A Brief Tour of 2000 Years of Church History

2000 years of free Stephen Nichols of licking your ministries and Reformation Bible college going today right here on the creek and will be radio program or the mission is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to share the good news that all people can be reconciled to God in Jesus Christ David we host my website is the Christian worldview.org well, thank you for joining us this weekend on the progress we discussed some of the high points of 2000 years of church history before the start of the questions are how much you know about church history over the past 2000 years. You know the people, not the places in the events and the doctrinal debates in the councils and the splits of the persecutions and the martyrs that have shaped the church age. Sadly, very few Christians know how God has worked in his church. Since that the close of the New Testament, the great English preacher Charles Spurgeon said it seems odd that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves should think so little of what he has revealed to others the truth is the Holy Spirit is revealed much to those who have gone before us that can be of great help for us today.

So this weekend on the Christian worldview. Dr. Stephen Nichols who is the chief academic officer at Lincoln your ministries is also the author of five minutes in church history, a book and a podcast with the LinkedIn website. He joins us to discuss some of the key people and events in the various eras of the church from the early church to the Middle Ages to the Reformation to the modern era was get to the first segment with Dr. Stephen Nichols.

I want to start out by reading a short quote at the beginning of the book on page 4 where you're talking about Charles Spurgeon and the importance of Christians understanding church history you paraphrased what Spurgeon said by saying I find it odd that the church of the 21st-century think so highly of what the Holy Spirit has taught today that it thinks so little of what the Holy Spirit taught the church in the first century, the second the 3rd to 4th, and so on and so on. The Holy Spirit is not unique to our age.

The Holy Spirit is been at work for the church for the past 20 centuries, we could put the matter.

This way is rather prideful to think that we have nothing to learn from the past. So explain that more Steve why it's important to have a good understanding of the history of the church sure will greatly would you agree to be talking about this topic of church history.

I think it means so much to Christian the way of just sort of opening horizons if you will, and I think we can become myopic people we can get so consumed with our moment and the urgency of our moment that we forget that we are part of the church that God has been building through the centuries and millennia, and certainly we are committed to the authority of Scripture and so scriptures are foundation. It is our authority, but we also see that were not the first church were not the first one were not the first one dealing with the plate or pandemic. There are plagues in the early centuries plagues in the 16th century and what we find is that in the centuries God has his people. He has his church and we can learn from, yet not in an authoritative way of Scripture and not in any way to supplant Scripture but to come alongside of us as disciples and give us real-world examples of those who've gone before us and as well we can learn from their missteps, so it is also important to see those errors of church history that we need to guard against Dr. Stephen Nichols was us today in the Christian worldview the author of five minutes in church history is an excellent little book that were discussing is also the president of Reformation Bible college, the chief academic officer at Lincoln your ministries in the house. The five minutes in church history podcast that you divide the book into the early church, the Middle Ages, the Reformation in the modern age. Why do you think the understanding of these divisions of church history is so weak today especially amongst evangelicals. Something about being American as well. There is a historian of American history who it talked about how Americans were to suffer from history lesson not were very consumed with the present and we were very impatient with anything now and leave me don't have much place for tradition or for history and I think that difficult forces Christian because we are a people with a past we have a rich history and God has blessed us with many great examples of courage and conviction that I think we can learn and so we need to get past that history list and become a little bit more history full and I think as we as we see that we can be encouraged to what were facing in our own day and also recognize that should the military were building for the future and we are going to have folks who come after the kind of legacy are we leaving for the next generation and the generations to come.

So I'm just being historically aware and being formed can give us a better perspective on our task today and I honestly think give us encouragement for the work that we have to do today and by the way, I include myself in one of those people who I think is really is not too strong, and as I read through your book and all the different people in advance and so forth. There was a very informative for me is in the 21st century American Christians. I think we all could learn from what you just said those who have gone before us. Let's get into some of the examples Steve, are you bringing your book as you go through the stages from the early church the Middle Ages the Reformation in the modern age.

