Reformation history and theology forum Latest Topics

Rome Never Changes

Thu, 07 May 2026 05:20:05 +0000

This statement, “Rome never changes” is not a quote from Ellen White. The book Great Controversy, page 494 says “And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes.” Great Controversy is simply reporting a boast made by Rome. GC [the book Great Controversy] then immediately states “The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church.” The principles of Gregory VII that do not change can be found in Great Controversy, pages 46,47: “Among the propositions which he put forth was one declaring that the church had never erred, nor would it ever err, according to the Scriptures.” “The proud pontiff also claimed the power to depose emperors, and declared that no sentence which he pronounced could be reversed by anyone, but that it was his prerogative to reverse the decisions of all others” (Ibid.).

Regarding Innocent III, GC said this: “In the year 1204, Pope Innocent III extracted from Peter II, king of Arragon, the following extraordinary oath: “I, Peter, king of Arragonians, profess and promise to be ever faithful and obedient to my lord, Pope Innocent, to his Catholic successors, and the Roman Church, and faithfully to preserve my kingdom in his obedience, defending the Catholic faith, and persecuting heretical pravity” (GC 493,494). “This is in harmony with the claims regarding the power of the Roman pontiff, “that it is lawful for him to depose emperors” and “that he can absolve subjects from their allegiance to unrighteous rulers” (Ibid.).

Note that in the immediate context, GC refers specifically to Gregory VII and Innocent III. The points objected to regard the pope’s authority to depose emperors and the infallibility of the RC church. Great Controversy cites Innocent III as in harmony with Gregory VII.

Reformation "Propaganda"

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 07:34:32 +0000

Servetus & Calvin

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 14:33:11 +0000

Calvin could not and would not have any other God than Him who gives
us life, who has ransomed us, and who sanctifies us — the Father, God
above us; the Son, God for us; the Holy Ghost, God in us. This threefold
relation with God, which Scripture revealed to him and which entirely
satisfied his inward longings, forced him to recognize a difference in God;
but on the other hand, unity being essential to the Deity, he was bound to
maintain it at any cost, and he thus felt himself constrained to embrace the
idea of a divine Trinity. Against this doctrine Servetus leveled his bitterest
sarcasms. The Spaniard rejected what he denominated an ‘imaginary
Trinity;’ he called those who believed in it ‘tritheists,’ or even atheists,
and abused them in coarse language. ‘Jesus is man,’ he said; ‘the Godhead
was communicated to Him by grace, but He is not God by nature. The
Father alone is God in that sense.’ He invited Calvin to a conference;
puffed up and charmed with his own system, he fancied himself certain to
convince the reformer, and flattered himself with the hope of making him
his fellow-laborer.

History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, vol. 3 p. 94;

Book 4 chapter 8

The Church of Rome denies Jesus came in the flesh

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 01:29:17 +0000

We see what the Bible says..

2 John 1:7
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The antichrist has to deny Jesus came in the flesh. Let’s look up the greek word “flesh” in the greek Lexicon and see what it can mean:

Strong’s Hebrew/Greek Concordance:

sarx: Probably from the base of G4563; flesh (as stripped of the skin), that is, (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such): – carnal (-ly, + -ly minded), flesh ([-ly]).

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:

Thayer Definition:
1) flesh (the soft substance of the living body, which covers the bones and is permeated with blood) of both man and beasts

2) the body 2a) the body of a man 2b) used of natural or physical origin, generation or relationship 2b1) born of natural generation 2c) the sensuous nature of man, “the animal nature” 2c1) without any suggestion of depravity 2c2) the animal nature with cravings which incite to sin 2c3) the physical nature of man as subject to suffering

3) a living creature (because possessed of a body of flesh) whether man or beast

4) the flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God

Now… what is our human nature? What are all human beings guilty of according to the bible? They are all guilty of SIN (Romans 3:23). Our human nature if our “want” to, or being “prone” to sin. The bible teaches that although Jesus never sinned, he became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). It teaches that Jesus came through the line of David (Matthew 1:1) yet David said, “Behold, I was shapen in INIQUITY; and in SIN did my mother conceive me.” -Psalm 51:5. This means that the whole line of David was a lineage individuals with a nature to sin, including Jesus. This is how Jesus, being God, could be tempted to sin (compare James 1:13 with Hebrews 4:15) because he became man, and being made into a man he had the same human nature as man… the ability to sin.

