Wycliffe's Greatest Work

INTRODUCTION

This morning we are returning to our study of the pre-Reformer John Wycliffe

Last week we were introduced to him and his work

Today we are looking again at his work but this time his greatest work, the translation of the Bible from Latin to English

The Bible, as of 2020, has been translated into 704 languages

The New Testament has been translated into an additional 1551 languages

Portions or stories from the Bible have been translated into 1160 other languages

Some portions have been translated into 3415 languages (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations)

These statistics are the fulfillment of the Reformers

They wanted the Bible in the language of the people

John Wycliffe was the first person to do this with his translation of the Bible , first the NT in 1380, then the OT in 1382 (https://www.gotquestions.org/history-of-the-Bible.html)

Here’s what Wycliffe said about Scripture:

“Holy Scripture is the preeminent authority for every Christian, and the rule of faith and of all human perfection.” (https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-3/wycliffes-england-time-of-turmoil.html).

He also said, “Christ and His Apostles taught the people in the language best known to them. It is certain that the truth of the Christian faith becomes more evident the more faith itself is known. Therefore, the doctrine should not only be in Latin but in the vulgar tongue and, as the faith of the church is contained in the Scriptures, the more these are known in a true sense the better. The laity ought to understand the faith and, as doctrines of our faith are in the Scriptures, believers should have the Scriptures in a language which they fully understand.”

In other words, "Englishmen learn Christ's law best in English. Moses heard God's law in his own tongue; so did Christ's apostles."

This was his heart and passion

He felt the people could not know the basics of the faith unless they knew their Bible

And they could best know the Bible when it was in their own language

According to Roman Catholic law, translating the Bible into a vulgar, common language was a heresy punishable by death (Nichols).

But that did not stop Wycliffe

By 1382 the whole Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgate to English

Since there was no printing press, it was handwritten as well as hand copied

4 years after his death, Wycliffe’s friend John Purvey, revised the translation

Their work prepared the way for the work of William Tyndale and the translators of the Geneva Bible and the 1611 KJV (https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/john-wycliffe-the-morning-star-of-the-reformation)

“There still exist about 150 manuscripts, complete or partial, containing the translation in its revised form. From this, one may easily infer how widely diffused it was in the 15th century. For this reason the Wycliffes in England were often designated by their opponents as "Bible men" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe)

Last time we saw the problem Wycliffe has with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on transubstantiation, that in the Lord’s Supper the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus even though the elements themselves remain as seen

Wycliffe rejected this idea stating this was not taught in Scripture

He also spoke out against:

monasticism

indulgences

purgatory

papal authority

He wrote some 15 works addressing these and other teachings of the Roman Catholic Church but his greatest work was the English Bible

He recognized its authority which is why he rejected most of what the Roman Catholic Church taught

But he, as well as all the pre-reformers and reformers believed and taught that...

LESSON

I. The Bible is God’s Word

It is called “the word” (Jas.1:21-23)

It is called “the word of God” (Lk.11:28)

It is called “the word of Christ” (Col.3:16)

It is called “the word of truth” (Jas.1:18)

It is called “holy Scriptures” (2 Tim.2:15)

It is called the “Scripture of truth” (Dan.10:21)

It is called “the Book” (Rev.22:19)

It is called “the book of the Lord” (Isa.34:16)

It is called “the book of the Law” (Neh.8:3)

It is called “the law of the Lord” (Ps.1:2)

It is called “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph.6:17)

It is called “the oracles of God” (Rom.3:2)

Because the Bible is God’s Word...

. It is infallible (no mistakes in its entirety)

It is perfect - Psalm 19:7, “The law of the Lord is perfect...”

It is true

Jesus said in John 17:17, “...Your word is truth.”

The Psalmist declared God’s Word as truth

Psalm 119:151, “...all Your commandments are truth.”

Psalm 119:160, “The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.”

It is inerrant (no mistakes in its parts)

Every word is pure - Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God is pure...” (NKJV)

It has been tested and found to be “pure words” - Psalm 12:6, “The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.”

One commentator says, “What a contrast between the vain words of men and the pure words of God. While the words of men are vanity, the words of God are purity; while men speak with flattering lips, God speaks with tested lips.

The words of God and the Word of God have passed through the furnace of persecution, philosophical disputation, scientific reasoning, and literary criticism; but they have not lost one precious ounce of their purity. God preserves and keeps those who are oppressed and needy because He keeps His word. Even when The wicked walk on every side, as a result of vile men being in positions of authority, we may still trust the Word of God, knowing that "… all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28) (KJV Bible Commentary).

It is complete (nothing needs to be added to it)

Proverbs 30:6, “Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.”

Revelation 22:18-19, “18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

“The message of the Bible is complete and needs no collaboration from anyone” (KJV Bible Commentary).

