(Read by Sharona)

Last time we looked at the Protestant Reformation gathering apace in 16th century England. The main issue in the 16th century, as we saw together was “None but Christ saves” - that the Gospel is good news for all of humanity, that nobody can earn their salvation, but rather salvation is a free gift from God for all those who choose to receive it.

The main issue in the 17th century however, was 'None but Christ reigns'. The Stuart monarchy promoted the 'Divine Right of Kings', the God given authority to rule country and church. James VI of Scotland became king in 1567, and tried to re-establish the Episcopalian system, undermining the Presbyterian system. In 1603, he became the King of England as well and became James I of England. The Scots never accepted his authority over the church and fought to maintain religious freedom. James and his son Charles harassed the Puritans and drove many out of the country to Holland. King James I however did authorise a new translation of the Bible – what we today know as the King James Version or Authorised Version. National Covenant - The Archbishop of Canterbury tried to impose a new system of Church Government (Episcopalian) on Scotland, but the Scots rejected this and many signed a national covenant to maintain the freedom of the Presbyterian Church. 1638 - The General Assembly of the Church to establish who was head. The people led by Henderson accepted the king as king, but not as the head of the church. War broke out and the Scots, under General Alexander Leslie, defeated Charles in 1640. 1643 - Both the English and Scottish Parliaments signed a Covenant binding themselves to seek the reformation of religion along Reformed lines. 1643-49 - The Westminster Assembly of divines met to establish a basis for a united church in Britain. The Westminster Confession of Faith became the statement of faith for the Presbyterian Church. The Puritans - Many Christians wanted greater reformation in the Church, following Calvin's model of Church Government and worship. Some separated from the Church of England altogether because they were considered still to be too closely attached with the Roman Catholic Church. . They formed distinctive groups embracing a greater purity of worship, doctrine and personal piety. Some went so far as to totally separate themselves from all other Christians and started autonomous local gatherings of believers. These independent churches were the beginning of the Congregational Church. The Separatists - These Separatists were persecuted by both the Roman Catholic & Protestant churches, and many were driven out of England to Holland were there was great religious freedom. They were hounded out of England by King James I and then by King Charles. Many left for Holland. However in 1620, some returned to England and left for America (New England) on the Mayflower. They wanted a new land where they could worship God with total freedom and virtually establish His kingdom on earth. By 1643 some 20,000 had arrived resulting in America's origins being deeply religious. The Baptists - Some of these Puritans maintained believers baptism by immersion was also essential. This started John Smyth in an independent church in Holland. A remnant of this church returned to England, and established the first Baptist Church, resulting in over 300 churches in England by 1660. That’s it for this time! Next time in our series HAHA, we will look at the last of this series - the church in the 18th century confronted by the Age of Reason and scientific materialism! Thanks for listening! Come back to Partakers where every day there is something new to encourage your walk as a Christian in the 21st century.

1-2 I'm ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe. Ready to sing, ready to raise a God-song: "Wake, soul! Wake, lute! Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!" 3-6 I'm thanking you, God, out in the streets, singing your praises in town and country. The deeper your love, the higher it goes; every cloud's a flag to your faithfulness. Soar high in the skies, O God! Cover the whole earth with your glory! And for the sake of the one you love so much, reach down and help me-answer me! 7-9 That's when God spoke in holy splendor: "Brimming over with joy, I make a present of Shechem, I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift. Gilead's in my pocket, to say nothing of Manasseh. Ephraim's my hard hat, Judah my hammer. Moab's a scrub bucket- I mop the floor with Moab, Spit on Edom, rain fireworks all over Philistia." 10-11 Who will take me to the thick of the fight? Who'll show me the road to Edom? You aren't giving up on us, are you, God? refusing to go out with our troops? 12-13 Give us help for the hard task; human help is worthless. In God we'll do our very best; he'll flatten the opposition for good.

We are now in England in the early 16th century! However Protestantism had commenced earlier in the 14th century with John Wyclif who we looked at back in episode 22. Wyclif was the 'Morning Star of the English Reformation', who had a great desire to ensure that the Bible was made available to everyone in their own language. So a strong evangelical protest started with Wyclif. King Henry VIII In the late 1520s King Henry 8th as head of the Roman Catholic Church in England, broke away from the Church in Rome. He broke away because he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, which Pope Clement VII refused to accept. Earlier, in the year 1521, Clement had recognised Henry as the 'Defender of the Faith' for his writings against Martin Luther. Pope Clement VII was known for his intolerance of Protestants and his main method of evangelisation was through coercion and force if necessary. In 1531 Henry prevented the English clergy from dealing with Rome under an Act of Parliament labelling this as treason. In 1534 Henry was made the 'Supreme Head of the Church of England' by the parliament. However he remained Roman Catholic in practice and doctrine. In 1532 made Thomas Cranmer the Archbishop of Canterbury – the clerical head of the Church of England. Reformation in England however continued unabated. Thomas Cranmer was a reformer and was helped by many of the Reformers driven from Europe by the Roman Catholic attacks on the Protestants. William Tyndale translated the New Testament into English and this made a significant impact. Edward VI (1547-1553) became the king at the age of 10, and ruled for 6 years. He was well trained by Cranmer. He allowed religious freedom, and he published with the help of Cranmer, the 1st and 2nd Prayer Books. Then there was a change back again! Mary Tudor "Queen Bloody Mary" (1553-1558). Mary was a fanatical Roman Catholic and set out to re-establish the Roman Catholic Church. She put to death many bishops including Cranmer. She marred Charles V son (Spain) to bring all of Christendom under Spanish power. In 1554, she resubmitted England to Papal authority. Queen Elizabeth (1559-1603). As a daughter of Henry VIII second wife, Anne Boleyn, she was not recognised by the Pope. She was not in full agreement with the Reforming Protestants, but maintained Protestant leanings. She influenced preparation of the 39 Articles of Communion, largely prepared by Cranmer, which were less reformed as a result. In 1559, she became 'Governor of the Church of England'. She defeated the Spanish Armada, with the help of Sir Francis Drake, who were attacking in order to bring England back under Spanish and Roman Catholic control. This strengthened the Protestant cause in England. The main issue in the 14th to 16th centuries, as we have seen was 'None but Christ saves'. That is, that the Gospel is good news for all of humanity. Nobody can earn their salvation, but rather salvation is a free gift from God for all those who choose to receive it. This is a far cry from the excesses of Church dogma to date and closer to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the early church. Tap or Click here to download/save this as an audio mp3 file

