In the 21^st century, what are Christians known for? Many Christians today are known primarily for what they believe. They identify with a denomination and work to convince others that their beliefs are right – and yet these beliefs often fail to influence how they live.

Many people call themselves Christians, yet they don’t live much differently from unbelievers. They go to the same parties, watch the same movies, listen to the same songs, read the same books, use the same language, and spend their money for the same purposes. They gossip and criticize others, break “little” laws such as the speed limit, tell “little white” lies, and are involved in scandal and immorality.

How could people today be called Christians without living as Christ taught? For the early Christians, the issue was clear: they can’t. For the early Christians, being a Christ-follower meant not only believing in Jesus but also doing one’s best to keep His commandments:

• “To believe in Him is to do His will.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “If you repent of your sins, and recognize Him to be Christ, and observe His commandments, then . . . remission of sins will be yours.” – Justin Martyr (c. 160)
• “He who raised him [Jesus] up from the dead will raise up us also – if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness.” – Polycarp (c. 135)
• “Only those who fear the Lord and keep His commandments have life with God; but as for those who do not keep His commandments, there is no life in them.” – Hermas (c. 150)
• “We do not teach concerning the unrighteous man that it is sufficient for him to humble himself on account of his wickedness. Rather, God will accept him only if – after passing condemnation upon himself for his past conduct – he walks humbly on account of it and in a righteous manner for his remaining days.” – Origen (c. 248)
• “No one is a Christian but he who perseveres even to the end.” – Tertullian (c. 197)
• “Whoever has confessed Christ is not greater, or better, or dearer to God than Solomon. As long as he walked in God’s ways, he retained the grace that he had received from the Lord. But after he abandoned the Lord’s way, he also lost the Lord’s grace. Therefore, it is written, ‘Hold tightly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown’ [Rev. 3:11]. But certainly the Lord would not threaten that the crown of righteousness could be taken away, were it not true that the crown must depart when righteousness departs. . . . It is also written, ‘He who stands firm until the end will be saved’ [Matt. 10:22].” – Cyprian (c. 250)

Because the early Christians realized the necessity of keeping Jesus’ commands, they were known – not primarily by what they believed – but by how they lived. Around the close of the first century, Ignatius wrote, “The tree is made manifest by its fruit. So those who profess themselves to be Christians will be recognized by their conduct. . . . Those who profess to be Christ’s are known not only by what they say, but by what they practice.”

So how did the early Christians live?

“They follow the commands of Christ”

Aristides, a second-century Greek philosopher and convert to Christianity, wrote what is perhaps the earliest apology (or defense) of the Christian faith. In it, he described the lifestyle of believers in an attempt to convince the Roman emperor to stop persecuting them. Following is an excerpt from this document:

“The Christians, O king, went about and searched, and they have found the truth. As I have learned from their writings, they have come nearer to truth and genuine knowledge than the rest of the nations. For they know and trust in God, the Creator of heaven and of earth, in whom and from whom are all things. . . . Therefore, they do not commit adultery or fornication. They do not bear false witness. They do not embezzle what is held in pledge, nor do they covet that which is not theirs. They honor father and mother and show kindness to those who are near to them. Whenever they are judges, they judge uprightly. They do not worship idols made in the likeness of man. Whatever they would not wish others to do to them, they do not do to others. They do not eat food that is consecrated to idols, for they are pure. They comfort their oppressors and make them their friends. They do good to their enemies.

“Their women, O king, are pure as virgins, and their daughters are modest. Their men keep themselves from every unlawful union and from all uncleanness – in the hope of a reward in the world to come. . . . They do not worship strange gods, and they go their way in all modesty and cheerfulness. Falsehood is not found among them. And they love one another. They do not turn away their care from widows, and they deliver the orphan from anyone who treats him harshly. He who has, gives to him who has not. And this is done without boasting.

“When they see a stranger, they take him into their homes, and they rejoice over him as a very brother. For they do not call themselves brothers after the flesh, but brothers after the spirit and in God. Whenever one of the poor among them passes from this world, each one of them gives heed to him, according to his ability, and carefully sees to his burial. And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted because of the name of their Christ, all of them carefully attend to his needs. If it is possible to redeem him, they set him free. If there are any poor and needy among them, but if they have no spare food to give, they fast two or three days in order to supply the necessary food to the needy.

