Persistent Evangelism

At a dinner given in his honor, missionary Wilfred Grenfell was asked by a Christian woman, “Is it true that you are a missionary?” Grenfell replied, “Isn’t it true that you are?” That’s a powerful illustration for us as a church. We know of people who have become ‘professional’ missionaries. They serve in that capacity full time. We know of those who are gifted at evangelism. We call them ‘evangelists.’ Scripture even confirms that there are certain individuals gifted to the church who are known as ‘evangelists’ (Eph 4:11). But as Wilfred Grenfell was implying with his question, every single Christian is an evangelist and every single Christian is a missionary. 

Our next characteristic of a healthy church is Persistent Evangelism. I use the word ‘persistent’ to emphasize that this is the responsibility of the entire church and that it is not confined to a singular event, but it is a regular and constant thing that the members are engaged in. The word ‘evangelism’ means ‘telling the good news.’ This good news is that Jesus came to save sinners, to forgive sins, and to grant eternal life! That truly is good news! Evangelism is not about forcing your religion on other people or trying to win arguments about why Jesus is better. Evangelism is telling people the good news of Jesus Christ and leaving the results up to God.

Some people don’t want to evangelize others because they feel that should be left up to the ‘experts.’ They think only those who are really good at evangelism should be doing it. What if they say something wrong? We have to understand that evangelism is not about skill or expertise, but it is about obedience. The Lord called together His followers in Matthew 28 and told them, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (v 19). That seems to be a command to all of His followers. When we get to the book of Acts and see people in the early church, we see everyone spreading the Word of Jesus Christ. Look up Acts 8:1-4 and Acts 11:19-21 to see examples of ‘ordinary’ Christians spreading the gospel. It wasn’t just the elders and pastors who were doing the work of evangelism. It seems that all the people of the early church were active in spreading the gospel, not just the ‘experts.’

This is probably because they took the Lord’s Commission seriously. And they took the Commission as a command to be followed, not a suggestion to be considered. For a church to be truly who they are supposed to be, all the members need to be persistent in evangelism. We need to see our gathering together as a time to be equipped, and then, our scattering out into the world to evangelize. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that we are “ambassadors for Christ.” We are His representatives speaking His message to the world. If a church sees evangelism as a matter of obedience then they will pursue it. Personally, this truth is what changed my perspective on evangelism. I used to think that I was terrible at evangelism and so the Lord wouldn’t want me sharing His gospel. Once I understood the instruction to “make disciples” was a command from my Lord, that changed my whole view on evangelism. 

Most people will frankly admit they do not evangelize because they don’t know how. What are some helpful hints in doing evangelism? First, use the Bible. Don’t come up with cute stories or self-defined phrases. Show people the truth of God’s Word. Put their eyes on the words of Scripture. The Word of God contains the power to convert, so let it! Second, speak of Christ. The good news is what Christ has accomplished. People turn to Christ, believe in Christ, and follow Christ. He needs to be the focus of your message. Third, leave the results to God. I encourage you to call on people to believe, to make a decision today, and to not delay about the state of their soul. But do not try to manipulate people to say ‘yes’ or try to garner some response. Let God do His work of conversion through His word. You and I just need to be obedient to the command of our Lord to “make disciples.”                    
 

Converted Membership

J.D. Salinger is an author famously known for writing the book called The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger is also known for his frequent change in religions. He began as Jewish and then moved on to Buddhism, then Hinduism, then Christian Science, and finally Scientology. The world would say that Salinger ‘converted’ to at least 4 religions. What is ‘conversion’ and how does it relate to a healthy church?
    
Converted Membership is our next characteristic of a healthy church that we will look at in this month’s article. This is absolutely critical for the life of the church and for the church to remain what it truly is. 

What does it mean to convert? Or to be converted? The world would see conversion as simply a change in association or lifestyle choice. To merely mentally acknowledge a particular agreement with a group’s philosophies or ideals. I agree with your position, and so, I change my affiliation to the group that you belong to. Conversion would be something like changing political parties or becoming a vegan. That’s how the world sees conversion. But that is not how the Bible defines conversion. Surely there is something distinct about Christian conversion that separates it from simply a lifestyle choice, right?

To ‘convert,’ or to experience ‘conversion,’ or to be ‘converted’ in the Bible is understood as people who have repented of their sin and placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The gospel message is always a call to repent and believe. When a person does that, he/she is ‘converted.’ People are always converted to Christ (Romans 16:5), not to the Christian religion or to church dogma. Conversion, therefore, is synonymous with becoming a Christian. So, one is ‘converted’ when one gets saved, born again, regenerated, or redeemed; and that happens when a person repents and believes. That is the only type of conversion that is understood in the Bible. 

This has serious implications for who we consider to be part of our church, or Christ’s church in general. Someone does not become a member of Christ’s church by attending the services, by association with Christians, by mental agreement with the teaching of Christianity, or by personal declaration (I’m a Christian). A person becomes a Christian, and a member of Christ’s church, when he/she is converted (repent and believe). It is impossible to say that someone has always been a Christian, since personal conversion is necessary to become a Christian. Conversion inherently assumes a change; a time before conversion, the time of conversion itself, then the life after conversion. 

Jesus said “unless you are converted you cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 18:3). Church elders cannot be “new converts” (1 Timothy 3:6). And in Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas relate to the church the “conversion of the Gentiles.” Conversion is absolutely necessary to eternal life, conversion is a point in time when a person becomes a Christian, and conversion is the moment a person repents and believes on Jesus Christ as Savior. That is the overall testimony throughout the Bible. For more examples see the conversion of Zaccheus (Luke 19), Jesus’ first converts (John 1), the conversion of Paul (Acts 9), the conversions of Lydia and the Philippian jailor (Acts 16), and Epaeneutus, who was the first convert from Asia (Romans 16:5).

This is critical for the life of the church because without a proper understanding of conversion the definition of the church itself falls away. The church becomes nothing more than a club or an organization that you sign up for, rather than a distinct group of individuals made alive by the Spirit of God, who are brought together to serve the Living God. This is also critical because eternity is at stake. One’s eternal destiny depends on getting this right. We can disagree on things like styles of church leadership and eternity does not hang in the balance. But we cannot falsely assure someone of possessing eternal life because they choose to sit in our pews, like our music, or enjoy our potlucks. There is warning after warning after warning in the New Testament about false converts in the church, and this why a proper definition of conversion is necessary.

Conversion is when a person becomes new, not nice. Conversion is when a person is saved, not sincere. Conversion is being born again, not deciding on being a better person.                        

Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Qualified Leadership

Our culture seems to have a sneaking suspicion when it comes to people in positions of authority. We are laden with distrust and cynicism when a leader makes promises or declarations. This suspicion has crept into the church in regards to how people view the leaders of the church. Sometimes elders are viewed with the same suspicion as boards or politicians. If the leaders are Biblically qualified, this shouldn’t be the case.

I’ve titled this month’s characteristic of a healthy church ‘Qualified Leadership’ because that is exactly what the Bible mentions as the requirements for leadership. For a man to serve in leadership in the church, he must meet the requirements laid out in the New Testament. He must be qualified. The requirements are found listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. A casual glance through those two passages show us that the list of requirements are all character issues. There is no requirement about what abilities he must possess, or his leadership savvy, or his position in the community, or his success in business, or his vision for the future. All of those things would make a great leader on the world stage, but those talents and abilities have nothing to do with leadership in the church. The main criteria is his Christian character. 

The overall feel of the character of Christian leadership can be summarized in a few ways. First, he ‘must be above reproach.’ Notice that the Scripture says he ‘must’ be above reproach. This is not an option. Being above reproach is really the absolute, fundamental, requirement for church leadership. It does not mean that he is sinless, but it does mean that there is no blatant sin or stain on his character. To have something to accuse him of would be hard to find. In reality, all of the other requirements just further define what ‘above reproach’ is. Second, he is a man of self-control. In the areas of sexuality, speech, passions, vices, and behavior. Third, he is a man of gentleness. Words like ‘gentle,’ ‘peaceable,’ ‘not pugnacious,’ and ‘not quick-tempered’ highlight this area. Last, he must be a man uncontrolled by money. It is interesting that in both lists a warning about inappropriate relations to money is mentioned. This cannot be ignored.

