Most Christians today have no idea that the basic tenents
of their faith, religious practice, and doctrine come from
the integration of the church and state during
the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine. That may not
initially seem so alarming, but actually it has had a very
significant effect on what they have believed and how they
live. Although Christians are universally taught from the
words of Christ himself, their present influence, interpretation,
and application stem from the writings and councils of the
early “church fathers” of the third and fourth
centuries. It was a time when the church was in its last
phase of transition into its current form.
Contending for "The Faith"
For nearly two centuries the church had experienced a
steady decline from its original vibrancy of living together
in community, when love was the glue which held their
life together. The book of Jude records, near the end
of the first century, the writer’s alarm and distress,
pleading with all the churches to contend earnestly for
“the faith” that was delivered to them once
for all by the apostles themselves. That term “once
for all” means there was no other foundation upon
which a valid church could be established. “The
faith” delivered to them by the apostles was their
spiritual foundation, the result of the gospel they had
received. It was expressed through the visible and tangible
life they shared together, having a community of goods.
Jude describes it as their “common salvation”
which all the churches universally held, having been apostolically
established. Jude 1:4 tells how that life was threatened,
challenged, and ultimately destroyed by apostates —
those who departed from being devoted to the fellowship
of the original apostles and their teachings. Peter himself
says these apostate “brothers” were the very
ones twisting and convoluting the gospel. And in the
end, it would result in their own destruction, according
to their deeds.
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who
long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly
men, who turn the grace of our God into a license for
immorality and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ?
These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to
their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words,
flattering people to gain advantage.” (Jude 1:4,16)
The second letter to the Corinthians also speaks of Paul’s
alarm over the imminent loss of the original simplicity
and purity of the faith he had passed on to them.
Through craft and scheming the apostates twisted the scriptures,
even the very gospel of the Lord, delivered through the
apostles. They rejected the authority of the apostles and
sought to promote themselves as those who are first among
their brothers.
For if he who comes preaches another Jesus
whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different
spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel
which you have not accepted — you may well put up
with it! ? For such men are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
And no wonder! For even Satan transforms himself into
an angel of light. Therefore, it is no surprise if his
ministers also transform themselves into ministers of
righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
(2 Corinthians 11:4,13-15)
There
is a consistency in the writings of the apostles in the
way these treacherous apostates (self-proclaimed apostles)
are described. They held to a form of godliness, but did
not have revelation or power from the Holy Spirit. They
were natural men, not spiritual, and like brute beasts they
ravaged the sheep, causing confusion and division within
the church and its leadership. They knew well the hardships
of the churches in every place and played upon this very
fact to captivate a receptive audience.
Subtly, these false ministers gained an advantage, motivated
by selfish desires, not seeking the welfare of the sheep
or its fold, but only to promote themselves, their own name,
for their own glory. Since the love that produced the
communal life of the early church was no longer the standard
by which a true believer’s genuine confession could
be judged, it was no wonder these “deceitful workers”
were able, through their speech and persuasion, to captivate
the mind and intellect of the fallen church remnant.
Community was no longer the “litmus test” by
which the authenticity of their faith could be judged, but
doctrine was hailed as the standard to determine
whether one “believed.” Their gospel required
nothing more than mental assent, producing a dead religion
of “belief” only. Hence, by the end of the third
century, the church was splintered by bickering bishops
and a docile laity, ready for a new era.
The Fatal Transition: Emperor Constantine
According to some scholars, this new era brought the completion
of a fatal transition from which the church would
never again recover its original Judean pattern. Community,
which had long ago dissolved, was the only means by
which those first disciples had shared a “common salvation.”
Its original structure and spiritual foundation was a communal
life, yet by the fourth century the church had become
entirely different in nature from the original pattern that
is explicit in Acts 2:41-47 and 4:32-37, and assumed throughout
the epistles.
After a lengthy period of persecution, spiritual decline,
and constant friction from within, Constantine baited the
already-weakened ranks of the Church. The Roman world during
the second and third centuries had long been divided by
the continual unrest of civil strife and disorder of every
sort. Constantine sought a means to unify the crumbling
empire. At the same time, the churches of the western and
eastern provinces suffered tremendously under the strain
of both the Empire and the constant influence of apostates.
Over two hundred years of factions from within and persecutions
from without held the church continually in the place of
compromise and hypocrisy.
Early in the fourth century, Constantine resolved to protect
himself and his own provinces against the threat of other
challenging Roman rulers and marauders who contended for
control of the weakened empire. He went to war against Maxentius’
army in order to secure his territories. The historical
account says that as Constantine approached Rome he was
given a vision to conquer under the sign of the Cross of
Christ. He had this emblem affixed to the shields of his
soldiers (most of whom were pagans) as they went into battle.
Far outnumbered by Maxentius’ army, Constantine won
a miraculous victory. From then on, Constantine worked tirelessly
to unite the fractured church and bring it into intimate
fellowship with the Roman state. This merger of church and
state set the stage for Christianity’s development
over the next 1700 years.
