August: Romans 1-6
The Roman Empire was a ubiquitous part of the New Testament. As we begin our reading of the Epistle to the Romans, we may want to re-orient ourselves as to the society of the Roman saints.
The Roman Empire included many different peoples with a variety of languages, customs, religions, and traditions. This caused many natural divisions in the Empire. To cause better communication, the eastern part of the Roman Empire spoke Greek, while the western half around Italy generally spoke Latin. Yet Greek had become the language of business (similar to English in the world today). Paul was fluent in Greek which enabled him to teach the gospel throughout most of the Roman Empire.
The major Empire’s cities all had large Jewish colonies. The Roman government was not oppressive in stopping the Jews from worshipping their God. Their political philosophy was to treat national religions with respect. Instead, taxes were the economic oppression that the Romans used to cause suffering among the people. These taxes kept the Empire as the world’s major ruler.
The Romans in Jerusalem were even allowed to have their own guards to protect the temple. The emperor made offerings to the Jewish God. The Romans believed in a large pantheon of gods and they had no problem with the other gods of other religions. This would prove to be a difficulty for the Roman saints. Worshipping many gods was a part of the society.
The Jews in Palestine could govern themselves. They had privileges to observe Sabbath Day laws and had freedom from Roman military service. The priests were able to use their own Law in ruling their own people and could punish their people based on the Jewish Law. But the Jews hated Roman rule.
Paul used the fact that he was a Roman citizen to dismiss charges lodged against him and to plead for rights as a Roman citizen. The Roman guards saved Paul from Jews trying to kill Paul. The Roman Empire helped the early Christian Church missionary work by protecting Paul and allowing him to preach throughout the Roman Empire.
The Empire’s protection would change during the time of Emperor Nero. After a huge fire in Rome, Nero (who probably started the fire) blamed the Christians for the fire. This persecution lasted a few years and Peter and Paul and other Church leaders were put to death because of this false accusation.
The Lord revealed to Paul that he would have the opportunity to teach the gospel in Rome. But his epistle to the Romans was written before the time he taught in Rome. He did enjoy knowing saints who lived in Rome and his authority as an apostle was known by the saints in Rome.
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