Sermons
How Well Do We Know The History of The New Testament Church? - Lesson four
HOW WELL DO WE KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE N.T. CHURCH
- Lesson Four -
INTRO:
Good evening. This is the forth in a series of lessons on the history of the New Testament church. The topic this evening is from the years following AD 96 – The Falling Away and the Apostasy.
I. Let’s do a review of what we noted in previous lessons.
A. We looked at what we mean by the term “church”. We showed in our first study the term church is used to describe a local body of Christians as in the case of the Chardon congregation as well as in the universal sense. We noted in the local church there is an organization, but in the universal sense Jesus is the head over the body. There is no organization beyond that in the universal. We talked about how the Greek term for church means the called out. We are called out of darkness. We’re called out of the world into the kingdom of His dear Son.
B. We also noted that the Kingdom throughout the Old Testament was prophesied. We saw in Daniel 2:44 – “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Here we see where in the days of these kings, speaking of the Roman Empire, the kingdom was to be established. It was a kingdom not hewn out by man’s hands but by God. That Kingdom is going to destroy all other kingdoms and this kingdom which we are part of will not be destroyed.
1. Matthew 3:1,2 “1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
2. Mark 9:1 “And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” It is important to note here that Jesus Christ said that some of those standing there would not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God come with power. We know that within the lifetime of some who were hearing Christ’s words being spoken, the kingdom was going to be established.
C. Jesus promised to build His church, the kingdom. Matthew 16:18,19 “18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus said this to Peter after He had asked the disciples, “Who do the people say that I am?” Some said you’re Elijah and you’re this person or that person. He then said, “Who do you say I am?” Peter said, “Thou are the Christ the Son of the living God.” We noted in those two passages of scripture that Jesus promised to build His church, but He also referred to it as the kingdom. In the previous lessons we noticed how “the kingdom” and “the church” were used interchangeably.
D. The church was established in Acts chapter 2. I would encourage each of us to re-read the entire second chapter of Acts.
1. With the establishment of the church we saw the growth as well the problems that were associated with those in the church. We studied some of those problems and noted some of them continue in various forms today.
2. People would look at the church and say, “It’s not perfect.” That is an incorrect statement. The church is perfect. What makes the church imperfect are the individuals. The church is made up of individuals. Not all individuals are willing to submit to the whole counsel of God’s word.
3. Therefore, we saw in the last lesson that in the first 65 years of the New Testament church there were all kinds of problems.
E. In the first 65 years of the New Testament church there were apostasies. Paul said in Galatians 1:6 – “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.”
1. There were Judaizers bringing in the old law and trying to make it binding.
2. The errors of Gnosticism entered teaching against the sovereignty of God and that man was inherently evil. We noted in our study that right at the end John’s writing about Diotrephes might have been the first indication of one wanting to be the preeminent elder in the church.
F. We see that much was happening in the New Testament church. When we have a look at where we stand today, some 2000 years later, it is important for us to observe that things occurring in the church today are not new, but things that have plagued the church from near the beginning. Division has always been a problem. Brethren want to be called by titles. There have been doctorial issues. All types of things are found in the New Testament church.
1. There are over 5200 religions in the world and more then 3500 religious organizations that call themselves Christians.
2. Yet Christ said I will build My church. Ephesians 1:22 – “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.” When we look at all the so-called Christian world, all of which claim to be following Jesus, all who claim to wear the name of Jesus Christ, we find they are so different, and we have to wonder. How can a church with the One, Jesus Christ, as head over all things be so different? Where did this all come from? How did we get to where we are today? It has to do with the falling away and the apostasy.
3. We need to remember, the church, the body of Jesus Christ, are those who seek to do His will, those who surrender their will to His will. Keep that in mind and that’s what we want to establish in our study of the history.
II. In tonight’s lesson we will be looking at the years following 96 AD with emphasis on the changes that occurred, the “Falling Away and Apostasy”. I want to start right where I believe it is most important for us to understand. That is in the scriptures predicting this very thing happening.
A. In Acts 20:28-32 (NKJV) it says: “28 Therefore take heed (Paul here is addressing the elders that are in Ephesus) to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 For I know this (Just a reminder here, God knows the end and the beginning so it is a simple thing for the Apostles to be able to Prophesy under the guidance of the Spirit about what will happen.) For I know this that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. (This is exactly what Jesus spoke about in Mathew chapter 7 with regard to false teachers.)
1. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” It is very clear from this passage of scripture and warning, that there are those who have begun to do things to glorify themselves and not for the glorify God in heaven.
2. There is something very important for us to observe from the passage of scripture in verse 31. This is a warning that comes to us as well, knowing that there will be those who seek preeminence, will seek to glorify themselves rather than glorify God. We have a duty and that duty is found in verse 31.
3. “31 Therefore watch, and remember (that is a reason that we study a subject like this. It is so that we can be watchful and remember that these things happen in the Lord’s body.) that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. 32 So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” We need to remember that these warnings are given here with tears because the body of Christ will be corrupted by these things and is being destroyed by our adversary the devil. Many times that adversary is sitting right here in our midst. That is scary. That is the reason that we must be watchful in all things.
B. In 1 Timothy 4:1-3 (NKJV) “1 the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” We know of religious groups today who do exactly that thing. They will forbid the eating of certain foods and there are those that will forbid even marriage. For example consuming "Hot drinks" is taboo for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What is interesting is that these various taboos are often described as “not matters of dogma but matters of conscience”. Tell that one to the judge.
C. When Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-4 (NKJV) “1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” Why must an evangelist do this? Because “3 the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine,” Hear that? A time will come when people will not endure the soundness of God’s word “but to satisfy their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” These are warnings that are given not only to the church to be watchful, these warnings are given to those who are ministering, involved in the building up and edifying of the body of Christ. Warnings that the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine.
D. Then in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (NKJV) “1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you (this is so important in the study of the history of the church to see how many people are deceived into believing and accepting the different things that are not found in God’s word. They join themselves to bodies that they believe are of Christ and are not.) And he says “let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
1. “4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” That statement is just scary. There in the first century church we read about the church in Thessalonica where Paul says the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.
i. The devil doesn’t step back when you obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. The devil doesn’t say, “Now what shall I do?” He is seeking to destroy in any and every way possible. He is a liar and a deceiver. We should never, never underestimate the deceptive ability of the devil. You feel confident. You feel that tomorrow you’ll do what you need to do. You feel that everything’s ok. Therein are all the lies and deceptions of the devil. The only way to know that you are ok is to study God’s revealed will and to have your spirit agree with His Spirit. That is the only way. The lawless one is already at work.
ii. “8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
iii. Paul warns in Timothy that people will not endure sound doctrine and therefore they find teachers that will teach what they desire. He says this falling away and this lawless one is going to come with signs, lying wonders, and deception. Why? Not because he’s almighty and powerful but because we allow him in. The devil can only destroy the ones who invite him in. Once he’s invited in we can say we don’t like the truth anymore. We don’t like the things that God wants for us and therefore we go after our own desires.
iv. I think it’s important for us to understand that there are many people who look at the apostasy we’re going to talk about and say this is exactly what Paul is dealing with here.
v. I’d like to look at this passage of scripture—anytime a person looks at the word of God and decides for themselves that the word of God is NOT—IS NOT—the soul authority—they make themselves God and they sit in the seat of God thinking that they know much better than God in heaven. I believe that is found throughout centuries and it is found even today, even among the body. These warnings have to do with generations. One of the things that is so impressive to me in the Bible is the evidence of the power of God.
E. Where does it begin? It is sad but - apostasy begins and ends with the lack of teaching and training of children. We see even in the Old Testament the progress into apostasy of the children of God – the Israelites. It is seen in Judges 2 and it was evident in the N.T. era as well.
1. When you have a look at the time after the apostles, there grew up a people that did not hold fast to the truth revealed in God’s Word. This is true of what happened in Judges 2:7-10 – “7. So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 8. Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. 9. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 10. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.”
