaker 1: the arrival of the bulls. However, the bishops and their
12:55
Speaker 1: zeal had summoned Wickliffe before them for trial, but two
12:59
Speaker 1: of the most powerful princes in the kingdom accompanied him
13:02
Speaker 1: to the tribunal, and the people surrounding the building and
13:05
Speaker 1: rushing in so intimidated the judges that the proceedings were
13:09
Speaker 1: for the time suspended, and he was allowed to go
13:12
Speaker 1: his way in peace. A little later, Edward the Third,
13:15
Speaker 1: whom in his old age the prelates were seeking to
13:17
Speaker 1: influence against the Reformer, died, and Wickliff's former protector became
13:22
Speaker 1: regent of the kingdom. But the arrival of the papal
13:25
Speaker 1: bulls laid upon all England a peremptory command for the
13:29
Speaker 1: arrest and imprisonment of the heretic. These measures pointed directly
13:33
Speaker 1: to the stake. It appeared certain that Wickliff must soon
13:36
Speaker 1: fall a prey to the vengeance of Rome, but he
13:38
Speaker 1: who declared to one of old fear, not I am
13:41
Speaker 1: thy shield, again stretched out his hand to protect his servant.
13:45
Speaker 1: Death came not to the Reformer, but to the pontiff
13:48
Speaker 1: who had decreed his destruction. Gregory the eleventh died, and
13:52
Speaker 1: the ecclesiastics who had assembled for Wickliff's trial dispersed. God's
13:57
Speaker 1: providence still further overruled events to give up oportunity for
14:00
Speaker 1: the growth of the Reformation. The death of Gregory was
14:03
Speaker 1: followed by the election of two rival popes, two conflicting powers,
14:08
Speaker 1: each professedly infallible, now claimed obedience. Each called upon the
14:12
Speaker 1: faithful to assist him in making war upon the other,
14:16
Speaker 1: enforcing his demands by terrible anathemas against his adversaries and
14:20
Speaker 1: promises of rewards in heaven to his supporters. This occurrence
14:24
Speaker 1: greatly weakened the power of the papacy. The rival factions
14:28
Speaker 1: had all they could do to attack each other, and
14:30
Speaker 1: Wickliffe for a time had rest. Anathemas and recriminations were
14:34
Speaker 1: flying from pope to pope, and torrents of blood were
14:37
Speaker 1: poured out to support their conflicting claims. Crimes and scandals
14:42
Speaker 1: flooded the church. Meanwhile, the Reformer, in the quiet retirement
14:46
Speaker 1: of his parish of Lutterworth, was laboring diligently to point
14:49
Speaker 1: men from the contending popes to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
14:53
Speaker 1: The schism, with all the strife and corruption which it
14:56
Speaker 1: caused prepared the way for the Reformation by enabling the
14:59
Speaker 1: people to see what the papacy really was. In a
15:02
Speaker 1: tract which he published on the Schism of the Popes,
15:05
Speaker 1: Wegcliffe called upon the people to consider whether these two
15:08
Speaker 1: priests were not speaking the truth and condemning each other
15:11
Speaker 1: as the Antichrist. God said he would no longer suffer
15:15
Speaker 1: the fiend to reign in only one such priest, but
15:18
Speaker 1: made division among two, so that men in Christ's name
15:21
Speaker 1: may the more easily overcome them both. Wecliffe, like his master,
15:25
Speaker 1: preached the Gospel to the poor. Not content with spreading
15:28
Speaker 1: the light in their humble homes in his own parish
15:30
Speaker 1: of Lutterworth, he determined that it should be carried to
15:33
Speaker 1: every part of England. To accomplish this, he organized a
15:37
Speaker 1: body of preachers, simple devout men who loved the truth
15:41
Speaker 1: and desired nothing so much as to extend it. These
15:44
Speaker 1: men went everywhere, teaching in the market places, in the
15:47
Speaker 1: streets of the great cities, and in the country lanes.
