How Has The Christian Church Changed Over Time?

Has the Christian church changed over time? If so, in what ways?

The Primitive Church

The early church, formed in the first century, was that “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). The apostle’s doctrine of course are the things that Jesus taught His own disciples and instructed them to make disciples of others (Matt 28:19-20) so the primitive church was bound to the Word of God but they also had fellowship and “the breaking of bread” which could mean both eating together or possibly, partaking of the Lord’s Supper or Communion on a consistent basis but they also were a praying church and they were “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:46) so they shared what they have with those who had little or nothing. The result of all of this was they were “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

The Spread of Christianity

How did the church spread so rapidly without modern modes of transportation and mass communication? Ironically, the very thing that was done against the church (persecution) was the very same thing that spread the gospel to far-flung parts of the continent and Saul (later named Paul) was responsible for much of it as it says in Acts 8:1 that “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.” So by trying to stamp out the church, it was like a grassfire; Saul and the more the persecuting Jews tried to stamp it out, the more it spread. The church spread rapidly but many by word of mouth. Persecution was the primary factor in spreading the gospel in the first century or so. By the 2nd century Christian churches existing in large cities were independently ruled not by a collection of church elders (like the churches that existed in the days of Paul and Peter) but by a local bishop.

Falling into Tradition

The church grew throughout the first centuries but something happened along the way. The church began to value tradition more than the Word of God and became more of a religious order than a church. With the Catholic Church services being in Latin, the common layperson couldn’t know what was being read or taught. It would be like hearing someone speaking another language and trying to understand what they were saying, which would be next to impossible for most. Catholics worked as missionaries to convert pagans in a peaceful way, however in some instances, members of the Church forced people to become Catholics or face severe persecution…and yes, death. This Catholic Church’s selling of indulgences and corruption within the Vatican prompted many a protest…and the birth of Protestantism Reformation, calling for reformation in the church.

Seeker Sensitive Churches

It wasn’t long before the church began to fall into heresy, just as the Apostle Paul had predicted, and perhaps why Jude wrote that he “was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3) because “certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). The “faith that was once delivered…to the saints” became a different gospel; one that included works, which is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8-9) so false gospels and wolves in sheep’s clothing began to creep into the church “unnoticed” by some but not unnoticed by those who were still preaching the whole counsel of God. In time, the church began to remake itself into an organization that would attract people with activities and social-gospel preaching. Not all churches sought to make the church a place where their ears could be tickled but there were many that did. A few biblically-centered churches knew that the Word of God must cut in order to heal (Heb 4:12) because the Word comforts the afflicted but it also afflicts the comfortable and it’s supposed to! Many churches today avoid any kind of offense that might run people out of the church so repentance, sin, hell, confession, sanctification, and the rest of the “apostles’ doctrine” was replaced with as real-good, feel-good, man-centered theology that focused on the person instead of Jesus Christ.

A Remnant

The Old Testament refers to a remnant that will always remain faithful to God in living in obedience to Christ and evangelizing the lost. There are strong indications that many believe they are Christian when in fact, they are not. One of the most serious warnings Jesus ever gave was in Matthew 7:21-23 where He said, “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). That’s the litmus test; if a person is a believer, they will seek to live a life of obedience to Christ and the ones who do “the will of my Father” are those who are truly saved. On the day of Jesus’ return, He will tragically say to “many,” not a few, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt 7:23).

Conclusion

You can buy a lot of programs and books and DVD’s about church growth or…you can burn a big pile of money. I already have a book on church growth and it’s called the Bible, therefore I choose to follow the pattern of the first century church where they (Acts 2:42-47) and teach and preach the “apostles’ doctrine” or the New Testament and let the Word of God have its full effect, trusting God to grow the church and to save those who trust in Christ. As with women as well, it takes a man of God with the Word of God with the Spirit of God to make the children of God for the glory of God. All we need do is trust the preaching of the Word and leave the results up to God because He is the Lord of the Harvest.

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.