Secular history
Even from a secular standpoint, the present moment is the product of the history that preceded it. It has unfolded from the dynamic conditions of the past. Therefore, the present is understandable because of its relation to the past. When the present moment takes its place in history, it, likewise, will be seen to have borne on and lended meaning to the future that succeeded it. This is the essence of history. The past and the present are inextricably united.
If you have followed the news lately, you have noticed that a segment of our society today is determined to alter our present culture by canceling some of our history. The idea is that, if they can change the perception of the past, then, on that basis, they can alter the present. The attempt, which I hope fails, at least highlights the importance of understanding history correctly.
Redemptive history
I think the importance of understanding history is especially true in spiritual matters. No history is more important than biblical history. And the last history we have been given in the Bible is Christian history, of which we are still a part. (That which lies beyond Christian redemption is still unfulfilled prophecy.) Therefore, Christian salvation, as seen in the inspired historical record of the book of Acts, was intended by God to be the basis for all future Christianity. Peter actually made that point clear at the inauguration of this great period of redemptive history (Acts 2:38-39). There was no change in the tenets of salvation from Acts to the Epistles and no change announced for the post-Apostolic period. The only change that was predicted to take place during the period of Christianity is that some people would fall away from the truth (Acts 20:29; 1Timothy 4:1; 2Timothy 4:3-4).
Many people do not understand the importance of the Christian record contained in Acts. It alone provides us with an accurate history of the founding of Christianity— its tenets of salvation, its main ministers, its spread into the Greco-Roman world, and a thirty-year history of ministry practice involving evangelism and conversion. We in the present are tied inextricably to this biblical, historical precedent.
A great falling away did take place in post-Apostolic “Christianity”. The widespread apostasy devolved into Catholicism. It was much later corrected by the Reformation process, culminating in the restoration of the original Apostolic message of Acts 2:38. But many people did not follow the Reformation progress, which began to focus solely on Scripture, to its finale where earnest persons gave heed to the history of the Church contained in Acts.
(See Post 32, Viewing The Reformation In Its Entirety.)
Application
Biblical Christian history must be recognized by those today who want to be sure of their salvation. It is common for people to only look back as far as the Reformation— and usually the beginning of the Reformation— in order to connect with history. But no history of the Church is more important than that which God gave us in Acts. The knowledge of that is what He will require of us. Often, Christ’s rebukes to those in error was in their failure to read and learn from Scripture. He would ask, “Have you not read…?” (Matthew 12:3,5; 19:4; 22:31; 22:29; Mark 12:10; 12:26). I suspect a question Christ may employ at the Judgment is, “Have you not read the great detail of Christian history I provided in Acts? Could I have made that history any more clear?”
Other persons in their faith experience connect with the history associated with Jesus’ life in the Gospels. But that time in redemptive history was only leading up to the great events of the Christian era. It was, literally, pre-Christian. No salvation experience of the Gospels is a basis for claiming salvation today. In fact, it is very noticeable in Acts that when Christians met believers of the pre-Christian era, they informed them of the Christian tenets of salvation revealed on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 18:24-28; 19:1-6). Thankfully, the persons on record received what was told them.
(See Post 8, Doctrinal Integrity Of The Early Church.)
Conclusion
In an article in The Apologetics Study Bible (p.507) by E. Ray Clendenen called, Can Biblical Chronology Be Trusted?, the author said, “Chronology is the foundation of history; without it, history is a swarm of events with no relationship to each other or to us”. That basically says two things that are pertinent to our purpose today:
1/ History is unintelligible apart from knowing the order in which it happened.
I think it’s easy to agree with that. It would be like viewing the pieces of an unassembled puzzle.
2/ We have a relationship with history.
This is especially true of Christian redemptive history. In all two thousand years of Christianity, the only history that bears intensely upon us is the history recorded in Acts. It is the only inspired witness of true Christianity. It is solely where God displays His Church and shows us plainly how to get in it. If we want to be a part of that Church, for which Christ is coming back, we should be willing to identify with it in faith and practice. It is the only part of biblical history that is still taking place.