The Reformation didn’t start out of nowhere in the sixteenth century. For over a thousand years before Martin Luther, God preserved a hidden line of faithful believers who held fast to Scripture during a period of deep church corruption. Groups like the Waldensians, along with early leaders like John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and William Tyndale, protected the true gospel. They translated the Bible into common languages, rejected human tradition, and laid the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation.
The Four Stages of Church History
To understand how the church drifted and how God preserved His truth, it helps to look at the history of Christianity in four clear stages. First comes Formation, which describes the first-century church built by Jesus. As shown in the book of Acts, early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, prayer, and genuine fellowship. Next came Conformation, a period where early leaders gathered in global councils to defend fundamental doctrines like the Trinity and the deity of Christ.
Acts 2:42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
Third came Deformation, a long season in the Middle Ages when power, wealth, and human tradition obscured the simple message of Jesus. Religious leaders replaced the Bible with church decrees, transformed worship into distant rituals in Latin, and sold indulgences for money. Finally came Reformation, when God brought His people back to the authority of Scripture. Even during the darkest days of deformation, God kept His promise to build His church by preserving a faithful remnant underground.
The Waldensians and Scripture in the Common Tongue
During the late twelfth century in Lyon, France, a wealthy merchant named Peter Waldo experienced a radical spiritual awakening. After reading the teachings of Jesus, Waldo gave away his wealth to serve the poor and commissioned a translation of the Bible into the local French language. For the first time, ordinary people in his region could hear and understand God’s Word in their everyday tongue.
Waldo and his followers, known as the Waldensians, began preaching the gospel simple and clear. Because they preached without official approval from church authorities, the religious establishment condemned them and forced them out of cities. The Waldensians fled into the remote Alps, where they met secretly in mountain caves, memorized large portions of Scripture, and trained their children in biblical truth. They kept the light of the gospel burning bright for centuries before the Reformation ever began.
John Wycliffe and the English Lollards
Two hundred years after Waldo, a brilliant scholar named John Wycliffe began speaking out against corruption from his parish in England. At the time, the Western church suffered through a major crisis with rival popes claiming supreme authority. Wycliffe pointed believers back to an unchanging foundation, teaching that the Bible, not the pope, serves as the ultimate authority for Christian faith and living.
Matthew 16:18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Wycliffe and his associates translated the Latin Bible into English so everyday people could read it. He sent out lay preachers called Lollards to travel across the English countryside with hand-copied portions of Scripture. These preachers gathered small groups in homes and fields to share the gospel. Although church leaders fiercely persecuted the Lollards, Wycliffe’s core message remained clear: place your entire trust in Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross.
Jan Hus and the Ultimate Price for Truth
Wycliffe’s writings traveled across Europe to Prague, where a passionate preacher named Jan Hus read them. Hus served as the pastor of Bethlehem Chapel, where he broke tradition by preaching in the local Czech language instead of Latin. He boldly condemned moral compromise among clergy and taught that Jesus Christ alone serves as the true Head of the Church.
Ephesians 1:22-23 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is filled and full of him, who fills all things everywhere with his presence.
In 1415, church leaders summoned Hus to the Council of Constance with a promise of safe passage. Instead of listening to his appeals to Scripture, authorities threw him in prison and demanded he renounce his teachings. Hus refused to betray the Bible, famously stating he would rather die than deny the truth. They burned him at the stake on July 6, 1415. As he died, Hus foretold that God would raise up future voices for truth that could never be silenced.
William Tyndale and the Power of the Printed Press
By the early 1500s, God brought together the final piece needed for a widespread spiritual awakening: the printing press. While earlier reformers hand-copied translations, William Tyndale utilized printing technology to mass-produce the New Testament translated directly from the original Greek into English. Tyndale’s life mission was to ensure that a common plowboy knew more Scripture than educated religious leaders.
Tyndale had to flee England to print his English Bibles, smuggling them back into his homeland hidden inside bales of cloth. Authorities eventually betrayed, arrested, and executed Tyndale in 1536. Yet his final prayer—asking God to open the King of England’s eyes—saw a rapid answer. Within a few short years, royal decrees placed open English Bibles in churches across the country, lighting a spiritual fire that transformed the Western world.
The Takeaway
The Protestant Reformation was not a sudden invention or a brand-new doctrine. It was the glorious fruit of seeds planted for centuries by faithful, courageous believers who risked everything to preserve the gospel. God always maintains a remnant of people who love His Word and trust in Christ alone. Today, we stand on the shoulders of these early reformers, called to hold fast to Scripture and shine the light of Christ in our world.