It is effective (it able to do exactly what it says)

It will do exactly what God send it to do - Isaiah 55:10-11, “10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

It will do in your life what it says it will do

When God says you can be saved from your sin and have an eternal home in heaven prepared for you – that’s exactly what it means! You can trust His Word.

It is sufficient (is able to meet all your needs)

For salvation - 2 Timothy 3:15, “and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

For maturity - 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

For hope - Romans 15:4, “4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

For blessing - James 1:25, “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

It is living and powerful - Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is 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.”

Since the Bible is God’s Word, it is also...

II. The Bible is God’s Final Word

As seen by fulfilled prophecy

There are 333 prophecies about Christ in the Old & New Testament

109 were fulfilled at His first coming

. 224 will be fulfilled at His second coming

As witnessed by His apostles

Paul - 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”

Peter - 2 Peter 3:14-16, “14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

As witnessed by the writer of Hebrews - Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is 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.”

As witnessed by Daniel

Daniel 2:20-22, “20 Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. 22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.”

Daniel 4:17 says, “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men.”

As witnessed by Jesus

He spoke only what God told Him to speak - John 12:49, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.”

He even told Pilate in John 19:11, “Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.””

As seen in God Himself

By His descriptions and titles

He is the Creator of all things (Gen.1:1)

The titles Lord (Deut.10:17) and God Almighty (Gen.17:1) demonstrate His authority and power over all things

His nature as expressed by His attributes equally affirms His authority

He is the “eternal, immortal, and only God” (1 Tim.1:17)

He is omniscient (Ps.139:1-6)

He is omnipotent (Ps.135:5)

He is omnipresent (Ps.139:7-12)

He is righteous (Ps.92:15)

His wisdom is unsearchable (Rom.11:33-36)

His sovereignty is over all His creation (Ps.89:11)

This authority is conveyed to man through God’s Word and is an unalterably authoritative message

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, “1 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”

Isaiah 1:2, “Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the Lord speaks...”

This parallels Deuteronomy 32:1, “Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.”

How people responded to God’s Authority

The authority of God’s Word is seen in how the people responded at the giving of the Ten Commandments - Exodus 20:18-20, “18 All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”

One way to think about the authority of God’s Word is to look at the outworking of God’s authority in Scripture

This can be summarized by a series of negative (what it is not) and positive (what it is) statements:

It is not derived authority bestowed by humans; rather, it is the original authority of God.

It does not change with the times, the culture, the nation, or the ethnic background; rather, it is the unalterable authority of God.

It is not one authority among many possible spiritual authorities; rather, it is the exclusive spiritual authority of God.

It is not an authority that can be successfully challenged or rightfully overthrown; rather, it is the permanent authority of God.

It is not a relativistic or subordinate authority; rather, it is the ultimate authority of God.

It is not merely a suggestive authority; rather, it is the obligatory authority of God.

It is not a benign authority in its outcome; rather, it is the consequential authority of God.

(MacArthur, John,Mayhue, Richard. Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Kindle Locations 2922-2933). Crossway. Kindle Edition).

CONCLUSION

The Bible says in Romans 13:1, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”

Wycliffe was so committed to the Bible and the gospel that “He sent itinerant preachers (later called Lollards) throughout England to bring to the common people the the Word of God and the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.” (https://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpwycliffe.html)

Our response to the authority of God’s Word is to believe and obey it

The Roman Catholic Church refused to do this

Instead they used God’s Word to lord over God’s people

They also hid the Gospel from the people

Everything they did was for their own personal gain

Finally the people revolted as God raised up men to oppose the Church and teach the truth

This cost them dearly: persecution, excommunication, and eventually death

Aren’t you thankful for their dedication and commitment to put the Word of God in the language of the people

Now that we have it in our language, what are you doing with it?

Do you read it regularly?

Do you obey it?

Are you living it?

Do people see it in your life?

I close with this statement from Martyn Lloyd Jones, “It is either this Book, or else it is ultimately the authority of the Church of Rome and her ‘tradition’! That was the great issue at the Protestant Reformation. It was because of what they found in the Bible that those men stood up against, and queried and questioned and finally condemned the Church of Rome. It was that alone that enabled Luther to stand, just one man, defying all those twelve centuries of tradition. ‘I can do no other’ he says, because of what he had found in the Bible. He could see that Rome was wrong. It did not matter that he was alone, and that all the big battalions were against him. He had the authority of the Word of God, and he judged the Church and her tradition and all else by this external authority” (https://www.monergism.com/authority-scripture-0).

If you’re not a follower of Jesus, I would like to invite you to become one

Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

What’s the alternative if you never come to Christ? Hell!

Give your life to Jesus right now as we pray

Let’s pray