You highlight in profile certain people and places and events busted up right the beginning with two of the disciples of the apostle John, an hour here in the late first century going in the second century and John had basically two people he discipled. It was known as Ignatius and Polycarp.

I think you probably heard those before but who are they and why the significant figures put us right into the pages of the New Testament so Ignatius was an early bishop in the church in early leader in the church and one discipled by John himself.

What we find is that he was called upon to defend the gospel we see in the New Testament that full teaching have stepped into the church. The church is that the apostles themselves helped establish implant and so as we move into the end of the first century.

In the early decades of the 100 we see that there is false teaching in the church and hear Ignatius has a bishop stepped right into it and the other figure Polycarp naming many fish so I find that interesting. Polycarp is easy to remember.

Here he is a bishop and he's martyred for his faith, and an old man and just his courage and conviction in knowing that yes there's Caesar, and there is the Roman Empire, but ultimately God is sovereign in God is sitting on his throne and just a great legacy and testimony of the martyr Polycarp Dr. Stephen Nichols was us today on the Christian worldview talking about his recent book 5 minutes in church history, we have it linked on our website the Christian worldview.org to be an excellent resource to get a working understanding of what the church history is been like since the time of Christ. You mentioned persecution and martyrdom in your last answer with regard to Ignatius and Polycarp, and then you in chapter 4.

Get into what took place in leone. I think that's modern day France, and the persecution that was going on there. You said that the Christians there they were confronted by officials demanding that they answer one question, are you a Christian as Eusebius, a historian records before this jeering mob and before that power, though these power wielding officials. The Christians confessed the confessed and no great crime against the Roman Emperor against the Roman Empire.

They confess to no great crime against their neighbors. They simply confessed that they were Christians that they were followers of Christ. For this they were tossed back into prison. All of this was contrary to Roman law, even a mockery of the law. Then you go on to say the next page about how martyrdom came.

I think for 45 of them and they were just turned on in a terrible way by their neighbors in leone and in reading this book and on in a way you think about Fox's book of martyrs and there is there is a hint of that in some of the stories you share in this book about these these earlier Christians in persecution and martyrdom seems to be a reoccurring pattern for Christians. How can Christians today who live in America or in the Western world where there isn't this kind of yeah maybe some persecution, but martyrdom is best for another part of the world. The I think we think, how can we be ready today for what Christians throughout history have your commonly experienced a great question what we assume is the normal experience, try the opposite promotes Christians through the centuries and promote Christians through the centuries they have been on those margins of society and have suffered physical persecution or even martyrdom. I think a lesson for us is ultimately Christianity is about convictions and there needs to be a certain courage for those convictions, not a courage that is sort of marked up you know with it like we have the ability because of our abilities.

We are courageously like going out on the athletic field. You know, your courage comes from your practice and your your honing your skills.

It's a courage that comes from knowing that ultimately God is on the throne and it ultimately God's word will not return void, and it ultimately God will accomplish his purposes and for what does that give us a a power of courage to hold our convictions no matter what and when you see Christians in the past to put been put to the ultimate test and they were willing to die for their faith.

I think what that does that help us realize we might not be called upon to die for faith but we are called upon every day to live for our faith and to live our convictions with the boldness and the courage and I think that's especially true as we find ourselves in shifting time to talk about post-Christian culture, whatever that may need. What does it mean not to be a cultural Christian, what does it mean to be a Christian committed to biblical conviction and living that out every day to our neighbors to our family in our workplace. I think that requires a certain courage and that we can learn that from church history from the example of these martyrs okay. Dr. Stephen Nichols as our guest today here in the Christian Realty radio program really like him a lot and this is a great little book 5 minutes in church history were discovering a few of the chapters of chapters are short so if you want to get a copy and learn more about the church age before us for 2000 years. This would be a good starting point to do that. I just go to our website the Christian worldview.org it's linked right there is not in our store. By the way we not caring it but we have a link to where you can get on the league in your website. He's the president, Reformation, Bible college and also the host of the five minutes in church history podcast as well. Okay everything her first break here on the Christian worldview. It is Mother's Day weekend.