The only requirement that could be seen as a certain ‘ability’ in the two lists is the ability to teach (1 Timothy 3:2). The issue here is being able to effectively communicate the Word of God to His people. Even something like being able to teach is really a spiritual giftedness though, not necessarily a learned skill. Being able to teach means that the elder must have a sufficient grasp of the message of the Bible in order to teach it to God’s people. In fact, the seriousness of this ability is found in Titus 1:9, where the elder needs to be able to ‘exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.’ The elder has to know enough doctrine and theology to be able to build up the people of God spiritually and be able to identify, even correct, false doctrine.

How many leaders should the church have? How long should they serve? I would refer back to the qualifications to answer both of those questions. However many men meet the qualifications should be elders, however long they stay qualified is how long they should remain elders. The foundational question that must be asked of any possible elder is: is the man qualified? If he meets the qualifications, then further discussion of possible eldership can continue. If he does not meet the qualifications, he cannot be considered as an elder. 

Why is qualified leadership such a big deal? Why not just select the men who have been Christians the longest or those who are very influential and leaders in the community? Qualified leadership is important for various reasons. First, the Lord commands it. Those lists in 1 Timothy and Titus are not options, they are requirements. In no way can we redefine or ignore the Lord’s commands. Second, these men are required to ‘shepherd the flock’ (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-2). There is a different character needed for a shepherd of God’s flock, versus a president of a board or a committee. One is a spiritual enterprise, the other is not. A spiritual entity requires a spiritual man. Third, these elders are supposed to be the examples that the church follows, as 1 Peter 5:3 makes clear. The people don’t necessarily need good leaders to follow, they need godly leaders to follow. 

What if you are not an elder or never seek to be an elder? How does this relate to you? Well, first things first, there is nothing in the lists of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 that is not normal Christian behavior. Everyone in the church should be striving for that type of spiritual maturity. But also, the church is required to ‘obey and submit’ to their elders (Hebrews 13:17). It is important for the church to have qualified leadership who truly have the highest of spiritual character in order for the church to joyfully submit to them. Wouldn’t it be easy to follow the guidance and leadership of men who truly stand ‘above reproach’?

While not considered a big deal in some churches, qualified leadership is an absolute necessity for a healthy church.  

Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Sound Theology

This month is the third in our series on the Characteristics of a Healthy Church. Our topic for this month is: Sound Theology. It seems that the word ‘theology’ has a bad connotation nowadays in churches. When we hear the word ‘theology’ we think of brain teasers, difficult truths to explain, and divine conundrums. With that in mind, it is no wonder that people aren’t as excited about theology as they once were.

Theology is simply the ‘study of God.’ Of course, there is more to theology than studying God alone, but at the most basic level, theology is taking an interest in God and His dealings. What does it say about a church with no interest in God? How could we reconcile a distinct people of God with a lackluster interest in God? A healthy church holds onto sound theology and enjoys knowing God more.

I use the word ‘sound’ in Sound Theology to emphasize a thorough, solid, complete theology. This theology must proceed from out of the Scripture and not put into the Scripture. It is an error of some would-be theologians to endorse or agree with a specific theological framework, and then make the Scripture fit that framework everywhere. We must develop our theology from out of the Scripture and not read into the Scripture. In saying this, we could call our theology a ‘Biblical Theology’ and that is what it should be.

While almost everything done in church and Christianity has a theological understanding to it, I would like to focus on 4 Key Theological Truths that the church must embrace. These would be considered ‘the big picture’ in terms of theology. 

The first is a high view of God. We need to think lofty and exalted thoughts about our God. He is enthroned above the cherubim (2 Kings 19:15), there is no one holy like the Lord (1 Samuel 2:2), and there is no one who compares to Him (Isaiah 46:5). Of course, all the same is true of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh. This profound truth has serious implications for personal holiness as well as church life. Personally, if I have a high view of God, I will take His commands very seriously, I will seek to obey Him in all things, I will fear Him above all others. With a low view of God as simply a friend or an angel, His commands become less critical. Corporately, if the people of the church have a high view of God, they will seek His glory in all things, they will want Him to receive honor and praise, and they will try to please Him. With a low view of God, church becomes about man. The entire service and the programs become more about making people happy than glorifying God. 

The second key theological truth a church must embrace is a high view of Scripture. The Bible explains the nature of itself. Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16) and it is the Word of God and not men (1 Thessalonians 2:13). It also has the power to convert a soul (James 1:18), help a Christian grow spiritually (1 Peter 2:2), and can judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). With a high view of Scripture, the church will seek to understand it’s meaning, labor to live it out, make it the sole authority in every area of life, and will cause it to be central in all church activities. Without a high view of Scripture, practicality reigns. Whatever is ‘working’ becomes the authority for the church to follow and this leads to all kinds of errors. 

The third key theological truth is a correct definition of man. Humans are not simply a collection of matter and molecules. They are uniquely and individually created by God Himself, separate from the animals. This means man has value and purpose, not just existence. However, man has fallen into sin. His heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), he is dead in transgressions and sin (Ephesians 2:1), and all parts of his faculties are infected with sin (Romans 3:10-18). With this correct theological understanding of man, we see the real need that unsaved man has. He needs regeneration, salvation, and the restoration of his relationship with God. He does not need to increase his self-esteem or improve his life. For the Christian, this means a clear explanation for the struggles of our daily walk: sin. It’s not about our environment or how we were raised, but the sin that still exists within us. Real change for the Christian comes from the inside out and not just behavior modification. 

The fourth key theological truth is a correct understanding of the church. The church is called the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15) and the church is called the Body of Christ by which individuals are members of that body (1 Corinthians 12:27). This means the church is so much more than simply a social club we join, it is more than doing religious activities, and its true membership is not found in all who want to sit in the pews. The church is a distinctly spiritual organism, it is the protector and distributor of truth, and it is truly made up of only those regenerated by God’s grace. 

While there are others I would like to include on this list, these four provide the key foundations for what a church could call Sound Theology. 

-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

EXPOSITIONAL PREACHING

There is a perspective on preachers that they sit around all week and think about what they are going to preach on. I must admit, if that was me, I would be panicked every single week! Fortunately, the content of what I am supposed to be teaching is defined in the Scripture itself.

Our second characteristic of a healthy church is: Expositional Preaching. Now, that’s a fancy theological term that simply means verse by verse explaining of the Scripture in such a way so that the point of the passage is the point of the sermon. To exposit a text of Scripture is to correctly interpret it’s meaning in context, then explain that meaning, and then apply that meaning to the congregation. Expositional Preaching has the message being extracted out of the text, rather than an idea from the preacher put into the text. Not that any of these characteristics of a healthy church are unimportant, but expositional preaching must be very high on the list because everything else in our list comes from this one being done correctly. If we get this one right, all the others will follow. Expositional Preaching is required because of 3 simple reasons. 

First, because preachers are told what to preach. In 2 Tim 4:2, Paul tells Timothy to ‘preach the Word.” Right out of the gate, preachers are given a certain limitation on what they are to be preaching. Preachers are not to just go out and preach anything. They are to preach the Word. They are commanded to do this. God does not tell preachers and pastors to come up with something to say, look for something to preach about, or invent content or topics to preach on. So, the content of preaching is narrowly defined: it must be Biblical, it must come from the Scripture.

Second, because the Word of God contains power and authority. It was by God’s Word that the heavens and the earth were created. It was by God’s Word that Abraham was called and became the father of the nation of Israel. It was by God’s Word that the 10 commandments were given, and the rest of the Law respectively. Hundreds of times in the Old Testament it says, “the Word of the Lord came.” Old Testament prophets announced what God had to say by beginning their message with “thus says the Lord.” That little phrase implies tremendous power and authority. In the New Testament, the Bible is said to be “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). The Bible itself has the power to judge the inner desires of people. And, the apostle Paul expressed his thankfulness for the Thessalonians because they accepted the word that he preached as the Word of God, and not as the word of men (1 Thess 2:13). Later in that same verse Paul says that the Word performs a work in believers. It does not matter how learned or clever a preacher might be. He has no power in and of himself, or his words, to speak with authority or to change lives spiritually from the inside out. Only the Word of God has the power and authority to accomplish that work and that is why expositional preaching is required. 

