Christians often say that whenever a great work of God or a move of the Holy Spirit is taking place, there are sure to be rampant attacks from the devil. This was certainly the case with the Early Church! As we have seen, the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the Church led to an array of external attacks, most notably in the form of false doctrine and physical persecution. However, sometimes the most unexpected and insidious threats are those from within….

It all happened gradually.

The Apostles were naturally the leaders of the Church after Pentecost, and were involved in the spread of the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. The Apostle Paul had planted numerous churches around the Mediterranean, appointing overseers (known as elders or bishops) to lead these congregations in conjunction with deacons. After Paul’s time, the churches were to be led by groups of bishops and deacons chosen by the congregation, and not by a single figure; what’s more, it was clear from the teachings of the Apostles that although these men might be given oversight of the churches, they were to serve and care for the believers as equal members of the body of Christ (Acts 20:28, NKJV;1 Peter 5:2-3, NKJV).
However, when external threats and issues began to arise, a shift took place in church leadership. As these concerns and needs emerged in the young Christian Church, the bishops stepped up to meet those needs. At this time, there were at least THREE roles that the bishops assumed in the Church:

MANAGER—As churches grew and spread, the bishops often became responsible for managing the distribution and use of church resources. At times, one man would take the lead in this activity. This is seen in a description of an early church service by the second century apologist Justin Martyr: “Those who have means and are willing, each according to his own choice, gives what he wills, and what is collected is deposited with the president (bishop). He provides for the orphans and widows, those who are in need on account of sickness or some other cause, those who are in bonds, strangers who are sojourning, and in a word he becomes the protector of all in need.”¹
PROTECTOR—Not only did the bishops protect those in need, but in times of persecution, the congregation often looked to their bishops for guidance, strength, comfort and inspiration. Such was the case with Fabian, the Bishop of Rome in the mid-third century. When the Emperor Decius instigated his persecution of the Christians, he strategically began by murdering church leaders in an attempt to dissuade others from their faith. Yet Fabian’s brave confession of Christ to the point of death did just the opposite, greatly inspiring and strengthening the Roman believers to stand firm in their faith. Like Fabian, many bishops were a profound support for their flocks in the midst of violent persecution.
DEFENDER—The bishops played a crucial role in defending the faith against heresies. The great church councils of the first few centuries of the Church consisted of bishops who preserved and defended biblical theology from a host of heretical errors and attacks. These men were responsible for agreeing upon the biblical canon of Scripture and formulating creeds that articulated the essential tenets of the Christian faith.

Clearly, the bishops were beginning to play a more prominent role in the leadership of the Early Church; this in itself may not have been problematic, but in the midst of defending the faith against heresy, a dangerous precedent was set.

The Gnostics, you may recall, claimed to have authority from secret teachers appointed by the Apostles. To defend against this unfounded claim, church leaders asserted something known as the “Apostolic Succession,” the argument that the Apostles had publicly appointed bishops to lead the churches in their place, and this practice of appointment led to the bishops now in place. The Early Church father Clement explained, “Our Apostles knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be dissensions over the title of bishop. In their full knowledge of this, therefore, they proceeded to appoint the ministers I spoke of, and they went on to add an instruction that if these should fall asleep, other accredited persons might succeed them in their office.”²

Although the intent of their assertion was in defense against heresy, the churches began to unwittingly rely on and refer to their bishops more and more in such matters.

By the second century, it seemed expedient to appoint a single bishop to lead each church for the sake of clarity and unity in dealing with false teachers; each bishop would essentially become a rallying point in the battle against heresy. As William Bennett points out, “Many came to believe that a single bishop more clearly represented the unity of the church, could be an unencumbered source of authority, and also served as an unmistakable public figurehead.”³

This may have seemed to be a helpful decision, but it opened the door for an insidious internal threat within the Church: Pride.

By the second century, Ignatius declared, “Pay attention to the Bishop and board of elders and deacons. Do nothing without the Bishop. You must follow the Bishop as Jesus Christ followed the Father.”⁴ With such a mentality in place, it was one small step for the bishops to be given authority not merely over material needs in the congregation, but spiritual needs as well; in fact, by the third century, it was taught that the bishops had power to forgive sins. A dangerous, unbiblical doctrine to say the least!

