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We come this afternoon to the third in my series of lectures on church history. Its sole aim, you should remember, is to learn about and admire the work of God among His people following the close of the New Testament. Some think church history to be a waste of time, especially compared to the study of Scripture. But such people, in despising every book but the Bible, are--in fact--denying the Bible itself. For it tells us that Israel's greatest sin was "Not remembering the works of God", not all of which are confined to the pages of Inspiration. Indeed, it urges the study of church history upon us, "Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." And such a chore, though frightening to the newcomer, is not burdensome in the least, for, "The works of the LORD are great, sought out by those who take pleasure in them". I trust, therefore that our time will be both profitably and enjoyably spent. May God so bless it, for Christ's sake. Amen.
In our first lecture, we looked at Primitive Christianity, from its founding in the ministry of Christ (c.30 A.D.) to its legalization under Constantine in 312. It was an age of unparalled expansion, suffering, and holiness. What began as a tiny sect of illiterate and cowardly Jews soon became a universal religion, capturing the finest minds and noblest souls of Rome and her far-flung Empire.
Our second lecture examined the radical changes introduced into the church at the so-called conversion of the Emperor Constantine. The church purified by 300 years of suffering, was soon corrupted by luxury. Enjoying imperial favor, it became worldy, violent, and all but unrecognizable to a simple reader of the New Testament. His policies, though instituted 1600 years ago, plague the church even to this late date.
Much to my relief, today's subject is a happier one. For in this lecture we shall examine the greatest figure in the history of the church from the death of Paul (c.68 A.D) to the birth of Martin Luther in 1483. His name is Aurelius Augustine, commonly called "St. Augustine" or "Augustine of Hippo".
This colossal life, it seems to me, is best taken under four heads, Augustine: the sinner; the saint; the bishop; and the theologian.
I. AUGUSTINE THE SINNER.
A.Aurelius Augustine was born, 354 A.D., in Tagaste, North Africa. His father, Patricius, was a typical pagan, proud, violent, and immoral. His mother Monica, however, was an unusually devout Christian. Sadly, the young Augustine chose the way of his father, and long indulged a life of sin. Some of his more notorious vices include:
1.Sloth. As a boy, he was very lazy in school, refusing to learn Greek, thereby wasting his immense talent. This early indolence would later prove costly, for though he became the church's greatest teacher, he never could read the Greek Testament.
2.Stubborness. For his idleness he was daily beaten by his father or teacher, yet never repented, but "dug in his heels" and steadfastly refused to study anything he found distasteful. From his childhood, therefore, he showed the pliability--of iron.
3.Contempt. Though deeply loved by his mother, he mocked her prayers on his behalf and thought her every counsel ridiculous. He looked down upon her as idiotic, and often told her so.
4.Deceit, pride, and a bad temper were also conspicuous in the young man. He often cheated in games and sports. But when others broke the rules, he became morally indignant, and frequently started fights over it.
5.He later admitted to constantly lying to his parents as well as stealing from them.
6.He was addicted to entertainment, preferring the stage-plays to his assigned tasks.
7.He was downright mean. He once dug up a neighbor's pear tree and threw its fruit to the pigs--just for the fun of it! This sin deeply troubled him throughout life, for it reminded his of his love for sin, simply because it was sin!
8.Rejecting the truth, he became susceptible to error, falling in at a young age, with the Manichees, a pagan group denying the One God and professing a belief in two gods, one good and the other evil, the latter being the stronger. He remained with this devilish sect for nine long years.
9.And so, his youth was spent in many awful vices. But at sixteen, he found his favorite sin: fornication, which he relentlessly pursued for the next sixteen years. He likens his lust to a all-consuming fire, a raging sea, and a frenzy. His father, moreover, greatly encouraged him in its pursuit. At sixteen, he saw his son frolicing naked with a girl in the baths. Delighted by this sight, he ran home to tell his wife, "Good news dear, we'll soon be grandparents!" Eventually, he took a mistress, and by her fathered a child.
B.The young man had wandered far from his good mother's advice. But he could not get away from her prayers. She travailed for his soul hourly at the throne of grace. And one day, a remarkable event occurred to strengthen her resolve. An unnamed pastor came to her and said, "Go thy way and God bless thee, for it is not possible that the son of these tears should perish".
II.AUGUSTINE THE SAINT.
A.The pastor's words soon proved prophetic. For at thirty-two, against his mother's will, Augustine crossed the Mediterranean into Italy, looking for work. There he came under the influence of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. This good preacher made much of sin, and soon his young hearer began "feeling the heat".
1.He felt himself to be a sinner, yet loved his sins too much to give them up. And under such oppression he continued for several months.
2.One day, in especially deep anguish, he walked into a garden, hoping to find relief amid its natural beauty. But he found more...much more.
3.For a neighboring boy called out (whether to Augustine or not, we don't know) "Take, read. Take, read". He did. Opening his Bible at random, the troubled sinner found Romans 13:13-14, "Let us walk honestly as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
4.And instantly, Augustine was "A new creature. Old things had passed away, behold all things became new".
B.From that day forward, Augustine lived an exemplary Christian life, showing radical signs of repentance.
1.The lazy student became Christ's most energetic servant, writing 246 books amid the busy life of a pastor.
2.The proud young man was so humbled that he wrote an autobiography, called the "Confessions" in which he openly admitted his sins to the world.
