The Needs and Responses on Equipping Believers during the Reformation

The Needs and Responses on Equipping Believers during the Reformation

Nathan K. N.G.

As Hong Kong society has faced various crises in recent years, the Hong Kong churches today face a significant need to equip their believers. During the era of the Reformation, the reformers had to guide believers in breaking free from the control of the Roman Catholic Church and accepting the new Protestant faith. They too faced immense challenges. This article attempts to examine the problems of the medieval Roman Catholic Church and review the strategies of the reformers in order to extrapolate insights from historical examples for the contemporary Chinese churches.

The medieval Roman Catholic Church did not value the equipping of believers, nor did it encourage them to understand scriptural truth. It merely required believers to obey the directives of the Roman Curia, attend various gatherings, and observe sacraments faithfully. The educational system of that era was based on the standpoint approved by the Roman Catholic Church, emphasizing rote learning, not encouraging critical thinking, but rather pursuing the preservation of tradition. The vast majority of believers had only a superficial understanding of the truth and were even steeped in superstition. The Catholic mass was conducted solely in Latin, rendering it unintelligible to the laity. Furthermore, the Roman Curia strictly forbade the translation of the Bible into vernacular languages and proposed various erroneous doctrines lacking biblical basis, demanding blind acceptance from believers. Concurrently, many bishops and priests were inconsistent in their faith and deeds and were morally corrupt, greatly disappointing the faithful. Society also deteriorated morally, urgently necessitating reform.

Responding to the serious deficiencies and distorted, erroneous faith teachings of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, the reformers undertook various efforts. Through educational reform, they laid a solid foundation for the community of believers to study the Scriptures and understand the truth. By renewing worship , the reformers enabled the vast majority of believers to receive the truth and have their lives edified. The translation, dissemination, and explication of the Scriptures enabled the community of believers to better grasp God's word and no longer be misled by the errors of Catholicism. Through various courses and writings on doctrine teaching, believers could systematically comprehend the Protestant faith and break free from the bondage of Catholic tradition. The reformers' vigorous promotion of the practice of faith character, as well as the social and moral reforms based on the Scriptures , could deepen the believers' experience of faith, from intellectual knowledge to daily life. Thanks to the insights and efforts of the reformers, a large number of believers who converted to Protestantism were equipped and edified, and the waves of the Reformation eventually swept across Western Europe, resulting in the current global presence of Protestants.

Today, the Chinese churches in Hong Kong are also facing a significant need to equip their believers. If we summarize the models of the reformers, at least four insights can be found as reminders to us: the teaching must be grounded on biblical truth; the equipping must be comprehensive to suit diverse groups; the message must cater to the needs of the current era; and the practical living must align with the understanding of faith.