15:51
Speaker 1: They sought out the aged, the sick, and the poor,
15:53
Speaker 1: and opened to them the glad tidings of the grace
15:56
Speaker 1: of God. As a professor of theology, at Oxford Cliffe
16:00
Speaker 1: preached the Word of God in the halls of the university.
16:03
Speaker 1: So faithfully did he present the truth to the students
16:06
Speaker 1: under his instruction that he received the title of the
16:09
Speaker 1: Gospel Doctor. But the greatest work of his life was
16:13
Speaker 1: to be the translation of the Scriptures into the English language.
16:17
Speaker 1: In a work on the Truth and Meaning of Scripture,
16:19
Speaker 1: he expressed his intention to translate the Bible so that
16:23
Speaker 1: every man in England might read in the language in
16:26
Speaker 1: which he was born the wonderful works of God. But
16:29
Speaker 1: suddenly his labors were stopped. Though not yet sixty years
16:33
Speaker 1: of age, unceasing toil, study and the assaults of his
16:36
Speaker 1: enemies had told upon his strength and made him prematurely old,
16:40
Speaker 1: he was attacked by a dangerous illness. The tidings brought
16:44
Speaker 1: great joy to the friars. Now they thought he would
16:46
Speaker 1: bitterly repent the evil he had done the church, and
16:49
Speaker 1: they hurried to his chamber to listen to his confession.
16:52
Speaker 1: Representatives from the four religious orders, with four civil officers
16:57
Speaker 1: gathered about the supposed dying man. You have death on
17:01
Speaker 1: your lips, they said, be touched by your faults and
17:03
Speaker 1: retract in our presence. All that you have said to
17:06
Speaker 1: our injury. The reformer listened in silence. Then he bade
17:10
Speaker 1: his attendant raise him in his bed, and, gazing steadily
17:13
Speaker 1: upon them as they stood waiting for his recantation, he said,
17:16
Speaker 1: in the firm, strong voice which had so often caused
17:19
Speaker 1: them to tremble, I shall not die, but live and
17:23
Speaker 1: again declare the evil deeds of the Friars. Astonished and abashed,
17:28
Speaker 1: the monks hurried from the room. Wickliffe's words were fulfilled.
17:32
Speaker 1: He lived to place in the hands of his countrymen
17:34
Speaker 1: the most powerful of all weapons against Rome, to give
17:37
Speaker 1: them the Bible, the heaven appointed agent to liberate, enlighten,
17:41
Speaker 1: and evangelize the people. There were many and great obstacles
17:45
Speaker 1: to surmount in the accomplishment of this work. Wickliffe was
17:48
Speaker 1: weighed down with infirmities. He knew that only a few
17:51
Speaker 1: years for labor remained for him. He saw the opposition
17:55
Speaker 1: which he must meet. But encouraged by the promises of
17:58
Speaker 1: God's word, he went forward nothing daunted in the full
18:01
Speaker 1: vigor of his intellectual powers, rich in experience, he had
18:05
Speaker 1: been preserved and prepared by God's special providence for this,
18:09
Speaker 1: The greatest of his labors. While all Christendom was filled
18:13
Speaker 1: with tumult, The Reformer, in his rectory at Lutterworth, unheeding
18:16
Speaker 1: the storm that raged without, applied himself to his chosen task.
18:21
Speaker 1: At last the work was completed, the first English translation
18:24
Speaker 1: of the Bible ever made. The Word of God was
18:27
Speaker 1: open to England. The Reformer feared not now the prison
18:31
Speaker 1: or the stake he had placed in the hands of
18:33
Speaker 1: the English people, a light which should never be extinguished.
18:37
Speaker 1: In giving the Bible to his countrymen, he had done
18:40
Speaker 1: more to break the fetters of ignorance and vice, more
18:43
Speaker 1: to liberate and elevate his country, than was ever achieved
18:46
Speaker 1: by the most brilliant victories on fields of battle. The
18:50
Speaker 1: art of printing being still unknown, it was only by
18:53
Speaker 1: slow and wearisome labor that copies of the Bible could
18:56
Speaker 1: be multiplied. So great was the interest to obtain the
18:59
Speaker 1: book that many willingly engaged in the work of transcribing it.