Third, because every verse is inspired and profitable. If preachers are to preach the Word, and the Word has the power and authority to change lives, then how does a preacher decide on what portion of Scripture to preach? Well, he must believe what 2 Timothy 3:16 teaches: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable…” Every single verse of the Bible is breathed out by God and is profitable. With that truth in mind, how can we casually jump here and there throughout the Bible and only teach what we want to? If every verse is inspired, then every verse must be preached. If every verse is profitable, then every verse must be preached. Even portions of Scripture that seem to be difficult and not very applicable are still inspired and profitable. Preachers simply do not have the right to try and decide on their own what is good and useful to their congregation. Every word of Scripture is profitable because every word is God-breathed. Again, this demands verse by verse exposition of Scripture.

The apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders that he did not shrink back from declaring “the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27). He told the Colossians that he has a stewardship from God to make the Word ‘fully known’ (Col 1:25). He is the perfect example of someone who took expositional preaching seriously. There wasn’t a private insight he was trying to make known; it was only the full counsel of God delivered to God’s people. Expositional preaching is the only way to fully deliver the whole counsel of God. There are times when other types of sermons are helpful, like topical sermons. But the consistent and regular characteristic of the teaching ministry of a healthy church is expositional preaching.

-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Passionate Worship

Since 2017 was the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Voice articles were centered on specific Reformers and their contribution to the Reformation and Christian history. I’d like to continue sticking to a theme for this year’s articles. This year our theme will be The Characteristics of a Healthy Church. These are the factors that make a church a healthy one. Each month we will look at a different one. Our first characteristic is: Passionate Worship. 

Every church has a ‘worship service.’ At least, that’s what it is called. But how much of that time is spent in actual worship? Singing to God, praying, giving, and hearing from His word are all types of worship that should go on in the worship service. However, are the people really passionate about what they are saying/doing? Are we really singing out to God about how great He is? Are we really excited to hear what He has to say in His word? Or, do we simply go through the motions without any real passionate worship? When I say ‘passionate worship,’ I don’t mean loudness or uncontrollable behavior. What I mean is, truly loving the Lord for who He is and what He has done, and then giving Him worship because of that. God says in Amos 5:21 that He ‘hates’ Israel’s festivals and assemblies because the people’s hearts are not in it. They are just going through the motions, and God does not receive that kind of worship.

A church filled with passionate worship is not just worshiping on Sunday, though. Yes, we gather for corporate worship every Sunday morning and I think that is a very necessary part of the Christian life. You should be gathered with God’s people when they assemble together to worship the Lord. But, worship also occurs at home as well. I would make the distinction by calling it ‘corporate worship’ and ‘private worship.’ Corporate worship is when we gather together as a church. But, private worship is when you are alone with God. Do you have times in your daily schedule when you privately have a time of passionate worship unto God? Maybe you sing to Him in your heart, or read His word daily, or listen to messages in the car as you drive. All of these are times of private worship. People who are passionate about God will make time to have private times of worship with God. 

Jesus defined what true worship is in John 4 when He was talking with the woman at the well. He said true worshipers must worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We know that worship must be in truth. We cannot worship God speaking or saying things about Him that are not true. Our worship must be Biblically informed and according to Scripture. But, look at the other word: spirit. Jesus is not talking about the Holy Spirit here. He is talking about the inner spirit of a person. Your worship has to come from a heart that truly wants to worship God. Again, passionate worship. God does not want just lip service or the correct form with no heart. He wants the heart of a person, fully engaged, passionately worshiping, according to the truth of His word. 

What is the best way to start passionately worshiping if you are not? How do you begin if you seem to be stuck in a rut and just going through the motions? I would say first, tell yourself the gospel over and over again. Remind yourself again and again what Christ went through for you and how you didn’t deserve it. You can’t help but get a passion for God when you realize all He has done for you. Secondly, I would say start studying the character of God in Scripture. See what kind of God we get to worship. He is a God who is kind, merciful, compassionate, gracious, loving, forgiving, etc. A God like that is a God I can get excited about worshiping. Let’s make sure we are a church filled with passionate worship both corporately and privately.

-    Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Jane Grey

When I started ministry in the local church, I worked with teenagers. When I first came to Congregational Bible Church, I worked with teenagers. For over 10 years I witnessed firsthand how immature, stubborn, and foolish teenagers can be. But, I have also witnessed how bold, useful, and encouraging teenagers can be as well. I have seen teenagers stand for the truth of the gospel (despite the views of their classmates), I have seen teenagers boldly and excitedly share the gospel with strangers (which is more than some adults), and I have seen teenagers selflessly serve and give of themselves for others.

Throughout the Scripture you can see God doing amazing things through men and women who couldn’t even legally call themselves an adult (in the United States). David was a teenager when he was named ‘a man after God’s own heart’, king Josiah reformed Israel back to the Scripture when he was just sixteen, Mary was a teenager when she was saddled with the responsibility to give birth to the Son of God, and there are many others as well. As we come to the end of this year, and our look at the Protestant Reformation, I would like to spend this last month looking at a young teenage martyr…and our first woman Reformer: Lady Jane Grey.

Lady Jane Grey reluctantly took the throne of England on July 10, 1553. When her cousin (Bloody Mary) raised an army to overthrow her, she willingly stepped down. The date was July 19, 1553, a mere nine days! Jane Grey was dubbed the Nine Day’s Queen. Only five days later, Bloody Mary would sign the death warrant that would send Jane Grey to the scaffold to be beheaded. You see, Jane had become a born-again Christian, a sure target of the wrath of Bloody Mary. Jane had been in the royal court to learn how to be a royal, but had actually been led to the Lord by Queen Katherine Parr.

Jane didn’t write a book or some theological treatise like other Reformers, but Jane knew her Bible. In fact, she learned Greek and Hebrew so she could study her Bible in the original languages. She also stood her ground for her faith and courageously accepted her fate as being under the sovereign hand of God. While she was awaiting her execution, her cousin Bloody Mary, sent a Catholic chaplain to Jane to try and save her soul (or so he thought). Bloody Mary wanted to woo her back to the Roman Catholic Church, and no doubt, get a recantation from Jane. At this encounter, Jane was about 17 years old.

The Catholic chaplain, John Feckenham, proceeded to debate the condemned teenager while she sat in prison awaiting execution. They debated justification: John saying justification is by faith and works; Jane saying justification is by faith alone. They debated communion: John saying the bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ; Jane saying they are a mere representation. They debated church authority: John saying the church and the Bible have authority; Jane saying the Bible alone is the authority. Imagine this scene as the seasoned Catholic apologist debates a condemned teenage girl in a dungeon about spiritual matters!

As Feckenham turns to leave, unable to convince Jane, he says, “I am sure we two shall never meet again.” Of course, implying that Jane was going to hell for her beliefs. Jane turns the warning back on him by saying, “Truth it is we shall never meet again, unless God turns your heart.” What courage and boldness from a 17-year-old awaiting her execution!

What a lesson we can learn from this teenage martyr. She was eventually beheaded on February 12, 1554 asking God to receive her spirit as the axe fell. I hope teenagers read this and understand the importance of knowing God, knowing the Bible, and courageously standing for its truth. I think we adults can also be humbled at the scholarship and boldness of someone we would casually dismiss as a ‘kid.’

While each month we have looked at a different Reformer, I have chosen the more favorable stories to report on each of these people. The truth is, none of them are perfect, none of them are sinless, and they (like us) are deeply flawed. We should never exalt any sinful human being as a hero, but we can still learn much of how God used individuals to reform His precious church back to Scripture.

- Pastor Mark Scialabba

Menno Simons

Can you imagine going to a doctor who had never studied medicine? Or, hiring a lawyer who had never studied law? What about having a priest who had never read the Bible? Menno Simons was one such priest. He admitted in his own writings that he was ordained as a Catholic priest in the Netherlands in 1524 having never read the Scriptures themselves! 

Menno Simons began having doubts, in his first two years of priesthood, about the doctrines he was teaching in the Catholic Church. The first doctrine he questioned was transubstantiation (the idea that the bread and the wine actually become the flesh and the blood of Christ), so Simons reluctantly began a study of the Bible to find if this teaching was true. He discovered that the Bible nowhere teaches transubstantiation, but that the Bible does teach salvation by grace alone through faith alone.

