Dr. William VanDoodewaard

Many Christians lament the condition of our culture; the church appears weak in much of the Western world. Yet, while our time may seem spiritually dark, in many respects it is hardly so compared to the years prior to 1517—the beginning of the Reformation in Europe. In late medieval Europe, faithful proclamation of God’s Word and a clear understanding of the doctrines of grace were rare. Certainly there were continuing movements like the Waldensians, Lollards, and Hussites that were more faithful to God’s Word, but they were threatened by the established church. There were also strands of more Augustinian thought within the Roman Catholic Church which had some grasp of these precious realities, though they were a small minority. There was a general, public commitment to essential Christian truths, such as Trinitarian doctrine and a knowledge of God as Creator, Sustainer, and Judge. However, public, faithful proclamation of the Word, with a right knowledge of Christ—let alone a right understanding of sacraments and shepherding—was desperately difficult to find. Even more daunting, the forces of the day seemed arrayed against it. European society was widely complacent in nominal Christianity, while expecting the rites and rights of late medieval Christianity. The wealthy freely interfered in the life of the church for personal gain, buying ministerial positions for financial or political gain. Corruption of the priesthood, right up through the Roman hierarchy to the pope, was endemic. Papal ambitions led to wars. Vital, genuine Christianity was in short supply.

In these apparently disheartening circumstances, God was graciously working and would soon do marvelous, unexpected things. Prior to the sixteenth century in the Low Countries, John of Goch (d. 1475), a priest of the Brethren of the Common Life movement, proclaimed the justification of sinners by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. His contemporary, John of Wessel (1419–1489), while not having the same theological clarity, similarly stressed the authority of Scripture. Like Goch, Wessel was part of a thin line of continuity which would soon bear incredible fruit—beyond any proportion to its immediate precursors. In Switzerland, while a young Martin Luther was still under the grip of Romanism, Thomas Wyttenbach (1472–1526), a priest, became convicted of the need to preach against the sale of indulgences. Wyttenbach saw the authority of Scripture as supreme and came to proclaim salvation by faith alone in Christ crucified. The Holy Spirit, working by the Word, was opening eyes, transforming hearts and minds; scattered individuals and families were being richly blessed by His grace.

Wyttenbach would be a profound influence on a young Swiss priest, who had failed to live chastely in his calling. A transformed Ulrich Zwingli became a powerful preacher of the Word. At the same time, young Martin Luther, also transformed by God, now boldly proclaimed the Word. Heinrich Bullinger, another converted Swiss priest, proclaimed the riches of the gospel in his monastery—with the result that all of his fellow priests were converted! What had initially been like a few drops of rain suddenly became like a mighty downpour. Across Europe, the Holy Spirit worked conversion after conversion. More and more priests turned faithful preachers of the Word, growing in the pastoring of souls. Families, churches, and communities were transformed. Even cities like Geneva would see remarkable change—from being a place of ill-repute to a center of Christian refuge, worship, theological training, and missionary sending. Christ gloriously displayed His power to save and transform in what was a most unlikely situation.

Remembering God’s mighty works in the era of the Reformation should bring us to fresh awareness that He is doing mighty works now: every conversion and every increase in Christian growth is a sovereign, gracious, and powerful work of God. As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, our Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As we reflect on the Reformation this month, may it encourage and embolden us to have great confidence and delight in what He is doing, and in what He is able to do.

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Dr. William VanDoodewaard is an associate professor of Church History at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.

Published by The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, used with permission.