St. Ignatius of Antioch

I bought a book recently entitled, 5 Minutes in Church History, by Stephen J. Nichols. It contains short stories about people who have made a difference for God's people. In chapter 2, the author focuses on St. Ignatius, a disciple of the apostle John.

Ignatius was Bishop of Antioch who had to deal with many false teachers. In particular, he had to confront the false teachings related to Gnosticism which claimed that Christ did not come in the flesh, he really wasn't born, he really didn't live, he really didn't die on the cross, and he really didn't rise again.

Ultimately, Ignatius wants the false teachers to see the truth of the gospel. He declares:

Only you must pray for them, if by any means they may be brought to repentance. For if the Lord were in the body in appearance only, and were crucified in appearance only, then am I also bound in appearance only. And why have I also surrendered myself to death, to fire, to the sword, to the wild beasts? But I endure all things for Christ, not in appearance only, but in reality. That I may suffer together with Him, while He Himself inwardly, strengthens me: for of myself I have no such ability.

St. Ignatius went on to suffer a martyr's death. It was important to him that his suffering was real and meaningful, like that of Christ himself. This message mattered to him.

Under the Roman emperor Trajan, Ignatius gave his life to the faith because he failed to deny Christ but instead confessed Him. He became one of the first martyrs of church history.