We are improvers of life

How can a nation be

changed?
Learning from the History
 Brazil and the U.S.A
 Both discovered in the 1500s
 Both colonised by European countries
 Similar climate and natural resources
 About the same size

Why is the quality of life so better in the U.S.A.?

Romans 11:16

If the part of the dough offered as

firstfruits is holy, then the whole
batch is holy; if the root is holy,
so are the branches.
The way Brazil was colonised
 People expelled from Portugal, many
times criminals
 People who went just to explore the
land and make money
 Chaos of beliefs: Nominal catholic faith
from Portugal, spiritualism and
witchcraft from Africa, animism from
native Indians.
How the USA were colonised

 Pilgrims who were faithful believers in

Jesus
 They left England because of religious
persecution
 They establish the nation based on
Biblical principles of work, honour and
mutual respect.
Can a nation be changed??

Yes, if the roots are changed…

God is changing the nations
The foundations of the
Reformation

 Three theological principles

 Three economical principles
 One political principle
The Theological Principles

 Solo Christo – Only Christ

 Sola Fide – Only Faith
 Sola Scriptura – Only the Bible
Solo Christo – Only Christ

“I am the way and the truth and

the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.”
(John 3:16)
No confusion, no confused
“Salvation is found in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be
saved.”
(Acts 4:12)
Radical followers of Jesus
To choose Jesus is to refuse any other
Lord in your life. The reformers
understood it.

“No one can serve two masters. Either

he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. “ (Matthew 6:24)
No compromise

“The first Christians were persecuted and

killed not because they followed Jesus,
but because they refused to worship
Cesar”
Sola Fide – Only Faith

For it is by grace you have been saved,

through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by
works, so that no one can boast.
(Ephesians 2:8,9)
Saved by Faith, living by faith

But my righteous one will live by

faith. And if he shrinks back, I will
not be pleased with him.”
(Hebrews 10:38)
 Sola Scriptura – Only the Bible

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful

for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man
of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16)
Clear guidelines for life
 Relationships
 Family life
 Work
 Decision making
 Planning
 Health
 Emotional conflicts
Only Christ, Faith, Scriptures

A strong foundation to build

everything else upon.
Three economical principles

 Work the hardest you can

 Save as much as you can
 Share as much as possible
Work the hardest you can
The reformers understood that:
 God blessed the man with work (Gen

1:28)
 God is always at work, so to be like him

we also work (John 5:17)

 There is no “secular work” and “sacred

work”
Save as much as you can
 The principle of Joseph in Egypt
 Proverbs 6:6 – the ant
 Capital is generated through a
combination of hard work and a simple
life style
Share as much as possible
 We save in order to give
 It prevents the social gaps we have
today
 Giving to the really needy ones, not to
the lazy
 Giving towards generating jobs and
improving people’s lives
The political principle

Every man is a sinner

(Rom 3:23)
Mechanisms of protection
In order to avoid corruption:
 Mutual Accountability

 Decisions by councils (no “one-man-

band”)
 Decentralization of power