... in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord
Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury
of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every
impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal,
have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen.
The
Epistle
Romans 1:1-7
1Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, a called
Apostle, having been severed into God’s good message, 2which He
foretold through His prophets in sanctified writings,[1] 3about His Son,
having come from the seed of David according to the flesh, 4being declared the Son of God in [the] power of
sanctification according to [the] Spirit, from[2] [the] resurrection
of [the] dead,[3] Jesus Christ our Lord.
5Through Whom we received joy[4] and apostleship for [the]
heeding[5] of conviction[6] in all the nations, on
behalf of[7] His name, 6in
Whom you all are also called by Jesus Christ,
7To all being in Rome, beloved by God, called
saints,
Joy to you all, and
peace from God our Father and [our] Lord
Jesus Christ.
Roman
Christians
Roman Christians to whom Paul
writes are Greco-Romans, not Jews. We
cannot prove this point absolutely, but enter the following into evidence.
†
Roman cities, although a wide collection of ethnicities, tended to be
divided into enclaves, often called quarters.
†
Of these enclaves the Greeks and the Jews are of special note. We need only to look at the divergent lives
of Peter and Paul to note their striking differences.[8] Jewish Christians tended to continue as
observant Jews;[9]
while Greeks did not start such practice.[10] Because of this difference, Greeks and Jews
did not worship well together.
†
In Alexandria the Greeks and Jews were notorious for their dissension,
fighting, and even wars. Greeks and Jews
did not play well together.[11]
†
It is very difficult, nearly impossible, even today, to be an observant
Jew outside of the enclave. Observance
requires detailed community life. It is
very difficult to live a life that is not observant inside the Jewish enclave,
even today. People who are not Jews, or
who are not observant are often thought to defile the observant community.[12]
†
Marriage outside of Judaism is frowned upon, may even result in
expulsion from the observant community.
†
Greek converts to Judaism were considered substandard and relegated to
a lower area in the Temple.
†
From the Jerusalem Council forward Peter was the Apostle to the Jews;
Paul was the Apostle to the nations.[13] They would co-labor, helping one another as
necessary, yet they would not meddle in each other’s jurisdictions.[14]
†
Judaism was a legal religion in the Roman Empire; Christianity was
not. Christian meetings were accepted as
long as they appeared to be synagogues to outsiders. As soon as it became evident that
Christianity was not Judaism, persecution arose. Jewish Christians could hide behind the cloak
of Judaism; Greek Christians could not.
†
Much of Paul’s writing would be so obvious to a Jewish congregation as
to be insulting. The Greco-Roman
congregation needed Paul’s detailed explanations. Had the congregations been mixed, Paul could
have left the explorations into Jewish lore to be explained by the Jewish
members.
Christianity first entered Rome by a variety of channels. Ordinary folks could not be widely
mobile. The people who were mobile in
Roman society were dignitaries, politicians, sailors, solders, and merchants
together with their Greek slaves.
†
The Jews were well established in Rome from the times of Herod the
Great (d 4 BC) or before. Some Jews from
around the world met Jesus shortly before His death and believed.[15] Jews were also present at Peter’s sermon on
Pentecost 33 AD.[16] So the first Christian presence in Rome was
established as soon as the converts of Pentecost 33 AD returned to their own
homes.
†
The Jews were skilled sailors and aggressive merchants, as well; so the
message spread quickly among the Jews.
†
There were also several converts to Christianity in the Roman
army. These had access to travel because
of their military duties.
†
Christian converts among the Greeks were common, largely because of
Paul’s efforts. These were often enough
slaves, who enjoyed mobility because they were sought by the Romans as
educators, and tutors who would teach Greek language and philosophy to their
children.[17]
These three lines of entry prevailed: Jews, military, and slaves. As a result it is very likely that two
distinct and separate congregations, or kinds of congregations developed in
Rome.
†
A circumcised, observant Jewish congregation. This congregation spoke Greek as well, so
language was never a principal obstacle.
†
An uncircumcised, non-Jewish congregation, primarily consisting of well-off
Romans and their Greek educator-salves.
This is the congregation to whom Paul writes.
†
Conspicuously excluded by language are the poorer Latins, who knew no
Greek.
†
We would not be surprised to discover Caesar’s mother or lesser wives,
secretly in attendance; or ranking military officers; and even some from the
ranks. Caesar[18] would not be in
attendance for two more centuries.
†
The few Jews present, if any were present in a Greco-Roman
congregation, would have abandoned observant life.
