An Overview of Church History & Apostasy
By Kyle Pope

I. The New Testament church.

  1. Following Jesus’ ascension the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to teach the gospel (Acts 2:1-4).
    1. The church in Jerusalem was established when 3000 souls obeyed the gospel.  Many who accepted the gospel while in Jerusalem took the gospel into their homelands (Acts 2:41-47).
    2. Persecution led to the dispersion of many Christians from the Jerusalem church into Samaria, Phoenicia, Cyprus and Syria (Acts 8:1-4; 11:19,20).
  2. A Pharisee named Saul (Paul) obeyed the gospel and served the Lord as the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13,14).
    1. The Lord indicated acceptance of the Gentiles by the conversion of a Roman centurion named Cornelius (Acts 11:15-18).
    2. Paul traveled into Cilicia, Pisidia, Galatia, Asia Minor, Mysia, Thrace,  Macedonia and Achaia establishing churches.
  3. The apostles and prophets who were given miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit composed accounts of Jesus’ life and letters of instruction to the churches.
    1. Near the end of the first century a final “revelation” was given to the apostle John concerning the persecution and victory of the church (Revelation 1:1,2).
II. Apostasy.
  1. The church faced persecution at times from both Jews and Gentiles.
  2. Many began to depart from New Testament simplicity (Acts 20:29,30; II Timothy 4:3,4).
    1. 1. Some churches selected one man from among the elders to serve as bishop over the church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).
    2. Controversies developed over the nature and divinity of Christ leading to the desire for some authoritative statement of orthodox doctrine.
    3. The emperor Constantine called the council of Nicea in 325 AD,  publishing the Nicean Creed and establishing an organization  connecting  together various congregations patterned after Roman government (Philippians 1:1).
    4. The bishop of Rome was set up as head of all churches, creating Roman Catholicism (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18).
  3. Some Christians opposed these efforts and continued to worship in the face of opposition from Roman Catholics.
 III. The Great Schism.
  1. In 1095 AD. many churches in the east rejected the authority of Rome, creating the Eastern Orthodox Church.
    1. Orthodox churches rejected many false doctrines held by Roman Catholics such as sprinkling, instrumental music and purgatory.
    2. Orthodox churches accepted unscriptural organization of their churches looking to Constantinople rather than Rome (I Peter 3:22).
  2. There remained those who maintained New Testament faith accepting neither Roman Catholicism nor Eastern Orthodoxy.
  3. Today Orthodox churches have national rather than worldwide leadership.
 IV. The Protestant Reformation.
  1. Corruption and apathy within the Vatican led to discontentment from many Catholics within Europe (I Timothy 4:1-3; 6:3-5).
    1. To fund massive building projects Rome sponsors the sale of “indulgences”  (certificates granting the bearer forgiveness for sins ahead of time).
  2. The rise of “Christian Humanism” led to renewed study of Biblical languages.
    1. Erasmus produced a scholarly text of the Greek New Testament.
  3. A German Catholic monk named Martin Luther issued a challenge to Roman Catholic leadership to debate the doctrine of “indulgences”.
    1. Luther was tried by the Catholics and labeled a heretic.  As a result Luther began to teach and worship separately from the Catholics, creating the Lutheran Church.
    2. Luther produced a German translation of the New Testament.
  4. A quiet scholar named John Calvin formulated a systematic theology known ever since as “Calvinism”.  Calvinism was the basis for the establishment of the Presbyterian Church (Ezekiel 18:20; Joshua 24:15).
  5. King Henry the VIII of England sought to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled that he might marry Anne Boleyn.
    1. When the pope refused, Henry abandoned Roman Catholicism and set himself up as the head of the Church of England (Ephesians 1:22).
    2. Henry executed William Tyndale largely for his efforts to translate the New Testament into English (II Timothy 2:9).
  6. There remained Christians who served and worshiped God in simplicity refusing to be either Protestants or Catholics.
V. The American Restoration.
  1. A Scottish father & son named Thomas and Alexander Campbell began to question the soundness of Protestant doctrine and organization.
    1. In 1809 Thomas Campbell preached a lesson referred to as the “ Declaration and Address” calling for Christian unity.
    2. Alexander Campbell began preaching that men should work to restore the “Ancient Gospel” and follow the “Ancient Order” set out in the New Testament.
  2. Separate from the Campbells a Presbyterian preacher named Barton W. Stone also began to preach the idea of restoration (II Kings 22:13; 23:25).
  3. In 1832 Campbell and Stone joined together calling on people to be simply Christians (I Corinthians 1:11,12).
  4. Toward the beginning of the twentieth century controversy begins to develop within the restoration movement regarding instrumental music in worship and an unscriptural organization in preaching the gospel known as the “Missionary Society” (Philippians 4:15,16).
    1. Those favoring the instrument and the missionary society split off and formed the Christian Church (Ephesians 5:19; Proverbs 30:6).
  5. In the middle of the twentieth century further division resulted when churches moved to financially support human institutions, engage in sponsoring church arrangements, involve the church in social activities and bind the use of only one cup in the Lord’s supper.
  6. There continues to exist throughout the world those who seek to worship the Lord in the simplicity of the New Testament, teaching and practicing only those things which are authorized in scripture (Daniel 2:44).
  
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