When we study “church” history, we are limited to what has been recorded in the past and preserved until the present. Because of this, there are religious groups from various times and places that we know little or nothing about. I recently learned about one of these groups while browsing Barton W. Stone’s journal, The Christian Messenger. An excerpt titled, A Christian Church among the Arabs, Turks & Persians, described a “Christian Church” in the Middle East.
“On the shores of the River Tigris, there exists a Christian Church, the members of which call themselves Chaldeans, and trace their origin to the time of the Apostles. It is supposed that they number 500,000 souls. But little is known of these people. The Papists attempted to make an impression on them some years ago, but failed, and that because of the Bible, of which they had many manuscript copies. Since it has been discovered that these Bible Christians have no printing establishments among them, and no books, the British & Foreign Bible Society, are making arrangements to provide them with printed copies of the Bible.” (Excerpt from The Christian Messenger, Volume 2)
The quote above was published in 1827. This “Christian Church” in the area of the Tigris River called themselves Chaldeans, numbered half a million people, and claimed to trace their origin to the apostles in the first century.
When the Catholic Church (the “Papists”) found out about them, they tried to come in and, presumably, assimilate the Chaldeans into their church. However, they failed. Why? It was because of the Bible. When the practices and doctrines of the Catholic Church are compared with the writings of Jesus’ inspired apostles, it is clear that the Catholic Church fell far into apostasy. The New Testament even warned about this happening (2 Thessalonians 2:3-6). Thanks to the “many manuscript copies” of the Scriptures that the Chaldeans possessed, they were able to recognize the errors of the Catholic Church and not be led astray.
Based on the excerpt above, there is no way to know whether or not these Chaldeans were Christians in the Biblical sense, faithfully following the teachings of the New Testament. However, they could have been, and this was possible for the same reason they rejected Catholicism – they had access to the word of God.
There are two points for us to remember from this:
- The Bible protects us from error – The psalmist said that God’s word is “a lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path” (Psalm 119:105). Not only does it guide us, but the verse just before shows that God’s word also leads us to “hate every false way” (Psalm 119:104). However, it will only help us if we use it. Therefore, we need to be like the “noble-minded” Bereans who listened to Paul’s preaching, then were “examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Rather than blindly following any and every religious teacher who comes along, we need to study the Bible, find the truth it reveals, and follow it because it is God’s word.
- We can be faithful even if others are unaware of us – Again, we do not know if the Chaldeans were faithfully practicing New Testament Christianity or not. But they could have been, even though little was known of them. Elijah was unaware of the seven thousand who refused to worship Baal, but God knew who they were (1 Kings 19:14, 18). We have a “firm foundation” as we understand that “the Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19). We receive our inheritance from Him (Colossians 3:24), not from anyone else. Therefore, even if no one knows who we are or what we are doing, we can take comfort in knowing that God sees and knows.
The Lord will reward us if we are faithful to Him, regardless of what others think or know about us. Yet in order to receive this reward, we need to follow His word so that it can guide us in what is right and protect us from what is wrong.
