Brenna Dobson > Recent Status Updates

“From all sedition, and privy conspiracy, from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and all his detestable enormities, from all false doctrine and heresy, from hardness of heart, and contempt of Thy Word and commandments, good Lord, deliver us!”

“Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle. By God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” -Bishop Latimer

In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted: let me never be confounded.

I do believe and confess that Christ’s condemnation is mine absolution; that His crucifying is my deliverance; His descending into hell is mine ascending into heaven; His death is my life.

Fear not death, pass not for bands,
Only in God put thy whole trust;
For He will require thy blood at their hands,
And thou dost know that once die thou must,
Only for that thy life if thou give,
Death is no death, but amens for to live.
Do not despair:
Of no worldly tyrant be thou in dread;
Thy compass, which is God's Word, shall thee lead,
And the wind is fair. - Bishop John Hooper

We live in times when many churchmen openly sneer at our Reformation, and scoff at our reformers. The martyrs, whose blood was the seed of our church, are abused and vilified, and declared to be no martyrs at all.

Rather than admit the doctrine of the real presence of Christ’s natural body and blood under the forms of bread and wine, the Reformers of the Church of England were content to be burned.

“The gospel…this is the love, the task, the vocation of all who wear the robes of the theologian and all who wear the gowns of the preacher. Luther was equally comfortable attired in either.”

“Open your eyes and look into your life and the life of all Christians, particularly the spiritual estate, and you will find that faith, hope, love..are languishing…Then you will see that there is need to pray throughout the world, every hour, without ceasing, with tears of blood.”

“Luther’s Bible remains the most widely read and preached translation of Scripture among German speakers today.”

“The holy Christian people are externally recognized by the possession of the sacred cross. They must endure every misfortune and persecution, all kinds of trials and evil from the devil, the world, and the flesh.”

“In other words, we go to the sacrament because we receive there a great treasure, through and in which we obtain the forgiveness of sins…Therefore, it is appropriately called the food of the soul since it nourishes and strengthens the new man.”

“Luther stressed the objective promise of Christ contained in baptism: ‘To be baptized in God’s name is to be baptized not by men but by God himself.’”

“The sacraments are Christ’s institutions, and He is present in them regardless of whether anyone receives them in faith. Faith does not make a sacrament; God does.”

“The Christian must give priority to the outward institutions of the Word, both in preaching and in the sacraments. As God came to us in the incarnation, so He continues to come through outward means to accomplish His purpose.”

“There was no counsel, no help, no comfort for us until this only and eternal Son of God, in his unfathomable goodness, had mercy on our misery and wretchedness and came from heaven to help us…Jesus Christ, the Lord of life and righteousness and every good and blessing.”

“The most pious monk is the worst scoundrel because he denies that Christ is the mediator and high priest and turns him into a judge.”

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ He intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”

The doctrine of justification by faith alone is a prized treasure in the church’s possession.

Paul is clear that we are not justified because of faith, but through or by (means of) faith. That is to say, faith is the God-provided instrument by which we receive Christ and His righteousness.

“For medieval theologians the present life remained an anxious pilgrimage; man lived in unresolved suspense, fearing damnation and hoping for salvation, ever in need of confession and indulgence, discipline and consolation, saintly intercession and the self help of good works. Nothing seemed more impossible than this-worldly certitude of salvation.”