By the way happy Mother's Day to all the mothers listening yes we do an annual program with my parents around this time of year and will be doing that likely in the next week or two, so stay tuned for that. We have much more coming up today as we take a brief tour of 2000 years of church history back after this. People everywhere have anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic. What will happen to their help, their job, their financial future. There is also heightened spiritual awareness is God doing in my right with him.

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Thank you for your support. Think biblically and live accordingly. That is, there came here on the Christian Realty radio program. As we discussed topic of the topic week after week and today were talking about church history. A brief tour of 2000 years of church history with our guest, Dr. Stephen Nichols, the author of the book 5 minutes in church history and also the same podcast as that is what scribe that by going to where you get your podcast online and that we have much more coming up with Dr. Nicholas solicited into the second segment with him one chapter. I really like Stephen was the chapter 5 in the catacombs on the underground tunnels and burial places underneath Rome were Christians would flee and have times of church and worship and so forth. And you conclude that chapter and all the chapters are very short. This is not a long box is very accessible you say these epitaphs, paintings and hymns of these Christians who met in the catacombs provide a beautiful witness to the lives and beliefs of early Christians who took the Lord's supper together prayed together who confess the apostles Creed together who sat under the teaching of God's word and there in the catacombs. They sing together as they gathered around the glad some light you can just picture that what that was like to be in Rome underneath the city fleeing persecution and martyrdom and so forth. My question is what you think the these people back in the catacombs. These early Christians would think about the church in America today. The evangelical church in America today and and part two of the question is what is there really simple non-entertainment driven worship in these churches in the catacombs say about the basic elements of a church at the great question I get to the heart of what it's about, you know we had this moment in American evangelical history were church became about the beaker and that whole movement had its time in past, but had a real impact and I think it affected some ways almost an entire generation and doesn't necessarily reflect what we find in church history will find in the pages of Scripture of what we talk about sometimes it just the ordinary means of grace. The taking of the Lord's supper together. The preaching of God's word and we think we we need some sort of entertainment or we need something short of extraordinary and amazing, almost like a Hollywood affect. In order to impact people and I love the expression. Ordinary means of grace. God got it given up his word. He's given us the office of pastor and teacher and as we sit together in church and fit under faithful biblical preaching that is probably the most exciting thing that we could do when not only that we gather together to worship the God who created the universe so there's nothing boring about the preaching of the word and the worship of God. We think that boring dress-up service somehow the problems were not right so so I think as we look at some of the things we can recognize what does Scripture say about the purpose of art gathered worship on Sundays and how do I approach it is questionable.

I don't get much out of church maybe maybe we need to rethink a little bit of of the what Scripture saying about what churches malfunction and I think what we see in this instance, as you mentioned here from the early church.

If there's ultimately there is a simplicity to that worship that comes to gathered together to learn of God and to sing praises to him together and be great.

All of our churches across America across the globe. If that was what we were doing every Sunday as we came together. What witness that would be up to the world of who God is. Dr. Stephen Nichols today with the sun, the Christian Realty you talking about his book 5 minutes in church history. Let's skip forward chapter 14 where you start out by saying the Middle Ages now or in the year thousands let's say after Christ were rather unique time in the history of ideas when you study church history in the Middle Ages when you study philosophy in the Middle Ages you are studying the exact same people, events, books and ideas that is not true of other errors is certainly not true of the 21st century.

The Middle Ages were the time of Christendom. The bringing together of all things under the rubric and sphere of the church.

