The most dangerous man to the Roman Catholic Church stood alone. It was the morning of July 6, 1415. Everyone who was anyone—the highest ranking Catholic clergy and even Emperor Sigismund himself—gathered in the towering German cathedral, the site of the Council of Constance. Their goal was finally to rid the Catholic church of the […]
John Wycliffe was born into a “dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Ps. 63:1). England, as well as all of Europe, was very much in the “Dark Ages” in the early fourteenth century of Wycliffe’s childhood. During his lifetime, he watched as one-third of Europe’s population died of the Black Death. He saw […]
By the early 800s, the Roman Catholic Church had become a corrupted institution and was constantly moving further from God’s word. Corruption among the leaders of the church was already rampant and would continue to worsen in the centuries following. Most significantly, the doctrine of salvation was false. Although it was not yet the church’s […]
Many scholars consider Jacques LeFèvre (Jacob Faber) a pre-reformer. In fact, he was not, as will become plain. Who was he? LeFèvre was a Frenchman, born in Etaples, in the province of Picardy, about 1455. So he was in fact born before the Reformation began. Significant is that he was a humanist. Humanists were […]
Christ promised his sheep would hear his voice and follow after him. His power to call his children and convince them to love and fear him knows no boundaries. This is just a humble attempt at showing my gratitude for his great love towards a sinner like me. I was born in Brazil to Lidia […]
Imagine with me a treasury. Many kingdoms had vast treasuries. Rooms were filled with the money and valuables the kingdom had obtained through conquests and taxation. The church has a treasury as well. But this is no ordinary treasury. It is not filled with silver and gold. It has not changed hands as does the […]
Christian instruction has a distinct and most unique contribution to make. It is intended to be one of the means whereby the people of God can instruct the seed of the covenant. In order to accomplish the task of covenant education, the seed of the church must be thoroughly instructed in the history of the […]
For Thy Truth’s Sake—A Doctrinal History of the Protestant Reformed Churches, by Herman Hanko. Reformed Free Publishing Association, Grandville, MI. 2000. Pp. xxvi-541 (hardcover). As the title appropriately states, this book is a summary of the doctrinal development of the Protestant Reformed Churches over the seventy-five years of her existence. Beyond that, the author shows […]
Reflecting back upon the past century, we can see that the world has gone through many changes in a short period of time. Modern man extols this progress and growth in technology. For many in this world, this is all that they care to talk about. “We must live for the here and now!” is […]
Introduction: Perhaps, as young people, we are inclined to consider the history of 1924 as irrelevant for us today. Of what value is “dry and dusty” history of several generations ago? Is there anything in that history that is applicable to our modern times? I would emphasize that if we are to be faithful members […]