In recent years, there has been a disturbing trend of formerly evangelical believers in Jesus abandoning Protestant and evangelical groups, and joining either the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) or Eastern Orthodoxy (EO). At the end of September, Candace Owens, a long-standing host on Fox News, renounced her evangelical faith and proclaimed that she had joined the RCC. Likewise, most politically-informed Americans know that JD Vance, the Republican VP candidate, has famously explained why he did the same thing. In addition, there are several examples of popular YouTube and social media personalities that have testified to their falling away into either of these two non-evangelical religions. Further, one could find several examples of well-respected scholars who were once evangelical, but now practice Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. In large part, most of these people are relatively young, ranging from their mid-20s to their mid-30s.

What are the reasons for the tragedy of so many professing believers rejecting the biblical gospel in favor of the human-centered, works-based salvation message of the RCC and EO? There are several main ones with regard to evangelicalism, including an imitation of worldly methods and practices, deficient gospel proclamations, lack of personal relationships and accountability, and a severe failure to demonstrate New Testament Christlike love. These are the human reasons that allow fake believers to relatively easily come up with rational justifications for forsaking biblical assemblies in order to join apostate religions. Of course, the apostles emphatically warned the New Testament believers that such “falling away” (or “apostasy”) would take place. For example, Paul warns Timothy that,

“. . . the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitfulf spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron . . .” – 1 Tim. 4:1-2 (NASB95)

This is simply in accordance with the Lord’s foundational teaching in the parable of the soils, in which He describes two sorts of fake believers. One of them eagerly accepts the gospel, but is then immediately driven away by affliction or persecution. On the other hand, the other deficient “soil” accepts the gospel, displays some initial fruit, but is then “choked” by “the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things,” so they become “unfruitful,” or practically non-Christian (Mk. 4). Thus, apostasy shouldn’t surprise us, especially since so many Bible-believing congregations are so marred by besetting sins, glaring errors, and false beliefs.

What should alarm us is why so many former evangelicals are leaving assemblies that teach the Bible, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, sing biblically-rich praise songs, and seek to make Scripture intensely relevant to everyday life. I’m convinced that one key element of evangelical thinking and practice that is largely absent from the instruction and discipleship of immature believers is the instillment of the historical grounding and progress of Christian beliefs and practices. In other words, most western evangelical discipleship and teaching includes little to no reference to the historical confirmation, documentation, development, and transitions of Christianity throughout history. Rather than grounding students in the historical context of Scripture, most Bible teaching largely ignores this, and heavily emphasizes the application and direct relevance of Scripture. What this allows for is to make the Bible simply a book of rules or advice, when in reality it’s the historical record of God’s mighty acts in His sovereign work of redeeming humanity and the universe through Messiah. In addition, most Bible teaching and discipleship makes little to no effort in teaching the history of the body of Christ, and their progressions and declensions. This leaves a vacuum in the understanding of most new believers, since they are ignorant of the beliefs and practices of evangelical Christianity that came to be manifested in our present day. They are often left wondering why we believe what we believe, and why we do what we do, when it isn’t immediately clear how Scripture teaches such things. And the fact is — much of what evangelicals believe and practice in their lives and meetings are not even implied by Scripture. So, how are they to understand why such things are part of contemporary western Christianity? By learning the history of Christ’s body.

This leads us to a huge reason given for so many former evangelicals either sympathizing with, or wholly embracing, either RCism or EO. In our constantly inventing and developing western society, they see in these two unbiblical systems an ancient stability and heavenliness that is apparently contradictory to our modern-day technological, decadent, and sensual culture. Of course, the root reason why most of these people turn to the apostate churches is that they really want control over their salvation, so they offer something to God to earn His favor and peace. However, part of their motivation is also their desire to be cared for, and a part of, something that is seemingly other-worldly, grounded in western historical events, and that possesses an elaborately developed system of beliefs and practices that have stood the test of centuries.

In the face of this temptation for many new converts to Christianity, it’s encumbent upon we who hold to the biblical gospel, and attend Bible-teaching assemblies, to examine how and why we are failing to establish and strengthen new believers in the historicity and enduring veracity of evangelical faith and practice. Further, it’s important for our own understanding of our beliefs and practices to see how our different denominations came to the conclusions and traditions they now live out, and to compare them with all of Scripture, to see if we are indeed conforming our lives to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). Even among Protestants, there is a harmful trend of believers among more a-historical assemblies to forsake their loose and shallow teaching and practice, in favor of the more systematized, ordered, and liturgical denominations. To be specific, many evangelicals come to the conclusion that Anglicanism or Presbyterianism are more in alignment with biblical teaching than Baptistic assemblies. Such a decision displays a woeful misunderstanding, not only of Scripture, but of the progress of the Church’s history. Hence another reason why the historical development of Christianity ought to be understood, at least in general, so believers know how we got here.

All this leads us to a consideration of the main benefits of studying and teaching the major events and characters in the Church’s history, especially for new believers. Comprehending these benefits will show us how knowing Church history shouldn’t give us reasons for being attracted by RCism and EO, but to wholly rejecting them as genuine manifestations of New Testament, apostolic Christianity. In fact, it should emphatically prove to us that these institutions are wholly separate religions. Here are several of the major reasons why you and your congregation ought to make serious efforts to understand Scripture in the light of post-New Testament history, and to seek to learn such history.

  1. It shows us how many believers have wrestled with the very same problems of understanding and applying Scripture that we do today. In so doing, historical study shows us why we have such problems, and how to resolve them.
  2. It shows us that the essentials of New Testament beliefs have remained the same since the time of the apostles, up to the present day.
  3. It shows us the dangers and temptations that believers in every era have faced in following the Scriptures faithfully.
  4. It shows us not only how to understand the major teachings of Scripture, but also how to explain and defend them against contradictory, or false, teachings (aka heresies).
  5. It shows us how New Testament Christianity declined in its faithfulness to apostolic teachings over time, and how such teachings have gradually been recovered, and are still being discovered, up to the present day.
  6. It shows us the central place that the Lord’s body has in all of history, and encourages us to see ourselves as the light of the world for the accomplishment of God’s redemption of mankind in our time.
  7. It shows us how we ourselves need to improve in our study and practice of the Scriptures, based on the godly examples of prominent men and women in our history.
  8. It shows us how our own Christian tradition came to take on the form it has now, and how close we really are to the original beliefs and structure of Christ’s body.