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The Great Controversy
divided into contending factions, whose perpetual strife increased the
misery of all. The king determined upon a reformation in the state and
the church, and he welcomed these able assistants in the battle against
Rome.
In the presence of the monarch and the leading men of Sweden,
Olaf Petri with great ability defended the doctrines of the reformed
faith against the Romish champions. He declared that the teachings
of the Fathers are to be received only when in accordance with the
Scriptures; that the essential doctrines of the faith are presented in the
Bible in a clear and simple manner, so that all men may understand
them. Christ said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me”
(
John 7:16
); and Paul declared that should he preach any other gospel
than that which he had received, he would be accursed (
Galatians 1:8
).
“How, then,” said the Reformer, “shall others presume to enact dogmas
at their pleasure, and impose them as things necessary to salvation?”—
Wylie, b. 10, ch. 4. He showed that the decrees of the church are of no
authority when in opposition to the commands of God, and maintained
the great Protestant principle that “the Bible and the Bible only” is the
rule of faith and practice.
This contest, though conducted upon a stage comparatively ob-
scure, serves to show us “the sort of men that formed the rank and file
of the army of the Reformers. They were not illiterate, sectarian, noisy
controversialists—far from it; they were men who had studied the
word of God, and knew well how to wield the weapons with which the
armory of the Bible supplied them. In respect of erudition they were
ahead of their age. When we confine our attention to such brilliant
centers as Wittenberg and Zurich, and to such illustrious names as
[244]
those of Luther and Melanchthon, of Zwingli and Oecolampadius,
we are apt to be told, these were the leaders of the movement, and
we should naturally expect in them prodigious power and vast acqui-
sitions; but the subordinates were not like these. Well, we turn to
the obscure theater of Sweden, and the humble names of Olaf and
Laurentius Petri—from the masters to the disciples—what do we find?
... Scholars and theologians; men who have thoroughly mastered the
whole system of gospel truth, and who win an easy victory over the
sophists of the schools and the dignitaries of Rome.”—Ibid., b. 10, ch.
4.