His study of Scripture led him to question the authority of the Church and caused him to examine Catholic doctrine in light of the Bible. He began to encourage people in his church to be baptized after they confessed faith in Christ, and not as an infant. After hearing of 300 ‘rebaptizers’ being murdered in 1535 Simons was faced with a crisis. He was safer remaining in the Catholic Church even though disagreeing with their theology, but he had to make a decision. Simons officially renounced his Catholic baptism and ordination and was rebaptized and reordained in 1537.
    
Simons immediately began preaching the gospel, teaching the Scriptures, and traveling extensively. His ministry was marked by constant dangers. He was labeled an enemy of the Catholic Church and Emperor Charles V. A reward was offered to anyone who might deliver him over to authorities. Most of his years of ministry were characterized by secret meetings of Christians, preaching at night only, and baptizing believers in out of the way lakes and streams. He was a man on the run. He confessed that he “could not find in all the countries a cabin or hut in which my poor wife and our little children could be put up in safety for a year or even half a year.”
    
Although the constant threat of danger hung over his head, Simons rejected any form of violence in accomplishing reform. He was a sincere advocate of pacifism and separation from any worldly power. His followers in Germany and the Netherlands were eventually called Mennonites. 
    
Simons’ contribution to the Reformation is highlighted by his theological views in two key areas. The first was baptism. Simons affirmed three truths about baptism: baptism follows faith (not the other way around), infants are not capable of faith or repentance, and baptism is the public initiation of a believer into a life of discipleship. This view is very radical in a situation where rebaptizing people was punishable by death. The second area of theology that Simons contributed much was to the definition of the true church. Simons laid out 6 characteristics of a true church: pure doctrine, Biblical use of the sacraments, obedience to the Word, brotherly love, bold confession of Jesus Christ, and suffering for the sake of the cause of Christ. 
    
As we go through this study of the Reformers, one constant theme keeps popping up in all their lives: danger. Standing for the Lord and standing upon the Scripture means you immediately become an enemy of the world. The question is: what will you do when the danger comes? Menno Simons, like the other Reformers, did not want to sacrifice conviction and truth for the sake of an easy life. Yes, Menno did what he could to stay alive and protect his family, but that did not come at the expense of his convictions.

-    Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

John Rogers

It’s no secret that the world is at odds with Christianity. Jesus was rejected, His followers were rejected, and He warned us that we would be rejected as well. But what happens when there is more than rejection? What happens when it is full blown persecution and suffering? Where will our faith be? Where will our confidence be? Will we be able to stand firm? We look to the life and death of John Rogers as an example of strong faith in the midst of the most severe form of persecution there is: martyrdom. 

Rogers was born in England, educated at Cambridge University, and became a priest (similar to all the other Reformers). As he studied the Scripture he became more and more disillusioned with the official teachings of the Catholic Church, seeing how they disagreed with the Bible.

Through the providence of God, Rogers ended up in Holland where he ended up meeting William Tyndale. It was here that Tyndale taught Rogers the Bible and the gospel and Rogers was converted. When William Tyndale was arrested just a few months later, he left all his writings and works in the hands of John Rogers to finish for him. Rogers eventually finished Tyndale’s translation work under the pseudonym of ‘Thomas Matthew.’ The Matthews Bible would become the first officially authorized version of the Bible in the English language.

Rogers pastored churches in Holland and in Germany but he really wanted to be back in England. He returned there with his wife and his 8 children. In England he preached and pastored safely and securely under the reign of Edward VI, until Edward died. For those of you who remember your history, after Edward died, his half-sister Mary became queen. Mary Queen of Scots was eventually dubbed ‘Bloody Mary’ for her vicious persecution of Reformers and Protestants.

Mary arrived in London as queen on Thursday, August 3rd, 1553. John Rogers was supposed to preach at St. Paul’s Cathedral that following Sunday. What would he preach on? He knew where Mary stood: she was staunchly against any Protestant teachings and wanted to restore the Church of Rome back to its place in England. I wonder, what would I preach on? Rogers got up that following Sunday and proclaimed with all boldness the salvation in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, taught in the Scripture alone. He told the people to beware of the Pope, idolatry, and Catholic superstitions. That was his last sermon.

He was placed under long house arrest for his teachings, along with the crime of being married (because he was supposed to be a celibate priest in Mary’s mind). Eventually, he was transferred to Newgate prison where he was locked up with thieves and murderers. He was awakened on the morning of February 4th, 1555 and told he would be burned at the stake. His one request was that he would be able to speak a few words with his wife; a request that was denied. When he was brought out to the stake, he was asked if he would recant his teachings. Rogers said, “That which I preached I will seal with my blood.” The sheriff in charge told him that he would never pray for Rogers, to which Rogers replied, “But I will pray for you.” 

On his march to the stake, in the crowd of thousands, was his wife and his now 11 children; one of which was still a baby he had never seen until that day. As the flames began to rise, even the knowledge of his wife and children watching, would not deter John Rogers. He boldly washed his hands in the flames as they reached higher and higher. He died lifting his hands up high.
It is said that at the death of John Rogers the crowd erupted in applause. They were not applauding the execution, but the boldness and courage of the man who was executed. Up to that point, no one knew how these English Reformers would handle the threat of death, or even, the reality of martyrdom. The crowd was stunned that this man would give his life for what he believed the Bible taught. 

Over the rest of the reign of ‘Bloody Mary’ 287 other English Reformers were burned at the stake for their faith. Men, women, or children, it didn’t matter in Mary’s eyes. But some of these martyrs admitted that seeing the bold faith of John Rogers was what gave them courage to meet their impending martyrdom. 

Of course, we don’t have to go through this level of persecution….yet. But the world is not becoming a friendlier place to Christians. I wonder, where will my faith be if it is challenged like this? Or, threatened like this? Or, tested like this? Where will your faith be?

-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Life Verses

For the first eight months of this year my Voice articles have been short biographies of some of the most well-known Reformers of the Protestant Reformation. This is in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in October of this year. However, since a major change is taking place in our church this September, in the retirement of Pastor Mike and the promotion of myself to Senior Pastor, I thought it more appropriate to spend this month’s article giving the church a bit more information about myself and my vision for our congregation.

First, let me talk a little about my history in ministry. I started attending an evangelical church when I was high school age but I was not converted to Christ until my college years. In those years I worked as a helper in AWANA at my church in Long Beach, as well as, a youth leader when our church began a youth ministry. For four years while I was in seminary I continued this youth ministry while being named the Intern Pastor there. After seminary is when I began ministry here in Shafter and the first weekend of September 2017 will be my ninth anniversary here at Congregational Bible Church. Overall, I have been involved in pastoral ministry for about 13 years and small church ministry for over 15 years.

Some people ask me if I have a favorite verse or Bible book. There are actually many stories, passages, and verses that I love so it is hard to pick just one, but I will tell you about a passage that had a major influence on me as a new Christian. The passage is Philippians 3:2-11, but the verse that sticks out is verse 9. In that verse Paul says he is “found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” I remember the pastor who was discipling me took me out to breakfast to study this passage and he kept asking me, “where does our righteousness come from?” It took me a while until I saw what the verse was teaching. Our righteousness for heaven is not generated or produced from our good behavior. The righteousness we need for heaven is given to us from God. This reality just shattered who I thought I was. Even though I wasn’t a ‘bad’ kid, I never did drugs, and I never got drunk, yet I was still bankrupt when it comes to my own righteousness. Even Paul in this passage lists all of his righteous qualifications and ends up calling them ‘rubbish.’ But what a wonderful truth is this: that God gives to believers all the righteousness they need for heaven. It comes from Him and it comes through faith. 

My ministry life verse is found in Colossians 1:28. It reads, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” I’m not a pastor because I have some personal agenda I want to get across, or because I want to shape a church building and congregation a certain way. I believe Jesus Christ is so compelling and so captivating, that preaching and teaching Him, will actually move souls toward holiness. There are no gimmicks and strategies for church growth or personal growth. True and lasting spiritual growth happens only through the proclamation of Christ, in the use of admonishment, teaching, and wisdom. In fact, Paul says that he proclaims Christ in this way so that every person may be ‘complete.’ That is my desire, to see spiritual completeness in every single person here at Congregational Bible Church. 

