What Does the Church Need to Know about Augustine?

Why is a figure from the fourth century still so important for Christians to know today? Today, Stephen Nichols tells us about Augustine and the lessons that we can apply from his writings.

NATHAN W. BINGHAM: Joining us in the studio for this episode of Ask Ligonier is Dr. Stephen Nichols. He’s the president at Reformation Bible College, also the host of the 5 Minutes in Church History podcast. Dr. Nichols, what does the church need to know about Augustine?

DR. STEPHEN NICHOLS: I think that’s a great way to frame that question because the reality is, this is a Mount Everest figure, not only of the early church but of church history. So there’s so much that we can know about Augustine, and we do need some details.

So, just to sort of give you the framework of where he falls, he’s born in 354 and he dies in 430, but he’s not converted until the 390s. So, this is a crucial time. This is really sort of a hinge moment in history as we’re leaving the Greco-Roman world and what we would consider the ancient church and about to enter into the sack of Rome and the medieval world. So, Augustine’s a hinge figure between that.

He’s known as a significant figure in the doctrines of grace and focusing in on God’s sovereignty in salvation. He’s the author of two classic texts, the Confessions and the City of God, both of which are worth reading. And in addition to that, he’s the author of so many books, so many sermons, so many letters.

But if we sort of push through all that and maybe get to the heart of the matter, in the time I’ve spent with Augustine, what I’ve come to appreciate is Augustine’s doctrine of God. He wrote a lot of books before he was converted. He was quite a scholar, quite an academic. And he’s converted at Milan. Some of the factors there: of course, the prayers of his mother, Monica, the preaching of Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, the reading of the New Testament, and then of course, the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

But after he’s converted, he travels to this sort of resort place, the foot of the Alps there in northern Italy. And he writes what are his first Christian books. And in the very first books that he writes, he has this line, “Whoever is happy has God.” And of course, he’s not talking about happiness like we talk about happiness, that sort of momentary laughter or something, or momentary euphoric feeling. He’s talking about happiness in that Greek sense of ultimate happiness, our highest good, what we were made for.

And that is very much Augustine’s life—he was questing for that ultimate good. He sought it in philosophy, he sought it in fame, and he realized in the end, it’s in God because God made us. And as he says in that opening line of the Confessions, “He made us for Himself.” And when we don’t find our identity and meaning in God, as he tells us, we are restless; we just go flitting from one thing to the next. And not only are people discontent, but in some cases, people are malcontents. But “whoever is happy has God.”

Another great line from Augustine, and it comes from the Confessions—you know, from one point of view, our lives are pretty circuitous. Augustine’s life is pretty circuitous. The Confessions is actually a story of a journey of Augustine, and it’s a literal journey as he leaves North Africa and goes to Rome and then goes to Milan. But that circuitous path is from our perspective. From the divine perspective, our lives are from day one—actually from before the foundations of the earth—our lives are the straight arrow aimed at the bullseye. And Augustine has a great quote. He says, “You use all, whether we know it or not, for a purpose which is known to You.” And again, this is such a capacious view of God that informs all of his theology, it informs all of his ecclesiology in his approach to church life, and it informs all of his life.

And so, here’s our life. It seems like it’s just a bunch of crooked paths going sideways. Sometimes we are bewildered at what God brings into our lives and what God brings us through in our lives. And we have to take that step back and ultimately rest in the sovereign goodness of God.

And that I think is what we need to know about Augustine. He’s a Mount Everest because he helps us have that proper biblical view of who God is, and that is so essential to us not only getting our theology right, but that is so essential to understanding—and ultimately joyfully submitting—to what God is doing in our lives.