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Chapter 12—God Honors the Humble
Those who received the great blessings of the Reformation did
not go forward in the path so nobly entered upon by Luther. A
few faithful men arose from time to time, to proclaim new truth,
and expose long-cherished error; but the majority, like the Jews in
Christ’s day, or the papists in the time of Luther, were content to
believe as their fathers believed, and to live as they lived. Therefore
religion again degenerated into formalism; and errors and supersti-
tions which would have been cast aside had the church continued to
walk in the light of God’s word, were retained and cherished. Thus
the spirit inspired by the Reformation gradually died out, until there
was almost as great need of reform in the Protestant churches as
in the Roman Church in the time of Luther. There was the same
spiritual stupor, the same respect for the opinions of men, the same
spirit of worldliness, the same substitution of human theories for the
teachings of God’s word. Pride and extravagance were fostered un-
der the guise of religion. The churches became corrupted by allying
themselves with the world. Thus were degraded the great principles
for which Luther and his fellow-laborers had done and suffered so
much.
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As Satan saw that he had failed to crush out the truth by perse-
cution, he again resorted to the same plan of compromise which had
led to the great apostasy and the formation of the church of Rome.
He induced Christians to ally themselves, not now with pagans, but
with those who, by their worship of the God of this world, as truly
proved themselves idolaters. Satan could no longer keep the Bible
from the people; it had been placed within the reach of all. But he
led thousands to accept false interpretations and unsound theories,
without searching the Scriptures to learn the truth for themselves. He
had corrupted the doctrines of the Bible, and traditions which were
to ruin millions were taking deep root. The church was upholding
and defending these traditions, instead of contending for the faith
once delivered to the saints.
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