Paul says in the next verse that he labors and strives toward this goal, but he does so, through the power of God that works in him. I would covet your prayers in this regard: pray for your pastor to be used by God. Pray for God’s power to be at work in him. Yes, I will labor and strive, but all of that is nothing compared to the power of God working through a minister. Please pray that God accomplishes much, through His power, that works in my labors. I look forward to being your pastor and seeing where God will take this congregation.

-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Martin Bucer

When a football team wins a game, usually the credit goes to the quarterback. He is the one who is generally considered the one who wins or loses the game. People so quickly forget that there are actually eleven men on the field during a football game. The offensive line blocks the defense which allows the quarterback time to throw. The receivers run and gets open so the quarterback has someone to throw to. The running back’s success brings more attention from the defense also allowing the quarterback more time to throw the ball. Many people are involved in the victory of a football game, not just the quarterback.

Each month this year we have been looking at a short biography of the more famous Reformers. We all know the main men who receive all the attention: Luther, Calvin, Zwingli (the quarterbacks per se). But there are actually many other Reformers who played a significant role in the Reformation who simply aren’t given the attention they deserve. For the remaining few months of this year, we will look at some of these lesser known Reformers and analyze their contribution. This month, our subject is a man named Martin Bucer.

Martin Bucer was born in 1491, in France, and at 16 years old decided to choose the life of a monk. If you had any interest in religion at that time it was the only thing you could do. He took his vow of poverty and celibacy and began his studies in religion. Interestingly, the Dominican monks where he belonged, studied Aristotle before they studied the Bible. Theology and Scripture came second to the study of philosophy. Bucer was ordained a priest and went to Heidelberg, Germany to further his theological studies. It was there that a turn of God’s providence would set the course for the remainder of his life.

A man named Martin Luther was coming to Heidelberg for a theological debate and Bucer was in the audience listening. Bucer’s interest was drawn to Martin Luther’s words about man’s incapacity to do good, how keeping the law of God cannot advance you towards righteousness, and how salvation was in Christ alone. Bucer agreed with everything that Luther said, but Bucer went further with his understanding of the Law. Bucer thought that after salvation, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, a Christian desires, and can actually carry out, the keeping of God’s Law. His path towards being a Reformer had begun.
He knew his theology was not in agreement with the Catholic Church, so he renounced his vows and was no longer a priest. Bucer was also, by all accounts, the first Reformer to ever get married; a definitive break from the priesthood for sure. He began to preach the doctrines of the Reformation which did not sit well with the city authorities of the time. He was excommunicated and asked to leave the city of Wissembourg, Germany. Penniless and excommunicated, Bucer went to Strasbourg, France where he would stay and lead the Reformation there for the next 25 years.

When John Calvin was exiled from his church in Geneva, he actually went to Strasbourg as well and lived in a house right behind Bucer’s. Another stroke of the providence and sovereignty of God was at work. It was here that Bucer had a profound impact upon John Calvin and the two became great friends. Calvin said of Bucer, “profound scholarship, his bounteous knowledge about a wide range of subjects, his keen mind, his wide reading, and many other different virtues, remains unsurpassed today by anyone, can be compared with only a few, and excels the vast majority.” That is high praise from the likes of John Calvin.

Martin Bucer remains a great example of what it means to take the Scripture literally. Of course church leaders can, and should, get married because how can a man manage the church of God if he cannot manage his own household (1 Tim 3:5)? Bucer also shows us a man committed to unity in the church of God. As Luther and Zwingli hotly debated the theology of the Lord’s Supper, Bucer was the mediator trying to bring the two together. Bucer also shows us what it is like to minister in the background. Some people in the church get all the recognition, just like some people of the Reformation get all the recognition. But Martin Bucer shows us that there were many other Reformers working behind the scenes, who don’t get as much credit as the main Reformers. The situation is similar to the church. Usually, the pastor gets the most credit for how the church is doing, but there are many people behind the scenes who have shaped that pastor into who he is today and many people ministering behind the scenes to make his life easier. May we not be afraid or ashamed of ministering without receiving the applause or recognition of men.
-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Thomas Cranmer

The Reformation in England did not really come about through theological reasons but for political ones. The key figure of this movement was Henry VIII. Most of us know the story of how he broke with the Roman Catholic Church. He was married to Queen Catherine of Aragon, but she couldn’t give him a son to be the heir to the throne. So, Henry sought an annulment from the Pope so that he could marry another. When the Pope refused, Henry looked for a new way out of his marriage: a break with Rome. With the help of his advisor, Thomas Cromwell, Henry succeeded in breaking from the Roman Catholic Church and starting his own religion where he was the head of the church (the Church of England). It’s much easier to allow annulments when you are the head of the church!

    The Pope pronounced an official excommunication on Henry, so Henry passed a law called the Treason Act which labeled any Pope loyalists to be guilty of heresy and punished by death. Originally, Henry VIII was not a supporter of the Reformation at all, but ended up being a partial Protestant when this split from Rome happened. He had his main adviser named Thomas Cronwell, but he had another named Thomas Cranmer. This man was a learned scholar who sided with many of Luther’s teachings. 

    Cranmer was the main person pushing Protestant ideas and theology in Henry VIII’s reign. He published a book called the Book of Common Prayer, which was a manual for church services that included many prayers and congregational responses. Cranmer also wrote the introduction to the Great Bible (the first authorized edition of the Bible in English) that Henry VIII had placed in every church in England. While Cranmer wanted to continue to push Protestant theology, Henry VIII passed something called the Six Articles Act in 1539. These articles affirmed the Catholic doctrines of transubstantiation, withholding the cup of communion from the common people (if necessary), celibacy of priests, monastic vows of chastity, private Mass, and the need for official confession.

    Henry VIII died in 1547 and was succeeded by Edward VI. He didn’t reign long as he died in 1553, only 6 years later. That was the year that Cranmer wrote a document called the Forty-two Articles. It was a mainly Protestant document reflecting the views of Luther and Calvin. In these articles, Cranmer outlined such Protestant doctrines as justification by faith alone, the sole authority of Scripture, a denial of transubstantiation, and the naming of only two sacraments. This push towards Protestantism was short-lived however.

    After Edward VI died, Mary Tudor became queen. She was a zealous Catholic and was furious at how Henry VIII had treated her mother (Catherine of Aragon). She sought to return England to the Pope, and she would kill anyone who didn’t align with her. She was rightfully nicknamed ‘Bloody Mary’ because of her ruthless attack against Protestants. In 1555 she began her assault and martyred 300 Protestants with another 800 fleeing for their lives. Some of the notable names that were martyred under her reign were John Rogers, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer.

    Cranmer endured a lengthy trial where the foregone conclusion of guilty was reached. He was publicly humiliated by having his church authority and robes removed in a careful ceremony where he was handed over as a common criminal. But Bloody Mary was not done with him yet. While in prison, fake promises of mercy were used on him to sign numerous denials, where he rejected all Protestant ideas and Mary hoped to publish these signed documents to squash the Reformation in England once and for all. On the day of his death, at the stake where he would be burned, Cranmer shocked everyone when he publicly rejected his signed denials, denied the Pope’s power, and called transubstantiation false. As the fire was lit, he famously placed his right hand in the flames first, the hand that had signed the denials. His bravery and boldness made a mark on English Protestantism forever.

    It is hard to criticize Cranmer for signing his denials. We can probably admit, we would have done the same thing. But as he had days in prison to think about it, he came to the conclusion that he was going to die anyway…and heaven was awaiting him. That restored his trust and while his signing of the denials is one of his low points, his martyrdom is a great story of faith and boldness for Christ. May we be so strong in our faith as well.

-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

JOHN KNOX

As the Reformation literature spread throughout Europe, so did the Reformation itself, arriving in the country of Scotland through the Reformer named John Knox.

John Knox was born in 1514 in a small town south of Edinburgh. When he was old enough, he entered the school of St. Andrews to study theology, as most students did. He was actually ordained as a minister, but did not serve as a pastor or minister until years later. 