19:02
Speaker 1: But it was with difficulty that the copyists could supply
19:05
Speaker 1: the demand. Some of the more wealthy purchasers desired the
19:09
Speaker 1: whole Bible, others bought only a portion. In many cases,
19:13
Speaker 1: several families united to purchase a copy Thus Wickliffe's Bible
19:17
Speaker 1: soon found its way to the homes of the people.
19:20
Speaker 1: The appeal to men's reason aroused them from their passive
19:23
Speaker 1: submission to papal dogmas. Wickliffe now taught the distinctive doctrines
19:27
Speaker 1: of Protestantism, salvation through faith in Christ and the sole
19:31
Speaker 1: infallibility of the Scriptures. The preachers whom he had sent
19:35
Speaker 1: out circulated the Bible together with the reformers writings, and
19:39
Speaker 1: with such success that the new faith was accepted by
19:42
Speaker 1: nearly one half of the people of England. The appearance
19:46
Speaker 1: of the scriptures brought dismay to the authorities of the church.
19:49
Speaker 1: They had now to meet an agency more powerful than Wickliffe,
19:52
Speaker 1: an agency against which their weapons would avail little. There
19:57
Speaker 1: was at this time no law in England prohibiting a Bible,
20:00
Speaker 1: for it had never before been published in the language
20:02
Speaker 1: of the people. Such laws were afterward enacted and rigorously enforced. Meanwhile,
20:08
Speaker 1: notwithstanding the efforts of the priests, there was for a
20:11
Speaker 1: season opportunity for the circulation of the Word of God. Again,
20:15
Speaker 1: the papal leaders plotted to silence the reformer's voice. Before
20:19
Speaker 1: three tribunals. He was successively summoned for trial, but without avail. First,
20:24
Speaker 1: a senate of bishops declared his writings heretical, and when
20:27
Speaker 1: in the young King Richard the Second to their side,
20:30
Speaker 1: they obtained a royal decree consigning to prison all who
20:33
Speaker 1: should hold the condemned doctrines, Wickliff appealed from the Senate
20:37
Speaker 1: to Parliament. He fearlessly arraigned the hierarchy before the National
20:41
Speaker 1: Council and demanded a reform of the enormous abuses sanctioned
20:45
Speaker 1: by the Church. With convincing power, he portrayed the usurpations
20:49
Speaker 1: and corruptions of the papal sea his enemies were brought
20:53
Speaker 1: to confusion. The friends and supporters of Wickliffe had been
20:56
Speaker 1: forced to yield, and it had been confidently expected that
21:00
Speaker 1: the Reformer himself, in his old age, alone and friendless,
21:03
Speaker 1: would bow to the combined authority of the Crown and
21:06
Speaker 1: the Miter. But instead of this, the Papists saw themselves defeated. Parliament,
21:11
Speaker 1: roused by the stirring appeals of Wickliffe, repealed the persecuting edict,
21:15
Speaker 1: and the reformer was again at liberty. A third time.
21:19
Speaker 1: He was brought to trial, and now before the highest
21:21
Speaker 1: ecclesiastical tribunal in the kingdom. Here no favor would be
21:25
Speaker 1: shown to heresy. Here at last Rome would triumph, and
21:28
Speaker 1: the Reformer's work would be stopped. So thought the papists.
