Think of early English reformers and who immediately comes to mind?
William Tyndale, who translated the New Testament into English, forming the basis for the later King James Version? He was burned at the stake for what he did.
Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, who were publicly burned where the well-known memorial in Oxford still marks the spot? In the words of Latimer to Ridley on this occasion, they would ‘light a candle in England that would never be put out’.
Thomas Cranmer who was burned at the stake and left as his legacy the Book of Common Prayer?
But who has heard of Thomas Bilney?
Thomas Bilney, known as ‘little Bilney’ because of his small stature, experienced salvation through faith in Christ alone before these more famous men, and some of them were influenced by him.
Born around 1495, as a student at Cambridge he began to read the Greek New Testament, recently published by Erasmus, and as he did so he came to an understanding of the truths of the gospel.
This is how he described what happened to him as he read Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 1:15 (‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief’): ‘Immediately I felt a marvellous comfort and quietness, insomuch that my bruised bones leapt for joy. After this the Scripture began to be more pleasant to me than honey or the honeycomb’.
He began to preach the gospel in leper hospitals and prison, showing great compassion and practical care to ‘the comfortless’. He formed what today might be called a Christian Union, meeting regularly with some like-minded students at the White Horse Inn to read the Bible and study the works of Martin Luther, which were beginning to enter the country (and were publicly burned at Cambridge as well as in London).
One of his fellow students was Hugh Latimer, later a very influential Reformer, bishop and martyr, but at that time a staunch Roman Catholic. Through the influence of Bilney he too came to an understanding of the gospel after initially ridiculing and opposing Bilney’s views. He later claimed that by Bilney’s clear witness he had ‘learned more than in 20 years before’. Other future leaders of the English Reformation were part of the group.
When he left university in 1525 he began to preach the truths of the Reformation and it was not long before he met with serious resistance from the authorities. At this stage he still held to some Catholic beliefs such as papal supremacy and transubstantiation, but he preached justification by faith alone and preached against the veneration of relics and saints.
In 1527, while preaching at Ipswich, he was dragged from the pulpit mid-sermon and imprisoned in the Tower of London. He was convicted of heresy and sentenced to death, with the sentence being deferred while efforts were made to persuade him to renounce his views. He eventually did so, and after a further year of imprisonment in the Tower, he was released and went back to Cambridge.
Repentance
He was overwhelmed with remorse at his denial of his faith to the point of being suicidal, but after two years he resolved to preach the truths of the gospel again. He was forbidden to preach in churches, so he began to preach in the open air. He was arrested again at Norwich and again sentenced to be burned at the stake. The sentence was carried out in Norwich in 1531. Bilney was the first of many English Protestant martyrs. Many of his Cambridge friends would suffer the same fate.
Two observations come to mind when I think of the short life and ministry of Thomas Bilney.
The first is the power of the Bible. It’s hard for us to appreciate what a stranglehold the Roman church had on people at that time and what an ignorance of the gospel there was. When a few students at Cambridge, influenced and encouraged by Bilney, began to read and discuss the New Testament together, the repercussions would be massive. I have been encouraged to read recently of the emphasis nowadays in the Christian Unions on reading a gospel such as Mark one-to-one or in a small group with non-Christian friends. Who knows what may come of this? Pray for them! It doesn’t have to be students, of course! Bilney witnessed to lepers and prisoners as well as students.
God uses us, warts and all
The second observation is that in order to be used by God you don’t have to be a superman with no doubts, hesitations, misgivings or mistakes. You don’t even have to have a full understanding of the truth. Bilney took some time to develop in his understanding of the gospel, but one thing he knew and had experienced for certain was that Christ Jesus could save even the chief of sinners. Under pressure from the authorities, and with the appalling prospect of being burned to death and excommunicated from the church (and therefore from salvation), he was persuaded to deny his beliefs.
I doubt if anyone reading this has ever been faced by such a test of faith and we should be slow to pass judgement. Like Simon Peter after his denial of Jesus, he was overcome by remorse and returned to Cambridge with no assurance of salvation and convinced that he was a lost soul. We are told that he was so distraught that his friends were reluctant to leave him by himself. However, he gradually came to see that, if the verse that led to his conversion was true, Jesus came to save even the chief and worst of sinners, even weak and fearful deniers of Jesus like Simon Peter who Jesus personally reassured of forgiveness and restoration. No repentant sinner who truly comes to Him will ever be turned away.
There were many English Reformers who were more well known, influential and dynamic than Thomas Bilney. ‘Little Bilney’ avoided the limelight himself and gladly encouraged others to use their gifts. But many of those ‘big names’ of the English Reformation were first introduced to the gospel and led to Christ by Thomas Bilney.