During Knox’s younger years, the country of Scotland was becoming increasingly disenchanted with the Catholic Church. The same problems that existed in Germany, England, and Switzerland existed in Scotland too. Priests and bishops were not placed in their positions because of their holiness or call to ministry, but for political appointments. This led to all kinds of immoral sins of the priests being open and well-known. The priests in Scotland were openly consorting with concubines and fathering illegitimate children. The Catholic Church, as an entity, owned more than half the real estate in the country! The ‘church’ was, in essence, a corporation not a religious entity.

Also at this time, the literature of Martin Luther was being smuggled into Scotland with many agreeing with his positions. The Reformation was spreading. But the Catholic Church would not allow this ‘heresy’ to continue and wanted to suppress it. They burned a man named Patrick Hamilton at the stake for being a protestant. This move ironically did not suppress anything, but actually ignited the passions of the Protestants and Reformers in Scotland. Knox began studying and learning from Scottish reformers and even became a bodyguard under a preacher named George Wishart. But, Wishart too, was arrested and burned at the stake.

During a Protestant church service one Sunday after this event, the preacher named John Rough publicly asked John Knox to take over as the preacher. Knox was so overwhelmed and so shaken at this tremendous responsibility that he actually broke down into tears at the thought of him preaching God’s Word. He actually declined the offer, but then later accepted, feeling the tug of God that this was what he must do.

Knox actually traveled to Geneva and met John Calvin, having high praise for his ministry there. When he returned to Scotland, he published a number of tracts and treatises. These tracts were not quite politically correct as he essentially lobbied for the right of the people to overthrow an unrepentant monarch, like Mary Tudor the queen of England who was called the name ‘Bloody Mary’ for her persecution of Protestants. Knox also co-wrote the Scots Confession which basically abolished the authority of the Pope and the Catholic mass. While his writings spread his fame, Knox became more infamous for his amazing preaching.

In his sermons, Knox would calmly exegete a passage of Scripture for about a half hour. Then, he would turn on the afterburners and become loud and raucous, pounding the pulpit, and even inciting a riot after one of his sermons. One of his note takers commented that he could barely hold the pen because Knox was making him tremble so much. 

I have 3 main lessons we can learn from John Knox. First, would be the seriousness of preaching. I wonder if there are many men who would break down into tears if you asked them to preach. It was such a serious matter to Knox that he felt totally unqualified to do it, except for the fact he felt it was the calling of God for him to preach. The second lesson would be to follow his example and not have a fear of man. He was courageous and passionate and desired to please God above all. One man said that John Knox neither “flattered nor feared any flesh.” May that be true of us as well. The last lesson is one I have not discussed yet: the prayer life of John Knox. He famously prayed to God, “give me Scotland or I die.” That was not an arrogant demand but a passionate plea for God to save people in Scotland. He wanted to be used by God as an instrument of salvation. ‘Bloody Mary’ once commented on his prayer life, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the armies of Europe.” Let us too be people of aspiring, lofty, passionate prayers.

Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

John Calvin

    In all of church history there is probably no one more polarizing than John Calvin. A significant group of Christians hate him and a significant group of Christians adore him. We would all admit that no Reformer deserves undo veneration or inappropriate idolization, but whatever your personal view of Calvin may be, we cannot deny his tremendous impact upon the Reformation and Christian history. His theology is still hotly debated now, almost 500 years after his writings.

    Calvin was born in 1509 and showed himself to be a brilliant scholar and student. He studied at the University of Paris in order to be a priest; because that’s what you did back then when you had an interest in religion. We are not totally sure where his conversion to Christ happened, but he ended up writing his first protestant book at the age of 23. His most famous work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, he wrote when he was 26. Over the years, it went through numerous versions and additions, but for a theology book of that stature to come from a 26 year old was truly remarkable. 

    He had no desire to be a pastor or a well-known Reformer. He actually wanted to retire and simply be a private and obscure scholar. His dream would be to sit quietly and read and write theology on his own. However, through the Lord’s providence, as he was traveling to his desired location, a war was being fought and he had to detour through the town of Geneva. The pastor there, William Farell, heard Calvin was passing through and tried to convince Calvin to stay on as the pastor and help him with the Reformation. When Calvin refused, Farell actually pronounced a curse on Calvin and his private studies! Out of sheer fear, Calvin agreed to stay on and be the pastor of the church in Geneva.

    Calvin pastored the church for only 3 years and it was nothing but trouble for him. The congregation treated him horribly, even to the extent of naming their dogs ‘Calvin’ as a derision against him. He was run out of the church after 3 years, then he spent 3 years reading and writing in Strasburg (his original destination), but after his 3 year hiatus the influence of the Catholic Church came back mightily in the city of Geneva and the church went and begged him to come back. Calvin came back after being gone for 3 years, and in his first sermon back, he preached on the next verse he was going to preach on 3 years before.

    This is really who John Calvin was: a student of the Scripture and an expositor of God’s Word. He usually preached five sermons a week, each sermon at one hour long, with no notes, and they were all expositions of passages of the Bible. He also wrote 45 volumes of commentaries on the Greek and Hebrew Bible. Most of these commentaries were taken from his preaching. He was a pastor first and he went through extraordinary suffering in his life (his wife died and he suffered from various physical ailments).

    John Calvin was really a second generation Reformer. When he became a Christian, almost 20 years had passed since the beginning of the Reformation. He stood on the shoulders of giants like Martin Luther in his theological work. Calvinism is a term you might have heard of. It is primarily a reference to Calvin’s theology of salvation and it is described in the acronym TULIP (Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints). However, this theology did not come solely from Calvin. This was taught by the early Reformers, by the early church fathers, by the apostles, and by the Lord Himself. Sometimes theological labels are helpful because they can quickly define your convictions (I am a Calvinist). However, sometimes theological labels are not helpful because it sounds like you have chosen to follow the man rather than the Bible. I prefer not to use theological labels to describe me, but if you would ask me, I would agree with what is commonly referred to as ‘Calvinism’ as being the teaching of the Bible, not just the teaching of Calvin.

    While Calvin had his faults and was by no means perfect, one cannot deny the positive affect he had on the Reformation and Christianity in general.

Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

ULRICH ZWINGLI

    While Martin Luther was leading the Reformation in Germany, others were following his lead and reforming their own countries as well. Ulrich Zwingli was the man who began the Reformation in Switzerland. This country had the same problems as Germany: corrupt Catholic leadership with the leaders of the church pursuing power, corruption, and adding to their number of mistresses for themselves! 

    Zwingli was born in Switzerland in 1484 just weeks after Martin Luther was born in Germany. He was highly educated and he was interested in the classics and music. Zwingli played 6 musical instruments! It was during this time that he was exposed to some teaching on Biblical theology and his interest in the Catholic Church began there. He became a priest when he was 22 years old and it was his desire to reform the abuses in the Swiss Catholic Church. He continued this post for 10 years.

    Somewhere near the end of this time as a priest, Zwingli was converted. His conversion was more of a gradual process, rather than a sudden moment. As he continued to study the Scripture and see more of the Catholic Church abuses, he was more and more convinced that the Scripture must be his guide and not the traditions of Rome.

    For his calling out of abuses in the Swiss church, he was forced to leave and become a priest in another town. However, he continued his attack on the Pope’s abuses and began to preach verse by verse through the New Testament. This consecutive exposition of Scripture led him to the conclusion that there was a significant difference between the New Testament and the Catholic Church’s traditions and ceremonies. He eventually resigned as a priest, renounced his papal pension, and was hired on as a general preacher for the city of Zurich. 

    The Reformation in Zurich was not just a theological one, but a practical one as well. Zwingli led the city in the removal of statues, crucifixes, and candles. Decorated walls were whitewashed, alters were replaced with simple tables, gold and silver were melted from crucifixes and crosses, and monasteries were transformed into places of care for the homeless and youth. What was left were simple churches with nothing to detract from the clear and simple preaching of the Bible. He also produced a New Testament in his native Swiss language. 

    The final straw for Zwingli came on April 16, 1525 when he officially abolished the mass in Zurich and celebrated the first Lord’s Supper there. He sat at a simple table, with a linen cloth, and wooden plates for the elements in the middle of the congregation. Then the elements were distributed to the people as a memorial of Christ’s life and death. This simple view of the Lord’s Supper confirmed his odds with the Catholic Church, and even with Martin Luther, who still held that the Lord’s Supper was a means of dispensing grace.

