02.37. Rome and beyond

Rome and beyond The church was already established in Rome when Paul arrived. The Bible does not record how it began, but Christians would have been among the many travellers or migrants who came to Rome, and these no doubt spread the gospel.¹ Paul had a vision to see Christianity so strongly established in Rome that it would spread across the entire empire and beyond. In Paul’s day, however, the official religion of the state was Emperor-worship. Christianity was an unlicensed religion and subject to official discrimination. Paul could never have imagined that within three hundred years the church would be so powerful that it would, in effect, take over the state. If he had lived to see the outcome of this, he would not have been pleased with what he saw.The apostle who preached Christ’s message of commitment would never be pleased with mere nominalism. The man who preached freedom and tolerance among Christ’s people would be angry to see legalism and bigotry become all-powerful. The relics and buildings that survive in Rome are monuments to all sorts of things – the heroism of early Christians, the hedonism of Rome’s citizens, the supremacy of the Roman Empire, the cruelty of its Emperors, the creativity of its artists, the power of a state church. Modern Italy may preserve the impressive achievements of former eras, but it displays little of the spirit of those who guided and taught the original church in Rome.

Well-founded traditions declare that Paul and Peter were the victims of anti-Christian persecution and were executed in Rome.² But they are only two among thousands who suffered under imperial Rome and gave their lives in the cause of Christ. Around the world today, whether in places sympathetic to Christians or those violently opposed, Christians are still required to count the cost of following Jesus. But it is always the way to fuller life.³

1. Acts 2:10; Acts 18:2; Romans 1:13; Romans 16:3-16 2. 2 Timothy 4:6; cf. John 21:18-19 3. Matthew 16:24-25; John 3:16; John 17:3 Arch of Titus, Rome, completed AD