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Tyndale - To the Ends of the Earth | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to the Deep Dive. We sift through the sources to
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pull out the key insights for you Today.
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We're digging into, well, a really vital idea about timing,
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especially when it comes to God's mission in the world.
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We'll be looking at the life of a key figure from history and
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seeing how biblical texts really shape our view of the future and
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our work in the present. That's right.
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And the core idea for this deep dive is, well, it's quite
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something. There just isn't an ideal time
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for world evangelization or for making God's truth clear.
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If you're waiting for that perfect moment, you know,
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personally, relationally, economically, globally, you're
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just not going to grasp what you need to grasp, and you certainly
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won't go where you need to go. The only time we actually have
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for knowing God's truth and for going out with it is always, it
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seems unfriendly, unsuitable, maybe disagreeable, even
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forbidding. And understanding this well, it
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really shapes how we live and serve.
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OK, let's unpack this. A really compelling example from
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history helps here. William Tyndale.
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His life is a powerful picture of getting significant work done
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in circumstances that, frankly, most of us would look at and say
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that's completely impossible. He definitely wasn't waiting
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around for things to get easier. No, he certainly wasn't.
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His incredibly productive period, about 12 years, kicked
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off when he left England back in 1524.
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He was around 30 years old then, and these years, right up until
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his death, were spent in exile. He was constantly on the run,
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always in danger. Just try to imagine that kind of
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pressure, not just for a few days or weeks, but for, you
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know, over a decade. Our sources really detail the
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kinds of hardships he faced. Things like constant pain,
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poverty, being exiled, the deep sadness of being separated from
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friends, hunger, thirst, cold, serious danger, and just
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countless other really hard, sharp struggles.
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This wasn't some short rough pass.
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It was his day-to-day reality. It was like a furnace that
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really refined his conviction and sharpened his focus.
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And what he managed to achieve during that time is just
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extraordinary, isn't it? He was primarily a working
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translator, translating Scripture about 2/3 of the
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Bible. And he did it so well that his
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work has influenced pretty much every major English Bible
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translation since then, right up to the versions we use today.
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His careful renderings from the Greek and Hebrew have echoed
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down through the centuries, shaping the language of faith
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for millions. But his vision wasn't just about
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England, was it? He wanted Christ's truths, these
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mysteries published as widely as possible.
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He desired them to be read and understood not just by the Scots
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and Irish, but he even mentions by the Turks and Saracens.
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Now that's a global vision for spreading God's word centuries
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before global missions became, well, a common idea among
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Christians. Wasn't just about personal
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Bible. Reading it was about.
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Proclaiming the Gospel everywhere.
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Right. And his drive for that universal
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access came from this deep conviction he had.
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Without the Bible in the everyday language, the common
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tongue, no pure gospel could really stand firm.
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He saw the Bible as this cohesive whole, like a container
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where every single part is essential for preserving the
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most precious truth in the world.
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He argued strongly that you couldn't just tear out chunks of
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the Bible and expect your little hand picked collection of verses
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to accurately represent biblical truth.
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For Tyndale, the whole story of Scripture, Genesis to
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Revelation, was this unified witness to Christ.
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To remove any part was, in his view, to cloud the clarity of
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God's message and obscure the way to salvation.
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He really got that. The authority of Scripture was
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fundamental to the purity of the gospel message.
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He saw this as a matter of life and death, not just for himself,
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but for the clarity and purity of faith for everyone who came
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after him. But he wasn't only a translator,
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was he? The sources are quite clear on
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this, while the translation was foundational.
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Absolutely. He was also a.
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Really significant theologian and a key player in the wider
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Reformation movement. Many people today might just
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focus on the translation part, but that's only well.
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Part of the picture. And maybe not even the most
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dangerous part of his work in his own time.
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Indeed. Yes, while his Bible translation
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gets, and rightly so, a lot of attention, his theological
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writings were hugely significant.
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His collected works alone run to about 1000 pages.
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He delves into doctrines like justification by faith, the
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nature of the church, how law and gospel relate, really core
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stuff, and it's crucial to understand this.
