We must obey the Bible

... where the Bible and the Church do not agree, we must obey the Bible, and, where conscience and human authority are in conflict, we must follow conscience.

- John Wycliffe 
The History of the Christian Church (Complete):by Philip Schaff

In 1330 John Wycliffe (also spelled Wyclif or Wicliff) was born about 200 miles from London, on a sheep farm. At the age of 16 he matriculated at Oxford, where he became master of Balliol College around 1360. After earning his M.A. in 1361, Wycliffe was ordained and became the absentee parson of a Lincolnshire church. Continuing his studies, Wycliffe became Oxford’s leading philosopher and theologian. By 1374 Wycliffe was acting as the absentee rector at a church in Lutterworth. Around 1370 Wyclliffe began writing some controversial material. He wrote about the roles of government and church authorities in 1370, arguing that the ungodly have no right to rule. This extended to unjust rulers, both secular and religious, pitting Wycliffe against the excesses of Roman Catholic leaders. Pope Gregory XI condemned 18 of Wycliffe’s statements in 1377, calling Wycliffe “The Master of Errors,” and in 1378 Wycliffe was forced to retire from public life. After the Peasants’ Revolt in which Wycliffe’s disciples were implicated, Wycliffe withdrew to Lutterworth and continued writing until his death in 1384.

Why were the teachings of John Wycliffe so controversial? Because he attacked the authority and doctrines of the Catholic Church, which was the church in power in England at the time. Wycliffe rightly believed the Scriptures are the standard by which all traditions, Popes, and other sources must be measured. Scripture is sufficient, in and of itself, for salvation, Wycliffe argued. This meant the authority of the Pope and the doctrines of the church were subject to the teaching of Scripture. When doctrines or Popes ran afoul of Scripture, they should be rejected. Eventually, Wycliffe concluded that the papacy itself was a manmade institution and the Antichrist.