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The Birth of an Empire

By on in Theology

The primary reasons for Apostle Paul’s writing to the Romans are diverse and numerous. There are four that appear to carry the most widespread recognition. The main proposals are as follows:

a. Theological Treatise – A theological book recognizing that it is a letter as there is a depth concerning the efficacy of the gospel and its corresponding redemptive path. The letter’s theological meaning is underdeveloped due to the absence of ecclesiological and Christology doctrines. Romans was written predicated upon existing knowledge. This is an occasional letter to work through the implications of justification, sanctification, etc.

b. Missiological Concerns – Centered around the gospel’s progress and its support within the Church. Paul probably wants to make Rome the center of Western Christianity as Antioch is to the Eastern part of the Roman empire. Consequently, some might conclude that Romans is an exhaustive missional support letter.

c. Apologetical – The position that Christianity is a defense at the heart of the Roman empire. As it is said that the book of Romans is principally apologetical, it does not specifically address disputes as such. It has functional elements that are apologetical, but as an occasional letter, the book itself is not principally centered toward that purpose.

d. Pastoral – Conflict in the church is addressed as an occasional matter between the Jew and Gentile. There is a need for healing where the Gentiles and Jews are urged to be messengers of reconciliation within the Church. Paul’s efforts toward the development of unity concerning one people of God by the gospel is the apex of the book of Romans.

In all of Paul’s writing, there are social and cultural concerns about the nature of his work with the gospel of Christ crucified and risen. The assertion Paul makes about “not being ashamed of the gospel” corresponds to his confidence that there was no loss of status, experience, or undue strain due to the gospel’s relevance, necessity, and power. Negativity, opposition, or disputes Paul encountered during his missional pursuits through the gospel had no bearing upon him personally. He didn’t internalize ridicule or slander, nor did he yield to hard or soft persecution when he set himself in association to Christ’s death and resurrection. Any humiliation he may have been expected to endure from socio-cultural pressures didn’t weigh upon Paul to negatively affect what Christ set him apart to do. The development of the church and the discipleship of numerous Gentile believers throughout the Greco-Roman empire was the fruit of his efforts regardless of what cultural conditions were in place about a disgraced messiah perceived by society or the populace.

Paul boasted in the gospel. He proclaimed that “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.” Namely, to both the Jew and the Gentile, God’s righteousness is revealed through the faith of those who believe the gospel. As the righteous were to live by faith according to the gospel, the power of God is made evident and salvific toward those who believe. Moreover, the righteousness of God applied to believers who would mock or despise Paul, and followers of Christ were poignantly unwise by comparison as they would remain captive to sin while in a condemned state subject to cumulative wrath of God without mercy. The mercy of God available to those who would accept Christ and His gospel would be the kind of power needed for salvation.

Apostle Paul’s background and conversion had pressing implications about Israel’s election, their rejection, and eventual restoration. Paul wrote in distress about the loss of Israel’s estate (Rom 9:1-3). While it is evident through Scripture that Israel was YHWH’s portion (Deut 32:8-9). They were to become a Kingdom of Priests under the Old Covenant (Ex 19:6), their unbelief about God’s redemptive plan was foretold as a matter of prophetic certainty (Isa. 10:22-23, Hos 1:10, Rom 9:30-33), they would become a people who would become sidelined. The election of YHWH’s people Israel remains an eschatological certainty while their ultimate rejection of the Son of Man revealed as Jesus the Messiah was intentional. To harden the Jews, make them jealous (Rom 11:14),  and soften the Gentiles where the Kingdom of God would become filled until the fulness of Gentiles would enter through the gospel (Rom 11:25), the sovereign plan of God was made evident.