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He didn't face execution just for translating the Bible.
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He was put to death because the powers that be saw him as a
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dangerous heretic, someone opposing the established
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doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.
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This direct challenge really took shape when he renounced
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transubstantiation. That's the deeply rooted
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Catholic teaching that the bread and wine and communion literally
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become the actual body and blood of Christ.
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During the Mass. For Tyndale, this doctrine
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shifted the focus away from faith in Christ's finished work
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on the cross onto, well, the perceived mystical power of the
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priest and the sacrament itself. He saw it as a fundamental
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twisting of the Gospel, leading people away from direct trust in
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Christ's sacrifice. Taking that stand, it caused
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Friars, noblemen, bishops, even the university that had
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previously supported him to turn violently against him.
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It was a direct theological assault on the very foundation
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of the institutional church's authority at the time.
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And here's a fascinating twist in the story.
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King Henry the Eighth himself harbored a real bitterness
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towards Tyndale. This dislike stem from Tyndale
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writing a sharp reply to Thomas Moore.
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Moore had earlier helped Henry write an attack on Lutheranism.
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Tyndale's response included these long, detailed theological
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defenses of Luther's doctrines, especially justification by
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faith alone. Thomas Moore, in turn, came to
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hate Tyndale with his almost rabid intensity, specifically
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for being Lutheran. It was those theological
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convictions, those Reformation principles, that ultimately
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sealed Tyndale's fate and LED to his execution.
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Just think about the courage it took to stand against such
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powerful political figures, powerful church figures, risking
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everything for theological clarity and biblical truth.
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And the opposition to just reading the Bible in English
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back then was so extreme, it's almost hard for us to wrap our
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minds around it now, living in an age where Bibles are
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everywhere. John Bale, born in 1495, he
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wrote about witnessing, when he was just 11 years old, the
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burning of a young man in Norwich.
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Why? Simply for having a copy of the
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Lord's Prayer in English. And the famous chronicler John
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Fox. He recorded this harrowing story
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of seven Lollards burned at Coventry in 1519.
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Their crime? Teaching their own children the
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Lords Prayer in English. These Lollards, they were
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followers of John Wycliffe, an earlier English reformer from
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the 14th century. His calls for Scripture in the
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common language and church reform had been fiercely stamped
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out for over 100 years, so their persecution, even for something
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as basic as the Lord's Prayer in English, really highlights just
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how radical and dangerous Tyndale's mission was in that
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context. Tyndale, always hoping for a
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peaceful way, actually sought official permission from King
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Henry the Eighth to translate the Bible.
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But he was flatly turned down. He had to flee London,
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constantly move around, face these relentless threats of
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capture and death, just to even begin his massive work.
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This wasn't just some intellectual disagreement, it
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was life or death, spiritual battle for access to God's own
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written word. And his suffering really reached
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its teak on May 21st, 1535. He was betrayed, captured and
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then imprisoned for about 18 months.
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He was eventually killed around November 1536.
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Quite young really, only about 42 years old.
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You might think after 12 years of constant hardship that being
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locked up alone for so long, anyone would just give up, maybe
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just sink into despair. Yeah, you might certainly expect
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someone to just break after enduring a decade of that kind
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of relentless struggle and then being thrown into a damp, cold
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prison cell. But the sources reveal this
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truly remarkable letter Tyndale wrote from his cell.
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He wrote it to the custodian of the prison.
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And in it, he didn't just complain about his situation.
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He asked for practical things, things for his physical survival
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and while some basic comfort. He asked for a warmer cap for
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his head. He said he was suffering badly
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from the cold in this perpetual Qatar.
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You know, that constant head cold feeling many of us can
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probably relate to. He asked for a warmer coat
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because the one he had was very thin.
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He asked for cloth to patch his leggings, for his woolen shirt,
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for thicker leggings, warmer night caps and a lamp for the
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evening because as he put it, sitting alone in the dark was
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just wearisome. These are basic human needs,
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aren't they? Things we often take for granted
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but denied to him in prison. But what really stands out, what
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truly highlights Tyndale's spirit and his focus even in
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those terrible conditions, is his most telling request.