They follow the commandments of their Christ with much care, living justly and seriously, just as the Lord their God commanded them. Every morning and every hour they give thanks and praise to God for His loving-kindnesses to them. They give thanksgiving to him for their food and drink. If any righteous man among them passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God. They escort his body as if he were setting out from one place to go to another nearby. And when a child has been born to any of them, they give thanks to God. . . .

Such, O king, is the commandment of the law of the Christians, and such is their manner of life. As people who know God, they ask from Him petitions that are fitting for Him to grant and for them to receive. They do this their whole lifetime. And since they know the loving-kindnesses of God toward them, for their sake the glorious things in the world take place. . . . They do not proclaim in the ears of the multitude the kind deeds they do, but they are careful that no one notices. They conceal their giving just as one who finds a treasure and conceals it. They strive to be righteous as those who expect to behold their Messiah and receive from Him with great glory the promises made concerning them.”

“They surpass the laws by their lives”

An anonymous author, referring to himself simply as “a disciple,” penned the Letter to Diognetus, a Christian apologetic work from the second century. In a chapter entitled “The Manners of Christians,” the author writes:

“Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. . . . But inhabiting [all kinds of] cities, . . . and following the customs of the inhabitants in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries only as sojourners. . . . They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time, they surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned. They are put to death and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich. They lack all things, and yet abound in all. They are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor they are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified. They are reviled, and bless. They are insulted, and repay the insult with honor. They do good, and yet are punished as evildoers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened to life.”

“They love one another”

Two writers from the late second century, Tertullian and Mark Felix, describe the difference in lifestyle between Christians and pagan unbelievers. Both of these selections are addressed to the pagans:

“Here we call your own acts to witness, you who daily are presiding at the trials of prisoners and are passing sentence upon crimes. Well, in your long lists of those accused of many and various atrocities, has any assassin, any purse-snatcher, any man guilty of sacrilege, seduction, or stealing . . . ever had his name entered as also being a Christian? Or when Christians are brought before you on the mere basis of their name, is there ever found among them an evildoer of this sort? It is always with your people that the prison is steaming. . . . You find no Christian there, unless he is there for being a Christian. Or, if someone is there as something else, he is a Christian no longer. We alone, then, are without crime.” – Tertullian

“We do not distinguish our people by some small bodily mark (as you suppose) but easily enough by the sign of innocency and modesty. Thus we love one another (to your regret) with a mutual love, because we do not know how to hate. For that reason, we call one another (to your envy) brothers, as being men born of one God. . . . You [pagans] forbid, and yet commit, adulteries. We are born men only for our own wives. You punish crimes when committed. With us, to even think of crimes is to sin. . . . From your numbers the prison boils over. But there is no Christian there, unless he is accused on account of his religion, or else is an apostate.” – Mark Minucius Felix

“They exhibit good works”

The early Christians were known for their separation from the world in order to follow Christ. Around the year 250, Origen wrote, “From the very beginning, then, this was inculcated as a precept of Jesus among His hearers, that men should despise the life which is eagerly sought after by the multitude, but be earnest in living the life which resembles that of God.”

Around the turn of the third century, early Christian writers Athenagoras and Tertullian wrote of the separation and simplicity evident in these believers’ lives:

“Among us you will find uneducated persons, artisans, and old women. They may be unable in words to prove the benefit of our doctrine. However, by their deeds, they demonstrate the benefit arising from their accepting its truth. They do not rehearse speeches, but exhibit good works. When struck, they do not strike again. When robbed, they do not go to law. They give to those who ask of them, and love their neighbors as themselves.” – Athenagoras

“Although our numbers are so great – constituting all but the majority in every city – we conduct ourselves quietly and modestly. I might say that we are known more as individuals than as organized communities. We are remarkable only for reforming our former vices.” – Tertullian

“This world and the next are enemies”

In the eyes of the world, the early Christians were remarkable for very little. They shunned the lifestyle of the multitude, choosing instead to follow the narrow way that leads to life. Their treasures were not on earth but in heaven. They understood the truth expressed in the epistle of Second Clement: “This world and the next are two enemies. . . . We cannot therefore be the friends of both.”

Will we, like the early believers, renounce the world and choose Christ? Or will we save our lives in this world, only to find ourselves lost for eternity (Matthew 16:25)?

Early Christian apologist Justin Martyr warned, “And let those who are not found living as He taught, be understood to be no Christians, even though they profess with the lip the precepts of Christ; for not those who make profession, but those who do the works, shall be saved, according to His word: ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven’ [Matt. 7:21].”