In retrospect, the consequences of having this level of material and spiritual authority concentrated upon individual men are only too obvious. Having shifted from joint leadership of bishops and deacons to an emphasis on the bishops, and then shifting again to focus all authority on one bishop alone, meant that it would only be a matter of time before pride crept in and tempted weak men to exploit that authority in a quest for power. No wonder Paul warned that a bishop should take heed “…Lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6, NKJV). External threats to the Early Church like persecution and heresy would come and go, but the internal threats of pride, power and position had longevity with alarming ramifications, as we shall see in a future article.

What a warning for us today! We too face many external threats and dangers as the body of Christ; yet none is a greater, more insidious and enduring threat than the pride that exploits the weakest and worst of man’s nature. Paul rightly warned the Ephesian church to “give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27, ESV). May we as the Church today remain vigilant against the internal threats of pride, power and position, lest we too give the devil an opportunity!

¹ Mark Galli and Ted Olsen, Christians Everyone Should Know, 131
² Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians
³ William Bennett, Tried by Fire: The Story of Christianity’s First Thousand Years
⁴ Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans

“We need to adapt the Christian message to the way things are in society today!” How many of us have heard this statement? With issues like abortion, racism, the LGBTQ agenda, along with the sudden emergence of the trans and pangender movement, it is easy to feel that, as Christians, we need to change things up and adapt the Gospel message in order to relate to and identify with the culture.

But can the Christian go too far in seeking to identify with culture?

Many believers struggle with this today. Yet, it is not a new question; as early as the first century, Christians were already grappling with a flood of ideologies that attempted to adapt the Christian message to the surrounding Greco-Roman culture.

As we have learned, Greco-Roman culture was very influential and pervasive, having been enforced by the Roman Empire and eventually accepted and embraced by virtually every people group around the Mediterranean. One of its most influential elements was Greek philosophy. At the heart of much Greek philosophy is the concept of dualism, the belief that the world is ultimately divided between the two cosmic forces of good and evil¹ ; this is accompanied by the belief that the material world is crude and evil, while the spiritual realm is pure and good. It wasn’t long before this popular and widely accepted belief system reached the young Christian Church.

The identification of Christianity with Greek philosophy presented itself in a variety of packages, but none was as threatening and insidious as Gnosticism.

Although it predated Christianity, when combined with Christian teaching, Gnosticism proved so attractive that at one point in history many who called themselves Christians adhered to some form of Gnosticism as well!²

Gnosticism derived its name from the Greek word gnosis, meaning “knowledge.” Gnostics claimed to possess a higher spiritual knowledge and understanding of the universe that had been revealed by Jesus to secret teachers other than the disciples. Like the Greeks, they believed that all matter is evil. Therefore, while they embraced the spiritual aspects of Christianity, they were uncomfortable with the material elements taught in the Bible—particularly the doctrine of Creation and the Incarnation.

The Gnostics concluded that God would certainly not have lowered Himself to create the material world; and by no means would He have made His Son Jesus an actual physical body! No, events like the Creation and Incarnation must have been “aeons” or “emanations” of God made by subordinate heavenly powers, not God Himself! In a word, the Gnostics denied the biblical Creation account and the humanity of Jesus Christ, because these were “uncomfortable” doctrines that were incompatible with prevailing Greek philosophy.

Now, Gnosticism was appealing for several reasons. First, it embraced some key elements of the Christian faith: the concept of salvation, the notion of a supreme deity and the idea of spiritual beings at work in the universe.

Indeed, Gnosticism placed great emphasis on the spiritual realm, which, no doubt, appealed to Christians who desired to “set their minds on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Thus, there was just enough Christian truth to legitimize it and make it palatable to unsuspecting believers.

Secondly, its identification with Greek philosophy made it very comfortable and familiar to those living in the Greco-Roman world. Although Christians were to be “in the world but not of it,” they still lived in and were exposed to the culture around them just as we are today; it would be extremely difficult not to be in some way influenced by such strong cultural crosscurrents, and particularly, a doctrine that not only seemed to teach Christian truths, but was also culturally familiar and acceptable.