While Israel’s unbelief was prophesied, it was ongoing too (Isa. 65:2, Rom 10:21). In paradoxical contrast to Jewish responsibility and the lost condition of Gentiles, the sovereignty of God was at work to produce salvation history. From the fall of humanity and the series of covenants to follow, Jesus the Messiah would shepherd his people, the spiritual seed of Abraham, to the Kingdom of God. In this way, the book of Romans is pastoral as it concerns the redemption of believers, both Jew and Gentile, who represent humanity restored. Most especially the Jews as they are to be saved as a matter of prophetic fulfillment (Isa. 59:21, Jer. 31:33-34, Rom 11:25-32). The pastoral work of God is a celebration of God’s sovereignty as His wisdom and abundant mercy is made clear.

As Paul’s work further made a lasting impact, the biblical world of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia included coastal cities that emerged as places of incubation in support of early Christianity. The Kingdom of God on Earth was to begin from Jerusalem for the Jew first and then into Samaria, Antioch, throughout Asia Minor and Rome. While Antioch of Syria was the traditional birthplace of Christianity, it was the point of initial operations of Paul, Barnabas, and others to advance the Kingdom from the East. Paul had a base of support to commence his missionary efforts throughout Asia Minor and into Europe, including Macedonia, Achaia, and Rome of Italia.  

To achieve Paul’s objectives to reach Spain, a grounding of the Church in Rome was necessary for monetary and resourced support toward the ongoing development of churches in Europe. As Paul exhausted his efforts to plan and develop churches and build a network of support for Christianity present with Jerusalem, Antioch, and smaller communities, he sought to extend his efforts. With an established base in Rome, it was to be a base of operations from the West to reach deeper into Europe. Especially into Spain, the outermost territory of Europe for Paul to complete his appointed work. Antioch from the East, Rome from the West, and Jerusalem to the South were geographical centers of outreach and discipleship to grow the Church. The gospel made its way throughout the biblical world to build momentum by the work of the Spirit and His apostles, where kingdoms of humanity became overlapped of far greater significance by a spiritual empire of Christendom.

Traces of a Saint

By on in Theology

The NT epistles are authoritative by their substance, purpose, and structure. The character of NT letters is personal, not private. They’re not secret and intended to be shared even if directed to a church or individual. The NT letters are also occasional and not theoretical compositions. That is to say, they are situational and not tractates, treatises, or always discourses of abstract and concrete meaning. The letters address known problems, and they’re written in response to the development needs of the church and individuals. The Bible wasn’t written to us. It was written for us. That is, the content and canon of codices were formed historically for us.  

The NT letters are unofficial in style. They are not official as correspondence from governments or agencies in an official capacity to inform or direct affairs. NT letters and the apocalyptic account of John in Revelation are sealed to reveal events and judgments that bear a resemblance to official status in an authoritative capacity. Still, the book of Revelation is personally directed to the churches in Asia-minor. By comparison, the epistles themselves are not otherwise sealed for security purposes as authentication intended for official or formal correspondence. Whether circulated widely or not, the authoritative weight of the letters originated from authors who write from the context of personal authority. As witnesses of Christ and apostolic activity or teaching. For example, Apostle Peter himself referred to Paul’s writings as scripture (2 Pet 3:16).

There is evidence that the book of Acts is written largely as a defense of Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. Luke authors the book of Acts to “most excellent Theophilus.” As Theophilus was a common Gentile name within the Greek world, the Acts text serves as a narrative historical account of what occurred to a non-Jewish reader. To serve as an explanatory instrument of historical bearing, the message of Acts involved a sovereign plan of necessity concerning Gentile peoples around the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian world. Western and Eastern nations populated at the edges of Africa, Europe, and Asia were the intended recipients of the gospel as a message of redemption to the Gentiles.

The book of Acts is not merely a history of the early church. The continuity of the early gospel ministry extends from Jesus in the book of Luke to Peter for the Jews in Acts, then finally to Paul in Acts. As Jesus instructed that the gospel was to go out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the world, the Kingdom imperative reached Gentiles through Paul’s ministry. Peter’s presence in the gospels and Acts faded into redemptive history as the development of the Gentile church from Antioch to Asia-minor permeated the Greco-Roman empire. There is a distinct transition of overlapping significance between the Jews and Gentiles within the book of Acts. Moreover, the manner of development among churches and believers as chronologically traced from canonical correspondence gives further evidence of sovereign advancement of the Kingdom through Paul’s ministry as intended. As it is written, Paul introduces himself as an apostle (Rom 1:1, 1 Cor 1:1). Not an apostle of the original twelve, but an apostle of a distinct mission to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13).