So we have not two separate disciplines of theology and philosophy in the Middle Ages. We have them both intertwined and much of the theological full philosophical discussion revolved around God's communication to his creatures and the revelation of his will to use philosophical categories we would say, metaphysics, epistemology and ethics is a lot in that that paragraph as you introduce this period of time known as the Middle Ages tell us about why. At that time there was the separation of philosophical and theological that we see today and how the Roman Catholic Church was integrated back then was that really the only church in town was the Roman Catholic Church. The same way as it was day with the same kind of doctrinal errors that it it teaches today that figure into this time, the great question. I think first of all, we just addressed the idea of the church. It really was a Roman Catholic Church that that was the only church in the Middle Ages to you. There is an outright pagan and like a Celtic druid or something or your Roman Catholic or coursers the option of Islam that this is really all that you have. It's not until the Protestant Reformation and we have a sharp divide now between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, I think.

Secondly, we need recognize that it just wasn't the medieval Catholic Roman Catholic Church was of the same 500 as it was in 1517 at the time of the Reformation, but over the centuries. It drifted further away from God's word and added more and more sort of layers of teaching so that the layers of teaching of the church became the focus is not the Bible became the focus that didn't happen overnight and 500 but it happened over the centuries.

So those are some ways for us to understand that sort of thousand year.

But I think rather than just sort of dismissed you know I'm a Protestant.

I love the Reformation so I'm all about the Reformation but rather than just dismiss the Middle Ages as one big misstep.

I think we need to take a look back and take a look back and say what was going on there, though, that could be helpful course and I think one of the things we see is that we need it. All the territory in the modern age would let the Academy do it thing and and we as Christians have sort of isolated ourselves into our theology in church sort of bubble and you come to the Middle Ages and you say of the greatest philosophers. These were these are absolutely committed to studying who God was, and knowing who God is not the greatest theologian the greatest philosophers, whereas in Rh, we got this rampant secularism that has just driven a sharp winch between philosophy and theology or science and religion even have that in Middle Ages, I think there's something to be learned. There we don't have to give up this ground as Christians we can be the best philosophers leaving the best scientists because we understand this to be the world that God has made tremendous advantage for so so those are some of the things recognizing that there were a lot of theological and ecclesiological myth steps in the Middle Ages, there's still a lot that we can gain from that.

In terms of how we approach life and how we think about the world we live in Stephen Nichols with us today on the Christian Realty you talking about various stages and people in advance in church history.

The last 2000 years you get into. Thomas Aquinas is probably a well-known name but maybe I were a little foggy on who he was and what he did.

He talked about five ways these existence of God can be proven. Give us a snapshot of white. Thomas Aquinas was important, towering figure, intellectually history of church theology is a very basic principle and I think this can help us to delete we think well I can't really prove Christianity, we have to take everything on faith. Thomas wants to say no you can prove the existence of God and actually take a lot more faith to not believe in the existence of got a very simple thing that I think we can wrap our heads around. He said that to understand what you cannot know or cannot see. You start with what you can see what you can now and what we can see what we can know is this world that we live in this world that we live in is a testimony to a starter of this world very beginning of this world and what Thomas wants us to grasp is that we can move from that which is known to that which is unknown and actually someone who has to give an account for the existence of the world apart from God for everything that we see around just came about by chance that absurd chance produces nothing for your thing. Everything comes from nothing absurd that the part where where I think as we as Christians sometimes we don't need to just say oh this need to be taken on faith, we can recognize that no there is a there is credence and credibility here in a fingerlike Thomas Aquinas can help us make a case for who God is and for the authority password.

Dr. Stephen Nichols as our guest today on the Christian Realty you hope you're enjoying the interview and gaining from all he's saying about the past 2000 years of church history. This is not exhaustive at all by the way there's much more to it than this brief viewpoints were hitting on today so I encourage you to get his book 5 minutes in church history.