So, how does the Roman Catholic Church teach that Jesus did not come in the flesh (human nature)? Well when they teach that the Virgin Mary was sinless at her conception of the baby Jesus, they in essence teach that Jesus has not come in the flesh, because Jesus came through her lineage, and as David had a nature to sin, she also had a nature to sin. Read the following quote from a Roman Catechism:

491. “Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, ‘full of grace’ through God, [Lk 1:28 .] was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of JESUS Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. -Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854): DS 2803.

To say that Jesus came into the world this way, born of a virgin who was not of sinful “flesh” as we are all in our human nature, is to say he did not come in the “flesh” of sinful nature because he came through HER lineage. Think about it.

Luther on the Abrogated Law

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:26:32 +0000

Comments on Galatians 5:23, Against such there is no law.

There is a Law, of course, but not against such. Thus Paul says elsewhere (1 Tim. 1:9): “The Law was not laid down for the just.” For the just man lives as though he had need of no Law to admonish, urge, and constrain him; but spontaneously, without any legal constraint, he does more than the Law requires. And so the Law cannot accuse and condemn the just; nor can it disturb their consciences. It tries, of course; but when Christ has been grasped by faith, He dispels the Law with all its terrors and threats. Thus it is completely abrogated for them, first in the Spirit, but then also in works. It does not have the right to accuse them; for spontaneously they do what the Law requires, if not by means of perfectly holy works, then at least by means of the forgiveness of sins through faith.

So a Christian fulfills the Law inwardly by faith—for Christ is the consummation of the Law for righteousness to everyone who has faith (Rom. 10:4)—and outwardly by works and by the forgiveness of sins. But those who perform the works of the flesh and gratify its desires are accused and condemned by the Law, both politically and theologically.

Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 27: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 5-6; 1519, Chapters 1-6. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 27, p. 96). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Luther and EJW

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:04:25 +0000

The gospel teachings of the Reformation were affirmed by Ellen White in 1884. She described the day of the Augsburg Confession as “one of most glorious days in the history of the world.” “Since the apostolic age, there had not been such a magnificent confession of Jesus Christ.” Written by Melanchthon, in consultation with Luther, she later opined that Luther clearly taught the doctrine of justification by faith.

The Reformation began with a quarrel between two monks. It eventually involved bishops, popes, soldiers, knights, princes, kings, and the emperor. At issue was the power of the Pope to forgive sin. Luther believed that divine wrath against mortal sin could only be mitigated through the merits of Christ, appropriated by the faith of the individual. When people guilty of gross sin presented themselves at his confessional, Luther was incensed that they expected to avoid true repentance by presenting indulgences they had purchased from the Dominican monk John Tetzel. Heartfelt repentance, personal faith, and the merits of Christ were vital issues from the beginning of the Reform.

The Reformation view of justification by faith has its foundation in Genesis 15:6: “And Abraham believed in the Lord, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” In his Genesis commentary, Luther commented on the word translated as “counted.” He understood it to mean think, reckon, impute, or account, as in God thinks of, accounts, or reckons us as righteous, because of our faith. God imputes righteousness to us, as the KJV of Romans 4 says.

This accounting of Abraham as righteous took place before there was a Decalogue or torah. Moses was centuries away. Circumcision would not be implemented for several years; consequently, Abraham’s justification was by faith, apart from the deeds of the law. Faith in God’s promises is what God “thinks” of, or counts, as righteousness. Abraham had faith in a coming Messiah, we have faith in one who sacrificed Himself for us. 9 Luther held that Genesis 15:6 was the basis of justification teaching in both Romans and Galatians.
Luther’s position on justification by faith was unequivocal: We are, in ourselves, sinful. God considers us righteous because of our faith; consequently, we are righteous [justified] and sinful at the same time. While faith alone justifies, it is never truly alone. It brings with it “a multitude of the most beautiful virtues.” It follows that we meet the requirements of the law.

