New Sunday School Series | Medieval Church History

This Sunday we will begin this year’s church history Sunday School series, Medieval Church History: From Numidia to Byzantium. Our survey of church history will take us from the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, to the end of the Byzantine Empire as Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453. This Sunday we will begin with Augustine of Hippo, in the Roman province of Numidia.

In the weeks ahead, we will survey doctrinal developments, characters, and important events in the Latin, Celtic, and Byzantine churches. Positively, we will observe the Council of Chalcedon and heroes of the faith who defended the truth against heresy, and suffered persecution for the sake of the truth. Negatively, we will observe the accumulation of theological error and corruption, with the church becoming increasingly dependent on extra-biblical traditions and doctrines. In addition to this, the church suffered greatly as Islam emerged and waged jihad on Christendom, destroying and enslaving a significant part of the Christian world, and provoking the Crusades.

Throughout the tumult of history, Christ has been faithful to build his church. Despite the spiritual darkness of the medieval world, there are many theologians and saints that we have much to learn from. Many would return to the Scriptures and suffer great persecution, including the Waldensians, John Wycliffe, and Jan Hus. This series will conclude with Europe on the brink of the Protestant Reformation, which, Lord willing, we will study in 2026.

As we begin this series, here are seven important reasons why we should study church history:

1. Church history bears witness to the faithfulness of Christ. “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). His words are true, and the church continues to be built as new believers come to faith in Christ. Church history is the story of the work of Christ through the church in the work of the Great Commission. The preaching of the Gospel has gone out to the nations, passing down through time and generations until it has come to us. We should know this story.

2. We have a family tree of faith, and church history is the story of our family. Since the founding of the church by Christ and the apostles (Eph 2:20), many brothers and sisters have been added to the church. We have received “a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions” (Mark 10:30). We should get to know our brothers and sisters.

3. Church history gives us examples to follow. “Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7). We should learn from those who have led and taught the church in past ages. Observing their testimony and perseverance in times of suffering and tribulation should encourage and inspire us to be faithful. Their faithfulness in the past encourages us to be faithful in the present.

4. We have a theological inheritance. Pastors and theologians have guarded the truth with creeds and confessions, and we have a rich heritage of truth that has been passed down to us. From the doctrine of the Trinity to our understanding of the humanity and divinity of Christ, we are blessed by the theological labors of the past and we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. We should understand the richness of our theological heritage.

5. Church history is essential in an age of dishonesty. We live in an age of revisionism where there is great dishonesty and misunderstanding about the history of the church. It is important to have a solid grasp of true history and not be led astray by false teachers who seek to discredit Christianity. We must know the truth of history so we can reject and repudiate bad readings and fabrications about the bride of Christ.

6. Church history strengthens our confidence in the faith once delivered to the saints. How has the gospel been preserved through the ages? What tenets of the faith have remained the same through the centuries? What trials has the church overcome through the ages? It is important that we equip ourselves with this history so that we might better understand our faith.

7. Church history increases our thanksgiving. When our eyes open to the volume of what we have been given by our brothers and sisters, and we can observe God’s gracious providence and the power of the Scriptures through the last two thousand years, it is right that we respond with thanksgiving and praise to God.

I could keep going, but I’ll stop with a few book recommendations: Church History 101: The Highlights of Twenty Centuries by Sinclair B. Ferguson, Joel R. Beeke, and Michael Haykin. This book is available on our bookshelf. It’s a very short read and provides helpful points of reference for those who would learn more about church history.

For those who want to read primary sources from this period, I recommend picking up Augustine’s Confessions, and Patrick’s Confession.

I look forward to starting this new series this Sunday. Please pray with me that this new series would be edifying and encouraging to our church family, and that the Lord would be glorified in it.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Ben