Reading Of Early Church Father's Literature Is Rewarding And Inspiring

Hold fast the pattern

 of sound words 

which you have heard

from me, in faith

and love which

are in Christ Jesus...

Be diligent to present

yourself approved to God,

a worker who does not 

need to be ashamed,

rightly dividing the

word of truth.

2Timothy 1:13; 2:15

     When a person is faced with persecution it is easy to become weak, or to become overly defensive, either way is wrong and is not the way of a Christian. We are not to lay back and do nothing, nor is a Christian to take the law in their own hands. It is during persecution as the history of the Church shows that the Church grew in number. This growth occurred in spite of persecution. How? By Christians living out their faith, by evangelization even in the face of persecution by the government. Mostly, the Church faced heresy that attempted in many ways to destroy the Church to thwart the purpose of God to bring to all those He elected to salvation to come by hearing the word of God: "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Persecution may be open and violent or it can come from within the Church, silently, slyly, with the lie being couched in some form of truth. And as I pointed out in previous blogs on the Bible and the different versions, one must know whether or not that what they read is truthful, and is what the original words actually said and meant. Notice how the NIV translates these Greek words in Romans 10:17: "ἄρα ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ ῥήματος Θεοῦ": NIV: "Consequently, faith comes form hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." On the surface the NIV rendering seems harmless and does in some sense say the same as the King James, or New King James Versions state: but this is far from the truth. The word "message" is not in the original Greek, either in the Textus Receptus, or the Critical Text. The word for "Christ" is found in the Critical text which diminishes what the hearers heard. Yes, it is the Gospel of Christ that we preach, but when a person has a rough time associating Jesus as being God, one person of the Trinity, then to say that what is person hears is the "word of God" is removed and the word "Christ" is put in place of the word "God." This variation seems insignificant and by itself it may be so, but this along with other interpolations of a persons belief that diminishes Jesus Christ adds to the fact that the Critical text cannot be used as being what the apostle wrote. For instance, in checking on which manuscripts use the word "God" there are many, many, manuscripts that contain the word for "God."The Critical Text reads: " ἄρα ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ ῥήματος Χριστο." The Gospel is the word of God, about God, God who came to earth, became man, so that He would Himself pay the debt man owed due to sin. The message is the word of God, and that word is not to be diminished by interpolation even if there is an attempt to "smooth" out the reading. Little things that some writers did to translate the Gospel so that their beliefs would be believed had to be addressed and the writer of The Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians was one such letter. Although the word Epistle is in the title this is not a letter so much as a sermon. Furthermore, the writer of this Epistle is not Clement of Rome of whom I wrote about in the last blog. This writer considered and wrote about the sound view of Christ, what is that view? That Jesus Christ was God, and that He was the promised Savior. He taught on the purity of life that a Christian is to demonstrate in their life. Further, he urges Christian virtues that would be a Christian's guide in the conflict with the world. Christians are to work our  their salvation that they received through Jesus Christ. This letter was written about 150 A.D.
     Papias (d. unknown), was a writer about the middle of he second century an wrote: Interpretations of the Sayings of the Lord. Papias describes his way of gathering information:

I will not hesitate to add also for you to my interpretations what I formerly learned with care from the Presbyters and have carefully stored in memory, giving assurance of its truth. For I did not take pleasure as the many do in those who speak much, but in those who teach what is true, nor in those who relate foreign precepts, but in those who relate the precepts which were given by the Lord to the faith and came down from the Truth itself. And also if any follower of the Presbyters happened to come, I would inquire for the sayings of the Presbyters, what Andrew said, or what Peter said, or what Philip or what Thomas or James or what John or Matthew or any other of the Lord's disciples, and for the things which other of the Lord's disciples, and for the things which Aristion and the Presbyter John the disciples of the Lord, were saying. For I considered that I should not get so much advantage from matter in books as from the voice which yet lives and remains. 

(Michael William Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers in English, page 309 (Baker Academic, 2006). ISBN 0-8010-3108-7)

It is possible that Papias was a student or disciple of the apostle John. His writings throw interesting light on the origin of the Gospels. for instance he states that Mark was the interpreter of Peter and the Matthew wrote his work in the Hebrew language. His writings add to our knowledge of the beliefs, life and of the literature of the New Testament. 

     Christianity has always faced both external and internal problems in every period of history. The Church had to face those serious problems that were internal, heresy, and had to deal with external problems of persecution from the Roman state. Today we are no different, for there has been especially with the introduction of liberalism in the Church a form of silent persecution leading Christians away from the truth of God's word. At the same time we are face with persecution from religions such as Islam. Yet, we must face persecution from the government such as what is happening in Great Britain where the government is banning the wearing of a cross on a necklace in the work place. 

     However persecution may come we must as Christians, children of God be prepared and the way we prepare is to read His word, apply His word in our life, and allow our faith to grow to the extent that we become devoted to God, to our Savior. This can be done because God promised us that we have a helper the Holy Spirit: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I have said to you" (John 14:26). Notice this fact: the Holy Spirit does not give you some new revelation as some Churches as the Bethel Church of Redding teaches, rather He will recall what you have put in, and that imputation is the word of God. How to can you recall which you have not put in? You can't! It is God who avails us of all we need for this life, even in the event of terrible persecution: "So we may boldly say: 'The LORD is my helper: I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6; cf. Psalm 118:6). 

     We live life, God gave us life to live, but He also gave His word so that we would live our life according to what He knows is for our benefit, His word. It is our devotion to God by which we love God and we live according to His law. We do not live for ourselves, so that we are "happy" and have found ourselves, or that we have a life that is so holy that we are really a hindrance to what God intends for His children in this life as we prepare to live eternally with Him. Our salvation is secure, it cannot be removed, we are chosen by Him, but how we live this life will be accounted for on the "last Day." Our joy is in the Lord.

And He said, "To you

    it has been given 

to know the mysteries

   of the kingdom of God,

but to the rest it is given

    in parables, that

'Seeing they may not see,

    and hearing they may 

not understand."

                       Luke 8:10

God's Children Understand

Richard L. Crumb