E. J. Waggoner, a principal proponent of righteousness by faith at the 1888 Minneapolis conference, had another view. His thoughts were published in the book Glad Tidings. He understood that the word “justify” means “make righteous.” He based his interpretation on the meaning of the Latin suffix in the word justitia. Waggoner wrote more about justification in a series published from October 1895 to September 1896 in the Signs of the Times magazine. These articles were bound into what became his commentary on Romans. Again he defined “justify/justified” as “to make” or “be made” righteous. He also cited Romans 5: 19 “So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Waggoner believed that the resurrection power of Christ dwelt in the believer, making the believer righteous. God can declare a person righteous because he makes him righteous. They are not merely accounted or thought of as righteous, they truly become righteous. The justice of God declaring a sinner to be righteous lies in the fact that the believer is actually made righteous. Waggoner’s emphasis on making the sinner righteous led him to believe that the justified sinner would not sin anymore. He chided the denomination for not coming to the place where it believed the Christian life should be a sinless life. He believed that the law of God would be exalted by preaching

Waggoner was not the first SDA to advocate what is now known as sinless perfection. J. N. Andrews, who died in 1883, wrote of overcomers standing before God without a mediator. He based his view on the “investigative judgment” and “blotting out of sin” doctrines, as he understood them. Waggoner’s views, however, were based on his understanding of justification by faith. In his 1916 “Confession of Faith,” Waggoner denied belief in the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sin; nevertheless, in his Romans commentary, he espoused perfectionistic views akin to those of J. N. Andrews.

Luther elaborated on the life of the justified believer in his commentary on Galatians, chapter 3. He believed that a residue of sin remained in the justified, a stain which would be eliminated when Christ returned. The residue of sin that remained polluted the life of the believer. The imputed righteousness of Christ spared the believer from condemnation on account of that pollution. “Sins remain in us, and God hates them very much. Because of them it is necessary for us to have the imputation of righteousness, which comes to us on account of Christ, who is given to us and grasped by our faith. Meanwhile, as long as we are alive, we are supported and nourished at the bosom of divine mercy and forbearance, until the body of sin (Rom. 6:6) is abolished and we are raised up as new beings on that Day.“

Luther’s position follows Romans 8, which details the longing of all creation for deliverance from the corruption which vexes a fallen world. “….even we ourselves groan within ourselves eagerly, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Rom 8: 23). That is what being an Adventist is all about—ultimate deliverance from sin within and without.

*

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:16:40 +0000

Origins of SDA Perfectionism

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 04:52:24 +0000

I’d often wondered where the doctrine of sinless perfection came from. It certainly sounded attractive; however, my daily life caused some serious doubts about it. Usual suspects included Ellen White, John Wesley, and M.L Andreasen. I was surprised to find that it had nothing to do with John Wesley and was taught in the denomination before Andreasen was born. J.N. Andrews, prior to his death in 1883, spoke of standing before God without an atoning sacrifice. There will be no need of an Advocate, Intercessor, Mediator, or High Priest (Andrews, The Judgment, p.23). Andrews tied sinless perfectionism directly to the Investigative Judgment in his posthumously published book “The Judgment. Its Events and Their Order.”

Andrews believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment were the same thing, a single event beginning in 1844. The Investigative Judgment also included the blotting out of sin. The sanctuary was cleansed by means of the IJ. The record of sin, preserved in the book of remembrance, polluted the sanctuary.

As Andrews understood it, every professed believer’s name was entered in the book of life. The believer’s life record was preserved in the book of remembrance. Every idle word, neglected duty, overt sin was there. If these things had not been confessed and overcome， the “believer’s” name would be blotted out of the book of life. The investigation was a judgment of the believer’s faithfulness. The record of our life, preserved in the book of remembrance, determines who will be accounted worthy.

Overcoming sin was an important element in the thinking of Andrews. Only those who were overcomers would be preserved in the book of remembrance and ultimately, the book of life. They would experience the justification of the [investigative] judgment and be accounted worthy of immortality (Andrews, The Judgment, p. 21). “…. Only those who have fully repented of their sins and have perfectly accomplished the work of overcoming” will have their sins blotted out. “They must have completed their work of overcoming” (Andrews, The Judgment, pp. 20, 21).

Andrews was not alone in emphasizing the necessity of “overcoming” to succeed in the Investigative Judgment. James White, in his early Review and Herald article “The Judgment" also considered “overcoming” as necessary to pass the judgment.

“The white raiment in this text [Rev. 3:5] is the same as that offered by the True Witness. Hence, we conclude that the overcoming, which is necessary in order to have the names of the people of God retained in, and not blotted out of, the book of life, consists in obeying the testimony to the Laodiceans.” (ARSH January 29, 1857, page 101.3).