Good starter to getting some working knowledge of what took place before we have more coming up with him today as we take this brief tour of 2000 years of church history. So stay tuned. More coming up on the Christian review after this is a pain to know that there are people who do not know Jesus is a greater pain to know that oftentimes Jesus and Christianity is being distorted is called how to start.

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The most important events and people and places. So let's get back to the final segment with Stephen Nichols.

Let's move onto the last couple questions later in the book. Think were now more in the modern age. You talk about the French Huguenots. I won't read that the passage but you say that the French Huguenots were actually the ones you celebrated really celebrated the first Thanksgiving. They had a presence in Florida. Of course, they also came from over in from France, so they are impactful and in both continents. Who were they were the important yeah well you know one thing I'm down here in Florida and of course we talk about the first Thanksgiving. We always pay attention to New England, didn't we should a few decades before New England even in the late 1500s especially have a Thanksgiving service here in Florida and these are French Huguenots.

This this is the group. The Reformation never took hold in France like it did. Some of the Swiss city states or in Germany or England was dominated by Roman Catholicism as a state, but there were plenty with entrance to embrace the doctrine of the Reformation and these were the Huguenot and they were terribly persecuted in France and a number of them made their way to Florida right around St. Augustine now that settlement was eventually defeated by the Spaniards and so the Spanish of course were Catholic and so everyone thinks of Florida's route at Catholic but the Huguenot trigger first and they had a celebration a Thanksgiving celebration where they had a worship service and peace together and they read the song they sang him and they ate a feast and so that was the first Thanksgiving in an America quality time but what we see in Huguenots is that example of a persecuted people who were persistent and much of the growth of the Roman Catholic authorities in France tried to stamp them out through persecution and martyrdom. They persevered God blessed them, and that they really went all around the globe and took the gospel with them as they went. Yes, I remember the last time you run the program. I think you you talked about them – so when I read the book that really jogged my memory about who they were something for bringing up again again Dr. Stephen Nichols with us today on the Christian rule of you, the president of Reformation Bible college and also works with licking your ministries are a final question goes to someone that many in the audience will know of Jonathan Edwards part of the pastor and theologian during the first great awakening and I just cannot read a quote from the book he says Edwards grew up on the Westminster shorter catechism you learn from the first question that the chief end of man is the quote glorify God and enjoy him forever. Our culture tells us that true happiness and true joy come from serving the self. This is a false idea you write Jesus expose this idea as a lie. In Matthew 1625 when he says for whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. We were made for God made with the singular purpose to glorify him as we glorify him as we live for and live toward him, we find our souls true joy. This is how we are made happy.

In fact, Edwards even liked to use the word HEPA five. We are happy fied when we glorify God and enjoy him think this is a fitting end to the conversation today as we talk about these different people and errors in places and times in your book talk about this. This chief end of man to glorify God and enjoy him forever for someone who's listening today Steve that that may not understand their their purpose for why I am here that most fundamental question I think sometimes a conception that the good life and entered the Christian life or their happiness in the pursuit of happiness.

Being a Christian and again we sort of ceded ground there that we don't have to go back anyone he figures you go back to Augustine you back. Calvin go back to Edward and you will find them all saying the good life is the Christian life.

I find the network to be truly happy that God God made us for himself and when we are obeying him living according to his word and seeking to worship him in all of life that when we are most fulfilled, most happy and have true joy in our lives and were told really the opposite. Culturally and were bombarded with the opposite message culturally and we need to push back against that we need to push back against that for our sakes push that back against that for the sake of the next generation of kids that were raising to help them to recognize that it is in the worship of God, you will be the most fulfilled and as you have God at the center of your life you will be truly happy.

