What belief most drastically separated the Reformation from Rome?
(Daniel 7 & 8; Romans 2 – 5; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 10:5-9) Blog Apr. 28 – May 3, 2024
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: <PresentTruthLRI@gmail.com>
REVIEW: The war that began in heaven came to this earth bringing continual conflict between good and evil. Those who accept God’s salvation are the special objects of Satan’s attacks. When persecution did not eliminate God’s church in the first centuries, Satan joined the church bringing impurity. This led to the formation of the Papacy.
The Reformers & the Bible
1. When the Papacy replaced three of Daniel’s ten divided nations what did she do next? The Papacy went about changing God’s Ten Commandment Law to not mention graven images. She taught the people to seek forgiveness of sins at a human confessional instead of from God in heaven & she taught that justification before God required not just faith but also works of love (Dan. 7:20-26; 8:9-12).
2. When true believers taught men contrary to Papal dogma what did the Papacy do? The church persecuted those who taught contrary to her doctrines, even to the point of torture & death at the stake (Dan. 7:7-10, 20-26; Rev. 13:4-8).
3. What happened when the Papacy was at the height of its glory? God raised up men & women who based their faith on the Bible alone & taught others to do the same (Dan. 8:9-12, 23-25).
4. Where in the Bible are we taught to base our faith on the Word of God alone? The Apostle Paul in Romans makes clear that only in Holy Scripture is the Gospel revealed, that it is the power of God unto salvation, & that faith comes by hearing that word. David wrote that God’s Word gives light & understanding, Isaiah said that the law & testimony of God was how to test light, Jesus said we are to live by every word of God, & Paul wrote to Timothy that Holy Scripture was a sufficient guide for faith & doctrine (Psa. 119:130; Isa. 8:20; Rom. 1:1-5; 10:17; 2 Tim. 3:15-17).
5. What was the attitude of the Papacy toward Holy Scripture? The Papacy taught that only the magisterium of the church could rightly interpret Scripture so kept the Bible in the Latin language chained in her edifices & (like the Pharisees) taught that tradition was equal with Scripture (Mark 7:5-13; Col. 2:8).
6. What was the attitude of the Reformers toward Holy Scripture? The Reformers taught that the Bible alone was a sufficient, authoritative guide for faith & practice & that the Holy Spirit (not church councils) was its proper Interpreter (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 1 John 2:20, 27).
7. How did the Protestant Reformers “rightly divide” the Word of God? The Reformers distinguished between “law” & “gospel.” In this way they trusted their salvation to a finished gospel while taking seriously the Bible commands to live holy lives (Isa. 8:20; Gal. 3:1-14; 2 Tim. 2:15).
The Reformers & Grace
8. Besides the idea of “the Bible only,” what other Reformation belief most drastically separated her from Rome? Sola Fide (by faith alone) was the other area of greatest contention with the Papacy for the Reformers taught that faith alone brought justification (Rom. 3:28; Eph. 2:8-9).
9. What Bible definition of “justification” did the Protestant Reformers rediscover? Using Romans 4 the Reformers rediscovered that “to justify” means to declare or account righteous & NOT “to make” righteous (Rom. 4:3-6).
10. How did the Protestant Reformers understand the relationship between grace, faith, and justification? The Reformers understood that by grace the Father gave us his Son, that the Spirit gives us faith in the Son, in whom is the righteousness by which we are justified (Rom. 3:21-25; Eph. 2:8-9).
11. What text summarizes the wonderful transaction called justification? Second Corinthians 5:21 states that Jesus became sin for us so that we might be counted the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor. 5:21).
12. What Reformation war cry did the Reformers find in Romans 5? In Romans 5 the Reformers saw that Jesus, all by himself, accomplished our salvation. Their war cry was “Solus Cristus” (Christ Alone) (Rom. 5:12-19).
The Reformers & the Law
13. With all their emphasis on grace, faith, and Jesus alone what place did the Reformers give to good works? The Reformers with their emphasis on the Bible as a rule for living, taught that good works are always the fruit of faith (Eph. 2:8-10; Col. 1:9-10).
14. What Scriptures must have inspired the Reformers to live and teach obedience to God’s will? First Samuel 15, Acts 5, Romans 6, & many other passages must have inspired the Reformers to obey God in the face of persecution, imprisonment & death (1 Sam. 15:22; Acts 5:29; Rom. 6:13-18).
15. How were the Reformers enabled to preach obedience to God’s law by distinguishing between law and gospel? By distinguishing between law and gospel the Reformers could emphatically proclaim God’s Law which demands perfect obedience while at the same time proclaiming Christ’s gospel as the perfect fulfillment of God’s Law (Matt. 5:17-20; Rom. 2:13; 7:12; Heb. 10:5-9).
16. What were the five war cries of the Reformation? The war cries were “Scripture alone,” “grace alone,” “Christ alone,” “faith alone,” & “Solo Deo gloria” (for God’s glory alone) (Luke 2:14; Rom. 16:27; Jude 1:25).