    As with every Christian, Zwingli was not without sin. He famously held very significant disputes with a group called the Anabaptists (people who believe in baptizing believers only and not infants) because Zwingli was a serious believer in infant baptism. Zwingli went after the Anabaptists through persecution; having them imprisoned and even executed for their beliefs on baptism. Zwingli also formed a militia called the Christian Civic Alliance in preparation for a literal battle with the Catholics. The battle eventually came and his ‘army’ was easily defeated in the battle of Kappel in 1531. Zwingli was found wounded, was then killed, and burned at the age of 47. The Catholic forces even mixed his ashes with dung as a final insult to their enemy.

    We owe a lot to the Reformer Ulrich Zwingli, specifically, his radical view on the Lord’s Supper which we now hold as well. Human ceremonies and rituals have no power in and of themselves to dispense God’s grace. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial, which is all that it is. However, we can learn a lot from Zwingli about what not to do. It is noble to hold firmly to one’s spiritual convictions, but we should never bring the sword against our enemies or those we disagree with. The Bible says that is God’s job, not our job (Rom 12:19).

-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

Martin Luther

We continue our series on the main people of the Protestant Reformation by looking this month at Martin Luther. Back in January, the article was about his 95 Theses, which in essence, started the Reformation. But this month I would like to look at the man and ministry of Martin Luther.

Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Germany to a Catholic family. At that time, the Catholic Church, was really the only church there was. There was no such thing as an evangelical church or an independent church. He was baptized as an infant and received a typical Catholic education and upbringing. His father wanted him to be a lawyer so he sent Martin to the most prestigious university to receive his education.

On July 2nd 1505, in a rather remarkable story, Luther was thrown to the ground by a blast of lightning during a strong summer storm. Fearing for his life, Luther called out to St. Anne to help him, and if she did, he would promise to enter a monastery and become a monk. Luther was saved from the storm and kept his vow becoming a monk two weeks later. His father was furious.

    While in the monastery he was being educated and prepared to become a priest. He was learning the typical Catholic theology of salvation through the work of God plus the good deeds of man. It was this study of salvation that greatly troubled Luther’s soul. He knew he was a sinner and unable to satisfy the demands of God. Even when he officially became a priest, he received no piece in his soul in regards to his personal sin. He knew he sometimes did good works, but he couldn’t get past the idea of his sin. It wasn’t one particular sin that troubled him, but the reality of his nature. He was a sinner and none of his good deeds could change that. 

At the suggestion of a friend, Luther set aside theological books and turned to a rigorous study of the Bible. It was his study of the book of Galatians and Romans that opened his eyes to the way a person is made right with God. It was the phrase “the righteousness of God” in Romans 1:17 that led him to salvation. He realized it was not his righteousness that made him right with God, it was God’s righteousness given to him that made him right with God. A once for all pronouncement by God was the way to be saved: justification. This was contrary to the Catholic view of salvation, which said, man is made right with God by a gradual process throughout life, not a once for all pronouncement by God. Luther described this revelation as ‘being led out of a dark prison of penance and into the daylight of the gates of heaven.’ He was born again.

Luther had no idea how much this view of salvation would put him at odds with the Catholic Church. He knew his findings in the Scripture were contrary to the Roman teaching he had received in the monastery, so he went to Rome to try and quiet his reservations. He was hoping to receive spiritual answers and a new commitment to the Church by meeting with various priests and leaders. Instead, Luther found much corruption, money and luxurious living, concubines, illegitimate children, irreverent behavior, and a complete ignorance of the Scriptures. These were the leaders of God’s church? Luther said, “I took onions to Rome and brought back garlic.” It was just a few years later that Luther would post his 95 Theses to the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg and the Protestant Reformation was begun.

It should come as no surprise that Luther was not hailed by the Catholic Church as a Reformer, but a heretic and someone worthy of excommunication. After many debates and papal decrees, he was branded as such. Luther ended up writing over 50 volumes of works and translated the Bible into German so the average person could read it. But, he didn’t see himself as a writer, but a preacher. He preached over 7,000 sermons before his death in 1546. He called the church not a ‘pen house, but a mouth house’ where the Word of God must be proclaimed and not church tradition and ceremony. It was this commitment to the Word of God, and not church authority, which sets Martin Luther apart in Christian history.

-Pastor Mark Scialabba
 

William Tyndale

Of all the crimes you could imagine a believer could commit against the Christian church, what would be at the top of the list? Murdering another Christian? Burning down the church building? Forcing other believers to sin? How about translating the Bible into the language the people understand so that they could read it? Does that sound like something that would be considered a crime? Well, William Tyndale was a man guilty of the ‘crime’ of translating the Bible into English so people could read it. Tyndale is the first in our monthly look at key Reformation figures. 

When William Tyndale came on the scene in England, the country was completely engulfed in spiritual darkness. While there were thousands of churches and priests, the spiritual ignorance of the people and the priests was probably at an all-time high. The Bibles they had were all in Latin, and the average person could not read Latin. In fact, even the priests themselves could not translate something as simple as the Lord’s Prayer into English. Church ceremony, religious ritual, and superstition had taken the place of Bible study and Tyndale sought to change that.

The Church of England had decreed it to be illegal to translate the Bible into English. One can understand the motive behind this decree: they didn’t want the message of the Bible to get changed. But, since the average person couldn’t read Latin, what good was a Bible anyway? The Church went so far as to even make it illegal to teach the Bible in English! In 1519, seven men were burned at the stake for teaching their children the Lord’s Prayer in English. This shows how dangerous Tyndale’s mission would be.

William Tyndale was the perfect man for God to use to bring His Word to the average people of England. Tyndale was proficient in eight languages and he was committed to the truthfulness of the Bible. He had heard of the Reformation starting in places like Germany, but for any change to come to England, the people would have to be able to read the Bible. But, his desire to bring the Word of God to people in their own language was a crime and Tyndale was forced to leave his home of England and do his work while on the run throughout Europe. The Church even hired spies to try to track him down and catch him for his translating work. Tyndale would spend the last 12 years of his life as a condemned heretic and a hunted fugitive. 

His work was entirely unique because he translated directly from the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament into English. His desire would be that “a plowman would sing a text of Scripture at his plow and the weaver would hum them to the tune of his shuttle.” Early in his work he was confronted by a Catholic priest who told him it was better to have the Pope’s law than God’s law. This revealed to Tyndale how ignorant the Church was in the Scripture and set a fire under Tyndale to pursue and finish his work. Tyndale said if God gave him the years to do this work, then, “a boy that drives the plow would know more of the Scripture than the Pope does.”

In 1535, the Church paid a large sum of money to a man named Henry Phillips to find and capture William Tyndale. Phillips went to Belgium where Tyndale was supposedly working, asked around, made the necessary contacts, and found William Tyndale. He pretended to be his friend until he lured Tyndale into an alley where Tyndale was arrested and brought back to England. 

On October 6, 1536, Tyndale was strangled to death and his body then burned at the stake, by the Church, for his ‘crime’ of translating the Bible into English. It is said that his last words were, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” It would seem that his prayer was answered because less than a year after his death, Christians convinced Henry VIII to approve this English Bible to be printed. The King agreed and an English and Latin Bible would be placed in every church in England. 

You sit at your desk or table with the Bible in your own language thanks to William Tyndale. It is amazing to think of the things we take for granted in this life. Today, there are still people in the world with no Bible in their own language, yet there are Christians who do have one but never read it. Open your Bible, read it, and know God more and more each day.

-Pastor Mark Scialabba  

Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The year 2017 is a big one in the history of the Christian church. It is the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31st, 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed a document to the doors of the Catholic church in Wittenburg, Germany. The document was called the 95 Theses and it was a list of Luther’s complaints and disputations regarding his views of the Catholic Church as a whole, not the local church in Wittenburg. The act of nailing a document was nothing unusual or shocking; this was the normal procedure for initiating a debate. Luther thought he would have the church’s support in exposing the evils in the corrupt system, but it did not bring about the scholarly debate he was hoping for. Instead, the Protestant Reformation was begun.
    