That's really the message of the Christian life that the Christian life versus the good life Christianity versus happy Christianity is the good life and a great message. Whether talk to us from Augustine or Calvin or Luther or Edward ultimately is taught to us by almost and that's just a good reminder for all costs so to follow up on that. How does one enter into that enter into Christianity, so to speak, or enter into being right with God and into live within the purpose for which he created us to glorify him well you work back to Edwards right that we we first come to the through Edwards would call the divine, supernatural light, as we are converted and I we recognize who Christ is and what he done for us on this was what Jesus does when Peter says, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. What Christ says to Peter, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you Peter but my father in heaven. And so Edwards would remind us that we need that the mind and supernatural, like that awakened us to God, but then once were awakened. We just relentlessly pursue God serving him learning about him and his work seeking to be faithful and that's what it means to pursue happiness. Stephen, thank you for joining us on the Christian real view.

Today we really appreciate this book.

This is helpful.

We do recommend it highly to listeners is just a good way to get introduced and have a working understanding of so many things that happen in the Christian faith. Over the last 2000 years were thankful for you Steve and all you're doing at Reformation Bible college in Lincoln here and we just pray and wish all of God's best, and grace to you having a great conversation. Thanks so much, that was Dr. Stephen Nichols everyone and if you want to hear more from him. He has a five minute podcast called five minutes in church history. I we can hear more of these vignettes that he has lots of mafic. That's what this book was based on was his podcast. They would do these features and that is put into this book and need in this book 5 minutes in church history is linked on our website. The Christian were you.org. I like what he said there and think it was the last answer to the second to the last answer said it is in the worship of God that you will be most fulfilled is in the worship of God that you will be most fulfilled and is and that always our problem today were always chasing after things, whether it's trying to make more money. You were trying to do something with our kids were trying to be no go on some vocation or by something or move into another house and we may not think oh if I just do that I will be more fulfilled by think inside of us, maybe even subconsciously, we we think that's the case, but like he just said it is in the worship of God that you will be most fulfilled and the reason that is that way is that God created each one of us to be worshipers of him. We are created to worship. If we don't worship God worship something else ourselves money or whatever and be addictions, alcohol, sex you met, you name it worship something and so what do we worship God.

That is ultimately when we find the greatest fulfillment in life is much more coming up in some summary comments after the final break the day in the Christian world.

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It's also a good place to hear is a lot of different ways. If you can hear the program live or on the radio over and tennis every week. You can get it in a very wide variety of places online and you can subscribe your weekly email to get the short takes to fill time near the 45 minute podcast is get the Startex release get up a taste of what took place every week in the program for some summary thoughts on the interview and this this topic today of understanding church history, you know, we are we are weak in our understanding of church history because this is not emphasized in the American evangelical church unless you perhaps go to seminary. How many times you hear your pastor of your church you reference things that happened maybe during the Reformation.

The early church age after the close New Testament and just not done that much. Most people who are reference might be a popular Christian author of the day or so forth, but certainly not going back hundreds and hundreds of years to those who went before us think there's any danger twice as Stephen mentioned earlier in interview of we. We don't want to make these men and these other people. Women who went before us to be inspired like there the writing from the New Testament that the Holy Spirit inspired them and that's that. Stefan had a danger for us and evangelical church.

They like the reformers known John Calvin or Martin Luther or Zwingli or John Noxon and so forth. William Tyndale motherwort inspired but there incredible examples of faithful man who were obedient to God who did great things to to move the ball forward so to speak during their particular time of life and of these biblical just like biblical characters in the Bible rings them out. These men had fought these church leaders in the church.

