EPISODE 19 TRANSFORMED LIVES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
EPISODE 19 TRANSFORMED LIVES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
The Apostle Paul had said, “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” Acts 14:47
Transformed lives began to impact the Roman Empire. The oppressed people groups included women, the poor, slaves and children. These were the first to respond to the light of God’s message. The good news proclaimed, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Christian values had great appeal to those who were not valued.
Moses had warned the Israelites of the two threats that could destroy them. He warned them against the false gods and the sexual addictions they had seen in Egypt and were about to encounter in Canaan. The same temptations were destroying the Roman Empire.
Women on the outskirts of the Roman Empire were the first to respond to the Apostle Paul and the good news he brought. In Paul’s message they found an approach to life that was in direct contrast to Roman culture. Life was valued! God was a real man who broke the customs of status that oppressed women, children, the poor and slaves. This God-man was not like the emperors who claimed to be gods. He gave convincing evidence of his deity.
Romans were familiar with many gods. They made idols to represent them and worshiped the idols. They were also familiar with rulers who called themselves gods. It was a common practice among the emperors. But this God was very different. He had taught people how to live and his teachings were compelling.
New believers met in their homes. Paul and other Apostles continued to teach them by sending letters. Their new learning radically changed their perspective on reality. Instead of many gods, or no god, there is only one true God. Unlike the idols on their shelves, God instructed his people to respond to him as their Father. The world had never had a personal relationship with their gods of nature. They sacrificed their possessions to appease them. The anger of nature’s gods was unpredictable. Their gods gave no morals or guidance. Now they were receiving morals, guidance and wisdom. The fulfilling experiences of serving others grew into genuine love.
With the teaching that marriage was a sacred commitment, male – female relationships changed. As sexual fidelity replaced promiscuity, marriage partners began to experience a depth of love that had become rare in Rome. The birth of an infant became a bond between two lovers, rather than an inconvenience hindering self-centered gratification. The sacrifices required in raising children deepened the couple’s character by changing their focus from self, to serving their spouse and training their little ones.
One apostle had written, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep one-self from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 Unwanted children were often taken into the homes of Christians.
Slaves, visiting the homes of believers, were given an importance that didn’t exist elsewhere. They discovered that oppression and violence were abhorrent to believers. It was also surprising to be in a home where the cups, saucers, vases, pictures and statuary were not decorated with depictions of sexual acts – a common art form in Rome.
Roman authors wrote of Christians who cared for the sick even during times of epidemics. Romans commonly fled from sickness. It was a mystery to Romans why the Christians’ concern for others exceeded the Roman priority of fleeing to protect their own life.
Christians were social misfits in the Roman culture. They did not attend the shows or banquets which honored Rome’s false gods with sexual displays and orgies. They were not present at the processions where spectators encouraged the gladiators to fight aggressively and bravely. They weren’t in the crowds at the sacred games where violent death was the feature.
Christian values offended the Romans. Why? They took offense, not so much from the believers’ absence at public events, but because of their own moral conduct. They were accused by their inner sense of right and wrong. Their defensive response was hatred of the Christians expressed with persecutions and violence. Emperor’s pleased the crowds by using Christians as victims of slaughter in the sacred games.
To the “People of the Way” Roman culture was clearly empty, self-centered, and corrupt. It offered no lasting satisfaction. Suicides were frequent. There was a complete absence of meaning or purpose.
Without generations of children to guide its future, with a population lacking a work ethic or entrepreneurial skills, with a loss of patriotism, and men unwilling to fight for their country; Rome declined. Its economy, based on conquest and fresh supplies of slaves, collapsed. Self-gratification and moral corruption destroyed the potential it once had.
The dark ages followed. Europe could have remained a primitive civilization. But the seeds of change had been planted. Christianity introduced values that eventually made the Western world the most civilized man had known. The changes in government, economics, morality and character revolutionized the quality of life particularly in the birth and history of America.