James White outlined the steps to success in the Investigative Judgment:1)“Perfect faith by works,” 2). “Be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.” 3) Get the anointing of the Holy Ghost (ARSH January 29, 1857, page 101.4).

Ellen White describes how Jesus pleads for the salvation of those whose names come up in the Investigative Judgment. While not excusing their sin, He shows their faith and penitence, claiming forgiveness for them (GC, 412). God will not despise penitence and contrition (Psalm 51:17). They shall walk with God in white, for they are worthy.

Who did the Reformers identify as the antichrist?

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:27:58 +0000

Well, if one looks the Protestant Reformers were clear on who they saw as the Bible said was antichrist and as 'the' Antichrist in prophecy. They explicitly identified the pope or the papacy with Antichrist. Martin Luther called the papacy “the kingdom of Babylon and of the true Antichrist” and repeatedly labeled the pope “the very Antichrist” in works such as 'Babylonian Captivity of the Church' where he critiqued the sacramental system of the Roman Catholic church.

We find the following from the Reformers, and those who came after them believed on this..

'The Antichrist According to the Protestant Reformers
The following quotations show what some of the most influential Protestant Reformers and early Christian leaders believed about Antichrist (“the little horn” (Daniel 7:8), “the beast” (Revelation 13:1), and “the man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Martin Luther (1483-1546) (Lutheran):

“Luther … proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John, by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy … And all the people did say, Amen! A holy terror siezed their souls. It was Antichrist whom they beheld seated on the pontifical throne. This new idea, which derived greater strength from the prophetic descriptions launched forth by Luther into the midst of his contemporaries, inflicted the most terrible blow on Rome.” History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century, by J. H. Merle D’aubigne’s, book vi, chapter xii, p. 215.

Martin Luther declared, “We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist.” (Aug. 18, 1520). The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by Le Roy Froom. Vol. 2., pg. 121.

John Calvin (1509-1564) (Presbyterian):

“Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt… I shall briefly show that (Paul’s words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy.” Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.

John Knox (1505-1572) (Scotch Presbyterian):

John Knox sought to counteract “that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church.” As with Luther, he finally concluded that the Papacy was “the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks.” The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, pg. 199.

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) (Anglican):

“Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons.” (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.

Roger Williams (1603-1683) (First Baptist Pastor in America):

Pastor Williams spoke of the Pope as “the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself…speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (II Thess. 2).” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by Froom, Vol. 3, pg. 52.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647):

“There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God.” The Creeds of Christendom With a History and Critical Notes, by Philip Schaff’s, III, p. 658, 659, ch. 25, sec. 6.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) (Congregational Theologian):

“The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them.” The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom’s book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.

John Wesley (1703-1791) (Methodist):

Speaking of the Papacy, John Wesley wrote, “He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers… He it is…that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped…claiming the highest power, and highest honour…claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.” Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, by John Wesley, pg. 110.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

“Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist.” All Roads Lead to Rome, by Michael de Semlyen, Dorchestor House Publications, p. 205. 1991.'..... Who did the reformers identify as the antichrist? - BibleAsk

Justification

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 19:52:36 +0000

Central to Luther's Reformation message was the doctrine of justification by faith. The teaching is also known as justification by imputed righteousness. The word impute is translated by other words such as reckon, count, conclude. The idea is that God considers us or thinks of us as righteous because of our faith in Christ. Works are not a factor in God's considering us righteous. It is based solely upon our faith. That's why we sometimes hear the expression justification by faith alone. Genesis 15:6 is the foundation of this teaching. "Abraham believed the Lord and it was counted to him as righteousness." Abraham lived prior to Moses. There was no legal system to which he was obligated to comply. He was counted righteous prior to circumcision. The Roman papacy took issue with Luther over this issue, arguing that people must prepare themselves for justification by loving God; consequently, justification was not by faith alone. E.J. Waggoner dwelt more upon the idea of imparted righteousness instead of imputed righteousness. He considered justification in the sense of actually being made righteous, not just being thought of as righteous.