It had flaws in his that's your good proof for why the Bible can be trusted doesn't try to sugarcoat like the Chinese Communist Party or something that sugarcoat everything that their dear leader does know the Bible does something very different than that it did shows the great examples of faith and obedience that these men of the faith habit also shows there are flaws think of someone like your King David R. Even Moses or Abraham know that they all these great men that are pictured in the Old Testament, the apostle Peter denied Christ this this is actually evidence for the Bible being true that that that they would be willing to show that leaders had flaws, Martin Luther, for example, lose basically credited with starting the Protestant Reformation, which changed everything in the world. He said things later in his life against the Jews, but that doesn't mean that everything he has ever said and ever did should be completely disk a counter disqualify your blind spot like we all have blind spots and so we need to compare everything they said the those in the church age to the only standard that really matters. Everything needs to be compared right back to what the word of God says. Then we can know whether it's true or false, so the writings can be very helpful in learning about them in reading his book can be very helpful to to to push us forward and to help us gain some of the character qualities that God had instilled in their lives because knowing what doctrines they fought for that the convictions they held the way they're willing to die for their faith that that's inspiring and should really lead us to question ourselves whether we would be willing to to do the same as you read these people in the book you think a man what if I was in that situation, how I respond with my faith be able to hold up my willing to go down the roads. They did you look at a passage what would Jesus said in Luke nine he said if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me forever wishes to to save his life. In other words, you want to live a life of comfort and ease just want to save your life and be safe and protected will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and business.

I mean death. That means just lose your life in other words, live for Christ instead of live for yourself. He is the one Jesus says who will save it for what is a man profited, if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself or his soul for whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes again in his glory and the glory of the father and of the holy angels. That's from Luke chapter 9. In other words, we need to live for Christ that that's our purpose in life to to worship God to enter in your relationship with God. Though the one way God is provided through repentance of our sin and putting our faith in who Jesus is the son of God and what he did for us on the cross he died for our sins. Once you enter into that.

It's a life of following and obeying the Lord fully and that's where the most fulfillment comes from life in doing that as I listen to Stephen Nichols today. I just thought about the differences between the church and back then and now and this is generally speaking, because obviously there's lots of different kinds of churches and and and so forth and so on.

Some of them are more faithful and others read the church. The revelation that was the case there as well. This can be a general comparison. Back then there was a separation from worldliness were us today. There is a desire to be culturally relevant for Christmas. Whether we and what we watch, Christians want to be watching the same entertainment as the world there will be dressing like the world they want to listen the same music as the row they want to be.

We want to be like the world but just Christian was back then it was. There was a complete separation from the world know they were trying to separate from unbelievers. There were still evangelistic, but they didn't want any part of the kind of the ungodly aspects of the world. Second thing is the differences between the church than the church now is there is increased incredible reverence and worship back then you read about. We heard Stephen Nichols talk about what what worship is like in those catacombs. It was just plain preaching of the word singing him, gathering together taking communion. That was it worth today. Think about be the mega evangelical church today is it's about having experience is very man · only craft this worship to be to touch the emotions and to to move the people who are listening is about numbers. There there there these big church buildings and the reality of economics is that you have to have people coming in through the door to new people to pay off those mortgages and those expenses and those salaries and that staff for the gigantic expenses so this is that they didn't think about those things back in the day they were just gathering a place the home of the chaotic wherever it was, and the main things were the main things. There is a focus on doctrinal soundness. Back then they were very concerned about doctrinal clarity and soundness where this doesn't deemphasize the day, and lastly there is the willingness to suffer persecution, even death for following their Lord worth today.

Again, generally speaking, there's much more of a traction to our general peace and safety, so we can learn from these men and women who have gone before us help you get a copy of this book 5 minutes in church history and read the word and find out what those who have gone before us were like so we can emulate their life. Read the chapter of faith in Hebrews 11. Thanks for joining us on the Christian worldview today. Until next time think biblically and live according we hope today's broadcast turned your heart toward God's word and his son to order a CD copy of today's program or sign up for our free weekly email or to find out how you can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ go to our website the Christian worldview dawdle. Call us toll-free at one AAA 646-2233. Christian worldview is a weekly one-hour radio program that is furnished by the overcoming foundation is supported by listeners and sponsors request one of our current resources with your donation of any amount go to the Christian worldview dawdle will call us toll-free at one AAA 8646 2233.2 a set Box 01, Excelsior, MN 55331 that's Box 401, Excelsior, MN 55331. Thanks for listening to the Christian. Until next time think biblically live according