​Every now and again we will take some time to look back at the pages of Christian history. There is so much that can be learned from those who have studied the Bible and have determined for it to be their rule of life. Church history is never superior to bibliology, by no means, but it certainly does aid our understanding of various biblical doctrines today. As we are able to identify how the things that we believe about God today agree with what theologians from earlier centuries have believed about it, we can receive some affirmation for that which we believe, especially as these doctrines are preached and believed today.

The same however is true for lessons that can be learned from church history which should not be repeated. Not everything that happened in the first few centuries after Christ was necessarily good... 

Augustine progressed philosophically as most men of his day. Eventually neo-Platonism would have a considerable effect on his thinking, especially as he made sense of God and the created order through these lenses. In his “Confessions” he makes quite clear that a subtle disdain of the physical had started to set in. From his account it seems that it could have been his hatred for his past sinful lifestyle that led him to the false piety of an over-spiritualized view of God and what he grants men.


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Let’s just say, it’s difficult not to brag at times, especially when the world is often filled with people who like to gloat about all their accomplishments. They like to talk about all their successes in life and somewhat expect any unsuspecting bystander to be okay about hearing about their jobs, the places they have traveled, the people they know and the things they have amassed throughout their years.

It can be tempting for Christians to want to play the same game when facing someone like this. Even Christian to Christian we can be tempted to want to share in the narcissist hobby of bragging, boasting, “tooting our own trumpet,” call it what you will. Scripture does not allow for this kind of behaviour. Of all people Christians should be known for their humility. We are not people who goes around bragging about our accomplishments. The reason is simple. Everything that we have become in Christ is because of what God has done for us in Christ...

But if there is any reason for bragging, any reason for triumph, any reason for letting the world know about it, let it be Christ. He is our only reason for boasting. The apostle Paul explains this so well in 1 Corinthians 1 where he talks about the worth of the cross, or the worth of Christ as the Saviour of the world. As he does so, Paul focuses his explanation of the cross, and in particular, its uncomplicated message on two broad groups, the Jews and the Gentiles.

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There is a golden thread that runs through the Bible which can sometimes go unnoticed by some. It involves this road that we travel on. For all God’s children of all generations, the walk of faith that we are engaged in does not occur in a vacuum, rather it occurs in an onward and upward motion, spiritually speaking. We often forget the fact that this road that we are on is marked by the grinding footprints and cross-dragging induced furrows of many saints who before us have had to travel the same road on their way to glory (Matt. 7:13-14). This is a walk that has been attempted and completed by many of the Lord’s dear followers of old. There is therefore much that we can learn from the pages of church history, in particular from Christian biography (Prov. 13:20). As Paul instructed the Corinthians, we would be wise to imitate them too, as we diligently imitate the Lord (1 Cor. 11:1).
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One such saint that deserves recognition at this juncture is a man by the name of John Charles, or J.C. Ryle. The son of a wealthy banker, Ryle was born in the town of Macclesfield within the region of Cheshire, England, on 10 May, 1816. Like many other boys he took a liking in different kinds of sports during his teenage years, but especially excelled at the activities of rowing and the game of cricket. After his transfer to Christ Church, Oxford in 1834, his cricket playing career reached its crescendo in an 1836 Varsity match at Lords, when he took no less than 10 wickets in a bowling effort, sealing the match for Oxford.

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​In a world of fluidity Christians can sometimes find themselves being moved along with a never ceasing tide of worldly instability. That would be the true nature of this world to begin with. At best, this world system that we find ourselves having to operate in, can be riddled with uncertainty and capriciousness. Today it’s up, tomorrow it’s down. The moment you think it is left then all of the sudden it’s right. Next week it’s black. The week after that it’s white. Naturally, there seems to be an abundance of grey areas, which, by the way, can never be the case biblically, since right is always right, and wrong is always wrong. But doubt will obviously abound in a fallen world where right and wrong, good and bad, get convoluted in an intricate labyrinth of lies, fabrications, half-truths, empty promises and outright rebellion toward the Maker. The world’s instability can be seen everywhere in society. Of course we understand that by agency of the fall, things have since the entrance of sin into the world, always been in a state of never ending flux. Along with the entrance of sin came great changes in the natural order (Gen. 3:17-18). Life became challenged by death, health by sickness, abundance by poverty, and safety by danger. However, this is not so much the instability of the world that I have in mind. Naturally, nature is in flux, and this is the natural course which the world has been taking ever since the first sin. This instability is of a material nature and we deal with it as best we can (think droughts, catastrophes, etc.). Rather the real danger lies with the moral instability of the world, and this is truly catastrophic in a spiritual sense.

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