Commandment keeping didn't factor into Luther's thinking on justification. He emphasized living a Spirit filled life, guided by the Holy Spirit. Luther's thinking on justification is probably best understood by reading his Galatians commentary, especially on chapter 3. In his comments on chapters 1-4 of Galatians, he uses the word abrogate/ed around 40 times to describe the place of the law, including Decalogue, ceremonies, and social, i.e, all laws. We are not however, to use our freedom from law as a license to indulge our flesh. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live in a more Christlike way. Laws only show us how we fail to do that.

Bonhoeffer - The Preacher And The Swastika

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 02:02:40 +0000

(Wasn't sure where to post this? If it doesn't go here and needs to be moved just let me know, thank you!!)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, is a Christian hero for many. Executed by the Nazis just days before the end of WWII for his participation in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer is hailed as a 20th-century martyr. But Bonhoeffer struggled with a moral dilemma – his religious views were in stark contrast to the evil he saw all around him. He chose to face possible imprisonment and execution and to remain faithful to the principles of his belief in God. Across the political and theological spectrum, Bonhoeffer is celebrated as an icon of true Christianity and his theological writings are classics throughout the Christian world.

https://adventistreview.tv/programs/theincrediblejourney?

Early Anabaptists (1535-1536)

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 09:48:33 +0000

It was Philip of Hesse and his soldiers of the reformed party who chiefly
contributed to put an end to the disorders and cruelties of which Munster
had been the scene.

The only result of this episode for Protestantism was
to demonstrate that it had no connection with the fanaticism of these
would-be inspired ones. Protestant opinion was on this occasion
distinguished by various characteristic features. Its intention was that
punishment should be inflicted not for the religious doctrine of the
enthusiasts, but only for their rebellion and other ordinary crimes. There
have been, indeed, and there are especially at the present time a large
number of pious and zealous Christians who advocate adult baptism; and
we are bound to respect them although we do not share their views.

Moreover the baptism practiced by the enthusiasts of Munster, was not
that of the sect of Baptists; it was a proceeding which denoted adhesion to
the fanatical system the triumph of which they pretended to insure, a
ceremony such as is adopted in many secret societies. The essential
characteristics of their system were their alleged visions, their
unquestionable licentiousness, the confusion which they brought upon the
institutions of social life, their tyranny and their cruelty.

D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in the Time of Calvin (vol.8, book 16, ch.5).

Ages Software download

Zwingli and Images

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 16:08:12 +0000

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Jesuit Probabilism

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 14:22:15 +0000

The first of these is termed probabilism. This is a device which enables a man to commit any act, be it ever
so manifest a breach of the moral and Divine law, without the least restraint of conscience, remorse of
mind, or guilt before God. What is probabilism? By way of answer, we shall suppose that a man has a great
mind to do a certain act, of the lawfulness of which he is in doubt. He finds that there are two opinions
upon the point: the one probably true, to the effect that the act is lawful; the other more probably true, to the
effect that the act is sinful. Under the Jesuit regimen the man is at liberty to act upon the probable opinion.
The act is probably right, but more probably wrong, nevertheless he is safe in doing it, in virtue of the
doctrine of probabilism. It is important to ask, what makes all opinion probable? To make an opinion
probable a Jesuit finds easy indeed. If a single doctor has pronounced in its favor, though a score of doctors
may have condemned it, or if the man can imagine in his own mind something like a tolerable reason for
doing the act, the opinion that it is lawful becomes probable. It will be hard to name an act for which a
Jesuit authority may not be produced, and harder still to find a man whose invention is so poor as not to
furnish him with what he deems a good reason for doing what he is inclined to, and therefore it may be
pronounced impossible to instance a deed, however manifestly opposed to the light of nature and the law of
God, which may not be committed under the shield of the monstrous dogma of probabilism.

Wylie, J.A., History of Protestantism

Book 15, chapter 4

Calvin and the Athanasian Creed

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 12:57:01 +0000

He [Calvin] professed with all his heart the doctrine enunciated in the early creeds,
the Nicene and the so-called Athanasian, which set forth, perhaps with
superfluity of words, but nevertheless with much force, a faith which is
dear to Christian men. But he felt that these writings were wanting in
evangelical simplicity. The phrases ‘God of God, Light of Light’ (Qeo Qeou~) used in the Nicene creed, appeared to him less apostolic than
Oriental in their character. It shocked him that the Quicunque, better
known under the name of the Athanasian creed, just at the time when it is
going to make subtle distinctions, such as the faith of a simple Christian
man cannot comprehend, should begin by asserting — .’Whosoever will be
saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith (that
of the creed). Which faith, except everyone do keep whole and undefiled,
without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.’ *Caroli’s ignorance as to this
profession of faith was so great that he believed it was drawn up at Nicaea
in A.D. 325, and by Athanasius. This was startling to Calvin. The creed
appears, in fact, to have been formed gradually in the African church, some
of its formula being met with towards the close of the seventh century; but
it did not exist as a whole until the age of Charlemagne, nearly five
centuries after the council of Nicaea.

