Menno Simons
Today (31st 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 14th 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 30th 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 31st January 1561 the day after
his 25th 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
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