21:33
Speaker 1: If they could but accomplish their purpose, Wickliffe would be
21:35
Speaker 1: forced to abjure his doctrines, or would leave the court
21:38
Speaker 1: only for the flames. But Wickliffe did not retract, He
21:42
Speaker 1: would not dissemble. He fearlessly maintained his teachings and repelled
21:46
Speaker 1: the accusations of his persecutors. Losing sight of himself of
21:51
Speaker 1: his position of the occasion, he summoned his hearers before
21:54
Speaker 1: the divine tribunal and weighed their sophistries and deceptions in
21:58
Speaker 1: the balances of eternal tree truth. The power of the
22:02
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit was felt in the council room. A spell
22:05
Speaker 1: from God was upon the hearers. They seemed to have
22:08
Speaker 1: no power to leave the place. As arrows from the
22:11
Speaker 1: Lord's quiver. The Reformer's words pierced their hearts. The charge
22:15
Speaker 1: of heresy which they had brought against him, He, with
22:18
Speaker 1: convincing power, threw back upon themselves. Why, he demanded, did
22:22
Speaker 1: they dare to spread their errors for the sake of
22:25
Speaker 1: gain to make merchandise of the grace of God. With
22:29
Speaker 1: whom think you, He finally said, are you contending with
22:31
Speaker 1: an old man on the brink of the grave? No?
22:34
Speaker 1: With truth, Truth which is stronger than you and will
22:38
Speaker 1: overcome you. So saying, he withdrew from the assembly, and
22:42
Speaker 1: not one of his adversaries attempted to prevent him. Wicklet's
22:45
Speaker 1: work was almost done. The banner of truth, which he
22:48
Speaker 1: had so long borne, was soon to fall from his hand.
22:52
Speaker 1: But once more he was to bear witness for the gospel.
22:56
Speaker 1: The truth was to be proclaimed from the very stronghold
22:59
Speaker 1: of the kingdom of er Wickliffe was summoned for trial
23:02
Speaker 1: before the papal tribunal at Rome, which had so often
23:06
Speaker 1: shed the blood of the saints. He was not blind
23:09
Speaker 1: to the danger that threatened him, yet he would have
23:11
Speaker 1: obeyed the summons had not. A shock of palsy made
23:14
Speaker 1: it impossible for him to perform the journey. But though
23:18
Speaker 1: his voice was not to be heard at Rome, he
23:20
Speaker 1: could speak by letter, and this he determined to do.
23:23
Speaker 1: From his rectory, the Reformer wrote to the Pope a
23:26
Speaker 1: letter which, while respectful in tone and Christian in spirit,
23:30
Speaker 1: was a keen rebuke to the pomp and pride of
23:32
Speaker 1: the papal Sea. Verily I do rejoice, he said, to
23:37
Speaker 1: open and declare unto every man the faith which I
23:39
Speaker 1: do hold, and especially unto the Bishop of Rome, which
23:43
Speaker 1: forasmuch as I do suppose to be sound and true,
23:46
Speaker 1: he will most willingly confirm my said faith, or, if
23:49
Speaker 1: it be erroneous, amend the same. First, I suppose that
23:54
Speaker 1: the Gospel of Christ is the whole body of God's law.
