Menno Simons

Menno Simons

Today (31^st October) is reformation day, and so my focus will be on the reformer, Menno Simons.

Menno Simons was a contemporary with Martin Luther, who seems to have taken all the credit for the reformation. But where Martin Luther failed in his reformation, Menno Simons didn’t.

Menno Simons was born in the old Holy Roman Empire, which was a huge empire during the 14^th century (1500s). But the part of the Empire to which he was born is now part of the Netherlands. Menno Simons was born in the year 1496, but the actual date of his birth is uncertain.

Menno Simons was brought up as a Roman Catholic, and as this was the only version of Christianity in the western part of Europe at that time, I guess he really had no choice in the matter.

As a young man it was Simons’ desire to become a Catholic priest, and so he went into training. The Catholic Bible was the vulgate, written in Latin, and the only translation allowed in the Catholic Church, so it was necessary that as a training priest, Menno Simons should learn Latin. But through all his catholic training, he never once touched a Bible (and that’s not exaggerating).

In the year 1515 or 1516 Simons was ordained as a Catholic priest.

During this period Martin Luther was working as a Doctor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, which is where he began to read his Bible, and to realise that the Catholic religion was unscriptural. Menno Simons had a similar revelation from the Holy Spirit, which we will read about in the following paragraphs.

Menno Simons was a priest for about 10 years, and yet had never studied the Bible. But then there began to be discussion about the doctrine of transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is the doctrine that the Catholics believe, that in communion the wine and the bread supernaturally transform into the literal body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. So it was that the curious Menno Simons decided to look in his Bible for the true answers about the doctrine of Transubstantiation. Looking in the Bible, Simons found out that the wine and the bread were only the memorial of Christ’s death and not some kind of supernatural ritual.

It was also during this time of studying the scriptures that Simons noticed that there was no evidence for infant baptism, in fact to the contrary, he noticed that every baptism in the Bible was of a believer. Then it was that he became a great advocate for Believer’s baptism, then known as “Anabaptists”.

Although there were Baptists before the time of Menno Simons, it was through him that God spread His true religion in a time when there was much heresy in the church.

Then on the 30^th January 1536 at the age of 39, Menno Simons made his first profession of faith, and was subsequently baptised as a believer.

After this he became a great leader in the Baptist church, and preached fearlessly against the false practices of the Catholics. And so it was that the Catholic Church denounced him as a heretic, and put a large sum of money as a bounty for anyone who should betray Simons. And many who confessed their belief in Simons’ doctrines paid with their life.

But we all know that God is much stronger than all our foes, and Menno Simons proved this. He lived a further 25 years and died a natural death having never been caught by the Catholics. And the work which he has done for Baptists still lives on, and God’s truth is not without witness to this very day.

Menno Simons died 31^st January 1561 the day after his 25^th anniversary of publicly professing Jesus Christ.

Let us learn from the examples of great men like Menno Simons who gave their life for God. And why should we not likewise give our whole lives over to the service of God, Didn’t He come to earth and give his own precious life to us so that we might be saved?

Well, may this be of some use to someone this day, and may you all find encouragement to stand up for the truth of God’s word.

Amen

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menno_Simons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther

http://www.bookrags.com/biography/menno-simons/

http://www.mennosimons.net/life.html

George Tankervil

George Tankervil

George Tankervil (also known as George Tankerfield) was born in the early 1500s in the city of York in England.

Tankervil worked as a baker, but it was not for this occupation that he was made famous.

During the reign of good King Edward 6^th (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) Tankervil was a Catholic, and thought that the protestants were no more than just rebels from the Faith of the Fathers.

But something happened during the reign of Bloody Queen Mary (from the year 1553 onwards). When Tankervil saw all the horrible tortures and deaths that Mary was imposing upon the Protestants, he began to realise that maybe Catholicism wasn’t so peaceful and righteous as he had initially thought. And so it was that he prayed that the Lord would open his heart as to whether the Catholics were right or the Protestants.

And so it was that the Lord opened Tankervil’s heart by degrees that he began to become more and more convinced that the Catholic faith had slipped into heresy. And so was his conversion complete.

