For Reformation Day

I posted a biographical sketch of Jan Hus, one of the forerunners of the Reformation, at Out of the Ordinary this morning. Here are some of the things Hus taught: 

• the Word of God is our highest authority. All of his preaching was based directly on scripture, and when he was accused of heresy, he asked to be shown from the scripture where he was wrong. 

• Christ alone is the head of the Church. In Hus’s time, there were three men who claimed to be pope, and the Church was divided over which so-called pope was the true one. Hus said that it didn’t really matter because the church’s only pontiff was the Lord Jesus Christ. 

• God alone can forgive sins through the merits of Christ. Hus said, ”Let the pope, or a bishop or a priest say, ‘I forgive thy sins; I absolve thee of thy penalty. I free thee from the pangs of hell.’ It is all vain. It helps thee nothing. … God alone can forgive sins through Christ.”

Hus was declared a heretic and executed when he refused to recant. You can read the whole story at Out of the Ordinary.