Abolish the Name of Wickliff Forever

In the thirteen hundreds the state of religion was depraved and corrupted. Grace and free justification by faith was almost never mentioned.
They were blinded with outward ceremonies and human traditions and in these was all their hope of obtaining salvation.

Then John Wickliff started preaching the truth. That the Church of Rome is not the head of all churches, The Gospel is a rule sufficient of itself to rule the life of every Christian, without any other rule. The observances of other rules do not add perfection to the Gospel. Basically he was preaching salvation by faith and not by works.

This set the whole glut of monks and begging friars in a rage, who, even as hornets with their sharp stings, did assail this good man on every side; fighting for their altars, wallets, and bellies. And the bishops commanded him to keep silent. But he could not.

Then his enemies had a gathering scheduled to decide how to handle him, and a great earthquake disrupted it. Later they had a different meeting, and that was interrupted by the door being broke in by lighting. Between things such as these, and the help of some noblemen, his enemies never did shut him up. He preached the truth until he died in 1384 in his old age.

But their hate of the truth and God’s preacher did not die. 40 years later they dug him up and burned his bones and thru his ashes in the river. Thinking to utterly extinguish and abolish both the name and doctrine of Wickliff forever.

Source Foxes book of Martyrs

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