Christianity After Constantine: Lesson to Be Learned

Last weekend it was my privilege to present an all-day seminar as part of tripart local church Bible Conference. I began the day with this brief introduction.

I am sure that in this church Ephesian 4:11-16 is not unfamiliar. However, permit me to say a few words to frame our five seminars today regarding our theme: “Speaking the truth in love in the church.”

First—He ascended to His Father’s presence having completed the work of redemption and He distributed the essential gifts to build His church against which the gates of Hell will not prevail (11).

However, those whom He gifted He gave great responsibility—

  • Equip the saints for the work of ministry 12
  • For the building up of the saints 12
  • To generate a mature body of believers 13

And how dose this army of believers accomplish this task? It is by speaking the truth, the whole truth, to one another. The first place we must do this is in the church so that the church can speak truth in the home and in the marketplace.

Sitting in the airport at the end of that long day, a lady engaged me in a political conversation—that is, I listened to her passionate concern for America if former President Trump is defeated. That conversation and another which I overheard (I decided to take the role of the proverbial mouse in the corner and just listened) a day or so later coupled with a review I read on Wolfe’s Christian Nationalism stirred my patriotic nerve. Our Sunday School lesson this morning which contrasted naturalism and theism turned up the heat. 

I am a patriotic fellow. I wrote a book title The Call to Christian Patriotism. But I am not a Christian Nationalist. Mr. Trump is not our patriot who will be our savior from the pagan left. Might he be used of God to get the church a reprieve, yes. My concern is, will the evangelical church bask in the reprieve, or will she repent and get about the full-blown Great Commission?

The church under Constantine found favor from the state. While you will find various viewpoints as to his impact on the church, there is a consensus that there occurred a progressive change, and not for the better.

What was the progressive change? I will venture it was the progressive demise of the Great Commission. There was a move toward institutionalism. Evangelism as it was known heretofore diminished and what occurred did not materialize into discipleship—using the gifts of Ephesians four for the building up of the saints into a mature body.

The church in American is in desperate need of every believer evangelizing and the current body of believers are in desperate need of discipleship that will produce people of integrity in public service. This is how we win America—citizens and aliens becoming believers who are being transformed into image of Christ. We need to outgrow the pagan left and we vote out the immoralities by multiplying changed lives. 

I am not suggesting postmillennialism. I am suggesting an exploding church so that we gain the same reputation as the early church of whom it was said “they have turned the world upside down.”

Now this will have the effect of Christian Patriotism no matter in which nation you hold citizenship.  

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