For almost three hundred years, the church had lived under the constant threat of persecution. All Christians were aware of the possibility that some day they would be taken before Roman authorities, and there placed before the awesome choice between death and apostasy. During the prolonged periods of quiet in the second and third centuries, there were those who forgot this; and when persecution did arrive, they proved too weak to withstand the trial. This in turn convinced others that security and comfortable living were the greatest enemies of the church, and that these enemies proved stronger during periods of relative peace.
Justo Gonzalez