January 12, 2016 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

John Hus

John Hus was a priest, pastor, professor, and philosopher, but his greatest impact was as a teacher and author devoted to biblical truth. Born in a town in southern Bohemia in the late 1300s, he preceded Martin Luther by one hundred years, and many historians consider him the first true Reformer.

Also considered the spiritual father of the Moravian movement and church.

The Moravians believed that prayers should be offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because of their commitment to prayer and scripture (members were always praying each hour of the day for more than 100 years), the Moravian community sent more missionaries throughout the world for most of the next 2 centuries. A Moravian community was developed as a base for reaching the Americas with the gospel. Bishop Peter Boehler during his expedition to America helped with the beginnings of the Great Enlightenment in America and paved the way for the conversion of John and Charles Wesley.

In 1402, Hus became the rector of the University of Prague, one of the foremost institutions of higher learning in the world at the time. That same year, the newly built Bethlehem Chapel appointed him as their preacher. From this pulpit, Hus began to demand the reformation of the church, preaching a radical, biblical vision of what the church was supposed to be. Though the Roman Catholic Church banned the writings of John Wycliffe, Hus taught from them and translated them into the Czech language. (John Wycliffe is considered the father of the reformation.)

He also preached against the moral debauchery of the priests, bishops, cardinals, and even the Pope. He decried the selling of indulgences (the selling of the grace of God, including deliverance from purgatory, for money) as a perversion of faith and an insult to God. He went so far as to declare that the Pope might not be a true Christian unless he complied with the biblical definition of faith. (Martin Luther promoted this idea that faith alone not church doctrine is the foundation of salvation.)

Hus’ message became extremely popular and spread into the surrounding countries of Poland, Hungary, Croatia, and Austria. As the schism between those demanding reformation and the church authorities grew, the church demanded that Hus appear before the Council of Constance. Because his intent was to reform the church, not divide it, he agreed. (An error in thinking some early reforms counted on but only ended in their deaths.) His king guaranteed safe passage and return to and from the Council. However, at the Council in 1415, Hus was declared a heretic and burned at the stake, the price for challenging the Roman Catholic Church at that time.

Before the flames could take his life, Hus prophesied that the message of liberty and spiritual reform would not die. Instead, it would be “a hidden seed,” falling into the ground and dying for a season, but one day sprouting and bearing much fruit. Church officials were convinced that Hus’ message would die with him. To their dismay, his heroic death only fanned the flame his message had ignited.

(This article was written by Rick Joyner & edited/expanded by SJW)

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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