As a church that prioritizes scripture over tradition, and as a part of a society that seeks to overturn tradition, studying and appreciating the history of Church traditions seems pointless. Things are different now. We have advanced our knowledge and technology. We know more than people did in the past. Why should the average churchgoer learn about obsolete ideas and practices? Well, there are many reasons:

First, through church history, we can better understand the religious world we live in today. Why are there so many denominations? Why do Catholics believe what they believe? What is the relationship between “churches of Christ” and “Christian Churches?” All these questions and more can be answered through studying church history. Therefore, by studying church history, you can better understand others who worship in various denominations — a useful skill in personal evangelism.

Secondly, we can learn from the struggles, successes, and mistakes of past saints. Church history records numerous schisms and heresies along with various reactions and responses to these heresies. Sometimes these ancient heresies make a comeback in modernity. Learning about how past Christians responded to apostasy and “Unitarianism” can help us as we figure out our responses to these problems. Additionally, different movements in the church can help us to recognize that certain movements within our own congregation are either healthy or unhealthy. Monasticism, while it had good intentions, also created (and still creates) many problems. Studying monasticism warns us against practicing hyper-asceticism and the pride it often creates in its adherents.

Third, we grow in humility. We recognize that we, as God’s church, are imperfect as we strive to live holy lives. While we can recognize the mistakes that Christians have made in the past, we need to know that there are mistakes that others can criticize us for. This type of “ecclesiastical” arrogance is extremely common in churches of Christ because we believe that we have a perfect understanding of Scripture – But so do many other churches. We must have humility and not trust in our own ecclesiastic purity, but in the only Son of God.