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He begged and pleaded with the present custodian, asking for
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his mercy, asking him to urge the official in charge, the
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commissary, to let him have a Hebrew Bible, a Hebrew grammar
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book, and the Hebrew dictionary. Think about that.
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Making that request from a cold, dark cell while waiting for
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execution. It just shows that for Tyndale,
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there was no circumstance, no matter how awful, that was
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unsuitable for Bible translation and for clarifying God's truth.
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He was even busy writing theological defenses right there
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in his cell, trying to protect himself from the heresy charges
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and clarify the doctrines he held so dear.
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His accomplishments are just astonishing, not only because
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they were faithful and excellent, but because he did it
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all in these utterly unfriendly, non ideal, forbidding
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circumstances. He didn't just adore, he kept
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working on his mission right up to his last breath.
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It proves God's work moves forward even in the toughest
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places. Exactly.
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And that incredible drive, that relentless pursuit of his
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mission, even facing death, it begs a really critical question.
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What fueled that kind of tenacity?
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Where did it come from? The sources make it very clear
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his perseverance wasn't just sheer willpower or stubbornness.
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It was deeply rooted in a particular and quite
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revolutionary for his time understanding of the gospel
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itself. This wasn't some abstract idea
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for him, it was a living, breathing reality that drove
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everything he did and shaped his whole existence.
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And his definition of the gospel is really quite something,
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especially for that era. Tyndale, writing in 1530, just
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six years before he died. Define you angle on.
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That's his way of writing the Greek word we translate as
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gospel. He defined it as good, merry,
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glad, joyful tidings that make it the man's heart glad and make
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it them sing and dance and leap for joy.
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Just pause and think about that definition of the gospel,
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contemplating that even as your life is under constant threat,
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as circumstances are getting worse and worse, which they
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certainly were for him. It's such a contrast to a kind
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of grim, duty bound approach to faith, isn't it?
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It really is a remarkable definition.
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The emphasis on the emotional and even physical expressions of
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joy is striking. He highlights the gospel not
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just as information, but as good, merry, glad, joyful
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tidings, news that genuinely makes the heart glad and
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inspires these outward expressions.
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Singing, dancing, leaping for joy.
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For Tyndale, this deep inner joy wasn't just a human feeling.
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It was a miracle, a supernatural result of what he called the new
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birth, that spiritual regeneration that comes only
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from God. He was genuinely thrilled by the
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gospel's power to set people free from the condemnation of
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the Law and to fill them with this deep, settled gladness in
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God, no matter what their outward circumstances look like.
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This theological conviction that the gospel turned sorrow into
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spiritual delight, it was bedrock for him.
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It was this radical, joyful understanding of salvation
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through faith in Christ that let him see the suffering he
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endured, not as something that diminished his message, but
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almost as a confirmation of its truth and power.
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The opposition he faced just proved how offensive the gospel
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was to a world content in its own ways.
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So this joyful understanding of the gospel was really central to
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why he kept going despite those relentless, non ideal,
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unfriendly, forbidding circumstances.
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The exile, being on the run, prison, cold, hunger, constant
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danger. His gospel didn't turn sour or
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heavy under pressure. It stayed a source of triumph,
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of spiritual life for him. He understood that this kind of
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spiritual joy wasn't some kind of optional extra.
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It was essential, he believed this joy was absolutely
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necessary for getting God's work done, both in mission and in
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clarifying truth. Without that inner gladness,
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that deep conviction about the good news, the message itself
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would lose its compelling power. It would just sound like another
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heavy burden in a world already full of hardship.
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His experience really shows that the true gospel, when you grasp
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it and embrace it, empowers believers to press on with the
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light even when they're facing deadly threats.
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OK, so let's connect Tyndale's life lived way back in the
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turbulent 16th century. Let's connect that to our own
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time and also to what the Bible says about the future to
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biblical prophecy. The sources we've looked at make
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it clear God is not planning to bring about some golden era near
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the end of history where all the nations will suddenly become
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welcoming and receptive to the gospel.
