MANY FALSE PROPHETS HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD: The Second Century

August 18, 2022 • Brett Baggett • 1 John 4:1

RECAP: Question I. What is church history? Answer. Church history is the story of how Jesus has built his church for his own glory and his peoples’ good. “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Question II. Why should we learn church history? Answer. We should learn church history because it is the story of Jesus conquering the nations through his Gospel. “[Christ] came out conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). Concerning the First Century, we have learned that, Christ came to save, the Apostles were sent out to preach, and then the early church suffered yet was sustained by Christ. First Century memory verse: "Christ came out conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). First Century memory quote: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” (Tertullian). THE SECOND CENTURY (100-200 A.D.) I. The church was attacked by persecution, but they remained faithful to Jesus even unto death (Revelation 2:10). “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. . . Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” II. The church was attacked by false teachers, but they remained faithful to Jesus by believing the Bible (1 John 4:1). “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” The false teachers in the second century taught that the spiritual was good and the physical was bad. False teachers taught that the Creation was evil, so the one true God could not have created it (Gnosticism). False teachers also taught that Jesus did not become truly human, because, they said, that would mean God became something inherently evil (Docetism). False teachers also taught that our bodies are evil, so we will not be resurrected with Jesus and like Jesus. Here is the true teaching of the Bible: God created the world and everything in it, and it was good. Jesus became a true human being so he could save us from our sins. We who believe in Christ will be resurrected from the dead with Jesus and like Jesus. Because of these False Teachers, the church started writing Creeds, otherwise known as Confessions of Faith. THE APOSTLES’ CREED: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. CONCLUSION: Ignatius of Antioch (Syria). He said, “If Christ be not fully human and if he did not really die, why am I suffering for the gospel and prepared to die for it?” Ignatius was put on trial and condemned by the Roman Emperor for the crime of being a Christian. While being transported to Rome to be killed, he wrote to multiple churches, and said this: “I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all, that I am dying willingly for God's sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of reaching to God. I am God's wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” Ignatius wanted to die for the Lord Jesus, and begged Christians not to try and break him free. He further said, “Let fire, or the cross, or wild beasts, or the breaking of my bones, or the cutting of me to pieces, or the shattering of my whole body, yea, all the tortures of the devil - let them all come upon me, only let me enjoy my God.” Ignatius was killed for being a Christian around the year 140 in Rome. Most likely he was eaten alive by lions. But he remained faithful to Jesus even unto death. Remember what Revelation 3:10 says: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. . . Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” What happened as soon as Ignatius died? He saw Christ! And he has been happier and happier every day since. In the second century, the Church was attacked by persecution and by false teachers, but they remained faithful to Jesus. Second Century memory verse: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) Second Century memory quote: “Let all persecutions come upon me, only let me enjoy my God” (Ignatius of Antioch).

ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO MAKE A DEFENSE: The Third Century

September 1, 2022 • Brett Baggett • 2 Timothy 3:12, Revelation 6:2, Matthew 16:18, 1 Peter 3:15

Third century memory verse: “Always be prepared to make a defense” (1 Peter 3:15). Third century memory quote: “We worship Unity in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity” (Tertullian, 155-220). *This means we worship one God who exists in three Persons, and we worship three Persons who exist in one God. RECAP Question I. What is church history? Answer. Church history is the story of how Jesus has built his church for his own glory and his peoples’ good. Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Question II. Why should we learn church history? Answer. We should learn church history because it is the story of Jesus conquering the nations through his Gospel. “[Christ] came out conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). In the Second Century (i) The Church was attacked by persecution, and (ii) The Church was attacked by false teachers. Through these attacks the church remained faithful to Jesus. Second century memory verse: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Second century memory verse: “Let all persecutions come upon me, only let me enjoy my God” (Ignatius of Antioch). THE THIRD CENTURY (A.D. 200-300) I. THE CHURCH HAD TO SUFFER GREATLY BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO LIVE HOLY.“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Christ will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Christians could not work certain jobs, because they desired to live holy lives. They could not take part in worshiping false gods. If they were builder they might have to be involved in building the walls of a false gods temple, someone who made clothes may have had to make them for the priest of an idol, someone who made incense may have had to make it for sacrifices to a false god. A Christian Bible-teacher named Tertullian even told Christians they should not be schoolteachers in the Roman Empire, because they had to use textbooks that told the ancient stories of the Roman false gods. The textbooks also told people they should worship idols. Even those who wanted to work in hospitals found that these places were controlled by those who worshipped demon gods, and the Christians could not do it. So they suffered. However, the greatest reason they suffered is because they would not worship the Roman King Caesar as god. They would not say Kaiser Kyrios. They would only say Christos Kyrios. Because the Christians would not worship the false gods of Rome, the Roman citizens blamed Christians for all the bad things that happened. Tertullian said, “If [anything bad happens in the Roman Empire], at once the cry is raised: ‘Christians to the lion.’” The Christians suffered all these things because they wanted to live holy lives for Jesus. Because Jesus is worth it! II. THE CHURCH ALSO HAD TO DEFEND THE TRUTHS OF THE BIBLE AGAINST HERETICS. “Always be prepared to make a defense” (1 Peter 3:15). A Heretic is someone who teaches things that deny the basic truths of the Bible, and the word heresy is a deviation from a basic teaching in the Bible. In the Third Century, these Christians who defended the truths of the Bible were called The Apologists. The word apologist means defender. The Apologists of the Third Century defended the truth of the Bible against the heresy of Modalism. “Modalism teaches that there is one God who has appeared in different ways, or modes—as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit” (Sinclair Ferguson). In contrast to the teaching of Modalism, the Apologists taught what the Scriptures teach about God being one in essence yet three Persons. The Baptist Catechism for Boys and Girls lists these three questions in a row, to help us understand our Triune God as faithfully taught in the Scriptures, and they should remind us of the Apologists against the Modalists in the Third Century: Q6. Are there more gods than one? A. There is only one God (Deut 6:4; Jer 10:10; Mk 12:29; Acts 17:22-31). Q7. In how many persons does this one God exist? A. In three persons (Mt 3:16, 17; In 5:23; 10:30; 14:9, 10; 15:26; 16:13-15; 1 In 5:20; Rv 1:4, 5). Q8. Who are the persons of the Trinity? A. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 Pet 1:2; Jude 20, 21). CONCLUSION. Tertullian (155-220), the man who has already been quoted in this lesson, was from Carthage in the Country Tunisia, which is in Northern Africa. He was one of the Apologists in the third century. Tertullian fought against the heresy called Modalism and, as far as we know, was the first person in church history to use the word Trinity as it relates to the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Tertullian said, “We worship Unity in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.” This means we worship one God who exists in three Persons, and we worship three Persons who exist in one God. Third century memory verse: “Always be prepared to make a defense” (1 Peter 3:15). Third century memory quote: “We worship Unity in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity” (Tertullian, 155-220). This means we worship one God who exists in three Persons, and we worship three Persons who exist in one God.

STANDING AGAINST THE WORLD FOR CHRIST: The Fourth Century - Church History 101

September 15, 2022 • Brandon Allen • 2 Thessalonians 2:15