The Ministry Anointing of the Apostle

Apostolic Reformers

And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, Acts 4:29 Religious systems and leaders who desire to maintain the status quo for their benefit will use threatenings against apostolic reformers. Apostolic reformers have the anointing and boldness to reform. They are often hated and called troublemakers because of their message, but they bring to the Church what it needs the most— REFORMATION! Martin Luther, The Lion-Hearted Reformer Martin Luther was called the lion-hearted reformer because of his boldness and stand against the errors of the institutional church of his day. His ministry was apostolic, and he is an example of an apostolic reformer. In 1517, Pope Leo X needed money to finish building St. Peters Church in Rome. He granted permission to a man named John Tetzel, a dominican monk, to sell indulgences to finance the building of the cathedral. An indulgence was a promise to the buyer of forgiveness of all sins, granted by the Pope. It was an official pardon from the church, granted for a certain amount of money, which was in turn used to finance the building of the church. The church was literally selling forgiveness of sin. This was, of course, nonscriptural but the majority of the people believed what they were taught by the church. The Scriptures were interpreted by the clergy, who in turn were bound by an oath to follow the teachings of the church and the Pope (who was considered infallible). The 95 Theses

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