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Actually, the reality for the vast majority of unreached
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peoples today is that they live in cultures actively hostile to
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the gospel. They aren't sitting there with
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open arms sending out invitations, saying, hey, come
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over here and help us. And this is a really crucial
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reality check for expectations about mission work.
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It forces us to square are sometimes idealistic notions
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with what the Bible actually predicts.
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Which leads us to a specific passage that really clarifies
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the kind of environment we should expect from mission
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Matthew chapter 24, specifically verses 9 through 14.
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This passage gives us a distinctly non ideal description
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of the world conditions leading up to the completion of the
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Great Commission. It paints a pretty sobering
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picture, honestly. But it's the picture Jesus
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himself gave us, preparing his followers for what they would
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face right up until he returns. Right, let's look at six
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specific circumstances Jesus promised would happen.
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These directly describe the arena for global mission work
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until the end. First, Jesus says that God's
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messengers, his emissaries, will be hated by all nations.
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Note that all nations. This isn't a maybe it's Jesus
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promise. So experiencing hatred when
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sharing the message isn't a sign that we failed or that the
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gospel isn't attractive. It's actually a direct
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fulfillment of prophecy. It's a sign the message is
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exactly what it claims to be, a challenge to the world's
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rebellion against God. We often think acceptance equals
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success, but Jesus gives his followers a different metric.
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Experiencing animosity then can actually confirm we're on the
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right track. OK, second point.
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Jesus predicts that many who identify as Christians will fall
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away or deconvert. This is a hard reality.
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We see this today, don't we? The growing number of people
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globally who say they have no particular religion, often
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called the knowns. It seems like a striking
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fulfillment of this. This trend is picking up speed
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in many cultures, even places historically called Christian.
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It's something Jesus clearly foresaw.
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It tells us that spiritual apathy and even act of rejection
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of faith will be a feature, not some strange exception in the
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last days. This shouldn't make us despair,
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but it should help us understand the spiritual climate and push
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us to seek a deeper grounding in the truth ourselves. 3rd Jesus
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warns that Christians will betray and hate one another.
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This kind of internal conflict division within the body of
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Christ is particularly painful and can be deeply discouraging,
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can't it? Actions like that can make
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faithful Christians start questioning the overall
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effectiveness of their faith, maybe even wonder if
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Christianity itself is failing. But Jesus said it would happen.
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It's a stark reminder that the Church's witness doesn't depend
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on having perfect internal harmony all the time, but on the
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perseverance of those who stay faithful even amidst that kind
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of turmoil. It's really a call to look
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beyond surface unity to the deeper unity we have in Christ,
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even when human relationships breakdown.
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The 4th circumstance Jesus predicted is that many false
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prophets will arise and leave many people astray in our
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current information age. Wow, this is everywhere.
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Countless books, articles, online videos, social media
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posts, various platforms giving voice to deceptive teachings,
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ideologies that kind of dress themselves up as truth.
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Discernment becomes an even more vital spiritual discipline in a
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world just saturated with competing stories, many of which
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subtly or sometimes openly contradict the Gospel.
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This constant barrage means believers have to be really
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thoroughly grounded in Scripture to tell truth from error. 5th
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Jesus declared that lawlessness will be multiplied, and we see
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this playing out in so many ways around the world and even close
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to home. Think about places like Haiti,
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essentially failed states where you have maybe 400 Kenyan troops
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trying to restore order, but they're vastly outnumbered by
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something like 15,000 gang members.
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It creates this vacuum of order, pervasive violence.
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We also see this rise in lawlessness in major cities
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across Western countries, rising crime, a growing disregard for
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moral standards and civic order. But this increase in lawlessness
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isn't a reason for God's people to just pull back into safe
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bubbles or give in to despair. Actually, it creates urgent
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situations for the gospel. Lawlessness exposes humanity's
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deep brokenness and creates A profound spiritual need that
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only Christ's message can truly address.
