Church History

 

The history of the Christian church is a study of the Fatherhood of God. It documents redemptive history in God’s gracious providence of his eternal covenant completed by Christ and applied by the Spirit of Grace. Jon Payne rightly said, “If church history does not get your blood pumping, you had better check your spiritual pulse. The sixteenth century alone provides a treasure of soul-stirring narratives. Think of Martin Luther’s bold and daring stand for the gospel against the destructive errors of Rome. Consider the faithful witness of the English martyrs who died singing psalms as they were consumed by flames. Or, how about the courageous life of John Knox, who while enslaved in the bowels of a French galley ship cried out, “Give me Scotland, or I die”?”

Christians should be familiar with historical documents like The Apostle’s Creed, the early ecumenical councils of Nicea (325) and Chalcedon (451), and the preservation of theology and worship at the Westminster Assembly. They should be familiar with the Synod of Dordt, Revivals of the 18th century, and the preaching of Jonathan Edwards in America. Studying the history of the Christian Church preserves both “orthodoxy (right doctrine) and orthopraxy (right practice).”

Considering that “great cloud of witnesses,” the godly lives of believers from the past, can motivate and inspire us to God’s covenantal work where we, then, “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely . . . and run with endurance the race that is set before us,” (Heb. 12:1).

 

A Guide to Early Church Documents

A History of the Expansion of Christianity, vol. 1, 2, 3 by Kenneth Scott Latourette

History of the Christian Church, 7 Volumes, by Philip Schaff

The Principal Works on Church History by Philip Schaff

Historic Church Documents, Creeds and Confessions

Puritan Memoirs – Lots of Biographies on the Puritans

The American Colonists Library Links – Early American Documents

Lawful Ordination of Ministers in History by C. Matthew McMahon

Liberal Theologians by C. Matthew McMahon

Please Don’t Call Me An Evangelical by C. Matthew McMahon

Presbyterian Church Government NOT of the Being of the Church by C. Matthew McMahon

The Evangelical Post-Modern Church? by C. Matthew McMahon

The History of Calvinism by Loraine Boettner

The Pelagian Captivity of the Church by C. Matthew McMahon

Heresy & Concession by B.B. Warfield

An Overview of Contemporary Theology by C. Matthew McMahon

Differences Among Heresies by Richard Hooker (1554-1600)

Evangelical Postmodern Diversification by C. Matthew McMahon

Heresy in the Church by C. Matthew McMahon

Heretics are Cut Off by James Durham (1622-1658)

An Introductory Essay to: An Essay on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation by Samuel Miller

History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Switzerland, etc. by Merle D’Aubigne

The History of Protestantism, vol. 1, 2, 3 by J.A. Wylie

History of the Great Reformation in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France and Italy by Thomas Carter

The Reformers and the Theology of the Reformation by William Cunningham

The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3: The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches by Philip Schaff

Puritan Roots: A Brief Sketch of the Values of Puritanism by C. Matthew McMahon

Reformation for the Glory of God by Samuel T. Logan

Spiritual Characteristics of the First Christian Society in America by Iain Murray