Thirdly, the Gnostics declared they had special revelation or understanding not given to the common man, and so their version of the Christian message belonged to an intellectual elite. Thus Gnosticism was essentially “Christianity for the Philosophers and Intellectuals,” a belief system that appealed to human pride, to those who, as the Apostle John warned, “love to have the preeminence among them” (3 John 9). In a culture that glorified philosophers and intellectuals, this would certainly have been a temptation to many believers. As Bruce Shelley insightfully points out, “[Gnosticism] speaks to all who try to raise Christianity from the level of faith to a higher realm of intelligent knowledge and so increase its attractiveness to important people.”³

Clearly, Gnosticism was a deviation of the Gospel derived from the surrounding culture, altering key biblical truths to appeal to the Greco-Roman worldview. And because it maintained many elements of the Christian message, it gained wide appeal and was difficult to uproot.

However, God is intentional in what He allows us to face as believers; and what the enemy intends for evil, He can ultimately turn to good. Gnosticism was indeed a great threat to Christianity, and yet it became one of the driving forces in the establishment of systematic theology and Christian doctrine. It forced the Church to articulate the truths of God’s Word and to confidently defend these truths. As God raised up men to contend for the faith, the truth prevailed; as with every attack on Christianity throughout history, Gnosticism capitulated in the face of biblical truth proclaimed by the power of the Holy Spirit. As dangerous as Gnosticism was, it eventually faded into obscurity, as did the dualism and Greek philosophy it championed.

The lesson here is this: There will always be cultural movements, social issues and intellectual challenges to biblical Christianity—even from within the Church itself!

Today’s challenges and pressures from the current culture may seem overwhelmingly strong and influential—but so did Gnosticism! Yet, like Gnosticism, these ideologies and philosophies will fade off the scene; this has been the case for over two millennia. Therefore, as Shelley so accurately states, “The attempt to tie the gospel to the latest theories of men is self-defeating. Nothing is as fleeting in history as the latest theories that flourish among the enlightened, and nothing can be more quickly dismissed by later generations.”⁴

Our task as Bible-believing Christians is to do what the Early Church did when faced with Gnosticism; don’t try to cater to the culture—contend for the truth! Social upheaval and cultural currents may come and go; yet as the Apostle Peter declared, the incorruptible seed of the Word of God lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).

¹ Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language

² Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity

³ Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language
⁴ Ibid.

One of the most powerful evidences of a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ is the fruit that is produced in our lives—the practical outworking of the inward reality of what God has done by His Spirit. James 2:18 challenges, “…Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works!” As we have seen, the Early Church took this exhortation seriously, as they showed their faith by their works to the Roman world around them, powerfully influencing society in practical areas such as the preservation and sanctity of life, sexual morality, and even charity and health care. This month, we conclude our look at early Christian influence with one more very practical issue in Roman society: LABOR and WORK ETHIC.

In the Roman world, manual labor was seen as beneath the philosophers and freeborn citizens, and was strictly for slaves and lower class people.

Not surprisingly, Christians stood out like a sore thumb because they believed that all labor held dignity and honor for all people. Jesus Christ was their example, having Himself been a carpenter, as was the Apostle Paul, an academic and tentmaker whose own testimony to the Thessalonian Christians was that he did not “…Eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you” (2 Thessalonians 3:8). He exhorted these believers to follow his example, saying, “…If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

It is fascinating to note that in so many areas in which Christians were simply obeying God’s Word and living Gospel-centered lives, they ended up influencing society on a greater scale than they might have imagined. This was the case with their work ethic. The fact that early Christians of any background and social standing were willing to undertake all forms of labor markedly affected society.

For one thing, these hard-working Christians altered the class system of the Roman Empire.

Whereas in Roman culture, there were, for the most part, two very distinct classes—rich and poor—Christian workers created a third class somewhere in the middle of these extremes—the middle class! This had never existed prior to the birth of Christianity.

Schmidt notes, “The presence of a middle class in Western societies has rightly been credited with greatly reducing the extent of poverty and its concomitant by-product, disease. It has also been a potent variable in fostering and maintaining political and economic freedom.”¹

Another effect of the Christian work ethic and the dignity Christians gave to labor was that it helped in some measure to weaken the system of slavery in the Roman Empire. By encouraging one another as believers to perform even the most menial tasks (those that only slaves would customarily perform) as unto the Lord, Christians effectually undercut the system of slavery.² In fact, by the end of the fifth century, slavery was on the decline.