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It's a field ready for those willing to bring order and hope,
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where chaos seems to rule. And finally, the sixth point
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Jesus makes, the love of many will grow cold.
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This describes A widespread spiritual apathy, A
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disengagement that can affect even people inside faith
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communities, this chilling of affection, this decline in
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passion and warmth for God and for other people.
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It's a foreseen reality. It shouldn't shock us or stop
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those who are committed to God's work.
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It means that while fervor might be cooling down around us, our
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own spiritual zeal, our devotion rooted in the gospel, can still
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be maintained, even flourish. It's really a call to guard our
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own hearts individually and to work together to foster
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passionate communities of faith that stand out against the
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surrounding spiritual indifference.
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Yes, and despite all these pretty sobering predictions,
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Matthew 24 verse 14 gives us the central motivation and really
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the ultimate guarantee. And this gospel of the Kingdom
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will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony
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to all those hating nations. And then the end will come.
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Notice this isn't a hopeful maybe.
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It's a definite statement of certainty from Christ himself.
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He doesn't say it might be proclaimed.
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He states without qualification that it will be proclaimed.
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That distinction is absolutely vital.
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This is a really critical point you're making this verse,
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Matthew 24.14. It's not the Great Commission
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itself. The Great Commission like you
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find in Matthew 28, telling us to go make disciples of all
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nations, that tests our obedience to Christ's command.
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Are we going to do what He told us to do?
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Matthew 24.14 though is maybe what we could call the great
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promise, and this tests our faith.
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Do we believe Him? It assures believers that the
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mission will be finished, guaranteed by God's own decree,
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no matter how hostile the environment seems, no matter how
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impossible the task looks from a human perspective.
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Jesus isn't up in heaven wringing his hands about global
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conditions. He is sovereignly promised its
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fulfillment and this promise guarantees that there will be a
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remnant spirit filled zealous Christians who complete the
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mission. There will be God centered,
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Christ exalting mission focused churches that keep going despite
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widespread spiritual coldness and lawlessness.
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This is the certainty that should fuel our efforts and
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Bolden our proclamation and knowing God's purposes will
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succeed. It's often tempting, isn't it,
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to look at the current global crises and just think this is
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not the time. Things are too unstable, too
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dangerous. We're faced with overwhelming
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realities. Conflicts like Russia, Ukraine
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still grinding on. Israel fighting on multiple
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fronts, China's military buildup, ongoing Boko Haram
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attacks in Africa, devastating civil wars in places like Sudan.
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This massive displacement of over 100 million people around
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the globe and be closer to home, pressing domestic issues like
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the opioid crisis, widespread moral confusion.
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These aren't small things. They are huge, complex
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challenges that can easily make us feel paralyzed or want to
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just wait it out. And yet these.
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Global issues as. Overwhelming as they seem, they
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actually describe the very world in which the Great Commission is
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destined to be finished. But often the things that really
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hinder us aren't those huge global conflicts.
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They're much more local, intensely personal, and usually
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very painful. Think about a nagging health
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issue, maybe an ache in your hip that plants that seed of fear.
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Could it be bone cancer or a chest pain that makes you think
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immediately of a heart attack? Or consider devastating family
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crises, the death of a parent, the divorce of parents, or maybe
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even your own children? Or the deep sorrow when a child
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walks away from their faith, saying they're no longer a
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Christian. Or maybe just looking in the
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mirror and feeling inadequate, saying I'm just not fit for
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this. I don't have the energy, I don't
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have the resources. These are the real, everyday
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struggles that can lead us to hesitate, to feel like we're not
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up to it, and tempt us to delay doing what God calls us to do,
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thinking the timing just isn't right.
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And Tyndale himself, as we saw, experienced these deep personal
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sufferings right alongside the global dangers and the church
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persecution. He was used to severe physical
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hardship, emotional hardship far beyond what most of us can
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probably even imagine. The crucial point here, drawing
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from our sources, is that these challenges, whether they're vast
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and global or intimate and personal, they are not
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legitimate excuses to delay God's mission.
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Actually, quite the opposite. They are the very context in
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which the mission is designed to move forward.
