What happened in the Fifth Century (400-500) that shows us how Christ built His church as He continued to conquer the nations?

I. ROME WAS ATTACKED AND PLUNDERED BY BARBARIANS AND THE EMPIRE THROWN DOWN. Augustine, who was a pastor and theologian in the fifth century, said, “This is no surprise to us, to see the kingdoms of men rising and the kingdoms of men falling, because our commitment is not to eternal Rome. Our commitment is to Jesus Christ and exclusively to the kingdom He is building.“

The Prophet Daniel, a thousand years earlier, saw this day in a vision: “As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom” (Daniel 7:21-22).

Rome was the government power that put Christ to death and persecuted many Christians. Finally, as God promised, he threw down the Roman Empire and Christ’s Kingdom just kept growing and growing. “The Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.”

II. AUGUSTINE DEFENDED THE GRACE OF THE GOSPEL AGAINST THE HERETIC PELAGIUS. “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Pelagius believed you could be saved by your own works, but that is not what God says in the Bible. So Augustine taught the truth that God saves by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Augustine prayed, “God, command what you will, and grant what you command.” This made Pelagius angry when he read this prayer of Augustine. I) Pelagius denied Original Sin. II) Pelagius believed we already have everything we need to please God. III) Pelagius believed we come to God on our own through our works for Him. Because these things are the opposite of what God teaches us in the Scriptures, Augustine wrote many things to defend the truth of the grace of the gospel. Augustine rightly taught that all men are sinners in Adam, totally unable to do any good apart from divine grace. Augustin also taught that sinners need an act of supernatural grace for salvation, seeing they are dead in sins. In addition, Augustine taught that the only way a sinner can be saved is by coming to God through Jesus Christ. Augustine sufficiently refuted Pelagius, therefore the latter was regarded by the church a heretic, teaching different doctrines that the Scriptures. Sadly, many are Pelagians or semi-Pelagians today without realizing it. Believers in every age need to study church history to help them avoid the same pitfalls that have destroyed those in the past.

III. PATRICK PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO IRELAND. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). A man named Patrick was born in Britain in 385 and died in 461. When he was 16 years old, his family farm was raided by Irish Pirates. Patrick was kidnapped, taken to Ireland, and sold into slavery. There he labored as a shepherd. While Patrick was a slave in Ireland, God saved him. He became a Christian and therefore devoted his life to Christ. A few years later, Patrick escaped slavery and returned to his home. However, he would not stay there for long. Once he returned from Ireland, Patrick had a vivid dream, and in the dream he saw the people of Ireland telling him to come preach the gospel to them. So Patrick left his home and spent the next 29 years preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Irish people.

Patrick loved Christ and wanted others to love him as well. He was obedient to the Great Commission even at great cost to himself. We can see Patrick’s love for Christ especially through a portion of one of his prayers:

“Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.”

CONCLUSION. In the fifth century, I) Christ threw down the Roman Empire and continued to conquer the nations by His gospel; and II) Christ continued to conquer the nations through His gospel through men like Augustine, who defended the gospel, and Patrick of Ireland, who proclaimed it.

FIFTH CENTURY MEMORY VERSE. “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

FIFTH CENTURY MEMORY QUOTE. “Our commitment is to Jesus Christ and exclusively to the kingdom He is building“ (Augustine).