Now, we might assume that Christians spoke out against slavery as they would today, but interestingly enough, that was not the case; in fact, many Christians owned slaves themselves, as it was a common practice in that day. However, their view of slaves was certainly different than that of the Greeks and Romans, who regarded slaves as dispensable and often treated them harshly. As the Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “A slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave. Therefore, there can be no friendship with a slave as a slave.”³

By contrast, Christian masters were taught in Paul’s epistles to treat their slaves humanely and lovingly; the Christian belief in the value of human life and the dignity of labor, no doubt, reinforced this principle. What’s more, if a slave was a fellow believer, he or she was to be treated as a Christian brother or sister with the rights and privileges of all believers; in fact, one of the early bishops of the church in Rome was a former slave!

After all, Paul declared that there is neither slave nor free in Christ, and the Early Church attempted to live out that truth.

C.P.S. Clarke noted, “[The Church] introduced no new system of economics or social order as such; but its doctrine of brotherhood and of love to neighbors, of the equality of all in the sight of God, were bound in time to destroy the whole system of slavery.”⁴ Combined with their strong work ethic, that is exactly what happened! As Christians expressed these biblical doctrines in word and deed, people were drawn into personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which in turn, changed the society around them.

King Solomon wisely observed, “There is nothing new under the sun.” If there is one thing that is demonstrated clearly in the practices and influence of the Early Church, it is that the early Christians encountered many of the same problems and issues that we encounter today; like us, they lived in a culture largely antagonistic to biblical principles and contrary to the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Yet, as we have seen the dynamic influence of these believers on the world around them through the practical outworking of their inward transformation by the Holy Spirit, may it not only encourage but inspire us to “show our faith by our works,” to bring the love of Jesus Christ and the power of the Gospel to the dark and dying world around us in every area of our lives!

¹Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World

²Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity
³Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics 8.11
⁴C.P.S. Clarke, Church History from Nero to Constantine

Enjoy part two of this series on the Early Church! Also, read the first part on “How Christianity Revolutionized the Sanctity of Life“

One of the most profound descriptions of the Early Church was made by non-Christians who said in Acts 17:6 that they were “these who have turned the world upside down.” We opened our first article by introducing specific, practical ways in which the early Christians did in fact begin to turn the Roman world they lived in upside down, starting with their regard for the sanctity of life. This week we will explore further areas of Christian influence.

We begin with the area of SEXUAL MORALITY.

The Romans had become degraded in their sexuality—“promiscuous” is putting it mildly! Theirs was a society completely addicted to sex. Not only were sexual acts often committed publicly, they were also portrayed in artwork and on common household items; the Romans never bothered to shield their children from such things! When adultery for women was outlawed, many upper class women simply registered as public prostitutes in order to continue their promiscuity. Not surprisingly, marriage was a pretense and generally disrespected; in fact, it was rare to find a faithful spouse.

Homosexuality was also quite rampant, but what most people don’t realize is that this occurred primarily in the context of pedophilia. The upper classes, and notably the emperors themselves, were prolific in this area; in fact, Emperor Nero actually “married” two young boys. The Romans even practiced bestiality, having given themselves over in the realm of sexuality. No wonder Paul wrote in Romans 1:24-26, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.” When you consider these verses in light of Paul’s audience, it certainly gives context and perspective to his words!

This was the world that Christianity was born into—and you can imagine that by living pure and self-controlled lives, honoring marriage by being faithful to their spouses, and serving one another through genuine love instead of satisfying their selfish desires, they stood out like a sore thumb! It is likely that they didn’t have to even say anything against Roman behavior—their lives were a continual protest to the debauchery around them and a shining example of virtue!

Although many Romans naturally looked down on and even despised the chastity of Christians, there were those who admired and respected such self-control and honor for one another. The physician Galen, impressed with Christian sexual behavior, said they were “…So far advanced in self-discipline and…intense desire to attain moral excellence that they are in no way inferior to true philosophers.”¹

Christians also restored the sanctity of marriage; unlike the Romans, Christians treated the wedding ceremony with dignity and respect, taking their vows seriously. In fact, Alvin Schmidt notes, “The dignity and sanctity of marriage that Christianity brought to Roman culture were mostly due to the early Christian women.”² They really took their roles as wives and mothers seriously, such that a pagan named Libanius exclaimed, “What women these Christians have!”³

Not only did Christians highly esteem marriage, they advocated privacy in their sexual relationships in contrast to the wanton public nature of Roman sexuality. In fact, it has been noted by various historians that the concept of privacy in general has strong Christian roots dating back to this time!

