The spectacle of the Christians loving all men was the most astounding Rome had ever seen. They were eager to sacrifice themselves for the weak, for children, and the aged. They identified themselves with slaves and did not avoid the plague. They longed to share the common lot that they might receive the constant revelation. It was a new treasure which the early Christians added to the sum of all treasures, a joy hitherto unknown in the world – the joy of finding the Christ which lieth in each man, but which no man can unfold save in fellowship. 

The early Christians believed that action, in the form of social service, was the only means for receiving and appropriating truth.