There are a couple of points that need to be made off the top. First, Christians are called to be Christians, fully. Not "Sunday-Christmas-Easter" Christians. Not "when it's convenient for me" Christians. Fully Christian. This means loving the Lord and taking seriously what He says in His Word (see my post about being a Bible-believing Christian....there can be no other kind), and seeking to live out a life of following Christ. And that needs to happen even when God instructs us to do things that run counter to the culture.
But second, the society we live in is not a Christian society. There may have been some Christian roots to our nation and our founding fathers, but let's be real: they weren't all true believers. But regardless, today, in 2012, this is most definitely not a Christian civilization.
So how are Christians to live in a non-Christian, secular society? How are we to live out our faith in a society that increasingly disdains Christianity?
You know, we're not the only Christians to face such a situation. The earliest believers living throughout the Roman Empire faced something similar. They lived in a very diverse, pagan world. Though there was an Emperor, they still had elected representatives (the vestiges of the Republic remained). There was one overarching civil government throughout the empire, though the empire was divided up into provinces (think: large states). This one governmental system and set of Roman values pervaded the entire empire, and elements of Roman civilization were evident everywhere, and yet the empire itself was very diverse and multicultural. Within the empire you had people from Britain, Gaul, Germania, Turkey, Israel, and even Africa.
If you look at how Christians lived in such a society, it could be summed up in a few phrases. First, they were faithful to the Lord. Even non-Christians in that time noticed that. Here's a quote from Pliny, a Roman historian, regarding the early Christians:
"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind."
So how are Christians to live in a non-Christian, secular society? How are we to live out our faith in a society that increasingly disdains Christianity?
You know, we're not the only Christians to face such a situation. The earliest believers living throughout the Roman Empire faced something similar. They lived in a very diverse, pagan world. Though there was an Emperor, they still had elected representatives (the vestiges of the Republic remained). There was one overarching civil government throughout the empire, though the empire was divided up into provinces (think: large states). This one governmental system and set of Roman values pervaded the entire empire, and elements of Roman civilization were evident everywhere, and yet the empire itself was very diverse and multicultural. Within the empire you had people from Britain, Gaul, Germania, Turkey, Israel, and even Africa.
If you look at how Christians lived in such a society, it could be summed up in a few phrases. First, they were faithful to the Lord. Even non-Christians in that time noticed that. Here's a quote from Pliny, a Roman historian, regarding the early Christians:
"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind."
And Lucian of Samosata (a Greek satirist) commented, "The Christians . . . worship a man to this day--the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. . . . [It] was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws."
Notice that? The Christians met together, worshipped God, and committed themselves to live out the calling to which they had been called. Other people noticed their faithfulness to God and His teachings. Oh that Christians today would be so faithful!!
Second, they were eager to spread the Word of God. Tacitus wrote of Christians, "Nero fastened the guilt . . . on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of . . . Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome."
You see? The gospel spread at the hands of believers. Of course Tacitus, who wasn't exactly a fan of Christianity or Christians, called it a "superstition", but he did point out that it grew throughout the empire. In a pagan, unbelieving world, Christians are to spread the Word.
Third, Christians stood firm on their faith, even in the face of intense persecution. History records massive persecutions under Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Decius, Valerian, and others. I have actually been inside some of the catacombs under Rome, and there were some 500,000 Christians buried there, many of whom were put to death for their faith in Christ. It was an amazing experience, for sure, and it brought home just how committed these people were. Despite all kinds of pressure from the government and from their society, Christians held firmly to what they believed, being willing to risk it all for the sake of Christ.
Now, despite the similarities, there was (at least) one major difference. In Rome, Christianity was on the ascendency, rising up from its beginnings and gaining a foothold (and eventually, legal dominance) in the empire. In the United States, Christianity is on the decline, going from a place of prominence to a place of increasing marginalization. To Christians in Rome, it was "normal" for the pagan viewpoint to rule the day. To Christians in the United States, it USED TO BE "normal" for Christian values to rule the day, and any move away from that certainly feels like we as a society are departing from Christianity. And that makes a big difference.
But still, what if Christians simply lived out the values the Roman believers did? What if we were simply faithful to Christ, eager to spread the Word, and firm in the face of trials and persecution? What would that look like?
I think those are the questions we should be asking ourselves in 21st century America.
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