“The heathen were the exact opposite. They pushed away those with the first signs of the disease and fled from their dearest. They even threw them half dead into the roads and treated unburied corpses like refuse in hopes of avoiding the plague of death...”
In the fifth century AD a church leader from North Africa named Augustine (known now as Saint Augustine) wrote a book called The City of God. In that book, Augustine discusses the juxtaposition of the culture of the city of Rome at the time with the Christians who were living there. His intent with his book (his very, very long book) is to show how the Church (the true City of God) was a rising, beautiful influence in the Roman world. The way that the Christians lived their lives among their neighbors was distinct, culture-changing, and yet it invited criticism throughout the infancy of Jesus’s burgeoning Church.
It's fascinated me to study about the impact the early Christians had on their culture.
Whereas the Romans practiced infanticide (especially of baby girls), the Christians refused to murder their children.
The Roman world had little care of the poor, widows, or orphans. The Christians extended charity, care, and provisions for those in need.
Romans were sexually promiscuous. Christians, however, practiced chastity and marital and sexual faithfulness.
In Roman culture, marriages were arranged social contracts. Men were assumed to dominate over their wives and children, and they were expected to have mistresses. But Christian men were called to love their wives with self-giving love, to fidelity, and to give and love sacrificially to all those in their homes.
Women were second class citizens in the ancient world. Astonishingly, Christians welcomed women to learn and serve alongside men in the church.
These are just some examples. As Christianity spread these behaviors were diametrically different than that of the culture and it stood out!
Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, recounted how the Christians showed mercy to others during a pandemic which devastated Rome:
Most of our brethren showed love and loyalty in not sparing themselves while helping one another, tending to the sick with no thought of danger and gladly departing this life with them after becoming infected with their disease… They would also take up the bodies of the saints, close their eyes, shut their mouths, and carry them on their shoulders. They would embrace them, wash and dress them in burial cloths, and soon receive the same services themselves…
The heathen were the exact opposite. They pushed away those with the first signs of the disease and fled from their dearest. They even threw them half dead into the roads and treated unburied corpses like refuse in hopes of avoiding the plague of death...
Do you stand out amongst your neighbors? We can mistakenly believe that it was the differences in their ethical choices that made Christians stand out in their culture. We can observe and glean for ourselves that it was their moral superiority that caused them to be persecuted. We are tempted to believe that if others around us simply adhered to the same rules which guide our lives that our culture, schools, places of work, and communities would be better places! We may shake a fist and say: “I’m going to stand for the truth of God no matter what anyone believes or does or says!” That sounds righteous. But…
But what was the impetus for the early Christians to live as they did? It wasn’t out of a desire to be morally superior. They had no context for that behavior in early Roman society. It wasn’t out of anger toward their neighbor’s behavior. For this was their own behavior until recently. It wasn’t out of fear of punishment by God or the authorities. They willingly and joyfully died by all sorts of terrible ways. It wasn’t any of these things. They were spurred on by love. It was the love they received from Jesus. It was the love of God flowing into and out of their lives that made the difference. Love for one another and for their neighbors was the motivation and love transformed an empire. Not everyone embraced the love of Christians. Many rejected it and murdered those who loved in Jesus’s name. But only one thing motivated the early Christians which caused a wake of culture-change in their city: We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19).
As you consider others, vote, post, pray, react, give, and speak this season… what motivates you?
In this world but not of it,
Nathan
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor
White Oak Christian Church