Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

Ses s i on 2: The Med i eva l Chur ch and the Reformat i on 49

b. They rejected the idea, however, that tradition might come to be appealed to above and beyond the claims of Scripture.

c. The three solas : Sola scriptura (the Scriptures alone), Sola gratia (by grace alone), and Sola fides (through faith alone)

d. Note: The Radical Reformers respected tradition far less than the magisterial reformers, usually regarding Scripture as the faith’s single and authoritative source for things spiritual.

3. The relationship of the Church and state . The Reformers rejected final claim of the Church to control the state in the way the Roman Catholic medieval church did. Rather, they sought to teach secular rulers regarding their duties, spiritual and civil, from a biblical viewpoint.

a. There is some variation on this. For instance, Reformed faith did seek to exercise control in some states, and Lutherans and Anglicans asserted political rights in some quarters.

b. The Radical Reformers rejected all forms of the Church’s dominance over the state, drawing distinct lines between them.

4. Rediscovery of the priesthood of all believers . All forms of the Reformation embraced this doctrine, which led in some circles of Protestantism to a full dismantling of the complex hierarchy of clergy and laity structures in force during medieval Catholicism.

a. While all Protestants affirmed the doctrine, many churches retained their clergy, confessing the truth