Thomas Cranmer - English Reformer

Thomas Cranmer, DD, was one of the most significant English reformers who was not only influenced by the religious movements of his day, but came to see that the only way for the church to be the church is for her to submit her life to the authority of the Holy Scriptures.

Sir Marcus Loane inform us that after Cranmer refused Cardinal Wolsey's offer of a canonry at Oxford in 1524, 'His mind had now begun to yield to the teaching of the Scriptures, and as early as 1525, he had begun to pray daily for the abolition of the Papal power in England.'  As an examiner in divinity, Cranmer began to require students for the ministry to demonstrate that they had a first hand.knowledge of the Scriptures.  Given the spiritual condition of the church of that day, making such a demand on divinity students was tantamount to signing one's own death warrant.  The church then was not interested in ordering her life according to the Scriptures but preferred rather to hold on to her ecclesiastical power and privilege, something that provided safety to those who had it, but tyranny for those who did not.

What if our colleges and seminaries were to require that their students for the ministry were to furnish a like proof? What if today's church authorities were to insist that all preaching was to be faithful to the text of Scripture, and to seek the power of God the Holy Spirit in the preaching?  What if the church's leaders today to conduct an audit of what exactly was going on within the churches under their jurisdiction, would they find 'faith' in them? Would Christ alone be worshipped and honoured?  Would His Word be heard clearly and unmistakably?

What if church rules were to conform to the teaching of the Bible in spirit if not in letter? What if ministers were chained to the Bible in the way that in the past the Bibles had to chained to the pulpits? In today's backslidden church, to even speak in this way would be laughed at and ridiculed to the highest.  It would also mark the end of much that passes for the service of God in those churches.