The Preaching of God’s Word – William Tyndale

After the preaching of God’s Word, because it is not truly received, God sendeth great trouble into the world: partly to avenge himself of the tyrants and persecutors of his word and partly to destroy those worldly people which make of God’s word nothing but a cloak of their fleshly liberty.

They are not all good that follow the gospel. Christ (Matthew in the thirteenth chapter) likeneth the kingdom of heaven unto a net cast in the sea that catcheth fishes both good and bad. The kingdom of heaven is the preaching of the gospel, unto which come both good and bad.

But the good are few. Christ calleth them therefore a little flock (Luke 12). For they are ever few that come to the gospel of a true intent seeking therein nothing but the glory and praise of God and offering themselves freely and willingly to take adversity with Christ for the gospel’s sake and for bearing report unto the truth, that all men may hear it.

The greatest number come and ever came and followed even Christ himself for a worldly purpose. As thou mayest well see(John 6) how that almost five thousand followed Christ and would also have made him a king, because he had well fed them. Whom he rebuked saying: ye seek me not, because you saw the miracles, but because ye ate of the bread and were filled: and drove them away from him with hard preaching…And forasmuch as contrawise thou art sure that the Pope’s doctrine is not of God which (as thou seest) is so agreeable unto the world, and is so received of the world or which rather so receiveth the world and the pleasures of the world, and seeketh nothing but the possessions of the world, and authority in the world, and to bear a rule in the world, and persecute the word of God, and with all wiliness driveth people from it, and with false and sophistical reasons maketh them afeared of it: yea curseth them and excommunicateth them, and bringeth them in belief that they are damned, if they look on it, and that it is but a doctrine to deceive men, and moveth the blind powers of the world to slay with fire, water, and sword all that cleave unto it.

For the world loveth that which is his, and hateth that which is chosen out of the world to serve God in the spirit.

As Christ saith to his disciples (John 15) if ye were of the world, the world would love his own. But I have chosen you out of the world and therefore the world hateth you.

Another comfort hast thou, that as the weak powers of the world defend the doctrine of the world so the mighty power of God defendeth the doctrine of God.

 

(Extracts from “The Obedience of a Christian Man” 1528)

 

 

top