Wycliffe and Religious Liberty

Extracted Verses and Quotes from the Sermon

Biblical Verses

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Acts 20:29-30

“For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Romans 1:4

“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

Luke 14:23

“Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.”

(Note: Referred to in the sermon as the parable where the king commands servants to compel people to come in.)

Romans 3:24

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

John 20:31

“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Mark 16:16

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Romans 5:18

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

Titus 3:5

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”

Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Romans 10:9

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Memorable Quotes

“The Tour de France is one of the most incredible sports out there, with teamwork and specialized riders, but the climb up Alp d’Huez is a relentless 21 switchbacks, 3,500 feet in 10 miles of steady climbing with no breaks.”

“In a Catholic church Jesus is always on the cross, focusing on His sufferings; in a Protestant church, the cross is empty, focusing on His resurrection and power as the Son of God.”

“The Apostle Paul warned that savage wolves would come in among the church, not sparing the flock, and that there would be a falling away, an apostasy from the true gospel.”

“From the fifth century onwards, the church sat above the scriptures, telling people what the scriptures meant, rather than the church sitting under the scriptures as in the apostolic church.”

“The doctrine of the Mass replaced the teaching and preaching mission of the apostles with a sacrificing priesthood, a pagan ritual symbolized by a round wafer representing the Son of God.”

“When salvation is by grace alone, we are freed from dependence upon earthly priests; but when works are added, conversion by coercion becomes justifiable, destroying religious liberty.”

“Augustine argued from the parable in Luke that the church can ‘compel men to come in,’ even by torture and execution, because once in the church you find salvation—it’s for your own eternal good.”

“The papacy erected the most perfect blueprint for religious tyranny in history, burning millions for refusing papal lies and cherishing the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“The Magna Carta established principles we now take for granted: trial by jury, rule of law, protection of private property, and prohibition of unlawful punishment.”

“Wycliffe insisted that if it looks like bread, smells like bread, tastes like bread, and feels like bread, then probably it is bread—he attacked the doctrine of transubstantiation and called for the use of reason in our walk with God.”

“Wycliffe declared it morally wrong to demand money for the forgiveness of sins and blasphemy to pedal indulgences—salvation is by grace, not by works or money.”

“Wycliffe translated the Bible into English so the common plowboy could know the scriptures better than the pope; people were burnt at the stake for even knowing where a Bible was.”

“The gospel doesn’t say you have to be so good before you can be saved. God can remove any sin from our lives if we simply confess it before our heavenly Father.”

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. This confession is not casual—it means standing firm even when everything is on the line.”

“Justification means that God declares the penitent sinner righteous and innocent; there is therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.”

“Sanctification is the process where God sets us apart as saints, renews us through the Holy Spirit, and ultimately glorifies us when Jesus comes again.”

“Today is the day of salvation. Do not leave the gift of God’s grace unopened, just as you would never leave a Christmas gift unopened for months.”

“For six and four score years I have served my King, and He has done me no wrong; why should I deny Him?” (Polycarp’s testimony)

Other Quotations

Polycarp (Christian martyr, circa 165 AD)

“For six and four score years I have served my King and He has done me no wrong; why should I deny Him?”