23:57
Speaker 1: I do give and hold the Bishop of Rome, for
23:59
Speaker 1: as much as he is the vicar of Christ here
24:01
Speaker 1: on earth, to be most bound of all other men
24:04
Speaker 1: unto that law of the Gospel. For the greatness among
24:07
Speaker 1: Christ's disciples did not consist in worldly dignity or honors,
24:11
Speaker 1: but in the near and exact following of Christ in
24:14
Speaker 1: his life and manners. Christ for the time of his
24:17
Speaker 1: pilgrimage here was a most poor man, objecting and casting
24:21
Speaker 1: off all worldly rule and honor. No faithful man ought
24:25
Speaker 1: to follow either the Pope himself or any of the
24:27
Speaker 1: holy men. But in such points as he hath followed
24:30
Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ. For Peter and the sons of
24:34
Speaker 1: Zebedee by desiring worldly honor, contrary to the following of
24:37
Speaker 1: Christ's steps did offend, and therefore in those errors they
24:41
Speaker 1: are not to be followed. The Pope ought to leave
24:45
Speaker 1: unto the secular power all temporal dominion and rule, and
24:48
Speaker 1: thereunto effectually to move and exhort his whole clergy, for
24:53
Speaker 1: so did Christ, and especially by his apostles. Wherefore, if
24:57
Speaker 1: I have heard in any of these points, I will
24:59
Speaker 1: most humbly submit myself unto correction, even by death, if
25:03
Speaker 1: necessity so require, and if I could labor according to
25:06
Speaker 1: my will or desire in mine own person, I would
25:09
Speaker 1: surely present myself before the Bishop of Rome. But the
25:12
Speaker 1: Lord Hath otherwise visited me to the contrary, and Hath
25:15
Speaker 1: taught me rather to obey God than men. In closing,
25:19
Speaker 1: he said, let us pray unto our God that he
25:22
Speaker 1: will so stir up our Pope urban the sixth as
25:24
Speaker 1: he began, that he with his clergy, may follow the
25:27
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ in life and manners, and that they
25:30
Speaker 1: may teach the people effectually, and that they likewise may
25:33
Speaker 1: faithfully follow them in the same. Thus Wickliffe presented to
25:37
Speaker 1: the Pope and his cardinals the meekness and humility of Christ,
25:41
Speaker 1: exhibiting not only to themselves but to all Christendom the
25:45
Speaker 1: contrast between them and the Master, whose representatives they profess
25:49
Speaker 1: to be. Wickliffe fully expected that his life would be
25:52
Speaker 1: the price of his fidelity. The King, the Pope, and
25:55
Speaker 1: the bishops were united to accomplish his ruin, and it
25:58
Speaker 1: seemed certain that a few months at most would bring
26:01
Speaker 1: him to the stake. But his courage was unshaken. Why
26:05
Speaker 1: do you talk of seeking the crown of martyrdom afar,
26:08
Speaker 1: he said, Preach the Gospel of Christ to haughty prelates,
26:11
Speaker 1: and martyrdom will not fail you. What I should live
26:14
Speaker 1: and be silent, Never let the blow fall. I await
26:17
Speaker 1: its coming. But God's providence still shielded his servant. The
26:22
Speaker 1: man who for a whole lifetime had stood boldly in
26:25
Speaker 1: defense of the truth in daily peril of his life,
26:28
Speaker 1: was not to fall a victim to the hatred of
26:30
Speaker 1: its foes. Wickliffe had never sought to shield himself, but
26:34
Speaker 1: the Lord had been his protector, And now when his
26:38
Speaker 1: enemies felt sure of their prey, God's hand removed him
26:41
Speaker 1: beyond their reach. In his church at Lutterworth, as he
26:44
Speaker 1: was about to dispense the communion, he fell stricken with palsy,
26:48
Speaker 1: and in a short time yielded up his life. God
26:52
Speaker 1: had appointed to Wickliffe his work. He had put the
26:55
Speaker 1: word of truth in his mouth, and he set a
26:57
Speaker 1: guard about him that this word might come to the people.
27:00
Speaker 1: His life was protected, and his labors were prolonged until
27:04
Speaker 1: a foundation was laid for the great work of the Reformation.