*Caroli was a doctor of the Sorbonne. He had accused Calvin of Arianism.

D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in the Time of Calvin, vol. 6, 262, 263

book 11 chapter 5

Melanchthon on Original Sin

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 06:04:59 +0000

"For some contend that original sin is not a depravity or corruption in the nature of man, but only servitude, or a condition of mortality [not an innate evil nature, but only a blemish or imposed load, or burden], which those propagated from Adam bear because of the guilt of another [namely, Adam’s sin], and without any depravity of their own. Besides, they add that no one is condemned to eternal death on account of original sin, just as those who are born of a bond-woman are slaves, and bear this condition without any natural blemish, but because of the calamity of their mother [while, of themselves, they are born without fault, like other men: thus original sin is not an innate evil, but a defect and burden which we bear since Adam, but we are not on that account personally in sin and inherited disgrace]. 6 To show that this impious opinion is displeasing to us, we made mention of “concupiscence,” and, with the best intention, have termed and explained it as “diseases,” that “the nature of men is born corrupt and full of faults” [not a part of man, but the entire person with its entire nature is born in sin as with a hereditary disease]....

Defense of the Augsburg Confession

Article 2

Defense of the Augsburg Confession · BookOfConcord.org

Melanchthon's Commonplaces, 1521

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 15:02:05 +0000

[Melanchthon's 1521 edition of the "Commonplaces of Theology" is the earliest systematic theology of the Reformation]

"Luther's little book "Christian Liberty" is at hand. He who wishes can seek from it further commendations of faith. However, I am of the opinion that the power of faith will be more clearly learned from Scriptural examples.

In Genesis 15: 1, God promises Abraham his mercy in these magnificent words: " Fear not, Abraham, I am thy protector and thy exceeding great reward." A little later he promises him posterity. Then follows the word: "Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness." What did Abraham believe? Nothing but that God exists? Nay rather he believed the promise of God and then declared that faith by an illustrious example, as when he would have sacrificed his son nothing doubting but that God would have given him posterity, even though his son were slain. Now since faith is to give assent to the word of God, what Abraham really believed is made clear enough from the promise when God adds that he is Abraham's protector. Therefore, they believe who consider God as a protector, a father, and not only as a judge."

Melanchthon, Philip and Charles L. Hill. The Loci Communes of Philip Melanchthon, 179. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007.

Russian Reformation That Might Have Been

Sun, 05 Feb 2023 10:14:11 +0000

The Reformation That Might Have Been
Source: Article by Oleg Zhigankov in Perspective Digest Vol. 7, No, 3 2002

Russia had its own Reformation, an event that has not received its deserved attention in the Western world. ...
This significant movement had the potential to change not only Russian history but also the religious situation in the West...
It's theology was rooted in the Bible, the movement was not affected by Byzantine Christianity . Since adherents were not numerous, its activity smoldered throughout the centuries, only to burst into flame in the 1400's....

In Russia, the Bible had not been kept from the people as in Catholic countries. From the writings of Ivan Chiornyl and the brothers Ivan and Feodor Kuritsyn... it is clear that the principles of faith, the lifestyle and the teachings of the Sabbatarians within the movement were based on the Bible. As far back as the 11th century parts of the Bible had been translated into the language of the people and by 1581 Russians had a complete printed Bible....
By the second half of the 15th century a large group of Russian Orthodox clergy in Novgorod supported and promoted the Reformation movement....
The Reformation found support in both the upper and lower classes....

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pd/vol7/iss3/12/

German New Testament, 1522

Sun, 22 Jan 2023 10:09:04 +0000

One would have said that the very workmen [Luther & Melanchthon] felt the importance of the task in which they were
engaged. Three presses were employed in this labor, and ten thousand sheets, says Luther, were printed
daily. At length, on the 21st September 1522, appeared the complete edition of three thousand
copies, in two folio volumes, with this simple title: THE NEW TESTAMENT — GERMAN —
Wittenberg. It bore no name of man.

