What Did Early Christians Do Different From Modern Day Christians?

What did the early Christians do differently than Christians today?

They Evangelized

The early church evangelized in such a way that it was said to the apostles, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:28) to which they replied, “Do we need a permit? Can you tell us when we can preach about Jesus again?” No, they simply never stopped preaching the gospel and they couldn’t because they said “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Even in jail they had prisoners and guards that they could witness too. Flogging, imprisonment, torture, and even crucifixion (for a few), would not stop them from professing their faith in Christ. Today, some are even afraid to tell their own spouse, sisters, brothers, parents, neighbors, co-workers, and even the person next door. I think the early church was more evangelistic and as a result of that, “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47) possibly because they had “filled Jerusalem with” the name of Jesus Christ.

They Shared their Possessions

The early church didn’t just meet on Sundays like we do today. They would meet almost every day. Knowing that some of the church members were in need, “they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:45-46). That’s not necessary today for most because the church helps those who cannot help themselves and there are social services that provide for the poor’s needs (although certainly not all of them). The generosity of the early church was due to the fact that “all who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44) and that meant if one member suffered, they all did. It seems that most of society is self-contained in the sense that they don’t need the support of others and the church today has those tendencies.

They Died for their Faith

Most of us will never know the fear of death and being martyred at any moment for your faith or having a Bible or be caught praying. We can openly share our faith and attend worship services but for the early church, some were dragged off to jail and either beaten, tortured, and in one cast, stoned to death like Stephen; the first martyr of the early church. How many of us would be willing to travel as far as the apostles did or some of the believers did? Have you wondered how Christianity spread so fast in the early church? Ironically, it was the very thing that tried to stamp it out; persecution. This actually backfired on those who were trying to extinguish the church. By persecuting the church, they were like someone trying to put out a grass fire with a blanket; it only served to spread it. Persecution of the church took the gospel throughout the region as it says in Acts 8:1; “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” Saul, who “had approved of [Stephen’s] execution” (Acts 8:1a) was the primary persecutor and he unknowingly help to spread the gospel and he would later spread the church by his great missionary trips. The point is, they didn’t care for their lives; they cared only for the commission that Christ had given them (Matt 28:19-20).

Societal Differences

Talk about drastic societal changes and how the early church and the contemporary church are very dissimilar, consider this; then you could display the Ten Commandments. Now, you can’t. Then, the Bible was part of children’s education but today you cannot. In some school districts you can have the Qur’an in the library but not a Bible. Also in education, you could teach the Ten Commandments. Today you have Harry Potter as part of the curriculum. Then, only virgins married. Today, they pass out condoms at schools. It is hard to deny the existence of evil in the world but it is also easy to see how violence has grown in society. The increase in violence and sexually explicit images in our society grew at the same rate that increasing violence and sexually inappropriate images appeared in Hollywood movies. The same rings true with sexual filth, porn, and debauchery. Look at the magazines, movies, and books of 50 years ago and compare to what it’s like today. Can anyone be so blind as to not see that violence and sexual immorality have increased at the same rate that these same things appeared in the movies? And that it’s growing even worse, day by day!

Conclusion

I know we are not in the same situation as the early church was in at that time. We are in a better situation for most of us and we are without excuse to not take the gospel to the lost that are all around us. The early church lived out the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20); today we are fine with the “great omission.” It’s not a subject you hear most Christians even speak about. Then, in the first century church, that’s all they ever talked about. Let be said of us, “we filled the whole city with this teaching about Jesus Christ.”

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.