27:08
Speaker 1: Wickliffe came from the obscurity of the dark ages. There
27:11
Speaker 1: were none who went before him from whose work he
27:14
Speaker 1: could shape his system of reform. Raised up like John
27:17
Speaker 1: the Baptist to accomplish a special mission. He was the
27:20
Speaker 1: herald of a new era. Yet in the system of
27:23
Speaker 1: truth which he presented, there was a unity and completeness
27:27
Speaker 1: which reformers who followed him did not exceed, and which
27:30
Speaker 1: some did not reach even a hundred years later. So
27:33
Speaker 1: broad and deep was laid the foundation, So firm and
27:36
Speaker 1: true was the framework that it needed not to be
27:39
Speaker 1: reconstructed by those who came after him. The great movement
27:43
Speaker 1: that Wickliffe inaugurated, which was to liberate the conscience and
27:46
Speaker 1: the intellect, and set free the nations so long bound
27:49
Speaker 1: to the triumphal car of Rome had its spring in
27:52
Speaker 1: the Bible. Here was the source of that stream of blessing, which,
27:57
Speaker 1: like the water of life, has flowed down the ages
27:59
Speaker 1: since the fourteenth century. Wickliffe accepted the Holy Scriptures of
28:03
Speaker 1: implicit faith as the inspired revelation of God's will, a
28:07
Speaker 1: sufficient rule of faith and practice. He had been educated
28:11
Speaker 1: to regard the Church of Rome as the divine infallible authority,
28:15
Speaker 1: and to accept with unquestioning reverence the established teachings and
28:19
Speaker 1: customs of a thousand years. But he turned away from
28:22
Speaker 1: all these to listen to God's Holy Word. This was
28:25
Speaker 1: the authority which he urged the people to acknowledge. Instead
28:29
Speaker 1: of the Church speaking through the Pope, he declared the
28:31
Speaker 1: only true authority to be the voice of God speaking
28:34
Speaker 1: through his Word. And he taught not only that the
28:37
Speaker 1: Bible is a perfect revelation of God's will, but that
28:41
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit is its only interpreter, and that every
28:44
Speaker 1: man is, by the study of its teachings to learn
28:46
Speaker 1: his duty for himself. Thus he turned the minds of
28:50
Speaker 1: men from the Pope and the Church of Rome to
28:52
Speaker 1: the Word of God. Wickliffe was one of the greatest
28:56
Speaker 1: of the Reformers. In breadth of intellect, in clearness of thought,
29:00
Speaker 1: in firmness to maintain the truth, and boldness to defend it,
29:04
Speaker 1: he was equaled by few who came after him. Purity
29:08
Speaker 1: of life, unwearying diligence in study and in labor, incorruptible integrity,
29:13
Speaker 1: and christ Like love and faithfulness in his ministry characterize
29:17
Speaker 1: the first of the reformers. And this notwithstanding the intellectual
29:21
Speaker 1: darkness and moral corruption of the age from which he emerged.
29:25
Speaker 1: The character of Wickliffe as a testimony to the educating,
29:28
Speaker 1: transforming power of the Holy Scriptures. It was the Bible
29:32
Speaker 1: that made him what he was. The effort to grasp
29:35
Speaker 1: the great truths of revelation imparts freshness and vigor to
29:39
Speaker 1: all the faculties. It expands the mind, sharpens the perceptions,
29:43
Speaker 1: and ripens the judgment. The study of the Bible will
29:47
Speaker 1: ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as no other study can.
29:52
Speaker 1: It gives stability of purpose, patience, courage, and fortitude. It
29:56
Speaker 1: refines the character and sanctifies the soul. An earnest, reverent
30:01
Speaker 1: study of the Scriptures, bringing the mind of the student
30:04
Speaker 1: in direct contact with the infinite mind, would give to
30:07
Speaker 1: the world men of stronger and more active intellect, as
30:10
Speaker 1: well as of nobler principle, than has ever resulted from
30:13
Speaker 1: the ablest training that human philosophy affords. The entrance of
30:18
Speaker 1: thy words, says the Psalmist, giveth light, it giveth understanding.
30:22
Speaker 1: The doctrines which had been taught by Wickliffe continued for
30:25
Speaker 1: a time to spread. His followers, known as Wickliphites and Lollards,
30:29
Speaker 1: not only traversed England, but scattered to other lands carrying
30:33
Speaker 1: the knowledge of the Gospel. Now that their leader was removed,
30:37
Speaker 1: the preachers labored with even greater zeal than before, and
30:40
Speaker 1: multitudes flocked to listen to their teachings. Some of the nobility,
30:44
Speaker 1: and even the wife of the king were among the converts.