Constantine’s Maneuver
Seizing the opportunity, Constantine maneuvered the church
and its leaders through flattery, luring them into an inescapable
relationship with that of the state. Publicly acknowledging
the Christian God for the victory gained, Constantine believed
this same God would now protect the Roman Empire from harm
as long as the emperors worshipped Him and the church remained
both united and devoted to the Empire. Sniffing the hope
of an end to persecution and a path to prosperity, the leaders
of the fourth century church swallowed the bait —
hook, line, and sinker.
Constantine called a series of church councils to bring
unity among the bickering bishops. He didn’t simply
command them to come; he paid their expenses and even provided
their means of getting there. Then, while still holding
his position as the head of the state pagan religion, Constantine
presided over the councils and enforced their decisions.
These councils and the creeds that came forth from them
are held in the highest regard in Christianity. They form
the basis of identifying what is and what is not Christian
faith, practice, and doctrine ever since. From then on,
they have formed the foundation for all orthodox Christian
faith and practice.
After nearly three centuries of struggle, the walls of
the church came tumbling down, completing its transformation.
Constantine promoted Christians to positions of prominence
within the state and surrounded himself with Christian advisors.
After all, ethically and morally speaking, the Christians’
code of living raised the standard of Roman society. Before
long Constantine even had Christian bishops accompany his
troops into battle to ensure God’s favor and to strengthen
the moral character of his armies. He built magnificent
cathedrals and Roman buildings in honor of the Christian
God and began paying salaries out of the state treasury
to church leaders. He passed laws in favor of the church
in exchange for obligatory state service. He believed that
a united and loyal church would ensure God’s blessings
on the entire empire.
One of the main reasons the religion of Christianity became
the favored religion of governors and emperors was because
Christians could be totally involved in nearly everything
that any average citizen of the empire was involved in.
Constantine groomed Christianity as his “pet religion”
because of its docile, compromising nature. While in the
past the church had been persecuted for its stance against
the Empire’s evils, it was now accepted as both church
and empire “turned over a new leaf” in their
development.
The distinction between Christians and non-Christians
was broken down, and more and more pagans became “believers,”
since Christianity was now the favored religion, offering
a greater hope of worldly success and prosperity. Church
leaders taught submission to authority, which strengthened
the relationship between the church and its Roman overlords.
Christians achieved respect and admiration, where formerly
they were held in contempt and dishonor. They were generally
responsible and dutiful, and their faith posed no problem
whatsoever, no strange or outrageous behavior, belief, or
practice that would cause upheaval or disruption in the
government or national peace.
So Constantine proclaimed Christianity the favored religion
of the Roman World. Hailed as the deliverer and emancipator
of the church, Constantine was then and still is viewed
as a savior, securing the church’s position in the
world that would span the centuries. Most of the Christianized
world today is content with the doctrines of faith that
came down through the spiritual lineage of a nationally
recognized Roman religion, never questioning very deeply
the roots of their Christian religion or the foundation
of the gospel they have trusted in. The legacy of Constantine
is a church at one with the world 
that
it was commissioned to call others out of. That legacy remains.
So, is this intimate cooperation and compromise with worldly
power a good tree from which to pick fruit? The Son of God
said that a tree is known by the fruit it produces.
He said His disciples would be known by their love.
A “watchdog” of modern heresies and advocate
of the historic creeds once wrote, “Biblical love
is the hallmark of a truly vibrant Christian witness, however,
love is always the handmaiden of sound doctrine and not
the other way around.” The centuries-long trail of
blood flowing from all who opposed that favored religion,
and the uncountable divisions caused by its internal strife
would seem to suggest that the handmaiden has been granted
a leave of absence.
A result of the Edict of Milan, early in AD 313.
transition — a process or period in
which something undergoes a change and passes from one state,
stage, form, or activity to another.
John 13:34-35
1 Corinthians 3:9-11; Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Corinthians
12:12
apostates — those who departed from
the teaching and fellowship of the apostles; departing from
the faith while maintaining a pretense of it.
1 John 1:3; 2:19,20,27; Jude 1:17-19
convolute — to twist or coil something.
2 Peter 2:1-3,19; 3:16; 2 Corinthians 11:15; 1 John
1:3; 2:19
2 Peter 2:10; Jude 1:8; 3 John 1:9-10
John 7:17-18; Jude 1:8,12,13,17-19
2 Corinthians 11:13
“Between the years AD 100 and AD 500, the Christian
Church changed almost beyond recognition? [At first] the
organization of the church was still fluid? there were no
creeds to be recited, no set forms of worship? [By AD 500]
the worship of the church was entirely liturgical with fixed,
set forms of prayer?” (Tony Lane, The Lion Book of
Christian Thought, Lion Publishing Company, Batavia, Illinois,
1984, p.8)
dissolve — 1. to fade away gradually
and disappear, or make something gradually fade away and
disappear; 2. to break up, or break something up, into smaller
or more basic parts; 3. to bring a legal relationship, for
example, a business partnership or a marriage, formally
to an end.
1 Thessalonians 2:14
transformation — 1. a complete change,
usually into something with an improved appearance or usefulness;
2. a permanent change in the genetic makeup of a cell when
it acquires foreign DNA.
Matthew 7:16-20
John 13:34-35
Back
Printer-friendly