Paul was born a Roman citizen (Acts 22:27), but it is not known how his parents had acquired such a status. While citizenship could have been attained by military involvement or by rendering some service to Rome, it is speculated that perhaps a family tent-making business that supported the Roman military could have earned Paul’s family Roman citizenship. It appears divinely providential that Paul was given birth in such a familial state as having Roman citizenship was considered a privilege among the social elite. It was uncommon for a Jew living in the Diaspora to have Roman citizenship, whether by birth, monetary payment, or other means. As the Diaspora was distributed across the Roman empire, there was likely a practical or logistical matter of concern with attaining such a status. Given the epistolary record to the Philippians, Paul was a “Hebrew born of Hebrews” (Phil 3:5), and among the intellectual elite of Jews, Paul’s status as a Roman is remarkable. As indicated in F.F. Bruce’s Apostle of the Free Spirit, Paul must have been registered as a Roman within 30-days of his birth to initiate valid citizenship status (Bruce, 39). His father would have made a declaration (professio) before a provincial governor (praeses prouinciae) at a public record-office (tabularium publicum) to set in effect his status as a Roman citizen. As certified by witnesses, registration within an album professionum would have authenticated Paul as a child by a pronouncement ciuem Romanum esse professus est. That is, the name of the father or agent as a Roman citizen declared Paul to be a Roman citizen by birth.

While an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul concentrated much of his mission work among synagogues throughout Diaspora within the Greco-Roman world. The synagogue as a “gathering” or “assembly” by definition became a place for people groups within the Diaspora to join together in prayer and study. Specifically, towards the early development of the church in Asia-minor and Palestine, synagogue participants included Hebraists, Hellenists, Proselytes, and God Fearers who were both Jew and Gentile. While it isn’t definitively known where or how synagogues originated in support of prayer and study, it is recognized that there were some meeting places where ritual and liturgical traditions arose to involve prayer, study, fellowship, and worship. Whether in residences or other structures, most scholars have concluded that synagogues originated during or just after the Babylonian exile between about 586BC and late 6th century BC as compared to earlier periods (such as the times of the Egyptian and Assyrian captivity). After Solomon’s temple was destroyed, there was no longer a gathering place to support the functions of prayer and study. In the absence of a centralized area of worship, a distributed model of congregating among synagogues took shape as the glory of the LORD was removed from the Jerusalem temple. From the time of Ezekiel, when he witnessed the departure of God’s glory from the Jerusalem temple, the ancient synagogue increasingly became the prototype ecclesia of the new covenant at a time distant from the second temple period and first-century Christianity. Even before the second temple, the synagogues situated throughout the Diaspora served as centers of fellowship around the life of Judaism. Synagogues from their infancy developed into “Beth Midrash” sites of learning. It was also known in Hebrew as “Beth Knesset,” locations or facilities as translated in Greek by the term “synagogue.” The apostle Paul and his disciples began much of his work to build the kingdom of God on Earth from among synagogues until he branched out to other places where people gathered.

The Faces of Opposition

By on in Theology

This post presents limited research concerning the impact the Greco-Roman era had on events and conditions within the Book of Acts in Scripture. Spanning a timeline of 30 to 65 A.D., numerous concurrent and sequential events had a substantial bearing upon the early Church and particularly Paul the Apostle’s ministry. The early Church, and to a significant extent, nations and territories comprising of the Roman empire underwent an epic injection of the gospel within a relatively short period. While there were numerous sources of opposition and animosity, the situational environment narrated within the Book of Acts imposes and illuminates a perilous and inexorable message of treachery and hope. This post stitches together a few examples concerning the conditions and pressures the Greco-Roman era placed upon the early Church as narrated within the Book of Acts.

