Being Grounded in Church History

Paul, on arriving with Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch, preaches to a congregation of Jews and God-fearers, by rehearsing church history to date. He refers back to the Old Testament to show how the promise made to David is actually fulfilled in Christ and at the same time warning the people of what happened in their history if they fail to listen to the Lord's servants. We need to be able to use the Old Testament to show how Christ is the fulfilment of the promises.

Some lessons to us today from Paul's use of church history come in a variety of forms. Firstly we can see that history is not random. God was working out a purpose and He is still doing the same today. Secondly it shows us that we are not random and meaningless entities but that we too have a role to play as directed by God. Furthermore we can learn that our own churches have a history in which the Lord has been at work. Finally, church history teaches us that those whom God uses are not perfect. We can learn of their courage and are in the privileged position of being able to learn from their mistakes.