How early Christians stood against Rome, Part 1

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Editor’s note: After reading a recent RMV article and interview with Chris Goble, Douglas County resident Russ Minary was reminded of a devotional he first wrote in 2013 for the pastor of a large Colorado congregation. With revival on many hearts today, he is sharing it with Rocky Mountain Voice readers. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Read Part 2 here.

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matt. 5:13-16, NLT)

I’ve wondered for a long time how the early church, the first followers of Jesus Christ, managed to survive and thrive in a political and cultural environment that was substantially more hostile, evil, dangerous, difficult and disorganized than ours today.

Let me state the obvious, supernatural things first:

• God had just sent His One and Only Son Jesus Christ to live, teach, be crucified and raised from the dead.
  
• His Holy Spirit was moving in the world like never before.
  
• It was a big public spectacle and word about it was spreading.
  
• People were being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.
  
• Miracles were happening all over the place.
  
• The apostles, who were firsthand eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus Christ, were traveling around, sharing their testimony and writing their accounts, many of which are now Scripture.
  

That said, the environment in which this little church lived was far different than what we see today in our nation and culture. For example:

• No fancy church buildings or programs—open meetings were prohibited and punished. The church had to meet in private homes or secret places like catacombs.
  
• No tax exemptions for tithing and giving—people who were poor sacrificially gave to support other poor people with no advantage of any kind. The word tithe meant 10%. Jesus taught that it was right to do it (see Luke 11:42) with the temple tax, and giving was expected above and beyond that.
  
• The Way (the name for this new religion of the followers of Jesus) was legally prohibited, and punishment could be death.
  
• No full-time clergy or salaries. Bi-vocational ministry was the norm, not the exception.
  
• The first followers of Jesus were persecuted by the prevailing culture and their own communities, often ostracized and left without family, friends, careers or support networks.
  
• Christians were horribly persecuted—used as entertainment, eaten by lions in the Coliseum, or dipped in tar, nailed to crosses and burned as human torches at Nero’s parties.
  
• No freedom of speech or religion, and no open sharing of faith in public.
  
• No constitutional protections, prominent members or powerful political movements to defend them.
  
• They did not have what we now call “the Bible.” The rules for the new church weren’t fully written yet. When Jesus and the apostles quoted “the Scriptures,” they were referring to the Old Testament. The printed page was rare, and few had access to it.
  

How could this relatively powerless little group of people we now call the church, or the Body of Christ, go from being a handful of believers to a force that Acts 17:5-7 says:

“But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious,took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city (Thessalonica) in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”

Over 2,000 years later, the church is still alive and bigger than ever. How could that happen?

I’ve been studying Scripture, especially 1 and 2 Corinthians and Acts, for clues about how the early followers of Jesus behaved and what they did in order to survive long enough to pass along their new faith in this Savior Jesus Christ. 

Given that openly stating you were a Christian might have been a career-ending move—or even a fatal decision—they must have done some things differently and more effectively than we often do today.

But despite bitter persecution, their faith spread like wildfire. The corrupt Emperor Nero died, a massive number of Roman citizens became followers of Jesus, and eventually Constantine became a Christian. Constantine’s conversion transformed the Roman Empire, and the world is still different today because of that.

But the environment in which the little church and this ragtag bunch who were followers of Jesus lived was remarkably similar to what we see today in our nation and culture. For example:

• Emperor worship was prevalent, and national leadership was regarded as the benevolent source of provision, sustenance, entertainment and wisdom by most people.
  
• Government was big and the individual was small. The Roman state was a world power with the authority of life and death over its subjects and other nations.
  
• Taxes were collected and regularly increased to the point of becoming a burden on the average citizen.
  
• There was a general disregard for life—abortion, suicide, euthanasia and murder for sport were prevalent.
  
• Decadence and immorality were the norm—week-long parties, public drunkenness, orgies, homosexuality, temple prostitution, idol worship and rigid class divisions.
  
• Families were breaking up, divorce was widespread, and children were enslaved for labor and the sex trade.
  

This devotional continues with Part 2 here, which introduces nine principles the early church lived by to thrive in the midst of hostility.

Russ Minary is a retired sales executive, advertising and marketing consultant, small business owner and veteran. He helped businesses with hiring, talent consulting and organizational effectiveness before retiring.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.