Have you ever been in this situation? You have committed to a task so significant and meaningful that the end never seems to arrive?
Whether it’s the anticipated birth of a child or completion of a school program, the persistence and endurance needed to see things through to the end sometimes require digging deep within ourselves to find the strength necessary to finish. But when that moment arrives, something magical happens. The sense of completion coupled with achievement makes all the exhausting work worth it.
That leads to an important question. Is all of the effort needed to plant a Gospel-centered Anglican church in Central Florida worth it? Yes! But at times, we need to be reminded as to what’s at stake – the ability to trust the Bible.
Martin Luther and Thomas Cranmer
This month marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther famously penned his 95 Thesis and posted it on a door. His central concern was the Medieval Roman Church’s abuses of her people. That moment in history set off a reform movement in Western Europe that changed the course of the church.
Central to their efforts was recovering God’s Word written as the “Primary Authority” in the church. That meant if the church was promoting something that God’s Word forbade or contrary to it, then it should be eradicated from her practice. Chief on Luther’s list was the sale of indulgences, special blessings sold by the church that alleviated someone’s length of time in purgatory. Because the Bible was unavailable to most ordinary folk and illiteracy was high, people were unaware of the abuse they were enduring at the hands of corrupt clergy. So people just went along with what was being taught.
Luther’s courage to challenge the status quo resulted in a movement that ultimately transformed society, including the English speaking world. As Luther worked to reform the German Church, another young man by the name of Thomas Cranmer embarked on doing the same in the English Church.
When Luther first wrote the 95 Thesis, Cranmer was a student in Cambridge. Those were exciting moments in the life of the student. In the halls of academia, new insights of ancient Christianity were discovered. Scripture was being vigorously studied, testing the doctrinal standards of the church compared to the testimony of God’s Word written. Where obvious conflicts were observed, Cranmer would make private notes.
Eventually, the young Thomas Cranmer would take his insights from the “new learning” (as the Traditionalist called it) and embark on a career of “Reforming” and “Revitalizing” the English Church. The culmination of his work would produce our Prayer Book and our confession, the 39 Articles of Religion.
A New Reformation
Today, we are in times similar to Cranmer’s. Many “Anglican” churches have abandoned the faith, replacing it with their own form of “New Learning.” In essence, they abandoned the work of the Reformers and had replaced it with a form of Christianity that is no Christianity at all (liberalism). As a result, people have once again been blinded by corrupt clergy, seeking their own end.
That leads to the obvious question, is the Anglican Church worth the effort? More importantly, are our efforts at Redeemer worth it? The epistle Jude helps answer this question.
In the opening of his letter, he writes the following:
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints, (Jude 3, ESV).
Pastorally, it appears that Jude intended to write a note of encouragement, but instead, he found it necessary to “appeal” to his audience to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”
Notice the Jude uses the word “contend.” The sense of the Greek word behind contend is “to fight for” with “strenuous effort.” And what is the object of that effort, “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” This faith according to Jude is the “grace of God” and faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fighting For the Faith
In Vaughan Roberts latest book, “Faith In A Time of Crisis” he writes these sobering words. “Unfortunately, the parallels between what Jude saw taking place in the first century and what’s happening in much of the world today are uncomfortably close. In particular, within the worldwide Anglican Communion — the denomination of which I am a part, a denomination I love — there are many cases of people perverting the grace of our God.”
What is being denied? Nothing but the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Some people erroneously believe the issue is about human sexuality but Roberts points out there is something much more profound at stake — the authority, sufficiency, and clarity of Scripture. Meaning, is the Bible reliable, readable, and trustworthy?
Our answer is emphatically YES! Because if it is not, then all of our hope, assurance, and security in its message is lost. The stakes couldn’t be any higher.
That is the very heart of our mission, to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ as grounded in the Holy Bible. Is there any higher calling?
What was true for Thomas Cranmer and the Anglican reformers, is true for us today. We must “contend” for our faith once delivered to all the saints, recognizing the difficulty but delighting in the work. So I ask you, is it worth it? The answer can only be YES if you embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