Interwoven throughout the Book of Acts are historical facts concerning the people, places, and circumstances around the arrival of the Holy Spirit and His work through developing Christendom in Judea, Samaria, and the Gentile world to include the Mediterranean and upper Mesopotamian territories. There are numerous underlying circumstances in the text of Acts that describe how the early Church grew with thousands of new believers, yet with often adversarial encounters in opposition to what the Holy Spirit accomplished. Moreover, government, religious, and cultural objections were imposed with adversity from people who sought to protect self-interest within Judaism or their Greco-Roman way of life.

The backdrop of ongoing Jewish hostilities among synagogue and temple leaders was a continuing opposition to believers in Christ. Yet, while Roman authorities’ force and aggression were a source of Jewish leverage, the presence of Roman prosecution toward Christians pressed upon both experienced and new believers alike. While some may feel an obligation of sympathy as due toward Roman authorities, there are various examples throughout the Book of Acts to indicate a rationale to the contrary. As evangelism and an apologetic for Christianity to the Romans were advocated throughout Acts,1 there remains further in the text an unmistakable peace-keeping presence for its governing interests. Pax Romana was the forceful current of the time to assure order and security, while Christ himself appointed the gospel to spread. The expansion of the early Church was explosive due to several factors. Notwithstanding Holy Spirit emboldened apostles who brought the gospels to the nations, the acceptance of the Greek language, the building of the Roman roads, the removal of Mediterranean pirates, and the openness of secular thought and philosophical ideas were viewed as alternatives or replacements to Greek and Roman polytheism.2 Within the Greco-Roman world, the arrival of the gospel and the early Church’s work was at just the right time.

From reading through the Book of Acts at least a few times, a reader begins to see a pattern emerge concerning the havoc Jewish leaders repeatedly raise by using Roman authority as a means of leverage to oppose, silence, and eliminate believers obedient to Christ. From after the time of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-3) through the conversion of Paul (Acts 9:1-31), there are just a few apparent references to Roman or Greek influence on events within the text (Acts 2:9-11, Acts 4:27, Acts 6:9). However, in Acts chapter 10, the narrative begins to change with the introduction of the devout Roman Centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:1) in Caesarea, a predominately pagan city,3 about 40 miles Northwest of Jerusalem.

Jewish temple leaders, the Sanhedrin, and prominent synagogue members throughout Israel and Asia Minor effectively weaponized Greco-Roman interests to stop or subdue evangelistic and apologetic efforts among apostles and disciples who siphoned off adherents of Judaism, God-fearers from synagogues, and pagan worshipers from idolatrous practices. From Peter (Acts 11:8) and the Judaizers (Acts 15:1,5, Gal 6:12-13), it was inferred and concluded from the gospel that the Jews were no longer the exclusive people chosen by God.4  As such, Roman authorities often then became Jewish instruments of Christian persecution. Just as Jesus was tried and crucified by Roman authorities by means of Jewish persecution (Acts 13:28), apostles and believers within the early Church would face the same adversarial hostilities (John 15:20).

It was not enough for Jewish leadership to use Roman authorities against the spread of the gospel. On Paul’s missionary journeys, he and his companions visited synagogues, marketplaces, and public gathering locations to speak before people who were present to hear the gospel. In so doing at Thessalonica, for example, yet another group of Jewish leaders formed a mob to drag some disciples before “city authorities” (NASB) or “rulers of the city” (KJV), or πολιτάρχης, politarchēs in Acts 17:6. By “turning the world upside down,” the Jews make accusations against followers of Christ and their efforts among cities and towns. To infer a legal disturbance that damages the Roman empire’s peace and well-being in Thessalonica, a Roman capital district in Macedonia.5

