What The New Year Holds Series

During the days of the Republic, Rome was noted for reasonably high moral standards. After the death of Julius Caesar, Octavius effectively abolished the Republic near the end of the First Century BC, by which time the decline of Rome had begun. The Republic was a movement of the people, based upon the rule of law and a balanced constitution. The Empire exposed the transition that had already taken place in society. Increasingly, citizens sought to be supported rather than assuming responsibility for their own welfare. As people ceased to accept responsibility for their own governance, seeking government leaders to rule over them, they ceased to hold to the old moral codes. As was true of Israel in the days of the judges, so it was in Roman society: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” [JUDGES 17:6].

Of Roman society when Paul wrote these words, Edersheim has written, “The freedmen, who had very often acquired their liberty by the most disreputable courses, and had prospered in them, combined in shameless manner the vices of the free with the vileness of the slave. The foreigners—specially Greeks and Syrians—who crowded the city, poisoned the springs of its life by the corruption which they brought. The free citizens were idle, dissipated, sunken; their chief thoughts of the theatre and the arena; and they were mostly supported at the public cost. While, even in the time of Augustus, more than two hundred thousand persons were thus maintained by the State, what of the old Roman stock remained was rapidly decaying, partly from corruption, but chiefly from the increasing cessation of marriage, and the nameless abominations of what remained of family-life.” [3]

Religion no longer had power to restrain people and no power to cope with the degeneration. The philosophies of the Greeks failed to meet the deep moral needs demanded by the times. The emperors had become criminal in their conduct and rule. Native-born Romans were decreasing in number due in great measure to an emphasis upon sexually deviant acts and to a general decision that children inhibited fulfilment. Seneca testified that children were considered with great disfavour and infant exposure had become prevalent. Lawlessness was rampant and unequal administration of the legal codes became commonplace; the moral fibre of society was vitiated. Because of the degeneration of society, corruption marked the governing class. Consequently, any movement that challenged the prevailing social condition was opposed. This was the world in which Paul ministered and in which he wrote the words of our text.

Christian evangelists were beaten, imprisoned and treated roughly from earliest days following the Resurrection of the Master. Christians were derided and treated with contempt; the leading lights of that ancient world could not tolerate seeing their lost condition when exposed by the brilliance of Heaven’s glorious light. The actions of these leaders proved the apostolic warning, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” [2 TIMOTHY 3:12]. The most common effort to silence the followers of the Christ was to respond with violence in an effort to force them into silence. This is observed in the Word of God too frequently.