The Radical Reformation is a wild time to study. Certainly, this was a pendulum shift too far in the opposite direction after Erasmus, Luther, Zwingli, and company opened up Christianity, Church, and the Bible to the common people and fought much against Catholic tradition and dogma. In 1530 one such Radical Reformer, Sabastian Franck wrote, “Foolish Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory – of whom not one even knew the Lord, so help me God, nor was sent by God to teach. Rather, they were all apostles of the Antichrist.”  Another well-known example is the Munster Debacle, where the radical Anabaptists, led by Jan Matthys and Jan of Leiden who are known of saying “The ungodly are undeserving of life.”, were effectively beaten so badly that the Anabaptists adopted pacifism as one of their core principles from that point forward. 500 years later, the Anabaptists are still considered rebellious insurrectionists even though practically no notable Anabaptist of the sort has had any major influence since their routing at the “New Jerusalem” in 1535.

As much as we can condemn and sometimes laugh at these Radical Reformers, they had reasons for why they believed what they believed. This evening I sat back in my chair pondering over the error of these Anabaptists and where it might have come from, and, without going into a deep historical breakdown, a Scripture I had read this week came to mind,

“but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Matthew 18:6

I was also reminded of James 3: 1-12

¹Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment. ²For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body. ³Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. ⁴And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. ⁶And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, ⁸but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. ¹¹Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? ¹²Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

This scripture tells us that we should be careful with what we teach because we will be judged by what we say, teaching or not. Our words should not be a cause of stumbling for ourselves or others. Our teaching can have immense effects on our listeners, and what we say in general can “steer the ship” as well, but do we ever stop to think about not only what we say, but how we say what we say?

The Anabaptists of the 1500s did not come up with their ideas and theologies alone and certainly didn’t take them from the Catholic church. One could argue that their erroneous theologies stem from the humanist thought that was further ingraining its roots in the minds of the common people at the time and they would probably be right, but that’s not the whole of the picture here. Many teachings of the Anabaptists can be traced back to Lutheran thought and theology as well as other Reformers. Though the specifics of their theologies were many times radically different or even in opposition to the teachings of these great reformers many of their ideas have their origins in the teachings and students of the Reformers. One such student of Luther’s was Andreas Carlstadt who was among some of the first to teach what would be known as “Anabaptist” theology, though he returned to a more Reformed tradition later. Thomas Muntzer was another follower of Luther who eventually denounced Luther partly because of differing views on civil authority. Muntzer would go on to lead a peasant rebellion and be executed, but the radical strain of Anabaptists would endure for the time being.

Luther and the other reformers are not at fault for the misdeeds and misunderstandings of the Radical Reformers, but one does not have to look far to find that they had a major influence on their thought and theology. A quick flip through Table Talk and one can find Luther’s vitriolic disdain for the pope and papists alike. While in that time the fiery rhetoric of Luther and the Reformers or the blunt observations of Calvin were arguably not just beneficial but needed, perhaps they also stirred up these men to take the actions they did or branch off into theological fallacies and heresies. This is good food for thought.

The stories and Scriptures referenced point me to a truth I think we are quick to forget. The tongue is powerful and can have unintended consequences. It is important for all of us, especially those of us called as teachers in the church, not to cause fellow believers to stumble and sin by teaching them errored doctrines. Frequently, we are so deeply stirred by the clarity bestowed upon us by the Scriptures and the Spirit regarding falsehoods in life and doctrine that not only do we feel compelled to speak out, but our passionate conviction ignites a fire capable of reducing even the most fortified heresies to ashes. But if we are not careful those very flames can spread to our brothers and sisters fighting the good fight alongside us and, if not properly taught, those listening to our smoldering words might spread that fire to improper places and burn others. Even worse, they might look down and find themselves ablaze! This is the point I am trying to drive home, the manner in which we teach is just as important and dangerous as the content of what we teach, therefore it should be handled with the same amount of care.  

Once again, I am not faulting the Reformers for their fiery rhetoric, it was often needed in their days to accomplish the Lord’s work. Luther spoke sharply against Tetzel, but much later he stated somewhat of an apology towards him saying that it was not simply Tetzel’s errored teaching but that he was simply sent from the Pope who was to blame for the heresy. The Radical Reformers lacked the love and humility that the fiery words of the Reformers were soaked with. There is a time and place for sharp rebuke and fiery rhetoric to stir up God’s people to action, but just like the small rutter on a ship has to have an operator who carefully controls it to avoid disaster our words need to be handled expertly so we do not turn people astray from proper doctrine and love for God. I am urging us to fight the good fight not just with proper doctrine but also with grace, love, and humility in our teaching so that we don’t only teach others what is right, but that we steer them to a greater love for God and others by the manner in which we teach.

God, let us not lead your children into sin and stumbling by what we teach and say, but into a deeper love for you and your people. Amen.