30:47
Speaker 1: In many places, there was a marked reform in the
30:50
Speaker 1: manners of the people, and the idolatrous symbols of Romanism
30:53
Speaker 1: were removed from the churches. But soon the pitiless storm
30:57
Speaker 1: of persecution burst upon those who had dared to accept
31:00
Speaker 1: the Bible as their guide. The English monarchs, eager to
31:03
Speaker 1: strengthen their power by securing the support of Rome, did
31:07
Speaker 1: not hesitate to sacrifice the reformers for the first time
31:11
Speaker 1: in the history of England the stake was decreed against
31:14
Speaker 1: the disciples of the Gospel. Martyrdom succeeded martyrdom. The advocates
31:19
Speaker 1: of truth, proscribed and tortured, could only pour their cries
31:23
Speaker 1: into the ear of the Lord of Sabaoth. Hunted as
31:26
Speaker 1: foes of the church and traitors to the realm, they
31:29
Speaker 1: continued to preach in secret places, finding shelter as best
31:33
Speaker 1: they could in the humble homes of the poor, and
31:35
Speaker 1: often hiding away even in dens and caves. Notwithstanding the
31:40
Speaker 1: rage of persecution, a calm, devout, earnest, patient protest against
31:44
Speaker 1: the prevailing corruption of religious faith continued for centuries to
31:48
Speaker 1: be uttered. The Christians of that early time had only
31:51
Speaker 1: a partial knowledge of the truth, but they had learned
31:54
Speaker 1: to love and obey God's word, and they patiently suffered
31:58
Speaker 1: for its sake. Like the Diciples and Apostolic days, many
32:02
Speaker 1: sacrificed their worldly possessions for the cause of Christ. Those
32:06
Speaker 1: who were permitted to dwell in their homes gladly sheltered
32:08
Speaker 1: their banished brethren, and when they too were driven forth,
32:11
Speaker 1: they cheerfully accepted the lot of the outcast. Thousands it
32:15
Speaker 1: is true, terrified by the fury of their persecutors, purchased
32:19
Speaker 1: their freedom at the sacrifice of their faith, and went
32:22
Speaker 1: out of their prisons, clothed in penitence robes, to publish
32:24
Speaker 1: their recantation. But the number was not small, and among
32:29
Speaker 1: them were men of noble birth, as well as the
32:31
Speaker 1: humble and lowly, who bore fearless testimony to the truth
32:34
Speaker 1: in dungeon cells, in lollard towers, and in the midst
32:38
Speaker 1: of torture and flame, rejoicing that they were counted worthy
32:41
Speaker 1: to know the fellowship of his sufferings. The Papists had
32:44
Speaker 1: failed to work their will with Wickliffe during his life,
32:47
Speaker 1: and their hatred could not be satisfied. While his body
32:49
Speaker 1: rested quietly in the grave, by the decree of the
32:53
Speaker 1: Council of Constance, more than forty years after his death,
32:56
Speaker 1: his bones were exhumed and publicly burned, and the act
33:00
Speaker 1: ashes were thrown into a neighboring brook. This brooks as
33:03
Speaker 1: an old writer. Hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon,
33:07
Speaker 1: into Severn, Severn, into the narrow seas, they into the
33:10
Speaker 1: main ocean, and thus the ashes of Wickliffe are the
33:13
Speaker 1: emblem of his doctrine, which now has dispersed all the
33:16
Speaker 1: world over. Little did his enemies realize the significance of
33:21
Speaker 1: their malicious act. It was through the writings of Wickliffe
33:25
Speaker 1: that John Has of Bohemia was led to renounce many
33:27
Speaker 1: of the errors of Romanism and to enter upon the
33:31
Speaker 1: work of reform. Thus, in these two countries, so widely separated,
33:35
Speaker 1: the seed of truth was sown. From Bohemia, the work
33:39
Speaker 1: extended to other lands. The minds of men were directed
33:43
Speaker 1: to the long forgotten word of God. A divine hand
33:46
Speaker 1: was preparing the way for the great Reformation. End of
33:51
Speaker 1: Chapter five