The Called out Ones

TimeWatch Editorial
March 21, 2016

One of the most amazing facts about the Protestant Reformation is that it began with some called out ones who were a part of the Church of Rome. In the 1490s Desiderius Erasmus became convinced that the church of Rome was in dire need of change, and that change from within must come from the top. He was a part of this church was determined to push for reform. Looking at the obsessions of the church, Erasmus saw clearly that the Papacy was occupied with the acquiring of wealth, to the point where it was now in possession of as much as 1/3 of the land in Western Europe. This worldly preoccupation did not sit well with Erasmus. He further expressed the fact that the church and its leadership needed to emphasize a return to the Bible as a source of authority. He felt that the complicated reasoning of “higher education” and scholasticism, had taken the church away from the fundamentals of Christianity, and had darkened the theology of truth leading to the blackness of a corrupted church. He did not hesitate to express these convictions in pen and in word.

Martin Luther was born 10 November 1483. He died 18 February 1546. He was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, and monk. He too saw the perversions f the church and was also determined to reform the ugliness that he was able to identify. When in the year 1517, a seller of indulgences came to Germany to seduce people into surrendering the meager funds for the misuse and abuse of the priesthood, Luther stood in opposition to the corruptive practice of selling the right to commit sin. He was so enraged that he posted his 95 theses upon the doors of the Wittenburg Cathedral. Tremendous pressure was placed upon Luther, but he remained firm in adversity. His position was immoveable. He would not be intimidated. Called out from the very church to which he belonged, he was a champion of clarity and truth.

Huldreich Zwingli was a priest in Switzerland, and an army chaplain. Because of the circumstances around him he also became convinced that the worldliness of the church was mistaken. He saw that the church had been using Swiss mercenaries in battles fought in the Italian peninsula. He rebelled against the apostate positions taken and held by the church. He also strongly opposed the idea that churchmen should not marry. He got married in the year 1724 even though still a priest. Zwingli refused to be pacified by being promoted to higher office in the church. He steadfastly maintained his convictions. By the year 1731 there was a religious civil war between the Catholics and Protestants. Zwingli marched with those who protested. At the battle of Kapel he was struck down and cut to pieces.

John Knox had been a priest, but he heavily influenced by a man named George Wisheart who was known to be a strong and committed reform minded preacher. John Knox was in constant conflict with the authorities of the Catholic Queen of Scotland or her mother who had ruled as regent for several years. But the more they confronted and attacked him, the stronger he became.

In fact, this was typical of the reformers. In spite of their circumstance, they never shied away from disputation. On the subject of transubstantiation, these men stood immoveable. On every subject that they were able to identify which stood in opposition to the truth, they stood firmly.

But the powerful and shining witness of all this was the fact that from within the darkness of papal falsehood, the mighty God of Heaven and Earth “called out ones” who would be champions of truth. This was and is a mighty demonstration of the Mighty Power of the God we serve. Today he continues to place his hand upon “the called out ones” who speak truth regardless of the circumstances.

Cameron A. Bowen