2. I wonder, how is it possible for a generation to arise who do not know the works of the Lord. Fairly obvious I’m afraid. It has to with a failure in the home of teaching and instructing children. We see in verse 11 it says “Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals;”
i. That is a recurring theme throughout the book of Judges. They continued to do evil in the sight of the Lord. There is a time that is going to come when they will not endure sound doctrine. When we have a generation that does not teach, then another generation will arise who says we don’t want to do it, we do not want to follow the old paths, we want to do it our own way. “My friends tell me this is old junk. We are smarter now. There is more interesting stuff to do.”
ii. Unfortunately that has been the history of the church. 2 Tim 4:3-4 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
3. We tend to measure what we do from where we are and thereby are slowly departing from the true pattern. Satan’s not going to walk in here and say listen: I don’t want you to obey. I don’t want you to worship the way God wants you to worship. He’s going to deceive and disguise himself as ministers of righteousness. These departures are just one generation off. Apostasy is just one generation away. What young people, need to understand, to grasp, is that they are the church of tomorrow. Those who have fought the good fight are growing old and it’s almost time for us to go home. Someone is going to have to take up the sword. Someone is going to have to stand firm and grounded. It is our young people. They need to be grounded and steadfast.
4. Let us NEVER forget that we are only ONE generation away from apostasy.
III. Let’s next look at the history of THE PRE-NICENE PERIOD and PERSECUTION of Christians. This is also known as the ante-Nicene period. But before we begin I want to remind you that as we go forward much of what I talk about is from other references. Also I’m going to seem to repeat a lot because there are really three main areas to grasp. The conditions of the church as it functions—that is the structure and doctrine, the conditions of individual Christians and their lives and the conditions found in the world.
A. We’ve seen the death of Christ and the beginning of His church. We’ve seen that church through the first century. Toward the close of the first century, we saw persecutions of Christians. We saw the spread of the church as a result of persecution at the hand of a man named Saul of Tarsus.
1. We saw how apostasy got a start near the close of the first century. Even in the midst of persecution, people were falling away.
2. The thing that surprises me is how soon this apostasy began. We’re not talking about thousands of years. By the time of the Council of Nicene we’re talking about 225 years. In 225 years what has taken place?
B. A quick look now at the beginning of the second century, about seventy years after the Ascension of Christ. Families existed that had been Christians for three generations.
1. The church was to be found in nearly every city from Northern Africa to the Black Sea and the Tiber to the Euphrates. The number of Christians was high, some estimate millions. Christians were of every class, from the slave up to the nobles. In the offices of the church there was no distinction and a slave might be an elder while his master one of the membership.
2. The doctrines of the Apostle Paul were accepted all through the church as a standard of the faith.
3. However, as we have seen opposition was starting and sects were forming. Baptism was everywhere by immersion, but in 120 A.D. there is mention of baptism by pouring water onto the head.
4. Also about 120 A.D. there is a mention of people called apostles who appear to have been traveling evangelists among the churches. They were without authority and of limited respect as there was a recommendation that churches entertain them for three days and no longer.
5. In the time of the Apostles faith was a personal surrender to Christ as Lord and King and a life lived according to His example. Faith was from the heart. Gradually though this shifted from the heart and became an intellectual faith believing in a “correct belief” rather then a spiritual life.
i. The Apostles’ Creed became the statement of doctrine and schools of theology were started.
ii. Initially to train the new Christian, the schools soon became centers of doctrinal investigation.
iii. From these schools came some of the early Christian scholars, Pantaenus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Irenaeus, Tertullian and Cyprian.
6. Now let’s look at some things about the sects which were developing. Christians in this time not only had to contend with persecutions and developing doctrine but heresies and corrupt doctrine from within. Indeed some of what led to the development of the schools into institutions of doctrinal study was the rise of these various sects.
i. Most notable perhaps were the Gnostics whose beliefs are so hard to define because their doctrines varied from location to location and at different times.
ii. Basically a grafting together of paganism and Christianity, their doctrines lasted far longer then the sect itself and had vast influence through the next few centuries.
iii. The Ebionites insisted Jewish laws and customs be observed and they rejected the writing of Paul. As a sect they faded out in the second century.
iv. The Manicheans started in Persia and taught that there were two kingdoms. One born of light and one of darkness each striving for supremacy. The rejected Jesus but believed in a Christ.
v. The Montanists were very interesting and not what we might call heretical. It has been said that Puritans are the closest we might think of to describe them.
(a) They claimed to return to the simplicity of the “primitive” Christians.
