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Advent Lessons

Lesson 9 · May 30, 1908

The Reformation from Popery

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Questions

  1. 1.What warning was given concerning a great apostasy before the day of Christ should come? .
  2. 2.Who would stand forth prominently in this great apostasy? Same verse.
  3. 3.How would the man of sin conduct himself? .
  4. 4.To what extent would he carry his self-exaltation? Same verse.
  5. 5.What phrase expresses the nature of this great apostasy? .
  6. 6.When contrasted to this, what phrase defines the central truth of the Gospel? .
  7. 7.Who is "that man of sin"? Ans.—"That Paul's 'mystery of iniquity,' as described in , has its counterpart in the church of Rome [or the Papacy] no man of candid mind, who has carefully examined the subject, can easily doubt. Such was the impression made by that account on the mind of the great Sir Matthew Hale, no mean judge of evidence, that he used to say that if the apostolic description were inserted in the public Hue and Cry any constable in the realm would be warranted in seizing, wherever he found him, the Bishop of Rome as the head of that 'mystery of iniquity.'"—"The Two Babylons," by Alexander Hislop, page 4.
  8. 8.What is the fundamental doctrine of the Papacy? Ans.—"That the 'pope is the vicar of Christ' is the corner-stone of the papal church."—J. A. Wylie, author of "The History of Protestantism."
  9. 9.What is the teaching of the Papacy concerning the fundamental truth of the Gospel—justification by faith? Ans.—" These texts [previously quoted], all of which refer to saving faith, prove beyond doubt that not trust in Christ for personal salvation but the faith of the creed, the faith in revealed truths, the faith of the Gospel, as St. Paul calls it (), is the faith availing for justification."—"Catholic Belief" (a book written and published by Roman Catholics and approved by Catholic authority), pages 370, 371.
  10. 10.What was the real cause of the falling away? Ans.—" The church had fallen because the great doctrines of justification by faith in the Saviour had been taken away from her."—D'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation" (American Tract Society Edition), vol. 1, page 90.
  11. 11.What doctrine of the Scripture furnished the basis of the Reformation? . Ans.—" This wonderful text [" The just shall live by faith"] had a mysterious influence on the life of Luther. It was a creative sentence both for the reformer and the Reformation."—Id., page 198.
  12. 12.What is the attitude of the Roman Catholic church toward tradition? Ans.—"Though these two divine streams [the Bible and tradition] are in themselves, on account of their divine origin, of equal sacredness, and are both full of revealed truths, still, of the two, tradition is to us more clear and safe."—"Catholic Belief," page 45.
  13. 13.How was the authority of the Bible exalted in the Reformation? Ans.—"The Bible had molded the reformer and begun the Reformation. Luther needed not the testimony of the church in order to believe. His faith had come from the Bible itself; from within, and not from without. He was so intimately convinced that the evangelical doctrine was immovably founded on the word of God, that in his eye all external authority was useless."—D'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation," vol. 1, page 310.
  14. 14.What vital principles were thus recognized in the Reformation from popery? and .

Suggestions for additional study

Notes

Protestantism, which had its birth at the Reformation, is, or ought to be, a constant protest against apostasy.

Any reform movement which is based upon the authority of the word of God will necessarily emphasize the doctrine of justification by faith.

Inasmuch as the Papacy teaches the same doctrine now as in the sixteenth century, there is the same need of a message against such perversions of the truth.

The influential denominations of the present day have lost the power to protest against the great apostasy by standing upon papal ground in the acceptance of tradition and the authority of the church in place of the word of God.

What is the difference between the teaching of justification by faith in the time of Luther and in this Three-fold Message?

The principles laid down by the reformers are preserved in this advent movement, but the application of these principles must be made in view of the greater light which is now shining.

"The doctrine of 'justification through faith alone' is the oldest theological truth in the world. We can trace it, wearing the very form it still bears, in the patriarchal age. The apostle tells us that God preached this truth unto Abraham. It was preached by type and shadow to the Old Testament church; and when the altars and sacrifices of the legal economy were no more, this great truth was published far and wide throughout the world by the pen and tongues of apostles. After being lost by all, save a chosen few, it broke out with a new and glorious effulgence upon the world in the preaching of Luther. It is the grand central truth of Christianity; it is, in short, the Gospel. . . .

"Herein we may trace the essential and eternal difference between the Gospel and popery,—between the Reformation and Rome. The Reformation ascribed all the glory of man's salvation to God,—Rome ascribed it to the church. Salvation of God and salvation of man are the two opposite poles around which are ranged respectively all true and all false systems of religion. Popery placed salvation in the church, and taught men to look for it through the sacraments; the Reformation placed salvation in Christ, and taught men that it was to be obtained through faith. 'By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves,—it is the gift of God.' The development of the grand primordial truth—salvation of grace—has constituted the history of the church. This truth gave being to the patriarchal religion; it formed the vital element in the Mosaic economy; it constituted the glory of primitive Christianity; and it was it that gave maturity and strength to the Reformation. With one voice Calvin, Luther, and Zwingle did homage to God, as the Author of man's salvation. The motley host of wrangling theologians which met at Trent made man his own saviour by extolling the efficacy and merit of good works."—"The Papacy," by J. A. Wylie, pages 286, 287.

"The mystery of godliness is God humbling Himself to become man; the mystery of iniquity is man exalting himself to become God. The mystery of godliness is loyalty; the Son of God, through the Holy Spirit, rendering perfect obedience to the will and the word of the Father: the mystery of iniquity is lawlessness, anomie; the son of perdition, through the 'spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,' subverting God's law, and rule, and order in the church. In the one we see Christ emptying Himself of His glory; in the other we see antichrist filling himself with his glory."—Dr. Gordon.

Bible texts in this lesson

2 Thessalonians 2:3 · 2 Thessalonians 2:4 · 2 Thessalonians 2:7 · 1 Timothy 3:16 · Philippians 1:27 · Romans 1:17 · Ephesians 2:8 · Ephesians 2:9 · Acts 20:32

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