As emperor worship and offerings became expected of inhabitants within the Roman district of Thessalonica during the time of emperor Caligula (37-41 A.D), to advocate ideas to the contrary would at a minimum point to disloyalty to the empire.6 For the Jewish population of  Thessalonians to hear Paul, his companions, and new followers proclaim and advocate a gospel that informs people of reconciliation to God without adherence to Jewish tradition and requirements would become reported and condemned. By “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6), further accusations of disruption to the policy of Pax Romana throughout the empire would become assailed. Thereby again rendering the Roman authorities a weapon of the Jewish leaders within the synagogues. Leaders who opposed Christ, His followers, and the gospel. With Greco-Roman idolatry the center of worship toward current and former emperors, Jewish leaders likely knew the risks of new believers who were to abstain from such practices. Speaking before city occupants, they spread a gospel that drew people away from their synagogues, and now from the temples of Greco-Roman gods.

Just as emperor Caligula declared himself a god (37 A.D.),7 there were cultural expectations that accompanied his divinity claim. As if he was an equivalent to Roman god Jupiter (Zeus in Greek mythology), he expected townspeople to recognize and honor him in accordance with what he believed. For people to act contrary either intentionally or unintentionally added weight of risk carried by believers as they knew of potential ramifications for disobedience. With the imperial religion permeating Roman society and local townspeople in Lystra,8 its evidence is recorded in Scripture (Acts 12:22, Acts 14:11-15) to highlight Jewish leaders’ exploitations of Roman culture and authority to stop the spread of the gospel and the growth of the Church.

Within the Book of Acts’ continued narrative, there were yet further trials that were framed by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to involve substantial Roman government and military resources that were a culmination of intensified and heightening tensions.9 As Jesus spoke to Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake,” we have Paul’s later confirmation concerning what the Lord has said about his witness testimony to Rome. Paul had the confidence and guidance of the Holy Spirit and Christ Jesus (Acts 19:21, Acts 23:11) to travel to Jerusalem and Rome. It was to become a journey in which he would become captured and where the Jewish leadership will again produce false charges and hand him over to Roman authorities. Ultimately, after years of delay and further hardships, Paul the Apostle, our Lord’s faithful servant, was given over to Rome, where he became imprisoned (60 A.D.) and after that appeared before Caesar of Rome. Like Christ, Paul would face Roman execution as delivered from Jewish leaders to his death (64 A.D.).10

Citations

1 D.A Carson & Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 303.
2 Steven J. Lawson, Pillars of Grace(Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2011), 48.
3 John P. Lange, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts (New York, NY: Scribner, 1867), 191.
4 Don Garlington, An Exposition of Galatians: A Reading from the New Perspective, Third Edition. (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007), 379.
5 M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Thessalonica. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893).
6 Andrew R. Talbert, “Thessalonica,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
7 Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Reitzel, “Caesars, The,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 394.
8 John B. Polhill, “Acts,” in Holman Concise Bible Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 516.
9 Patrick Schreiner, “Evaluating the Validity of the ‘Three Missionary Journeys’ Structuring Motif in Acts” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Vol. 63, No.3, (2020), 514.
10 Rose Publishing; Illustrated edition. Rose Book of Bible & Christian History Timelines. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006.

Bibliography

Dockery, David S. Holman Concise Bible Commentary. Nashville: Holman Reference, 1998.
Easton, M.G. Easton’s Bible Dictionary. Logos Systems, Inc., 1893.
Elwell, Walter A. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988.
Garlington, Don. An Exposition of Galatians: A Reading from the New Perspective. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007.
Lange, John Peter. “A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts.” In the Acts of the Apostles, An Exegetical and Doctrinal Commentary, by D.D. Gotthard V. Lechler, 480. New York: Charles Scribner & Co., 1867.
Lawson, Steven J. Pillars of Grace. Orlando: Reformation Trust, 2011.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, 2016. Moo, D.A. Carson & Douglas J. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
Rose Publishing; Illustrated edition. Rose Book of Bible & Christian History Timelines. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006.
Schreiner, Patrick. “Evaluating the Validity of the “Three Missionary Journeys” Structuring Motif in Acts.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2020: 505-516.