As with the areas of infanticide and child abandonment, it was the influence of Christians living upright, pure lives that eventually worked its way up the ladder, so that when Constantine became the first Christian Emperor, he radically changed Roman society’s attitude toward marriage to conform with Christian standards. This naturally trickled down into society’s views concerning homosexuality, pedophilia and bestiality as well. Think of what Western society today would be like if Christ and Christianity had never come on the scene!

The early Christians certainly teach us never to underestimate the power of selfless love and service; the same testimony and example that transformed an empire can transform society today!

Next let’s look at the area of CHARITY & HEALTH CARE.

As you can probably imagine, a culture like Rome that had such a low regard for human life did not exactly excel in terms of compassion for the needy! The Romans practiced something called liberalitas, which was in essence, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” reciprocal charity. Because of this, Romans viewed voluntary, unreciprocated giving as suspicious and defying common sense—why give to someone without receiving anything in return? It was a very pragmatic, utilitarian, but wholly calloused and self-centered viewpoint!

Granted, many Greek and Roman philosophers encouraged voluntary giving, and there were isolated incidents in which the wealthy would assist those in need in time of crisis, but the mainstream culture generally disregarded such practices.

Naturally, the lack of compassionate giving meant the Romans gave no thought to medical treatment for the ill or dying. They did make provision for people to have their illnesses diagnosed with medicine, but there was no nursing care. The only hospital-like facilities were for sick slaves, gladiators and soldiers. Any health care beyond that—especially for the poor, common folk—was rare if not totally absent. For example, a third century Christian bishop named Dionysius described Roman behavior during a plague in Alexandria as follows: “They thrust aside anyone who began to be sick, and kept aloof even from their dearest friends, and cast the sufferers out upon the public roads half dead, and left them unburied, and treated them with utter contempt when they died”⁴ Plato said that a poor man who was no longer able to work because of illness should be left to die—again, a very pragmatic viewpoint, but utterly devoid of compassion!

Not surprisingly, Christians who followed Jesus’ example of compassion for all in need stood out in stark contrast to Roman society. Contrary to liberalitas, the Christians practiced something called caritas, which meant “giving to relieve the recipient’s economic or physical distress without expecting anything in return.”⁵ It was totally unconditional, voluntary giving, inspired by the love of God and His call to love one another.

Christians continually reached out to practically provide assistance to those in need. This was especially notable during times of plague; when the Romans would flee and abandon the sick and dying, Christians would stay behind to nurse them without any regard for their own well-being or safety. This caused Emperor Julian the Apostate (who had renounced the Christian faith) to bemoan the fact that “The impious Galileans relieve both their own poor and ours.”⁶ The behavior and testimony of Christians in fact led to the salvation of many Romans.

Eventually, it was the practical care and concern of Christians that led to the establishment of the first real hospitals, starting with St. Basil of Caesarea in 369 A.D. Christians were also responsible for establishing the first facilities for elderly care and the first orphanages, a natural response to the New Testament exhortations concerning care for widows and orphans. In fact, Schmidt notes that even the custom of requiring godparents to take care of children if their parents died is a Christian innovation. In a culture that practiced infanticide and child abandonment, this was absolutely revolutionary!

Schmidt sums it up best, “When modern secularists show compassion today upon seeing or hearing of some human tragedy…they show that they have unknowingly internalized Christianity’s concept of compassion…. But had these…not grown up under the two-thousand-year-old umbrella of Christianity’s compassionate influence, they would probably be without much compassion, similar to the ancient Greeks, Romans, and others. As Josiah Stamp has said, ‘Christian ideals have permeated society until non-Christians, who claim to live a decent life without religion, have forgotten the origin of the very content and context of their decency.”⁷

Roman society was indeed depraved, but as we continue to see the powerful influence of the early Christians on a decadent culture, it may inspire us with confidence in what God can do through His people in our own culture today—may it start with us!

¹Cited in Will Durant, Caesar and Christ: A History of Roman Civilization and of Christianity from Their Beginnings to A.D., 325.
²Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World

³Cited in L. Millar, Christian Education in the First Four Centuries

⁴Dionysius, Works of Dionysius, Epistle 12.5
⁵Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World
⁶Julian, Epistles of Julian, 49.
⁷Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World