[Malleus Anabaptistarum; Een hamer Op dat hoofd aller Weder­döperschen Secten, welke slaat, breekt, en gantschlijk verderft haren kop, en verdedigt de Goddelijke waarheid in vierendertig hoofdstukken der Christelijke leer; (Arnhem: Jan Janssen, 1606)]

Carolus Gallus (Karel de Haan, 1530–1616), born at Arnhem in the year of our Lord 1530, was from his youth set apart by Providence for labors in the vineyard of the Church. Educated first in the principles of the Roman faith, he undertook studies in law and theology, preparing for the priesthood in that communion. Yet, by the secret operation of God’s Spirit and through diligent search of the Scriptures, he was brought to embrace the doctrines of the Reformation. Desiring to learn at the feet of the chiefest lights, he sojourned to Geneva, where he sat under John Calvin and Theodore Beza, imbibing pure doctrine and the method of sound exegesis. Returning to the Netherlands, Gallus was at first compelled to serve as priest in Deventer, whence he was quickly driven for his evangelical convictions. He ministered in the duchy of Cleves, Bremen, and as military chaplain in Gelderland, enduring hardship and opposition for Christ’s sake. In all these posts he faithfully contended for the faith once delivered to the saints, laboring especially to refute the dangerous errors of the Anabaptists, whose spiritual delusions threatened the peace of the Reformed churches. In the year 1587, Gallus was called to the distinguished office of Professor of Theology at the University of Leiden, wherein he trained many in the sacred sciences and polemical divinity. Yet, preferring the pastoral charge, he resigned and spent his latter years ministering at Nijbroek, continuing steadfast in the Word until his death in 1616. Gallus’s writings, especially his Malleus Anabaptistarum and numerous polemical treatises, bear witness to his zeal for pure doctrine, his learning, and his deep concern for the peace and unity of the church. He stands as a vigilant watchman in the midst of an age fraught with schism and heresy.

Carolus Gallus (Karel de Haan, 1530–1616), born at Arnhem in the year of our Lord 1530, was from his youth set apart by Providence for labors in the vineyard of the Church. Educated first in the principles of the Roman faith, he undertook studies in law and theology, preparing for the priesthood in that communion. Yet, by the secret operation of God’s Spirit and through diligent search of the Scriptures, he was brought to embrace the doctrines of the Reformation. Desiring to learn at the feet of the chiefest lights, he sojourned to Geneva, where he sat under John Calvin and Theodore Beza, imbibing pure doctrine and the method of sound exegesis. Returning to the Netherlands, Gallus was at first compelled to serve as priest in Deventer, whence he was quickly driven for his evangelical convictions. He ministered in the duchy of Cleves, Bremen, and as military chaplain in Gelderland, enduring hardship and opposition for Christ’s sake. In all these posts he faithfully contended for the faith once delivered to the saints, laboring especially to refute the dangerous errors of the Anabaptists, whose spiritual delusions threatened the peace of the Reformed churches. In the year 1587, Gallus was called to the distinguished office of Professor of Theology at the University of Leiden, wherein he trained many in the sacred sciences and polemical divinity. Yet, preferring the pastoral charge, he resigned and spent his latter years ministering at Nijbroek, continuing steadfast in the Word until his death in 1616. Gallus’s writings, especially his Malleus Anabaptistarum and numerous polemical treatises, bear witness to his zeal for pure doctrine, his learning, and his deep concern for the peace and unity of the church. He stands as a vigilant watchman in the midst of an age fraught with schism and heresy.

Table of Contents:

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THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OF BOTH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS

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I. CONCERNING THE NATURE OF HOLY SCRIPTURE

I.A. What the Holy Scripture Is

Most notably shall we here diligently read what exactly the Holy Scripture is, and whence comes the word Testament, and what the Old and New Testament are. Also how the Divine Scripture is rightly divided into its parts, and which are the books of the Old and New Testaments, how they should be regarded, and to what purpose they serve.

I.B. Errors of the Anabaptists

I.B.1. Concerning the External and Internal Word

Many Anabaptists propose and speak thus: The external Scripture is not the true Word of God, but a dead letter, an external witness without Spirit, and a mere testimony of the true Word, which is internal, spiritual, heavenly, living, and powerful, and this true Word comes directly from God without any intermediary, etc.

I.B.2. Scripture Passages They Misuse

For this they present these Scripture passages: Jeremiah 31 and John 6:

I will put my Law in their hearts, and write it in their minds, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. And none shall teach his neighbor, nor a brother his brother, saying, Know the Lord. But they shall all know me, both small and great, saith the Lord.

1 John 2:

Ye need not that any man teach you. But as the anointing teacheth you of all things, so it is true, and is no lie.

I.C. Correct Understanding

I.C.1. Concerning the External Word

We know well, and gladly confess, that there is a difference between the external voice, wherewith the Word of God is spoken, as also the letters, wherewith the Word of God is written with ink on paper, and the meaning of the external word, and the understanding thereof which the Holy Spirit gives, which is the true internal living word. However, since God gives that same internal word through the external preached and written word, that same external word is therefore also called by the holy Prophets and Apostles God’s Word, and not considered a dead letter, but a living and powerful word.

I.D. Biblical Evidence