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| Constantine |
More than 1600
years ago the Christian Church of the Roman Empire
faced a potentially catastrophic situation.
It wasn’t persecution or false teachers, nor was it a plague or the
threat of an outside enemy. The threat
Christians faced in this time was spiritual shallowness and softened commitment
to the Lord. After the Roman Emperor
Constantine was converted in 312 AD everything changed for the Christians. Not only were they no longer persecuted, but
it seemed as if they were favored citizens with tax monies paying for new
Church buildings and the imperial court sponsoring large Church Councils. This sea change brought a multitude of new
people into the Church but it simultaneously lowered the level of commitment
that was required to follow Jesus Christ.
In this period that many in the Church considered a great triumph, some
were asking “how can I be a true Christian in this new situation?” Their answer to this question was quite
surprising and the subject of our next installment.
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