During the early church, errors flourished. Errors existed over large matters such as the deity and incarnation of Christ (Colossians) and justification by faith alone in Christ alone (Galatians). People struggled with other errors. Did God’s people miss the resurrection of the righteous (2 Tim. 2:18)? Will dead Christians miss Christ’s return (1 Thess. 4:13-18)? Is it godly to be physical in marriage (1 Cor. 7)? And is marriage even OK at all? And who should be a leader in the church (1 Tim. 1:6-7, 3:1-7)? From the New Testament letters, we can discern that error existed in virtually every church to whom the Apostles wrote.

You’ve probably heard it many times. “We just need to get back to the days of the early church.” “You know, things would be so much better in contemporary Christianity if we were more like the early church.”

While there were some great things happening then, I’m not so sure that I am eager to get back to the early church days. They, too, had their problems. Here are a few reasons why we might put the brakes on the glamorization of the early church.

1. You were probably a slave.

History estimates that approximately one-third of the Roman Empire’s population was made up of slaves. Apparently, many of those slaves became Christians. So, as a Christian, one could not come and go as they please; grab their Starbucks and quiet time whenever they wished; or go to their single’s group when convenient. As a slave, the individual was another’s property and subject to their master’s will. That’s a different situation than many western Christians find themselves today, thus, making the early church days potentially challenging.

2. Church facilities and gatherings would not suit most people today.

Church gatherings and buildings were not the same as those in the 21^st century, western world. In the early church, one could not roll up to gathering in an air-conditioned vehicle, walk into an air-conditioned building, and stop by the coffee bar for one’s favorite morning pick-me-up and pastry. Also absent from nascent church gatherings were epic video displays, dazzling drama performances, and explosive, boredom-free youth programs.

Gatherings in the infant days would have been dull and tedious to many. They were filled with Scripture reading, biblical teaching, exhortation, and prayer, with no glittering audio/visual stimuli. Services were often held at inconvenient, early times and in uncomfortable locations. You typically lost friends and acquaintances if you attended. And, you could get thrown in jail for being seen gathering with these despised people in society.

3. Almost no one possessed a Bible or theological resources.

The New Testament canon was not complete until sometime in the early 90’s A.D. But that did not mean everyone instantly had a copy of the 66 books of God’s inerrant word on their shelf. A critical part of the church’s maturation was the recognizing, copying, and circulating the canon. This took years.

So, no one possessed a complete Bible during the first century. And, it’s likely that a complete Bible was not in anyone’s possession until sometime in the second century at the earliest. But even then, the printing press was about 13 centuries out from being invented, thus, the vast majority of believers for centuries did not own a copy of God’s word.

Consequently, the church possessed few theological resources in her earliest days. While some church fathers like Justin Martyr, Ignatius, and Irenaeus of Lyons put out some theological works, these could not be downloaded, printed, or reproduced easily.

Today, we can instantly access almost any theological resource. Whether a sermon, systematic theology, or anything in between, we can not only obtain these, but search them and store them on a single device that weighs about as much as one book.

A scarcity of Bibles and theological resources made the early church a difficult time.

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