Christians in 130 AD

Over the years, I’ve learned that it is spiritually healthy to read letters written during the first couple of hundred years after Jesus’s birth. These letters give us first-hand accounts of the concerns of the early Church and what early Christians observed within the Church. One of these letters, known as the “Epistle to Diognetus¹,” was written between 130 AD – 200 AD. The letter wasn’t discovered until the 13th century². Here are some excerpts that I think will be helpful to you.

Christian Conduct

The author of the letter points out how Christians live in a way that is unique.

They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death and restored to life…The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, claim themselves the advocates of any here human doctrines.

Christians in the World

The author of the letter tells Diognetus about how Christians share all things in common, but there is no impropriety.

But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each…they dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners, as citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as a native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh.

How Christians Obey Civil Laws

The author of the letter emphasizes Christians more than obey civil laws, they exceed them.

They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of Heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives.

What About Us?

Someday, if Jesus is our Savior, we will meet those first-century Christians. Will we measure up to their high standards? Can we say to them that our co-workers and families easily found the difference in us that was missing in them? Were we known as people who share more than our opinions? That’s something to think about.

May you prosper even as your soul prosper³.

** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **

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Footnotes

1. Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus. (n.d.). Earlychristianwritings.Com. Retrieved April 20, 2024, from https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/diognetus.html. ↩︎
2. Wikipedia contributors. (2023, October 31). Epistle to Diognetus. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Epistle_to_Diognetus&oldid=1182817610. ↩︎
3. 3 John 1:2 – Greeting to Gaius from the Elder. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved April 20, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/3_john/1-2.htm. ↩︎