Whether you grew up Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, some other denomination, or even non-denominational, there are some things that your church likely did not tell you.

Churches today rarely discuss the writings of the early Christians.  The few that do usually focus on the works of Augustine and later writers rather than the people who learned directly from the apostles.  As a result, the writings of the early Christians have largely become a hidden history.  They have been passed over by modern theologians who prefer to interpret Scripture based on the opinions of modern commentators rather than the beliefs of those who were under the direct instruction of the apostles.

Have you ever heard of Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, Cyprian, Hermas, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Lactantius, Origen, Papias, Polycarp, or Tertullian?  Many of these people were key leaders of the Christian church in the first couple generations after the apostles.  Do you know what they wrote?  What did they believe?  How did they live?

The hidden history

No prominent denomination today believes exactly as the early Christians did; yet every denomination has a doctrinal statement, or a set of beliefs to which members must adhere.  As a result, the historical writings that conflict with the doctrinal statement are conveniently hidden.  These writings are not destroyed, nor are they viciously attacked, nor are they reinterpreted.  They are simply ignored.

Throughout the centuries, Satan has tried many tactics to weaken the church’s effectiveness, and this may be one of his most subtle and clever schemes.  When the historical writings are ignored, the books of the Bible become static, isolated, and devoid of context.  They can then be reinterpreted with ease.

Perhaps this is why the major denominations today differ so much regarding the basic doctrines of Scripture.  Obviously, Scripture cannot teach both the 5-point Calvinism of the Reformed movement and the Arminianism of the Methodists.  Yet both denominations claim to glean their teachings from Scripture.  In reality, nearly every denomination today has (often unintentionally) reinterpreted Scripture to fit its own doctrinal system.  Because the Bible has become so isolated from its historical context, even the most educated scholars are often unaware of what the early Christians actually believed.

The vast majority of churchgoers blindly accept the doctrines they are taught.  They do not know about the history of the early Christians.  They do not know that many of their questions are answered quite simply in these writings.

Were you ever told the answers to these questions?

• What happened after the book of Acts?  How long did the apostles live?  When and how did they die?
• What did a church service in the first century look like?  Was there singing?  Was there preaching?  Did they have special music?
• How often did the early Christians have communion / the Eucharist?
• What did the early Christians believe about baptism?  Did they immerse, or sprinkle, or both?  Was baptism only a symbol?
• Did the early Christians believe salvation was by faith, works, or something else?  Why is the sinner’s prayer never mentioned in the Bible?
• Did the early Christians believe in eternal security?  What about predestination?
• How did the early Christians view government?  What did they believe about war?
• How did early believers understand Jesus’ parables about the wedding feast and leaven?
• Did the sign gifts cease after the apostles died?  What did prophecy, healing, and miracles look like in the early church?
• How did the early Christians view the entertainment of their day?  Did theaters exist in the first century?  If so, did Christians participate?
• How did the early Christians dress?  Did they think the principles of modesty applied only to women, or were they for men too?  Did Christian women wear jewelry or makeup?  Does it matter?
• Did the early Christians teach that believers go directly to heaven at death?  What about the intermediate place called Hades?  Why did Jesus descend there?  Does it still exist?
• Did the early Christians read from the same Bible that we do today?  Were any books added?  Were any missing?
• Did the early Christians quote from the Apocrypha?  Did Jesus?
• Did Peter ever visit Rome?  What happened to Pontius Pilate after the Scriptural account?  What about Zacchaeus?
• Who wrote the epistle to the Hebrews?  Was it originally written in Hebrew or Greek?  Does the writing style indicate anything about the author and/or translator?
• Who was the person mentioned in Acts 15 who sent messengers commanding people to keep the law, eventually leading to the Jerusalem Council and the writing of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians?  What else do we know about this person?
• Who were the Nicolaitans mentioned in Revelation?  Who was their leader?  What was their history?  Why did Jesus hate their works?
• Why didn’t Jesus write a theology book?  Why did He talk more about kingdom life than He did about salvation?  Why didn’t He ever lead someone in the sinner’s prayer?

What if you knew?

What if you knew the answers to some of these questions?  Might that knowledge change your life?  What if you found out that your church’s doctrinal statement would have been considered heresy in the first century?  What if you found out that some of the things you do every day were universally condemned by the early Christians, the apostles, and even Jesus Himself?

What if you could read Scripture for yourself without having to rely on commentaries and study Bibles?  Could Jesus’ teachings be so simple that the common person could understand and obey them?  What if Jesus actually meant what He said?  Would that change your life?

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).