Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
The early church took verses like these very seriously. For a few years after Christ’s resurrection, the church was fairly small. We were mostly unnoticed by the world and were usually mistaken for Jews since the early Christians were mostly Jewish and the whole movement started in Judea. We were trying to figure out how this whole Christianity thing worked. Was it just a sect of Judaism? How did the Gentiles fit then? Was it a whole new religion? How did this Messiah idea fit, then and why were the Jewish Scriptures so important? How were Christians different from everyone else?
Well, the early church became dedicated to follow the words of Scripture and display evidence of the Spirit within for all to see. Once Emperor Nero came on the scene, this was pretty easy. The Christians were the ones being killed in the arena, many of them proudly and willingly.
It wasn’t until 313 and the Edict of Milan that Christianity was legal in all of the Roman Empire and the persecutions all but ended.
Before this, Christians didn’t have a lot of trouble standing out. We refused to worship Roman gods and emperors. This alone was enough to be sentenced to death. It wasn’t so much the Romans saw us as against Roman gods so much as antisocial. They were a very social society. Romans like to have parties, attend plays, worship together. Since their parties were usually immoral gatherings, the plays were often obscene, and the worship of other gods was blaspheme for Christians, we stayed away from social gatherings.
The Romans heard instead that we gathered with our own fellow Christians in secret love feasts. We married those we called brother and sister. We spoke of eating the body and blood of Christ. Is it any wonder the non-believers saw us as an incestuous bunch who married our family members and were even cannibalistic? As a result, the love feasts were thought to be orgies. There was even a widespread belief we ate babies. Yes, the Romans had low moral standards, but this sort of behavior was even below them.
When Rome burned (July 18, 64), Nero pointed to us to take the heat (pun intended) off of himself. We were an odd bunch anyway. We were the perfect scapegoat.
So, the Romans started to persecute us. This made us easy to spot. We were the ones being fed to wild animals, burned on stakes to light Nero’s garden parties, and sliced up by gladiators.
It was after the persecutions ended in 313 it became more difficult to stand out. The Emperor claimed to be a Christian. It was legal now, so even the elite claimed Christ. The rank and file Christian found it more difficult to stand out, though, so they looked for new ways to let people know they were believers. Jesus said there would be no marriage or giving of marriage in heaven, so some became celibate to identify with heaven. Some went into the desert alone as hermits to spend time growing in Christ with no distractions. One of the earliest of these was Anthony the Hermit who heard a sermon on the Jesus’ words that touched his heart:
Matt. 19:21 (ESV) Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Anthony sold all he had and slipped away to a cave in the desert to seek Christ through fasting and prayer. Soon people who admired his faith would seek advice, inspiration, and healing from him. They would bring food, and that’s how Anthony lived until his death.
Why is this important?
When I look at the things Christians over the centuries gave up to be identified with Christ and how little I give to do the same, I’m ashamed. I catch myself wondering if it would be “appropriate” to wear a Christian tee shirt somewhere, or I hesitate before bowing my head at a restaurant before I eat. Maybe I should think more about those who gave up their lives or their chance at families, or their human comforts just to be identified as Christians. What am I afraid of?
I live in a country where Christianity is much more acceptable than it was for most of these people. Why is it so hard for me to do such petty displays when people gladly gave their lives before thousands in the Roman Arena. Yes, it’s the Spirit within us what needs to be on display, but maybe we should be more obvious in our faith. Maybe the baptismal description of “an outward display of an inward change” shouldn’t just be about baptism.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 