Carl Sommer presents an in-depth study of the faith and life of the early Christians in the first two centuries after Christ. Using documentary evidence and archaeological records, he reconstructs the lives of the early Christians in order to, as he says, "introduce the treasures of early Christianity to a large number of modern readers." While well researched, Sommer purposely wrote this work for a non-scholarly audience to give it a wide appeal.

 By studying how the early Christians believed and lived, we can learn many valuable lessons on what to avoid and what to strive for today. The Roman world had many facets that are strikingly similar to elements of modern life. The author states that some of the problems in our modern world can only be overcome by largely forgotten Christian virtues. His aim is to help the reader learn how we can transform modern culture with the power of the Gospel as was done in these centuries of the early Church.

Besides the inspiring practical example of the lives of the early Christians, the author also emphasizes the importance of being able to clearly trace the development of many key Christian doctrines and beliefs including the origin of the Sacraments, belief in the Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Christ, Apostolic Succession and other tenets of the faith. But the main focus is on the lives of the early Christians and how many of them achieved a level of spiritual grandeur we can only marvel at today.