King Alfred the Great, John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, William Tyndale, John Calvin, John Knox, William Carey, William Wilberforce, and other Christian reformers changed the world through their courageous stands for biblical truth and Christian liberty. They translated the Bible into common languages, confronted corruption in the church, and inspired movements that promoted education, justice, and the spread of the gospel. Though some faced persecution and death, their examples of faith and leadership transformed nations, governments, and societies worldwide.

1. 10 REFORMERS WHO CHANGED
THE WORLD
by Dr. Peter Hammond

3. by Dr. Peter Hammond

4. King Alfred of Wessex
(849-901)
lived through tumultuous
times and,
in his 30 years reign,
he personally commanded in
54 pitched battles
against the invading
Danish Vikings.
King Alfred
the Great
The
Reformer King

5. King Alfred began the process of
converting the blood-thirsty
Viking invaders to Christianity.

6. Alfred was both a great soldier
and scholar,
a law-maker,
educator, author
and Reformer.

7. Alfred was a dedicated Christian,
the first to translate the Gospels,
and other parts of the Bible,
into English.
He donated half
of his personal income
to Church schools
and founded numerous schools.

8. He was recognised as the
Father of the English Navy
and he gave England
a stable system of laws
based upon God's Law.

9. King Alfred's Dooms
(The Common Law) began
with The 10 Commandments,
the Laws of Moses,
the Golden Rule of Christ,
and other Biblical principles
from
the Sermon on the Mount.

10. No other sovereign did more in battle, in establishing law, promoting the
education of his people and bringing his enemies to Christ.

12. When Oxford was
the greatest university
in the world,
Professor John Wycliffe
(1320-1384)
was its leading
Theologian
and Philosopher.
John Wycliffe
The Morning
Star of the
Reformation

13. Although he did not have access to a Greek New Testament,
John Wycliffe translated the New Testament from Latin into English.
Wycliffe taught that all authority is delegated by God and is limited.

14. Corruption disqualifies leaders.
Leaders are called to servant-leadership and sacrifice.
Christ alone is the Head of the Church.
God's Law is supreme. Scripture alone is our authority.

15. He mobilised the Lollards, the field workers of the Reformation,
as itinerant Evangelists, to proclaim the Word of God in the
marketplaces and teach the Scriptures throughout England.

16. Wycliffe Yeames Lollards

17. Wycliffe and his Lollards helped prepare the way for the Reformation in
England and Bohemia, where his writings inspired Jan Hus.

18. When Anne of Bohemia married
King Richard II of England,
she sent copies of Professor Wycliffe's
writings back to Prague.
Jan Hus
Professor of Prague University

19. Inspired by Wycliffe's teachings, Professor Jan Hus (1372-1415)
boldly confronted corruption and superstitions,
and taught the Scriptures in Prague University.

20. As a result the papacy ex-communicated Hus and condemned him
and his writings to be burned.

21. Hus declared: "I would not, for a chapel full of gold, recede from the
Truth... the Truth stands and is mighty forever… in the Truth of the
Gospel I have written, taught and preached, today I will gladly die."

22. As Hus was being burned, he proclaimed: "My goose is cooked!"
(Hus is the Bohemian word for goose). "But 100 years from now a swan
will arise, whose voice you will not be able to silence."

23. Professor Martin Luther (1483-1546) of the University of Wittenberg,
was a brilliant Lawyer and Doctor of Theology. Luther was the author of
400 titles, over 60,000 pages of original work.
Martin Luther
Captive to the Word of God

24. His bold stand, 31 October 1517, nailing The 95 Theses
to the church door, launched the Great Reformation.

25. On 18 April 1521, Martin Luther stood firm before the emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire and the assembled princes, bishops and
archbishops, who were intimidating him to recant his writings.

26. Luther's courageous response: "Unless I am convinced by Scripture,
or by clear reasoning, that I am in error – for popes and councils have
often erred and contradicted themselves – I cannot recant, for I am
subject to the Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is captive to the
Word of God.

27. It is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against ones conscience.
Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. So help me God. Amen!"

28. Luther inspired freedom of conscience, freedom of thought, freedom of
religion, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press,
and Scripture alone as our ultimate authority.

29. Luther smashed the chains
of superstition and tyranny
and restored Christian liberty
to worship God
in spirit and in truth.

33. Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) was the
Father of the Reformation in Switzerland.
On 1 January 1519, he introduced
expository preaching.
Ulrich Zwingli
The Reformer of Zürich

34. Dispensing with Latin and the
mass, he began expounding
the Gospel of Matthew,
line by line, verse by verse.
His Biblical preaching
transformed Zürich
and later Switzerland.

35. Zwingli preached
in the marketplaces
and reformed education.

36. Zwingli preached in the marketplaces
and reformed education. As he lay
dying at the Battle of Kappel,
he declared:
"They can kill the body,
but they cannot kill the soul."

37. A brilliant linguist and graduate of
both Oxford and Cambridge
Universities,
William Tyndale (1494-1536)
is the Father of the English Bible.
William Tyndale
The Most
Influential
Englishman

38. He produced the first translation
from the original Hebrew and Greek
Scriptures to be printed in English.

39. As this was illegal at the
time, he did his translation
work in Germany
and these Bibles had to be
smuggled into England.

40. As a result, Tyndale
was outlawed and
condemned to death.
On 6 October 1538,
he was burned at the
stake.

41. His dying prayer: "Lord, open the King of England's eyes",
was remarkably answered.

42. Within two years, by order of King Henry VIII, every parish church in
England was required to make a copy of the English Bible available to all
its parishioners.