From Scripture and faith, two sources which in reality are but one, the life of the Gospel has flowed,
and is still spreading over the world. These two principles combated two fundamental errors. Faith was
opposed to the Pelagian tendency of Roman-catholicism; Scripture, to the theory of tradition and the
authority of Rome.

The publication of the New Testament in the vulgar tongue is an important epoch in the Reformation. If
Feldkirchen’s marriage was the first step in the progress of the Reformation from doctrine into social
life; if the abolition of monastic vows was the second; if the re-establishment of the Lord’s Supper was
the third, — the publication of the New Testament was perhaps the most important of all. It worked an
entire change in society: not only in the Presbytery of the priest, in the monk’s cell, and in the
sanctuary of our Lord; but also in the mansions of the great, in the houses of the citizens, and cottages
of the peasants. When the Bible began to be read in the families of Christendom, Christendom itself
was changed.

Then arose other habits, other manners, other conversations, and another life. With the publication of
the New Testament, the Reformation left the School and the Church to take possession of the hearts of
the people.

J. H. Merle D’Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, b. 14, ch. 9.

What is the Gospel?

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 10:03:55 +0000

20. But what is the Gospel? It is this, that God has sent his Son into the
world to save sinners, John 3:16, and to crush hell, overcome death,
take away sin and satisfy the law. But what must you do? Nothing but
accept this and look up to your Redeemer and firmly believe that he has
done all this for your good and freely gives you all as your own, so that in
the terrors of death, sin and hell you can confidently say and boldly depend
upon it, and say: Although I do not fulfill the law, although sin is still
present and I fear death and hell, nevertheless from the Gospel I know that
Christ has bestowed upon me all his works. I am sure he will not lie, his
promise he will surely fulfill. And as a sign of this I have received baptism.
For he says to his apostles and disciples: “Go ye into all the world, and
preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned,” Mark
16:15-16.

Upon this I anchor my confidence. For I know that my Lord
Christ has overcome death, sin, hell and the devil all for my good. For he
was innocent, as Peter says: “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his
mouth.” 1 Peter 2:22. Therefore sin and death were not able to slay
him, hell could not hold him, and he has become their Lord, and has
granted this to all who accept and believe it. All this is effected not by my
works or merits; but by pure grace, goodness and mercy.

Lenker, John Nicholas, translator. Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. 2 pp. 317, 318. By Martin Luther, n.d.

[Sermon delivered in 1522]

We Have Not Yet Arrived....

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 14:07:41 +0000

"For this life is nothing more than a life of faith, of love, and of
sanctified affliction. But these three will never be perfect in us while we
live here on earth, and no one possesses them in perfection except Christ.
He is the sun and is set for our example, which we must imitate. For this
reason there will always be found among us some that are weak, others
that are strong, and again some that are stronger; these are able to suffer
less, those more; and so, they must all continue in the imitation of Christ.

For this life is a constant progress from faith to faith, from love to love,
from patience to patience, and from affliction to affliction. It is not
righteousness, but justification; not purity, but purification; we have not yet
arrived at our destination, but we are all on the road, and some are farther
advanced than others. God is satisfied to find us busy at work and full of
determination. When he is ready, he will come quickly, strengthen faith and
love, and in an instant take us from this life to heaven. But while we live on
earth we must bear with one another, as Christ also bore with us, seeing
that none of us is perfect."

Lenker, John Nicholas, translator. Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. 2 p. 178. By Martin Luther, n.d.

Luther Comments on the Death and Resurrection of Christ.

Sat, 24 Dec 2022 12:50:29 +0000

"St. Paul writes in Romans 4:25 as follows: Christ was delivered up
for our trespasses, and was raised for our Paul is indeed the
man who extols Christ in a masterly manner, telling us exactly why and for
what purpose he suffered and how we should conform ourselves to his
sufferings, namely, that he died for our sins. This is a correct interpretation
of the sufferings of Christ, by which we may profit. And as it is not
sufficient to know and believe that Christ has died, so it will not suffice to
know and believe that he rose with a transfigured body and is now in a
state of joy and blessedness, no longer subject to mortality, for all this
would profit me nothing or very little. But when I come to understand the
fact that all the works God does in Christ are done for me, nay, they are
bestowed upon and given to me, the effect of his resurrection being that I
also will arise and live with him; that will cause me to rejoice. This must be
brought home to our hearts, and we must not merely hear it with the ears
of our body nor merely confess it with our mouth."

