homework 5.5.10

God does extra ordinary things through ordinary people. Don't ever think that God won't use you mightily. Don't ever think that God chose you for no good reason. There is always a meaning. And I am going to write today about works and people who were mighty; I have often looked at these people and thought that they were so much greater...so much better, and that they were not ordinary in the least. But no matter what I want to think, every person who has every been anything, whether large or small, has always been ordinary. Not every one of these men we will touch upon was born and thought of right away as someone who would impact many lives, as someone who would go to their death while being looked at as a hero. You must believe that you have a purpose. Believe in yourself because He does.

In Asia Minor, there was a cultural transformation. It didn't stop there, either; it began to spread even farther. Christians were multiplying no matter what you did - you could persecute them, ignore them, or block them off to a section of the city for them, but they were always converting.

Clement of Rome was one of the ordinary "heroes" that we will talk about briefly. He was taught by the Apostle Paul, and was under the shadows of many different rulers. Clement eventually began to train and teach young people about the Gospel. He found that he could communicate well, and pull meaning out of ordinary stories. People would sit for hours listening to Clement. He was, however, very humble about his achievements; he knew he was a sinner. Something he said once, was, "I remember the day I supposedly became an expert...I was surprised."

Another ordinary "hero" was Ignatius of Antioch. He lived at the same time as Clement and knew him. He was taught by the Apostle John. He knew and met many notable people, who were mentioned in the Bible. He believed that even with his martyrdom, it would encourage other people to convert to Christ. In fact, he hoped that by it, Christianity would be furthered. He was bound and eaten by beasts with about 40 other Christians. A Roman centurion who had converted to Christianity was also with them. He was known for his booming voice and so, he was assigned the job of proclaiming the Gospel to onlookers of the "sport." Other Christians being killed with them were instructed to pray for him, while others were to gather around him so that he lived longer and might preach for longer. Ordinary people who changed lives. Many of the people sitting in the stands that day, came down and joined the Christians in the arena.

Polycarp: a more well-known ordinary man who changed lives. He lived until his later-eighties. Even at this point in his life, he refused to pinch a small piece of incense in the fire in honor of Caesars name. "I have served him 80 years, how could I desert Him now?"

Papiist lived in 140 and died in 170 AD. He dated the manuscript of the New Testament and organized the canon of Scripture. He was what we would call a tinker. He would go from house to house repairing pots and pans. But he was still a very important part in history.

Early Church History

There were many great heroic cities as well. We will list 5.

1) Constantinople: it was at the tip of Asia between Asia and Europe. It was the gateway into the East and was next to the sea. It had great cultural significance and was targeted for evangelism. Their imperial celebrities were their pastors. Everyone knew who the pastors were and literally worshiped them.

2) Antioch: they were a pioneering church. They were nicknamed the "Followers of the way," and the "Fountainhead of hope." They were the hope of the gospel. Paul and Barnabas were the leaders of this theological center.

3) Alexandria: Clement and Athanasius headed up this church. They were the "Apologetic center of the church." The defense of the gospel was taught here. They were a prominent church looked up to by many smaller churches.

4) Jerusalem: this was a church more symbolic than anything else. It was an apt symbol. They were looking for emotional, cultural, theological, and ethical responses and they got it.

5) Rome: this was another powerful symbol. It was the gateway to the west. All roads lead to Rome and this made it become very powerful and influential.

In 1054 AD, the one church ended. They all shared the same belief, but now they broke up and drifted away.

Antithesis - although with pagans, there are many different beliefs, it all boils down to the same thing at the end of the day.
An apologetical father (defending the Gospel):

Justin Martyr - "the great apologist" and the defender of the faith. He wrote directly to the emperor who would write back about the Gospel.

Rome was *very* tolerant of all different beliefs, but all societies have a blasphemy law, whether they admit it or not.

America used to have laws about men cursing with women present, as opposed to now when we have laws against you speaking out against homosexuality. Wow, how more obvious is this fact to us that we have changed so much. We were once considered a Christian culture, but if this is what we're characterized by now...we have lost so much.

"Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." People often use this to prove that somethings go to Caesar and Caesar alone...not to God in the least. This is false, however, as we know that everything belongs to God. Caesar belongs to God.