Should we stay or should we go?

In looking at the reformers and the impact they had a question comes to mind. When attempting to get the church back on track should we as followers of Christ stay or should we go? What I mean is should we take the attitude that Martin Luther had or should we take the John Knox or John Calvin attitude?

Martin Luther felt that God would have him stay in the Catholic Church and try to reform it from within. Calvin and Knox felt that God would have them lead reform leaving the Catholic Church and starting fresh.

Both views are good and obviously God has to be the one leading in the process. But I have to say that staying in the false system like Luther is a noble and difficult task. I think our nature wants to "cut bait and run." Staying in a false system and attempting to reform it brings tremendous heartache and opposition with a constant uphill struggle. But if you are successful in this reform you have made an incredible impact upon the system which may affect the system with a domino effect.

Leaving the system like Calvin, Knox and Zwingli (and others for that matter) gets the attention of the system you have left along with the public also watching. This does draw negative attention because you appear rebellious and upsetting the status quo. If you are successful you will draw a lot of attention that may draw those in the false system out.

I say all of this to say that each reformer, and there were many, had to really seek the Lord as to whether he would stay or go. From a human viewpoint I see both the pluses and minuses.

Are There Any Out There?

I have been wondering if there are any men out there today like the previously mentioned reformers. I say reformers because they came up against the Popish system and challenged it head-on. The only one that I can of at the moment is John MacArthur. To me he is a beacon in the shadowy church.
Do you think that God is going to raise up others that will come against the tide of seeker-sensitive, emergent, compromising, prosperity, etertainment-filled preaching? It grieves me that we don't have a Martin Luther who is willing to stay within his denomination or group and call them back to it's moorings. It is a shame that we don't have a John Knox that will blast those who twist scripture into a monstrosity. It is sad that we don't have preachers like John Calvin who rightly could be called theologians. Now a theologian is someone who rights a lot of books on theology.
We need reformers. We need people that will stand up for truth despite the winds that blow against them. Remember, truth is always truth even when everyone says it's false.

In the grave!

These gentlemen, though in the grave, have encouraged me and pointed me to Christ, my True North, when my focus gets off center. They were not perfect but they shared through their writings what it means to love and follow Christ.