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They are the soil in which the gospel seed is planted and
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grows, often showing its power most clearly when the obstacles
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seem the biggest. These difficulties aren't
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interruptions to God's plan, They're part of it.
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They show that the gospel often flourishes not in spite of
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difficulty, but through it. So what does all this mean for
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you, listening right now, facing your own unique mix of global
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worries and personal challenges? It means there's never going to
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be a perfect, ideal time for clarifying truth.
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And there's never going to be a perfect, ideal time for world
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evangelization. If you wait for circumstances to
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line up just right. If you put things off because
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conditions seem non optimal, well, it likely just won't
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happen. God's work moves forward not
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because of ideal human planning, but through faithful action in
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the time we're given. And the sources give us this
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powerful declaration for exactly these kinds of times, while
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circumstances will always be whispering or maybe shouting.
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Not now, not now. Wait till things get easier.
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Wait till you feel stronger. Wait till the world settles
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down. Faith, real biblical faith,
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responds differently. It says I'm going through you
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obstacle. I'm going through you difficulty
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in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, fueled by the
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gladness of the gospel for the glory of God, I am going through
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you and you will not stop me. Now that isn't just empty
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boasting. It's a battle cry for
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perseverance rooted firmly in God's promises.
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And this ability to persevere, to be overflowing with spiritual
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gladness even in the middle of affliction, like the Apostle
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Paul wrote about in Second Corinthians, that is nothing
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short of a miracle. It's not a natural human
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response to suffering or hardship, is it?
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Jesus himself said, I speak these things to you so that my
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gladness might be in you and your gladness might be full.
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He actively invites people into the gladness of their Master, a
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gladness that goes deeper than earthly circumstances.
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This miracle of the new birth, this spiritual regeneration, and
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the truth of the gospel that sustains that kind of gladness,
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it's absolutely essential for getting God's mission done.
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Without that deep, abiding gladness, the message itself
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just won't land as good news. In a world so full of sorrow and
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difficulty, it would just sound like another heavy burden and a
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list of rules. So the liberating truth, it
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actually is. My own personal experience just
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trying to keep studying and learning years after any formal
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schooling ended. It shows me there's never really
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an ideal time for truth clarification either.
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It demands you keep seeking, keep immersing yourself in the
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Bible, relentlessly pursuing a deeper understanding.
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It's a lifelong journey, not somewhere you arrive.
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I remember hearing about 1 veteran missionary who was asked
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what's the most important thing to do to get ready for the
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mission field. His answer was simple and
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powerful. First Bible, second Bible, third
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Bible. That really puts the priority
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where it belongs, doesn't it? No matter the external
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circumstances, no matter how ready or UN ready you feel
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personally, it highlights the absolute centrality of Scripture
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as the source of clarity, guidance, and spiritual strength
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for anyone involved in God's work.
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So the final thought we want to leave you with Is this the full
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Christianization of the world, the final establishment of God's
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Kingdom? It doesn't happen because humans
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finally triumph over global problems, or because society
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gradually. Gets better and better.
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Rather, the Bible says it culminates when the Lord Jesus
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is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire,
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inflicting righteous judgment on those who do not know God and on
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those who do not obey the gospel.
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So the question for you, considering the sovereign plan
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and the example of someone like Tyndale?
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Is really this? Will you be counted among those
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zealous Christians who press forward to work to finish the
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mission, enduring right to the end through all these non ideal
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circumstances, knowing that God will sovereignly finish what he
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started and trusting that His gladness will sustain you
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through it all? That was truly insightful deep
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dive into William Tyndale's life.
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The nature of the. Gospel and How Biblical.
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Prophecy really equips us for the world we actually live in.
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We trust this has brought you some fresh clarity and maybe
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some renewed. Purpose.
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Indeed, may you be really encouraged to live out whatever
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God is calling you to do in your life, knowing that no
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circumstance is too challenging for the joyful work of
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clarifying truth and participating in world
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evangelization. Join us again next time for
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another deep dive into the sources that help us become well
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informed.