The Dawn of Reformation

It is one thing to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, but it is another to believe, or trust, the Bible as the Word of God. We’re called not only to believe in God and His Word but to believe God—to trust God—and His Word. Throughout history, the visible church has always professed her belief that the Bible is God’s Word. Yet, a cursory study of church history reveals that many popes, priests, and parishioners neglected to read the Bible themselves, and many didn’t believe, or trust, the Bible as the final, authoritative Word of God.

Such widespread unbelief didn’t happen all at once, but gradually. As men gained political and ecclesiastical power throughout the medieval period, they established themselves as the only authoritative interpreters of God’s Word and, eventually, albeit inevitably, as authoritative equals with God’s Word. As a result, God’s Word was deemed superfluous, chained to the pulpit, and recited solely in Latin, ensuring that common, uneducated (poor and powerless) Christians could never access God’s Word for themselves and, therefore, never question the authority of the powerful elite. Nevertheless, men cannot silence God’s Word, nor can they contain the Holy Spirit or extinguish the power of the gospel. God’s truth will always shine, however dark the age. Read more