So after learning about Protestantism and the true Gospel, as a good soldier of Christ, Tankervil, began to tell all his friends and family about the true Gospel, and began to tell them all the things of Jesus, in a true and living way, not like the Catholics.

This act of spreading the Gospel drew the attention of the Catholics, and they began to hate him, and to label him as a heretic.

After these things, Tankervil became very ill, and with his illness he was not able to do so much baking, and so the business became not so lucrative.

One day while Tankervil was out having a walk in the Temple Fields of London (close by to where they were living) a man came to the door, and Tankervil’s wife answered. The man told her that Lord Paget (a wealthy man) was going to have a dinner, and have lots of guests, and requested that Mr Tankervil should come along and prepare the food, for it had been said that he was an excellent cook. And so Tankervil’s wife, not knowing that it was a trap set by the Catholics, agreed to the request.

When Tankervil returned from his walk, his wife told him about the visitor. And when Tankervil heard about it, he realised that it was a trap, but instead of running away, he said that he would go, and that God’s will be done.

I don’t think Tankervil was aware of what was about to happen to him, and indeed that’s a mercy, for otherwise he may have given up the faith to save his life.

And so it was that Tankervil was arrested and put into prison.

There was a man by the name of Bonner, who was employed by the Catholics to persuade Tankervil to denounce his Protestant faith, and revert back to Catholicism. Tankervil always answered Bonner referring to the Scriptures, saying that unless Bonner can persuade him using the Bible, he would not convert. Which, obviously, Bonner could not do, but rather he would reference Catholic leaders and perverted men, but never would he allude to the Scriptures.

Tankervil was then taken to St. Albans (which is just north of London) where he was to be burned as a heretic.

While at St. Albans he stayed at the Cross Keys Inn under supervision of a guard. And while there, many people came to him telling him that he must embrace Catholicism or die, but each and every time he would refer them to the Scriptures refuting the Catholic doctrines.

In the evening, as Tankervil sat beside the fire, he talked with himself arguing that he was doing the right thing by offering his life to The Lord. And thus he talked with himself: The Flesh says, “O you fool, will you burn, when you need not to?” And then the Spirit answers, “Don’t be afraid; what is a short martyrdom in comparison with and eternity in Hell?” Then the Flesh says, “Will you leave all you friends and your family who love you dearly?” The Spirit answered “I only need one friend and brother, our Lord Jesus Christ” Now the flesh says “But you have your whole life ahead of you, why die now?” The Spirit answers, “I give up a short life here, for an eternity of life in Heaven.”

Before his death, Tankervil asked that he might be given a pint of wine and a loaf of bread, and so he commemorated the Lord ’s Supper before he enters heaven where he will feast and never hunger again.

Early in the afternoon, Tankervil is taken to a place just outside the Abbey which was called Romeland, where he knelt down to pray. And when he had finished his pray he turned to the people waiting to view his death, and said, “I have had a poor dinner this day, but later, I shall have a joyful supper in Heaven.”

They tied Tankervil to a large pole in the ground which is called the “stake”, with loads of little sticks below which are called the “fagots”.

And while they were pouring oil on the fagots, a Catholic priest tried to persuade him to give up his faith, but Tankerfield told him that he defied Babylon (the Catholic faith), and then told the people not to believe the lies of the Catholics.

When the Mayor of St Albans heard Tankervil defying the Catholics, he became very angry, and ordered the men to light the flame and said that if he had all the fagots in the world he would give them for Tankervil’s burning.

A gentleman came up to Tankervil and quietly told him to trust in the Lord, to which Tankervil replied that he thanked God that he was given the faith to put all his trust in Him.

And with that Tankervil was baptised with fire, and rose to life eternal.

Tankervil was martyred on the 26^th August 1555. There is a plaque in the centre of St. Albans in memorial of him.

May we all be given the faith that Tankervil was given when we too must come to our death beds!

References

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

Gospel Magazine June 1955 http://www.gospelmagazine.org.uk/june1955.pdf