When we say the word ‘protestant’ what does that mean? And what is a reformation? Let’s define some terms as we discuss the Reformation. A reformation is the act of amending or improving by removing or correcting faults and abuses. A protestant is a person who protests; a dissenting opinion from within a group. Therefore, when we use the phrase Protestant Reformation, we are referring to the religious movement that began in the 1500’s that was marked by a rejection or debate of formal Catholic doctrine and the establishment of independent, protestant churches. The entire movement lasted about 150 years. You are at Congregational Bible Church today thanks to the Protestant Reformation. 
    
What exactly were Martin Luther and the other Protestants protesting? Well, let’s go back to the early church that we read about in the New Testament. Those churches were independent (they followed no formal hierarchy), they had two offices of deacon and elder, and they celebrated the two ordinances the Lord prescribed (baptism and the Lord’s Supper). As the years went by and the purity of the New Testament church downgraded, so did the doctrine as well. Emperor Constantine ruled in 313 AD but he was also the head of Christianity as well, which resulted in Christianity being a national requirement instead of personal faith in Jesus Christ. This notion of one leader over Christianity continued and fostered the rise of the Pope. Church doctrine continued to downgrade and by 325 the following doctrines were disputed and/or flat out rejected: the Bible as sole authority, the two ordinances, independent local churches, saved church members, separation of church and state, and Biblical preaching. As the secular power of church leadership grew, so did corruption and immorality. This is where Luther found most of his grievances. 
    
The control of the Pope was elaborate and one of complete domination. The Pope could decree universal church law, he could excommunicate, and he had an elaborate taxation plan lobbied against the people. One of these money making ventures by the Catholic Church was the selling of indulgences. An indulgence was an official pardon, formally granted by the Catholic Church, given to sinners for a certain price. Basically, if you gave the church enough money, you could be forgiven of any and all sin. The church financed the building of St. Peter’s Basilica on the selling of indulgences and this practice horrified Martin Luther. 
The vast majority of his 95 Theses argues against these indulgences. Luther was basically attacking the Pope, and he did it in a sarcastic and angry tone. Of course, Luther’s protest did not bring about honest discussion or self-reflection from the Catholic Church, but instead, a declaration of Luther being a heretic. To attack the church or its abuses was an attack on the entire system. The Protestant Reformation was born. 

As I said before, you are in an independent Christian church because of Reformers like Martin Luther. I have decided to dedicate this entire year of Voice articles to the Protestant Reformation to commemorate the 500th anniversary. Each month we will hear about one Reformer and his contribution to the Reformation and Christianity in general.

Pastor Mark Scialabba

Cut Off Your Hand

CUT OFF YOUR HAND

In college I majored in Speech Communication so I had to study lots of famous speeches given throughout history. I was always fascinated with the people who had an amazing way with words, like Winston Churchill. Jesus, though, is still the best when it comes to having a way with words. One of the statements Jesus made that really sticks out is found in Matthew 5:30. It says, “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus is speaking about the process of holiness, or more specifically, how to stay away from sin. Now, we have all heard this passage explained by what it does not mean. “Surely, Jesus does not want us to actually go around cutting off our limbs,” is what we hear. But it does mean something. Jesus said it for a reason. If it doesn’t mean to actually cut off our limbs, then what does it mean?

First, it means that staying away from sin is serious business. I would think that Jesus did not say this with a twinkle in His eye or with a wink. He’s not making a joke. He’s not trying to generate a laugh. He’s trying to impress in our minds the seriousness of holiness. The Bible never jokes around about holiness. The Bible tells us to ‘make no provision for the flesh and to ‘flee from sin.’ Never should we take sin or holiness lightly.

Second, it means that staying away from sin is urgent. He sure didn’t say to ‘think about it for a while,’ or ‘get to it when you can.’ He said the things that lead us into sin must be ‘cut off.’ There is no waiting period. There is no time for consideration. This is not something we can put on the shelf for later.

Third, it means that staying away from sin is difficult. The imagery of cutting off your own hand is definitely a graphic one, but one that makes the point that it will not be easy. People should be thinking, ‘that is going to be hard,’ when they hear these words from Jesus. Holiness is hard. It is difficult. It is not easy. If you are just coasting along in your walk with the Lord with no real struggle with sin at all then you are not doing it right. Now, getting rid of sin is so difficult because of our remaining sin nature that continually leans us toward sin, as well as the thousands of temptations we face every single day. Our habits and patterns of sin are very difficult to break but we must break them.

Fourth, it means that staying away from sin is sacrificial. To lose a hand would place you at a serious disadvantage. It would make life very difficult. But that is the point, isn’t it? To decide to do things the Lord’s way inherently means that we can’t do things our way. We have to die to self, we have to give up our will, we have to submit to the Lord. It takes sacrifice to truly be holy. Too many times we think of holiness as a matter of convenience. If living holy will help me out, I’ll do it. If living holy causes me some disruption in the way I like things, then I won’t do it. But, holiness must be sacrificial. It has happened before that people have asked for pastoral advice on how to live for God and when I tell them what they must do, and they realize the personal changes that must take place, they choose to leave things as they are. ‘Cut off your hand’ means you have to sacrifice for holiness.

I hope as you read this that you do not look at holiness in a lighthearted manner. Being holy and staying away from sin is serious, urgent, difficult, and sacrificial. If you truly want to live for God then you must engage in the battle. Start cutting off some hands.

-Pastor Mark Scialabba

Commitment

COMMITMENT

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I have a great time coaching my two daughters in soccer. They are in the Under-8 league and we have a total of 16 players on our team. It gets a little difficult trying to play all 16 children in a game that only allows 9 at a time, but seeing their little faces light up when they score a goal makes it all worthwhile. As I was talking to a parent on another team, I was surprised to hear how their team is going. She said they can never get more than 7 of their players to come to practice, and they also have 16. The issue is that the people just don’t show up, but they have also had a few children quit the team.

The main issue with that soccer team is commitment. When I played soccer, I was taught you owe it to the team to show up at practice to learn how to play so that you can be a better teammate. Sure enough, that soccer team has children that have no idea how to play because they don’t come to practice. So, what happens during those games? The children that don’t show up to practice are a hindrance to the rest of the team because they haven’t been learning like everybody else.

The character attribute of commitment is becoming more and more scarce. If you sign up to be on a team then you are committing to that team for the season. I also serve on our girls’ School Site Council. I remember last year someone was on the council who did not show up to 1 meeting the whole year! Do things come up? Sure. Do life interruptions happen? Of course. But why sign up to be on a committee if you are not going to make one meeting? Why sign up to play on a soccer team to quit halfway through? I’m sure you’ve seen it in your life as well. People who have said they would be somewhere, and then don’t show up or cancel at the last minute. What happened to keeping your word? To commitment?

We have seen this trickle into the church as well. There are people who really struggle with being committed to their attendance or their ministry. I would bet that most of us have trouble committing to our spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible reading. Some have told us that this is their church, only to not come back for months. We have even had people join the church as members only to simply stop coming. It makes me wonder, where is the commitment? Again, we need to be gracious and understanding because we all have life interruptions and situations that come up last minute. But those should be the exception, not the norm.

In the book of Hosea, God shows His anger with Israel because of their lack of loyalty, their lack of commitment. In chapter 6 verse 4, God calls Israel’s loyalty like a ‘morning cloud’ or like the ‘dew which goes away early.’ Basically, God is saying that their loyalty is quick to fade away. Sure they probably make grand statements about how loyal they will be, but their actions do not back up those words. Verse 6 says that God ‘delights in loyalty rather than sacrifice.’ God wants you committed to Him and His cause rather than a big gift every now and then. That should really shake us up. Can I put it another way? God wants us, not the things we can give Him. He wants our whole heart committed to Him, our whole life devoted to Him. The word for loyalty back in v 4 is a word for ‘love.’ Their love for God was like a morning cloud or the dew that fades away. That makes their lack of commitment even more heartbreaking.

In our life, in general, we need to hold to our commitments. If you sign up for something, or promise you will do something, then come through with it; even if it will inconvenience you. Because your word is your bond. And, when it comes to God, make your commitment to Him like the blazing sun not the morning clouds. Put Him first, devote yourself to Him, and He will not let you down.

Pastor Mark Scialabba