Why Study Church History? A Biblical Answer

Prov. 27:17 - Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

          The experiences of Christians throughout history offer an invaluable resource for how men and women have lived, understood, and experienced Scriptural truths.  Just as we look to pastors, teachers, and friends to encourage and edify us in our Christian walk today, we should also look to the long line of members in the Body of Christ.  The characters in church history offer us insight, inspiration, and warning for our own personal walk with Christ.

2Ti 2:15-17 - Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

          The study of the Scriptures is a deadly serious task, both because of the necessity of the Word and the danger in distorting it. Church history looks at how people have carried out this task in their own lives.  It is the history of applied hermeneutics.  The above verses use past religious leaders as a warning to remain faithful and avoid the errors of other men.  We study the lives and beliefs of other Christians, ancient and modern, in order to learn from their mistakes, and to inform our own understanding of the Scriptures.  The Bible is eternal and perfect, but man is limited and weak, and we must look at how others have handled the same Word that we have so that we can recognize our own errors, limitation, and successes. 

         Every man is held captive by his own generation.  He is freed from this short-sightedness when he steps outside of his environment and sees how the church has survived for the other 2000 years.  Only then can he appreciate what his own time has to offer, as well as the value of the other members of the Body of Christ, living or dead.