(b) They believed in the priesthood of all true believers. Did not believe in orders of the ministry.
(c) They believed the prophetic gifts belonged to the disciples. They had many prophets and prophetesses.
(d) They also sought strict discipline in the church.
(e) John Wesley and some modern scholars endorse their views.
C. We had 10 emperors that persecuted Christians from the time of Nero from A.D. 67 all the way to A.D. 313
1. Of these 10 emperors, Domitian is the one that is in place in the book of Revelation. He is persecuting and exiling Christians such as John to the Isle of Patmos. (A.D 89-96)
2. We have persecution from Trajan from 98 AD through 117AD.
3. Marcus Aurelius in 161 through 180 AD
4. Septimus Severus in 193-211. These are all emperors that persecuted Christians.
5. Caracalla (cara-calla) – (211-217)
6. Maximus 1 – (235-238)
7. Decius (deck•e•us) – (249-251)
8. Valerian (Co-Ruler w/ Gallienus 253-260)
9. When we get to Diocletian (Co-Rulers 284-305), we see the worst persecution in the history of the church was at his hands.
10. Galerius & Maximinus 2 – (Co-Rulers 305-311)
11. Then Constantine orders toleration – (306-337). Let’s have a look at 313 AD in history. I’m going to go ahead and read you this:
i. History records a tale that Constantine was losing a battle and he prayed to the gods, when he saw a vision of the Cross - and knew that “Christianity” was a true religion.
ii. It is generally believed that Constantine became a Christian. However there are no surviving histories or biographies dealing with Constantine's life and rule. There are writings but they have been strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period, and are often one-sided. What Constantine did was write a decree that stopped the persecution of Christians for a while in the Roman Empire.
iii. We hear people say that Constantine was the first emperor to be a Christian. There’s no recorded history for that which can not be challenged. What he did was write the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. This edict stopped the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
iv. The edict stated that Christians should be allowed to follow the faith without oppression. This removed penalties for professing Christianity, under which many had been martyred previously, and returned confiscated Church property. The edict protected from religious persecution not only Christians but all religions, allowing anyone to worship whichever deity they chose.
v. That only lasted for a very short time. Constantine himself disliked the risks to societal stability that religious disputes and controversies brought with them, preferring where possible to establish orthodoxy. He established and influenced early Church councils to enforce doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical unity; what proper worship and doctrines and dogma consisted of was for the Church to determine, in the hands of the participating bishops.
D. It has been said that the persecutions of Christians served a purpose and the following have been suggested.
1. It kept the church free from pretenders.
i. Persecution kept all those who were not sincere away. No one was going to remain who were half-hearted. Certainly no one would become a Christian who was looking for worldly gain.
ii. That’s something to make me think about where the church is going today. What if there came a persecution of Christians in this land today? What do you think people would do, do you think that they would be around to suffer for the name of Christ?
2. It kept false doctrine from being too widespread. The whole church was holding to one faith.
i. Sects arose, flourished and perished though some of the ideas remained.
ii. Even with the sects and schisms the church had one doctrine, system and spirit.
3. Persecutions also caused many to renounce their faith and compromise.
i. All of those who renounced their faith and compromised, “were not worthy of the Kingdom”.
ii. Remember what the Lord said in Luke 9:62? He who sets his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of the kingdom. Those who are willing to compromise their faith in Christ Jesus are not worthy of the kingdom.
E. As we look further at the time of the persecutions let’s have a look at the different things which occurred.
1. 110-112 A.D. This is shortly after the death of John the apostle. Christians were persecuted in Asia Minor once again. John was exiled in persecution by Domitian. They began allowing some of the governors even to persecute Christians. Can you imagine the mayor of Chardon, Oh, being given the power by Washington to go after Christians and persecute them? That’s the sort of thing we’re taking about.
2. Marcus Aurelius sought to restore the old simplicity of Roman life and with it the ancient religion; and opposed the Christians as innovators. Many thousands of the believers in Christ were beheaded or devoured by wild beasts in the arena.
3. Marcus Aurelius died in 180 A.D. and there was a series of emperors too busy with wars or pleasures to pay attention to the Christians.
4. In 193 A.D. Septimius Severus arose and began a fierce persecution in 202 A.D. Severus strove to restore the dying religions of the past.
