Why does it matter if Christians know the history of their faith?

Well, imagine trying to sustain a marriage with total amnesia, never fully aware of all the past experiences that you and your spouse have shared. Sure, it’s possible sustain such a relationship—and many people whose husbands or wives suffer from dementia valiantly do so—but there will always be a dimension missing when one person in a relationship doesn’t remember the past events that you have experienced together.

It’s sort of like that with church history and the Christian life.

Sure, you can live the Christian life without ever knowing the history behind your faith, but there will always be a dimension that’s missing. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, there is an amazing story that you share with Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world and throughout the past two thousand years. The more that you know about the past that you share, the better you will be able to live alongside this “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). History matters because it’s the story of how God has worked among his people in his world.

To find out more about why church history matters, watch the first nine minutes of this video.


30 Days through Church History: Day 1