When the Past Meets the Future

To many, history is dry and boring; merely the study of dates, places and people that appear to have nothing to do with our lives today. This is an unfortunate perspective, especially if the history that one is studying is the history of the church. Church History is so much more than antiquated events and people; it is actually the record of God's dealings with His people in both Biblical and Post Biblical times. God did not stop His dealings with His Church at the end of the New Testament but rather continues His dealings with His church even today! It is unfortunate that so many Christians are ignorant of what God has been doing in the past 2,000 years through His Church because it has so much to do with why the church is the way it is today! It is in the people and events of Church History that the church learns to deal with what it faces today and in the future.

As the New Testament period comes closer to an end, the Gospel is going forth and the church is expanding. But one of the primary means that God uses to bring about this expansion is through the persecution of His Bride; the church. While the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was not constant, nor widespread through the empire, it was nonetheless very real and many Christians were tortured & killed mercilessly for the sake of the Gospel. As a matter of fact, at one point in history Christians used to hold their services in the Roman catacombs. The catacombs were a great underground labyrinth of passages (approximately 600 miles) where the dead were buried. It was amongst these tombs that Christians held their worship services; unbeknown to their persecutors.

So while the Roman Empire raised its mighty hand against the church, the Gospel continued to spread and the church flourished. George Fisher sums up this period as follows:

It was the heroic age in the history of the church, when, with no aid from an arm of flesh, the whole might of the Roman empire was victoriously encountered by the unarmed and unresisting adherents of the Christian faith. Imperial Rome, the conqueror of the world, was herself overcome by the bands of Christian disciples, whose meek but dauntless courage was more than a match for all her power.

What a great lesson for the church in America to remember as it appears more and more apparent that She will face increased persecution in the not so distant future. Persecution has always faced the church (2 Tim. 3:12) and still does around the world, even in our day (the American church being the exception). But no matter how powerfully Satan has sought to oppose & destroy the church, Christ’s Bride has continued to flourish! Not even persecution can separate God’s children from Christ’s great love (Rom. 8:35)! Let us stand firm in the love & grace that God gives us each day, no matter what opposition we encounter. To God be the glory!

In Christ,

Rick

P.S. If you would like to learn more about the history of the church and how it impacts the life of the church today, please plan to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:15 am (sharp) in the church library. If you are already attending a Sunday School class, but would like to know more about God’s dealings with his people throughout the ages, then check out our Sunday School Class’ web site where you can listen to the class lectures as well as download the handouts from the class!