5. Caracalla, emperor 211-217 A.D. conferred citizenship on every person in the empire that was not a slave.
6. In 250 A.D. another persecution arose during the short reign of Decius.
i. Then Diocletian allowed Galarius to kill Christians in 286 A.D. This began the worst persecution of Christians in the history of the church.
ii. Some were thrown to lions.
iii. Others were burned at the stake.
iv. Others served as street lights on roads. Christians were soaked in oil and tar and put on poles, in Diocletian’s garden. He was so proud of his gardens that he would take his friends into the garden at night to show the beauty of his flowers and use the Christians as torch lights to illuminate the garden. All of that during this time period.
7. I’m going to quote from some publications as we go through these lessons. This comes from the work, "The Story of the Christian Church". By Jesse Lyman Hurlbut. It said of Diocletian’s persecution:
i. In a series of edicts it was ordered that every copy of the Bible should be burned; that all churches —which had arisen throughout the empire during the half-century of comparative rest from persecution—should be torn down; that all who would not renounce the Christian religion should lose their citizenship and be outside the protection of law. In some places the Christians were assembled in their churches, which were set on fire and burned with all the worshipers within their walls. It is said that the emperor, Diocletian, erected a pillar inscribed, “In honor of the extirpation of the Christian superstition”. With the forced labor of enslaved Christians the immense Baths of Diocletian were erected at Rome.
ii. We might well wonder why would the Lord allow all this to happen. I believe (this is my own personal opinion here) in times of peace apostasy grows, but in times of hardships and controversy the strength of the church is seen. There is a commitment that people have toward the truth.
F. For a few moments I want to look at the why of all this. Why did the Roman government which supported justice and was seeking the welfare of its citizens, try to destroy this body of upright, law-abiding Christians? Let’s look at some possible reasons from history.
1. The Heathen world was quite hospitable to new forms and objects of worship, tolerant we might say. Not so with Christianity.
2. For the Heathen there were already gods by the hundreds, one more god would make no difference. When a city or region traded with another they would build temples to the deities worshiped in other lands. This was done so people from those places could have a place for worship. On the other hand, Christianity opposed all worship except to its own God. Any attempt to create a statue of Christ would have been rejected with scorn. Christians would not have wanted Christ recognized merely as one of many deities.
3. Idol worship was part of the fabric of life, in every house, part of every ceremony and festival. Christians would take no part in this and because of that they were viewed as atheists, non-thinkers, anti-social and haters of their fellow man. This view would have been but a step away from persecution. Remember how people that seem different have been treated in recent history.
4. Into that idolatry came also a test of loyalty, emperor worship. Christians refused to worship an image of the emperor. To the public at large they were looked on as at least disloyal at worst enemies of the state.
5. Christians did things that aroused suspicion. Meeting before sunrise or at night, often in secluded places, caves for example, led to rumors of secrecy and evil practice. The celebration of the Lords Supper which excluded outsiders.
6. Then there was the odd view that Christians had of other people. They looked at all men as being equal. They made no distinction in the position a person held within the membership or service. A slave could be an elder. To the nobles and ruling classes this was scandalous. Christians were seen as anarchists and subverters of social order.
7. Naturally businesses that made profit from such things as making images of idols, sculptors and temple architects along with all of those who depended on heathen worship felt threatened by Christianity.
G. During the 4th Century:
1. In 311 A.D. it is reported that Galarius repented on his death bed.
i. He didn’t believe in God, but was sorry he had mistreated Christians.
ii. He signed a law ceasing persecution of Christians.
2. In 313 A.D. Constantine signed an Edict that Christians would not be persecuted again by the Roman government.
i. We should remember that Constantine was an administrator and as mentioned in what I read earlier he felt the need to control and thought he could change and organize the church anyway he wanted.
ii. One of those changes occurred at the Council Nicene which we will discuss in more detail in the next lesson.
CONCLUSION:
I’ve probably gone on long enough for tonight. The Lord willing we will take this up again next week. There is much more that could be mentioned and way more points to discuss. In these lessons I’m going to be hitting highlights with some in-depth on certain points.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.
Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.
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Reference Sermon
John Cripps
Where and when we meet
Chardon, Ohio 44024