You must admit that when teaching has fallen away from Gods truth, he always seems to put the train back on the rails through a remnant.
We would claim that Martin Luther was inspired by the Spirit, since the mainline Faith had followed the False Teachers that Paul fought so hard to keep out. And what was it that caused him to doubt the Roman faith? The inspired Word of God brought us back to the original beliefs of the Faith.
Asleep at the switch? No, there were throughout history many people that believed much as Luther did, and they were treated much like the Prophets of old:
Matthew 23:37 " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
"You must admit that when teaching has fallen away from Gods truth, he always seems to put the train back on the rails through a remnant."
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I couldn't agree more. I think how the Canon was formed is a case in point.