Hello, I’m Joe Pursch, and this is a Transforming Moment. When a world-renowned historian was asked to identify the most influential Christian of the 20th century, he responded: “We will need a 200-year distance before we can answer that question.” We rarely perceive the greatness of epoch makers during their lifetimes. With this thought in mind, historians could well write of John Wycliffe: “Seen through the telescope of history, he was the most significant Englishman of his time.” Wycliffe’s power over the 14th century was that of a conscience captured by the Word of God. Unlike his peers, he denied that men and women must go through a priest to get to God. Instead, 150 years before the Reformation, he proclaimed the priesthood of every believer and encouraged each person to go directly to God by faith. He was the first man of his century to revive the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Each of these doctrines proceeded from his conviction that the Bible was the final authority to which men’s consciences must give an accounting. He lit a fire that was fanned by others who followed him until a young Martin Luther stoked it into the bonfire that ultimately changed how you and I found Christ. In a way, we are Wycliffe’s legacy. I’m Joe Pursch. For more, go to transforming moments.com.

Listen to the audio here: Transforming Moments Wycliffe’s Legacy