In the beauty of God’s design for evangelism, lies the genius for
reaching the Universe. This Greco-Roman
congregation provides the intelligentsia[19] to breach all other
ethnic and linguistic boundaries, for which Paul has insufficient skills.[20] This Greco-Roman congregation is to become
the Paul trained evangelistic Army of God, the pivotal apologists of the first
century and beyond.
This collection of Greco-Romans had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Hence, they also are called, beloved, and at
peace with God, having received joy and apostleship.
The Greco-Roman Christians are ex-sinners: as is Paul. Paul focuses on two things: idolatry and
homosexuality, followed by a litany of other things. We are compelled to conclude that among this Greco-Roman
congregation are several ex-idolaters[21], and not a few
ex-homosexuals[22]. Nevertheless, Scripture does not harp on former
sins and ex-sinners. The focus of God,
Jesus, the Bible, Paul, and the Greco-Roman congregation is on redemption, and
on helping sinners flee from their former corruption. Emphasis is on the prefix, ex, and on the word,
former. Flee they did.
The Greco-Roman congregation was necessarily driven by a hunger for
apologetics and evangelism. Their
conviction demands a voice.
Conclusion
The Greco-Roman congregation is indelibly marked with the gift of the
Holy Ghost. Therein lies the centricity
of their joy and apostleship, in overflowing convictions that seek out
multiplication in apologetics and evangelism.
Their focus is on redemption, the salvation and preservation of as much
life as possible. Paul’s confidence is
that these will gladly serve as God’s Army.
[1] We
understand this to mean the Old Testament Scripture, but such wisdom may have
escaped the average Greco-Roman listener.
Paul is making a friendly point, not sharpening an axe.
[2]
Out of, not far away from
[3]
The power of resurrection declared by the Holy Ghost on the day or Pentecost in
33 AD. Jesus is resurrected (singular)
from among the dead (plural). However,
in conquering death by death, He is bringing about the eventual resurrection of
all; some of whom follow Him and walk about Jerusalem in the flesh in 33 AD.
[4]
This word is frequently translated, grace.
This completely removes the idea that the root word is about joy. Grace is something that flows from and
through joy in the Holy Ghost.
[5]
Obedience is too strong a translation; hearing is too weak a translation.
[6]
The obedience of faith conveys only part of the meaning. Faith and pathos (experience: joy and
suffering, ending in death) have the same root idea. Modern society seeks a faith without pathos,
and that is impossible to achieve. Real
faith carries with it the costs of commitment and conviction, as well as the
price of Christ’s death on the cross.
There is no such thing as easy belief or cheap grace. The grace of joy comes through a veil of
tears. To follow Christ in faith is only
to follow Him in His passion.
[7]
Above, supported by
[8]
Galatians 2:11-21
[9] Temple
worship, in which Jewish Christians were active, continued until just before 70
AD, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans. See Revelation 12:6, 10-17.
[10] Acts 15:1-21, The Jerusalem Council
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandrian_riots_(38);
Josephus, Flavius, The Jewish War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewish_War; http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Jewish%E2%80%93Roman_wars
[12] The
novels of Chaim Herman Harold Potok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_
Potok) are very pleasant reading, even for children, and are filled with Jewish
local color. They paint an excellent
picture of what is required of an observant Jew today. My Name Is Asher Lev and The Gift of Asher
Lev, especially, explore the tensions between Judaism and
Christianity, as Asher Lev uses the crucifixion to describe suffering.
[13]
Galatians 2:6-9
[14]
Romans 15:20-21
[15]
John 12:11 (Jews), 20-32 (Greeks, evidently proselytes to Judaism in attendance
to worship with and as Jews; these Greeks would be circumcised.)
[16]
Acts 2:5, 10
[17]
Philippians 4:22
[18] Caligula
(37-41), Claudius (41-54), Nero (54-68); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Caligula;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero
[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligentsia
[20] They
have the necessary mobility, financial provision, linguistic capability, and
will, to continue Paul’s mission in Europe.
[21] Idolatry
ran rampant in both Greece and Rome. Worse yet, Rome was dependent on Egypt, the
queen of all idolatries. We may have
accidentally stumbled on one of the keys to Revelation. As Julius consorted with Cleopatra, Egyptian
idolatry can be seen as a harlot invading Rome.
[22] Julius
himself is reported to be unconcerned whether he bedded a male or female on any
given night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar). Homosexuality is reported as being “more acceptable among the Greeks” (http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Homosexuality_in_ancient_Greece). See
also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Homosexuality_in_ancient_Rome; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisus_and_
Euryalus.
[23] If
you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost,
share, or use any of them as you wish.
No rights are reserved. They are
designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely
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