Lenker, John Nicholas, translator. Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. 2 pp. 203, 204. By Martin Luther, n.d.

...They Believe Not On Me

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 17:26:00 +0000

“When the Comforter is come, he will convict the world in respect
of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they
believe not on me.” (John)

2. Here we must let that be “sin” which is ascribed to, and included in, sin
by the high majesty of heaven. In the text only unbelief is mentioned as sin,
“because,” says the Lord, “they believe not on me.”

3. But what is it to believe on Christ? It is not simply to believe that he is
God, or that he reigns in heaven in equal power with God the Father; many
others believe that: But I believe on Christ when I believe that he is a
gracious God to me and has taken my sins upon himself and reconciled me
with God the Father, that my sins are his and his righteousness mine, that
there is an intermingling and an exchange, that Christ is a mediator
between me and the Father. For the sins of the whole world were laid upon
Christ, and the righteousness of the Father, that is in Christ, will swallow
up all our sins.

No sins dare and can remain upon Christ. Such faith makes me pure and
acceptable to the Father. Of this faith the pope and our highly educated
leaders know nothing to speak, much less to believe. They teach that man
should do many good works if he is to be acceptable to God and be free
from sin, and that then God imparts to him his grace.

4. However, here the Lord speaks quite differently, and says: “The Holy
Spirit will convict the world in respect of sin, because they believe not on
me.” Unbelief only is mentioned here as sin, and faith is praised as
suppressing and extinguishing the other sins, even the sins in the saints.
Faith is so strong and overpowering that no sin dare put it under any
obligation. Although sins are present in pious and believing persons, they
are not imputed to them, nor shall their sins condemn them. This is Paul’s
meaning when he says in Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.” Their hearts are cleansed by faith, as Peter
writes in Acts 15:9. Therefore, whatever they do in this faith, in this
assurance is all good, pure and pleasing to God. On the contrary, without
this faith all their doings are sin and destruction, though their good works
may shine and glitter as beautifully as they will, and ever though they raise
the dead. For Paul says: “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” Romans
14:23.

Comments from Sermon on the Young man of Nain

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 15:57:03 +0000

Therefore, there is no help from any creature against this [judgment of the law]. God himself had to have compassion on our misery and to conceive a plan for our deliverance, as he said in the prophecy of Isaiah, 49:25: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered. This had to be done by Christ, the Son of God himself, and he therefore became man, that is, took upon himself death and its cause, sin and the wrath of God, in order that he might free us from these and bring us to life and righteousness. For, as by one man both sin and death came upon all of us; so also by one man must victory over death, righteousness and life be given to us, as St. Paul says, Romans 5:17.

Lenker, John Nicholas, translator. Sermons of Martin Luther, vol.5 p. 127. By Martin Luther, ~1905. Ages Software, downloaded.

God Purifies Us

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 15:13:57 +0000

Sin is attended by two evils: First, it takes us captive. In its power we

are incapable of doing good, of desiring or even recognizing good. Sin thus

robs us of power, freedom and light. The second evil attendant upon sin is

the natural outcome of the first: we forsake good to engage only in iniquity

and impurity, tilling with hard and heavy labor the land of wicked Pharaoh

in Egypt. But when, through faith, Christ comes, he liberates from the

bondage of Egypt and gives power to do good. That power is our first

gain.

Afterward, the effort of our entire lives should be to purge from body

and soul unrighteous, unregenerate, and worldly conduct. Until death our

lives should be nothing but purification. While it is true that faith instantly

redeems from all legal guilt and sets free, yet evil desires remain in body

and soul, as odor and disease cling to a dungeon. Faith occupies itself with

purifying from these. Typical of this principle, Lazarus in the Gospel was

raised from the dead by a single word (John 11:44), but afterward the

shroud and napkin had to be removed. And the half-dead man whose

wounds the Samaritan bound up and whom the Samaritan carried home,

had to remain in the inn until he was restored.

Lenker, John Nicholas, translator. Sermons of Martin Luther, vol.6 pp. 111,112. By Martin Luther, Publisher unknown, ~1909.