44. William Tyndale

45. The exiled French Reformer,
John Calvin (1509-1564),
became the most influential
man of his age and his
teachings have proven to be
some of the most
foundational
in the shaping of
the Protestant world.
John Calvin
A Heart Aflame
and
A Mind Renewed

46. Calvin's ideals of religious toleration, representative
government, separation of powers, constitutionalising the
monarchy, checks and balances,

47. establishing the rights and liberties of citizens and a Christian work
ethic, led to the industrial and scientific revolutions, developing the
most productive and prosperous societies in history.

48. Calvin's emphasis on the Sovereignty
of God and the Lordship of Christ
in all areas of life, inspired social
reformers who transformed nations.

49. His 1,000 page, Institutes of the Christian Religion,
stands as a systematic masterpiece,
one of the greatest Christian books in all of history.

50. His motto was "Promptly and sincerely in the service of My God."

51. John Knox described Geneva under John Calvin,
as "The most perfect school of Christ since the Apostles."

52. Mary, Queen of Scotts, declared: "I am more afraid of the prayers of
John Knox than of an army of 10,000!" John Knox's prayer:
"Give me Scotland, or I die!" was answered in his own lifetime.
John Knox
The Reformer of Scotland

53. John Knox (1514-1572) transformed
Scotland from a country with 4%
church attendance to one with 96%
church attendance, one of the most
Reformed nations in the world, and
the sending base for such influential
Missionaries, as Robert Morrison,
David Livingstone and Mary Slessor.

54. The Father of Modern Missions, William Carey (1761-1834), translated
the Bible and New Testament into 35 languages, established 100
schools, the first Christian College in Asia,
William Carey The Reformer of India

55. campaigned successfully for the abolition of suttee, the burning of
widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands, the burning of lepers
and infanticide.

56. Carey introduced lending libraries, savings banks, forestry conservation,
ministering to body, mind and spirit, transforming India through his
compassionate social action, Bible teaching and tireless labours, for 41
years in the field.

57. Member of Parliament, William Wilberforce (1759-1833) wrote that God
Almighty had set before him: "Two great objectives: the suppression of
the slave trade and the Reformation of society"
William Wilberforce
Setting the Captives Free

58. Wilberforce successfully mobilised Reformation Societies,

59. which enlisted the signatures of over one million English people for a
petition to set every slave free.

60. He campaigned to mobilise the Royal Navy to intercept slave vessels and
set captives free, the establishing of Sierra Leone for freed slaves.

61. He was also a Founder of the
British and Foreign Bible
Society and the Royal Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals.

62. When William Wilberforce entered parliament, he was one of only two
born-again Christians in Westminster. By his death, there was over 100
Evangelicals in parliament, in England.

63. "Proclaim liberty throughout the land…" Leviticus 25:10

64. “Open rebuke
is better than
love
carefully
concealed.
Faithful are
the wounds
of a friend…
Proverbs 27:5

65. but the kisses
of an enemy
are deceitful.”
Proverbs 27:5 – 6

66. Courage
is not
the absence
of fear,
but the
determination
to do our duty
in spite of
our fear.

67. “For God has
not given us
a spirit of fear,
but of power
and of love
and of
a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7

68. “In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

69. “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him Who loved us.” Romans 8:37

70. The safest place in the world is in the centre of God’s Will.

71. Like German Reformer, Martin Luther, who dared to defy the collective
might of the Pope of Rome and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
when he refused their threats and demands to recant, we need to be
able to say: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God…
Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, so help me God. Amen.”

72. As Swiss Reformer,
Ulrich Zwingli declared:
“They can kill the
body – but they
cannot kill the soul.”

73. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear
nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God,
He is the One who goes with you. He will not
leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

74. As God commanded Joshua:
“Be strong
and of good courage…
only be strong
and very courageous,
that you may observe
to do according to
all the Law
which Moses
My servant
commanded you;

75. do not turn from it to
the right hand
or to the left,
that you may prosper
wherever you go.

76. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
that you shall mediate in it day and night,
that you may observe to do according to all
that is written in it.

77. For then you will make
your way prosperous,
and then you will have
good success.
Have I not commanded
you? Be strong and of
good courage;
do not be afraid,
nor dismayed,
for the Lord your God
is with you
wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:6 – 9

78. “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed…
for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh;
but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”
2 Chronicles 32:7 – 8

79. “Only let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that… you
standfast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the Faith of
the Gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is
to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that from
God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to
believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake…” Philippians 1:27 – 29

80. Then with David we can
say:
“I will not be
afraid of ten
thousands of
people who
have set
themselves
against me
all around.”
Psalm 3:6;

81. “I called on the Lord
in my distress;
the Lord
answered me…
I will not fear.
What can man do
to me?
It is better to trust in
the Lord
than to put confidence
in man.
It is better to trust in
the Lord than to put
confidence in princes.”
Psalm 118:5 – 9

82. “Behold,
God is my salvation,
I will trust
and not be afraid;
for the Lord
is my strength
and song;
He also has become
my salvation.”
Isaiah 12:2

83. Our Lord Jesus taught us that we should
not fear man who can only kill the body,

84. but rather we should learn
to fear God alone
who can destroy
both body and soul
in hell forever.

85. The fear of God
will free us from the fear of
man.
The reverential awe,
respect and fear of God
is
liberating.

86. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” Proverbs 1:7

91. Dr Peter Hammond
Reformation Society
P.O. Box 74
Newlands, 7725
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: (021) 689 4480
Fax: (021) 685 5884
Email: info@ReformationSA.org
Website: www.ReformationSA.org

97. Solus Christus – Christ alone is the Head of the Church.
Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone is our authority.
Sola Gratia – Salvation is by the grace of God alone.
Sola Fide – Justification is received by faith alone.
Soli Deo Gloria – Everything is to be done for the glory of God
alone.
The Reformation Society