3.The greedy thief renounced a lucrative career and sold his goods for the benefit of the poor.
4.The voluptuous whoremonger took a vow of celibacy, and became so conscientous that he would not permit himself to be alone with any woman--not even his own sister!
5.This unbridled seeker of pleasure finally found what he was looking for.
"Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord,
And our hearts are restless
Until they find their rest in Thee."
III.AUGUSTINE THE BISHOP.
A.Five years after his conversion, Augustine was appointed, against his will, to the pastorate of the church in Hippo. Shortly thereafter, he was named Bishop of Hippo, to watch over all the churches of the region. In that role he served faithfully for the next thirty-eight years.
B.He discharged his duties with the highest fidelity to the word of God. What is a pastor called to do? At least five things.
1.He must "preach the word". This the African Bishop did with untiring zeal, mounting the pulpit on an average of five times per week. Furthermore, in an age of extreme allegorization, he adhered to (and invented the term, no less) "the analogy of faith". This idea, simply put, means that no one Scripture can contradict another. And when studying a difficult passage, it must be interpreted by the general teaching of the Bible. In other words, "Scripture is its own interpreter".
2.He must "Commit these words to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also". Thus, Augustine turned his house into a seminary which sent countless men into the ministry.
3.He must "stop the mouths of gainsayers". This he did by writing against many books and tracts against heathen and heretic alike.
4.He must "shepherd the flock". This he also did with great faithfulness.
5.Most importantly, he must "be an example". And as I have already shown, Augustine lived a life, worthy of the highest admiration.
IV.AUGUSTINE THE THEOLOGIAN.
A.The Bishop's true greatness lay in his theology. It has made him eternally famous. For 1600 years, his writings have all but defined orthodoxy. Indeed, Luther and Calvin, for all of their genius, were but his humble disciples. What, then, were his chief contributions to theology?
B.Firstly, he strongly advocated the doctrines of grace. This he did, most strenuously, in his works against Pelagius.
1.Pelagius was a British monk who taught the following ideas:
a.Adam's sin effected no one but himself.
b.Children are born innocent.
c.Salvation is simply a matter of choosing God.
2.But in contradiction to such ideas, Augustine formulated the following doctrines:
a.The imputation of Adam's sin. In other words, Adam's sin not only destroyed himself but his posterity as well, as it is written, "As in Adam all die".
b.Original sin. In other words, Children are born sinful and guilty, and therefore, worthy of damnation.
c.Unconditional election. That is, a sinner is saved, not because he chose God, but because, before the world was, God chose him.
3.He tells us that he learned these doctrines from the Apostle Paul, espcially in his Epistle to the Romans. And what Augustine learned of Paul, he bequeathed to every subsequent generation. Calvinism, therefore, is simply Augustinianism. If, therefore, you rejoice in the doctrines of grace, you must be thankful for Augustine.
C.Augustine is also the father of Amillennialism.
1.In his book, "The City of God", Augustine combats the early premillinialists, then called "chiliasts". They believed that Christ would return in great glory and usher in an carnal kingdom. Cerinthus, their chief spokesman looked forward to "an earthly kingdom of sensual pleasure, characterized by gratifiction of appetite and lust".
2.Augustine offered an alternative view of the millennium. He saw the millennial kingdom as primarily the reign of Christ in the hearts of His people. It would be a long stretch of time in which Satan is prevented from exercising his whole power to seduce men. And, according to Augustine, even now the saints are reigning with Christ in the heavenly places.
D.He advocated a civil state with powers limited by the word of God.
1.He lived, of course, in a totalitarian world. The western emperors and oriental despots pretty much did as they pleased.
2.But Augustine, believing in the sovereignty of God alone, sharply limited the power of the state.
a.A king is only a steward of God, ruling for His glory, not for personal gain.
b.As a steward, a king is answerable to God. Therefore, he must enact laws pleasing to His Master.
c.Only a just war may be waged. A king may only enter the fray to protect his people or their God-given rights.
3.In doing this, he laid the philosophical foundation of all political freedom. Thus, you might note that those nations uninfluenced by Augustine are also unaquainted with liberty.
E.He maintained a high view of the church. Indeed, too high.
1.The Donatists withdrew from the communion of Rome because of its moral laxity.
2.This incensed the great Bishop. He thus began formulating his view of the church, which is eseentially this: The catholic church is like the ark, outside of which is no salvation. This led him to view the church as a hierarchal organization, rather than an assembly of saints. It made him tolerant of the church's immoralities and heresies. It eventually led him to advocate the persecution of other Christians who partook of differing communions. He therefore became the "Father of Historic Catholicism".
V.LESSONS TO BE LEARN FROM AUGUSTINE'S LIFE.
A.His life teaches us to continue praying and hoping for the conversion of sinners, for if he, after so long, could yet be saved, then so can your relatives and friends.
B.His life teaches us the value of family piety. As much as Augustine hated his mother's religion, he could never fully shake its influence over his life.
C.He teaches us to "put first the kingdom of heaven", for if this great man could renounce a promising career as a rhetor, then why can't we more fully devote our talents to God's service?
D.He teaches us that salavation is a radical change of life.
E.He teaches us to pray for the development of other great men of God who can do so much to further His cause.
F.He teaches us that even great men can make mistakes. Therefore, "Take heed, lest you fall".
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