The Good Old Days

While preaching at a supporting church recently, a wonderful couple I know handed me a copy of Life magazine. They passed it along to me because it had an interesting article regarding evangelism in Africa. As I read the article I could not help but be fascinated by the advertisements in the magazine because this issue of Life was dated June 2, 1947!

Back in the 1940’s, Life magazine cost a mere 15 cents, which of course, caught my attention right away. There were ads for a bottle of Coke for 5 cents, a tooth brush for 23 cents, a cigar for 11 cents (not that I smoke), a woman’s blouse for $3.00 and a man’s suit for $29.50! Ahhh . . . the good old days! Actually, those days were before I was even born. We can all look back to certain eras that we would call the ‘good old days’ even if our memories have been sanitized a bit.

I was speaking to someone recently about his church plant and he talked about his desire to go back to the ‘good old days’ of the early church. He wanted his church to be like it once was. He went on to talk about the concept of the house church and how there was no pastor, and everyone just loved each other. That’s how he viewed the early church.

The reality is that the early church was not a free-for-all like we imagine. Even before the Apostles departed this earth there was an established hierarchy with bishops, presbyters, and deacons. From the earliest days, the bishop’s main function was to keep careful watch over church doctrine. Yes, well before 100AD there were new churches springing up all over the place that did not teach the doctrines that Peter, Paul, John, and the others had passed along as coming directly from Jesus Christ.

Bishop Polycarp was one such man who fought hard against intrusive heresies. He, along with Ignatius, was instructed by the Apostle John and possibly by some of the other Apostles as well. He had spent time with many of those who had listened to the teaching of Jesus. He was born in 69AD and lived a very long life dedicated to Christ and the purity of doctrine.

Polycarp was ordained the Bishop or ‘overseer’ of Smyrna, which is now Izmir, Turkey. You might well remember that John wrote of this church in Revelation. We don’t know a great deal about his life other than what we can glean from the historical writings of Ignatius and Irenaeus. We do have one authentic and surviving letter that Polycarp wrote to the Philippian church. I have read the letter and was intrigued by it due to the fact that he quoted verses from 17 letters that we now have in our current New Testament. It is awesome to see the standard that he upheld as Bishop.

All Protestants, Catholics, and those of the Orthodox Church appreciate and honor Polycarp. It was his death that so moves us and causes us to reflect on our own lives. Even in Rome the hostile crowds knew him as ‘The great teacher of Asia’. Like his close friend Ignatius, Polycarp was condemned to death by fire. It was his first famous quote that brought the sentence of death. When commanded to turn his back on Christ he said, “If you imagine that I will swear by Caesar, you do not know who I am. Let me tell you plainly. I am a Christian.” It was his second, more personal defense, that has been quoted in every century since his death. Polycard boldly stated, "Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

Polycarp died at the age of 86, which was incredibly old for that period of history, especially for a Christian in the age of persecution. He was faithful to the end. One can almost imagine the words of John ringing in Polycarp’s ears as they lit the fire:

“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” I John 5:2-5

He was to die by fire, but when the fire was lit, it would not even burn him so they took his life by stabbing him. John recorded the words of our Lord to Polycarp’s church in Smyrna, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Polycarp took those words literally and was faithful in death even as he had been in life.

How faithful are you to the Lord now while you have your health, prosperity, and there is no danger in sight? We want to think that we would stand firm in the end, but are we standing firm for the Lord while we are on this journey? The French missionary Fenelon wrote: “It is only by fidelity in little things that a true and constant love of God can be distinguished from a passing fervor of spirit.”

Are you being faithful to the Lord in the little things? Are you faithful to His church? Are you a faithful friend? Are you faithful in doing what is morally right? Is your heart faithful in love for the Lord or have you divorced the Lord to follow other things? Are you faithful in sharing your heart, your hurts, and your helplessness with the Lord? Are you faithful in the giving of love to others even when there seems to be no reciprocation? Are you faithful in “doing unto others as you would have them do for you?”
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The death of Polycarp strengthened the church. His teachings and the way in which he faced death spoke volumes to the early church that was being butchered. Let me just close by asking: Do we really want to go back and be like the early church with all that bloodshed? If in our lifetime these things should happen to us, like Polycarp, would we be able to stand faithful to the end?

Stay faithful to the end,

Dan

Copyright 2008 Eternity Minded Ministries