5 . Champion of Truth
Before the Reformation there were at times but very few copies of the Bible in existence , but God had not suffered His word to be wholly destroyed . Its truths were not to be forever hidden . He could as easily unchain the words of life as He could open prison doors and unbolt iron gates to set His servants free . In the different countries of Europe men were moved by the Spirit of God to search for the truth as for hid treasures . Providentially guided to the Holy Scriptures , they studied the sacred pages with intense interest . They were willing to accept the light at any cost to themselves . Though they did not see all things clearly , they were enabled to perceive many long-buried truths . As Heaven-sent messengers they went forth , rending asunder the chains of error and superstition , and calling upon those who had been so long enslaved , to arise and assert their liberty .
Except among the Waldenses , the word of God had for ages been locked up in languages known only to the learned ; but the time had come for the Scriptures to be translated and given to the people of different lands in their native tongue . The world had passed its midnight . The hours of darkness were wearing away , and in many lands appeared tokens of the coming dawn . In the fourteenth century arose in England the " morning star of the Reformation ." John Wycliffe was the herald of reform , not for England alone , but for all Christendom . The great protest against Rome which it was permitted him to utter was never to be silenced . That protest opened the struggle which was to result in the emancipation of individuals , of churches , and of nations .
Wycliffe received a liberal education , and with him the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom . He was noted at college for his fervent piety as well as for his remarkable talents and sound scholarship . In his thirst for knowledge he sought to become acquainted with every branch of learning . He was educated in the scholastic philosophy , in the canons of the church , and in the civil law , especially that of his own country . In his after labors the value of this early training was apparent . A thorough acquaintance with the speculative philosophy of his time enabled him to expose its errors ; and by his study of national and ecclesiastical law he was prepared to engage in the great struggle for civil and religious liberty . While he could wield the weapons drawn from the word of God , he had acquired the intellectual discipline of the schools , and he understood the tactics of the schoolmen . The power of his genius and the extent and thoroughness of his knowledge commanded the respect of both friends and foes .
His adherents saw with satisfaction that their champion stood foremost among the leading minds of the nation ; and his enemies were prevented from casting contempt upon the
47