A Very Condensed History: Part 1
When and where does church history begin? The church,
which emerged out of the History of Salvation, is more than an “institution” or “organization” it rather is a living organism, which is filled with
the very Spirit life of the Great God who came to and reveals himself in the
person of Jesus Christ.
The
Visible Church
We can see around us in the world the visible church
which assembles together to worship, fellowship and to carry out other
spiritual functions. This visible church that is made up of members, that is
people from various backgrounds has a history of its own as it has come down
through the centuries.
Christians
Believe in Jesus
The members or people who comprise the church, are
called Christians, that is we are followers of the person of Jesus Christ who
we recognize as being both fully God and fully human, the very Savior of
humanity, we have come to believe through the record of Scripture and our
personal and collective encounter(s) with Jesus that he lives and has been
resurrected, yet many members of the church do not know the church’s unique
history as it has come down through the ages.
Many Christians know the history of the church emergence
on the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD and a few years after that,
but many have never been taught what occurred much later after the death
of the Apostle John in or around the late 90’s AD.
The
Culture of that Day
The historical setting of Church is important to
understand. The Church emerges in history within the Roman Empire, which was a
very pluralistic empire, made up of many nations and peoples held together by
the military and economical power of Rome.
Through the Empire put it’s “mark” upon almost every aspect of the lives of the people they
still under Roman rule of law had a surprising measure of freedom. As long as
the people within it’s rule made little or no trouble and paid their taxes the
people could expect to live in relative peace.
Rome encouraged the people to be enterprising and
entrepreneurial; for the more revenue the people errand the more taxes the
empire could collect from the people and the wealthier the Roman Emperor and
his government became.
Safe Travel
Roman rule also provided several benefits which aided
in the growth and spread of the Christian Church. Roman roads covered the Empire
which provided path ways for the Apostles to carry the Gospel message to the
vast reaches of the Empire and beyond.
Roman legions patrolled these roads keep travelers safe from bandits and
other harm.
Roman warships sailed the Mediterranean Sea
keeping shipping lanes open for travel and trade and at times transported the
Gospel message and those who preached it. Roman Rule provided a cultural
structure into which the Christian Church had emerged.
Exchange
of Ideas
The freedom to move about within the rule of Rome also
brought the benefit of diverse people groups entering into contact with one
another and interacting this brought the flow and movements of ideas from one
people group to another this itself helped to spread the Philosophical ideas
from Greece and created an hunger for answers in the hearts of those who were “seeking” the truth, they latter would
be receptive to the Gospel message about Jesus Christ.
This Hellenized climate, which sprang up resulting
from the conquest s of Alexander the Great, was the culture that the Apostle
Paul arose out of, having been born a Roman citizen, with all the right of full
citizen ship, in the city of Tarsus in Asia Minor, this gave
Paul a wide range of knowledge and experiences which equipped him to address a
much broader and sophisticated audience then most of the other Apostle.
Religious Pluralism
The Roman government actually was tolerant of
religion; Rome viewed religion as a way to build unity, this tolerance
is reflected in the great Pantheon, the Temple of all gods found at Rome,
however this tolerance had it’s limits, Rome wanted those within it’s rule to
put the Empire above all else this is seen in the Imperial Cult with it’s
worship of the Empire in the person of the sitting Emperor. This would bring
Rome into conflict periodically with the Jewish people and their insistence on the
worship of the God they found in the Holy Scriptures.At one point King Herod, who the Roman government installed as King of Judea around 40 BC , attempted to place the Roman eagle at an entrance of the Temple at Jerusalem this sparked a violent reaction from the Jewish people.
Rome ‘s basic policy was that any religion that was
resident within a given territory when it became a Province of the Empire , was allowed to remain, it was
deemed , Religio Licita or Legal
Religion. If a new religion was to be
introduced to a Province it was generally viewed as Religio
Illicitum, or Illegal Religion, this policy actually explains why Christianity
could spread unchecked by Rome for quite some time.
Through the eyes of the Roman Government Christianity was simply another sect of Judaism, which they had no strong desire to inter into the debate. It would not be until Christianity begins to mature and spread that the distinctions between Christians and the Jews become evident.
Jesus Is King
The teaching of Jesus as
King; Rome found difficult to navigate, in
Rome’s mind there was not room enough for two Lord’s co ruling the hearts of
the people, it was either Cesar or
death.
When Christians exhibited
the same stubbornness as did the troublesome Jews, in worshiping the God they encountered
in the Scripture and in the Person of Jesus whom they knew was resurrected from
the dead, Rome would act to deal with them, and very often harshly.
Client Nation
State
Roman even as a pagan national
entity, did, in the Providence of God serve His purpose providing a structure
for the primitive Apostolic Church to grow and flourish. Some Theologians refer
to nations such as Rome as being what is called a Client Nation.
A Client Nation is one whose
basic inherent constitution provides for and maintains laws or principles which
are found to be compatible with, or at least not in opposition to, the Laws of Devine Establishment, that is
how God created people to interact within national entities and societies,
these Devine Establishment Laws are
found and expressed throughout the pages of the Holy Bible.
Basic Criteria of
a Client Nation
The Basic criteria for a
nation to achieve and to maintain the status of a Client Nation is
1) That such a Client Nation gives protection by law to
the lives of the people within it’s jurisdiction and boundaries. Providing for
the private holdings of land and property by citizen, and maintains and
protects the right of, and to privacy of the citizens.
2) A Nation with Client status will allow for and protect by law the proclamation and
publication of the Gospel both in public
and private settings and for teaching of the truths found within the Bible
with no interference or regulation from the government.
3)A Client Nation also is used to be the resource for Evangelism
and Missionary activities through its people and economies, transportation and communication
systems and laws within it’s boundaries and beyond.
4) A Client Nation is also a tolerant and favorable national
host for the Jewish people who are in the Diaspora,
which is dispersed, throughout the world.
The Roman Empire having provided all the above had this status for a number of years, as long
as a nation provides for this criteria it will receive blessings from God ;as the
above criteria is diminished the blessing from God are as well....to be continued
Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor
The
Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.
2101 Old National Pike.
Washington,
Pennsylvania.
www.gcfountainoflife.org
The
Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in
Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area
of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela,
Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com:
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