The English Puritan’s Beginnings by Mark S. Ritchie

The Example of the English Puritans by Erroll Hulse

The History of the Reformation by C. Matthew McMahon

500 Years of the Reformation – George Wishart (1513-1546)

500 Years of the Reformation – John Huss

500 Years of the Reformation – John Knox (1505-1572)

500 Years of the Reformation – John Wycliffe, (1330-1384)

500 Years of the Reformation – Lessons from the Reformers by William Cunningham

500 Years of the Reformation – Martin Luther Burns the Papal Bull

500 Years of the Reformation – Martin Luther’s Autobiographical Fragment

500 Years of the Reformation – Why Were Our Reformers Burned? by JC Ryle

500 Years of the Reformation – William Farel (1489-1565)

500 Years of the Reformation – William Tyndale (1490-1536)

500 Years Since Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation by C. Matthew McMahon

A History of the Reformation in the 16th Century by C. Matthew McMahon

A Letter of Wholesome Counsel by John Knox

A Short History of Calvinism, the Reformation and England by C. Matthew McMahon

An Overview The Intellectuals Origins of the Reformation by C. Matthew McMahon

Calvin’s Conversion and Change Of Calling by J.H. Merle D’Aubigne

Corporate Sanctification: Holding Fast to the Reformation by Rev. John Brown

Final Declaration by John Hus

Gradual Reformation Intolerable by C. Matthew McMahon

Interpreting John Calvin: An Overview by C. Matthew McMahon

John Calvin: Theologian, Pastor, and Social Reformer by C. Matthew McMahon

John Knox: The Scottish Reformer by Robert Turnbull

Memoirs of the Reformers – 500 Years Since the Reformation

Preface to Romans by Martin Luther (1483-1546)

The 95 Theses by Martin Luther

The German Reformation by C. Matthew McMahon

The Life of Calvin by C. Matthew McMahon

The Principles of the Second Reformation (1841) by Andrew Smymington

The Reformation and Church Polity by R.W. Dale

The Reformed View of Schism by Rev. Andrew Clarkson

The Rise of the Radical Anabaptists by C. Matthew McMahon

The Swiss Reformation by C. Matthew McMahon

Ecclesiastical Annals from the Commencement of Scripture History to the Epoch of the Reformation by Frederic Spanheim

An Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern, vol. 1 by Johan Mosheim

History of the Christian Church from its Origin to the Present Time by William Blackburn

A History of the Christian Church by Charles Hase

Compendium of Church History by Andrew Zenos

The Church, Past and Present: a Review of its History H.M. Gwatkin

A History of the Church from the Earliest Ages to the Reformation by George Waddington

A History of the Church, Vol. 1 (up to 313), 2 (313-680), 3 (680-1124), 4 (1124-1513) by J.J. Dollinger

General History of the Christian Religion and Church, vol. 1 (to 312), 1.5 (Doctrinal), 2 (312-590), 3-4 (590-814 / 814-1078), 5 (1073-1294), 6 (1294-1517) by Augustus Neader

A Compendium of Ecclesiastical History, vol. 1 (to 400), 2 (400-1073), 3 (1073-1305), 4 (1305-1409), 5 (1400-1517) by John Geisler

History of the Christian Church, vol. 1 (64-590), 2 (590-1122), 3 (1122-1303), 4 (1303-1517) by James Robertson

Manual of Church History, vol. 1 (to 590), 2 (590-1073) by Henry Guericke

Church History, vol. 1, 2, 3 by Johann Kurtz

History of the Christian Church, vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 by Henry Sheldon

History of the Christian Church by George Fisher

Short History of the Christian Church: from the Earliest Times to the Present Day by C. Clarke

History of the Christian Church, vol. 1 (to 1300’s) 2 (1300’s-1900) by John Hurst

History of the Christian Church, vol. 1 (to 600), 2 (600-1517), 3 (1517-1648) by Wilhelm Moeller

History of Latin Christianity, including that of the Popes, vol. 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 by Henry Hart Milman

A History of the Church by Philip Hughes

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge 12 vols.

A Theological, Biblical & Ecclesiastical Dictionary by John Robinson

An Ecclesiastical Dictionary by John Thein

The Covenanters: a History of the Church in Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution, vol. 1 (1557-1649), 2 (1650-1690) by Hewison

The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Jesus Christ until 1648, vol. 1, 2, 3 by Thomas Fuller

The Acts and Monuments, Complete Edition, vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 by John Fox

The History of the Reformation of the Church of England, vol. 1, 2, 3, 4 by Gilbert Burnet

Annals of English Presbytery: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time by Thomas M’Crie

The Early Years of John Calvin: 1509-1536 by Thomas M’Crie

History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Italy in the 16th Century by Thomas M’Crie