From Maranatha Bible Presbyterian Church,
63 Cranwell Rd. Singapore509851
Email - maranatha.bpc@pacific.net.sg
Why A Christian Should Know Church History
When one speaks of history, it brings an image to the mind of the average listener, a boring and dry subject of many dates, personalities and events to memorize, somewhat irrelevant to us today. Actually church history is a delightful and pertinent study of the account of God's intervention in hte lives of men and the church throughout the ages. Its meaning and relevance are real to regenerate men men today. Historian Perry Miller said to the puritans, "History is a memorial of the mercies of God so that posterity may know them, remember them and hymn His praises."
What is church history? Church history is but a record of the sovereignty of God in the lives of men down the centuries and believers should not be ignorant of it. Earle Cairns has said well, "Church history should be a matter of profound spiritual interest to the Christian who desires to be enlightened concerning his spiritual ancestry, to emulate the good examples of the past and to avoid errors that the church has frequently made." The study and knowledge of it should inspire us to greater faith and confidence in God. It is not just a meaningless accumulation of facts but the analytical interpretation of this information to give us a meaningful understanding of the pat so that we will be better equipped to live in the present and be expectant for the future. With this in mind, Church History can well be defined by Earle Cairns to be the interpreted record at the origins, process and impact of Christianity on human society based on organized data gathered by scientific methods from archaeologyical, documentary or living sources. The work of the Holy Spirit and the Sovereignty of God impart a supernatural element in our understanding of Church history as opposed to the worldly teaching of secular history. God is in control of history and orders it according to His Sovereign good pleasure. The student of history must be diligent, disciplined, willing to read, and to investigate and to remember important dates, events and persons in the full appreciation of the glorious occasions of the past. Develop a holy inquisitiveness to delve into the historic past and learn powerful lessons from the "textbook of time" which are relevant for the day. Remember that History is His-Story.
Why Study Church History?
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