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me,

"Let us go to the house of the Lord."

2 And now here we are,

standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is a well-built city;

its seamless walls cannot be breached.

4 All the tribes of Israel-the Lord's people-

make their pilgrimage here.

They come to give thanks to the name of the Lord,

as the law requires of Israel.

5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given,

the thrones of the dynasty of David.

6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem.

May all who love this city prosper.

7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace

within your walls and prosperity in your palaces.

8 For the sake of my family and friends,

I will say, "May you have peace."

9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

1-6 I love God because he listened to me,

listened as I begged for mercy.

He listened so intently

as I laid out my case before him.

Death stared me in the face,

hell was hard on my heels.

Up against it, I didn't know which way to turn;

then I called out to God for help:

"Please, God!" I cried out.

"Save my life!"

God is gracious—it is he who makes things right,

our most compassionate God.

God takes the side of the helpless;

when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.

7-8 I said to myself, "Relax and rest.

God has showered you with blessings.

Soul, you've been rescued from death;

Eye, you've been rescued from tears;

And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling."

9-11 I'm striding in the presence of God,

alive in the land of the living!

I stayed faithful, though bedeviled,

and despite a ton of bad luck,

Despite giving up on the human race,

saying, "They're all liars and cheats."

12-19 What can I give back to God

for the blessings he's poured out on me?

I'll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God!

I'll pray in the name of God;

I'll complete what I promised God I'd do,

and I'll do it together with his people.

When they arrive at the gates of death,

God welcomes those who love him.

Oh, God, here I am, your servant,

your faithful servant: set me free for your service!

I'm ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice

and pray in the name of God.

I'll complete what I promised God I'd do,

and I'll do it in company with his people,

In the place of worship, in God's house,

in Jerusalem, God's city.

Hallelujah!

You may remember that in our series we looked briefly a the split between the Eastern and Western churches. Today we come to a greater split! A split within the Roman Catholic church – the beginnings of the Protestant church! The main person who will look at today is Martin Luther – one of the very giants of church history! . Martin Luther (1483-1546) - Professor of Biblical Studies at Wittenburg University in Germany. Luther tried to find god as an Augustinian monk but he was unable to come to terms with God's righteous demands. He eventually realised that in order to satisfy God’s righteous demands, that he could do nothing of his own to fulfil them. He came to see that justification before Almighty God was by faith alone, through grace alone, which was a gift of God. Included in the aftermath of this discovery, were these events! .

• 95 Theses - statements against indulgences nailed to the castle church door at Wittenburg on 31st October 1517. He rapidly gained a following in Germany, and was aided by the printing press.
• 1519 - denied the supremacy and infallibility of the Pope and Church.
• 1520 - excommunicated by Pope Leo X
• 1521 - Diet of Worms. Luther was outlawed by Emperor Charles V of Spain. He was hidden by friends for 8 months, during which he translated the N.T. into German.
• 1528 - Diet of Spruger. Each German state allowed to follow the religion of its reigning prince.
• 1529 - Diet of Speyer. Lutheran states to remain Lutheran and Catholic states to remain Catholic, not allowed to change. Evangelical princes protested at restriction and the Protestant was given to this movement.
• 1530 - Diet of Augsburg. Protestants submitted statement of belief witch was rejected, but became the basis of Lutheran doctrine.
• 1547 - War broke out between Catholic and Protestant. This war was won by the Catholics, but Protestantism was finally recognised legally in 1552.

Three main truths to come out of the Reformation.

• Final authority of God's Word.
• Justification by faith, a gift of God's grace.
• The priesthood of all believers. .

However it should be noted that, wrongly or rightly, Luther still accepted as truth

• Infant baptism as necessary for salvation.
• Consubstantiation - a 'real presence' of Christ's body with bread and wine. .

Lutheranism quickly spread from Germany to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. . That’s it for this time! Next time in our series HAHA, we will continue looking at the great Reformers of the church!