Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

The topic of persecution may seem like a strange choice for a sermon here in America because for most of our history Americans have enjoyed religious freedom.

But it’s precisely that fact that has led me to this topic today.

In my church history class this semester we’ve covered the history of the church from the time of the first century up until just before the Reformation in the 1500’s.

One of the things that has stuck out to me is the prevalence of persecution throughout the history of the Church.

In the first through the third centuries after Christ the church went through some of the most intense persecution that Christians have ever seen.

Initially, this persecution was instigated by the Jews who saw Christians as a heretical sect led by a false Messiah.

Much of this persecution is recounted in the book of Acts.

But it wasn’t long until the state took interest and Christians began to suffer persecution both from their Jewish neighbors, family, and friends as well as the government.

Nero, who became emperor in AD 54, instigated some of this persecution in the capital city of Rome.

In June of 64, a massive fire broke out in Rome that engulfed much of the city.

Many accused Nero of starting the fire so that he could rebuild Rome to his liking.

He tried to clear his name, but when it became clear that no amount of protest would convince the people, Nero found his scapegoat in the Christians.

Tactitus, a Roman historian who was no friend of Christianity, writes this:

“In spite of every human effort, of the emperor’s largesse, and of the sacrifices made to the gods, nothing sufficed to allay suspicion nor to destroy the opinion that the fire had been ordered.

Therefore, in order to destroy this rumor, Nero blamed the Christians, who are hated for their abominations, and punished them with refined cruelty.

Christ, from whom they take their name, was executed by Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius.

Stopped for a moment, this evil superstition reappeared, not only in Judea, where was the root of the evil, but also in Rome, where all things sordid and abominable from every corner of the world come together.

Thus, first those who confessed [that they were Christians] were arrested, and on the basis of their testimony a great number were condemned, although not so much for the fire itself as for their hatred of humankind.”

Excerpt From: Justo L. Gonzalez.

“The Story of Christianity: Volume 1.” Apple Books.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-of-christianity-volume-1/id862654331

Later in his writings, Tacitus says:

“Before killing the Christians, Nero used them to amuse the people.

Some were dressed in furs, to be killed by dogs.

Others were crucified.

Still others were set on fire early in the night, so that they might illumine it.

Nero opened his own gardens for these shows, and in the circus he himself became a spectacle, for he mingled with the people dressed as a charioteer, or he rode around in his chariot.

All of this aroused the mercy of the people, even against these culprits who deserved an exemplary punishment, for it was clear that they were not being destroyed for the common good, but rather to satisfy the cruelty of one person.3”

Excerpt From: Justo L. Gonzalez.

“The Story of Christianity: Volume 1.” Apple Books.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-of-christianity-volume-1/id862654331

Nero’s cruelty towards Christians was of such a severity that many scholars think that the mark of the beast that John refers to in Revelation may refer to him.

Nero demanded to be worshipped as God and even had coins minted in his name with the inscriptions “almighty God” and “savior” etched into them.

Furthermore, many scholars have pointed out that the mark of the beast—666—may be a cryptic way of referencing Nero.

Since Hebrew and Greek did not have a separate numeral system, they used letters for counting (think of the Roman Numeral system).

The Hebrew version of this method of counting is called gematria.

Nero’s name, when transliterated into Hebrew, adds up to 666 using this mathematical system.

While Nero’s reign of terror was short-lived, it was hardly the last.

Many other emperors followed his example, including Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Decius to name a few.

During Decius’s reign which he began in AD 249, he made efforts to restore paganism in the Roman Empire and restore Rome to its former glory.

He, and many Romans, saw Christianity as a probable cause for the steady decline of the Roman Empire so he wished to eradicate it.

But, he learned an important lesson from his predecessors.

During the first two centuries of the Church, the Roman authorities had largely tried to use fear and execution to quash Christianity.

Christians were burned at the stake, fed to wild animals in the gladiatorial games, and killed in all manner of sadistically creative ways.

One method was to cook Christians alive in a giant bronze bull.

But these sadistic displays only served to garner sympathy for the Christians.

This is evident in Tacitus’s description of Nero’s cruelty—even though he thought Christians deserved punishment, the extreme nature of their punishments made him and many others feel sorry for them.

So, Decius adopted a new approach.

Instead of killing Christians outright, he simply made emperor worship an empire-wide requirement.

All Roman citizens had to obtain a certificate vouching that they had made a sacrifice to the Emperor and burned incense in front of a statue of his likeness.

Those who didn’t would be treated as traitors to the throne.

They would not be able to buy or sell goods, hold public offices, etc.

Many were imprisoned and tortured during this time, including the early church father Origen.

Decius’s goal, however, was not to make martyr’s per se, but to force Christians to recant.

Decius’s method was, unfortunately, relatively successful.

Justo Gonzalez puts it this way:

“Since Decius’s goal was to promote the worship of the gods, rather than to kill Christians, those who actually died as martyrs were relatively few.

What the authorities did was to arrest Christians and then, through a combination of promises, threats, and torture, to try to force them to abandon their faith.”

“The imperial decree found Christians unprepared for the new challenge.

The generations that had lived under constant threat of persecution were now past, and the new generations were not ready for martyrdom.

Some ran to obey the imperial command.

Some bought false certificates declaring that they had sacrificed before the gods, when in fact they had not.

Others stood firm for a while, but when brought before the imperial authorities offered the required sacrifice to the gods.

And there was a significant number who resolved to stand firm and refuse to obey the edict.”

Excerpt From: Justo L. Gonzalez.

“The Story of Christianity: Volume 1.” Apple Books.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-story-of-christianity-volume-1/id862654331

When I first read that, I was pretty surprised.

Only about 50 years before the Decian persecution Tertullian had made this statement:

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

—Tertullian, Apologeticus

That statement was made in the context of severe persecution that the church had undergone in Tertullian’s life.

So, how did Christians go from faithfully enduring the most extreme, torturous deaths one can imagine to literally running to make sacrifices to the emperor in just 50 years?

Simply put, they were caught off-guard.

They weren’t prepared for it.

They had enjoyed several decades of relative peace and growing numbers in their churches so the emperor’s edict caught them unawares.

And this is what brings me to our passage today.

If that could be said of the church in the 250’s, just 50 years removed from severe persecution, how much more could it be said of we who have never in our history as a nation experienced such persecution?

But the culture is shifting.

Just 50 years ago, the culture was pervaded with Christianity and Christian influence.

Even those who didn’t go to church respected those who did as upstanding moral examples and there was an underlying assumption that going to church and reading your Bible were good things.

Now, that is no longer the case nationwide.

While here in the Bible belt, the change has not been as severe, in the northeast and the Pacific coast the change has been rapid.

Christianity is no longer seen as a force for good, but an enemy of tolerance and progressive thinking.

In the early church, Christians were seen as “haters of humankind” because they refused to participate in many of the cultural institutions of their day because so many of them were intermingled with pagan rituals.

Membership in the trade guilds was often intertwined with emperor worship, and membership in these guilds was necessary if you wanted to have a successful business.

The theater, marketplace, and much of daily Roman life was pervaded by paganism, so Christians felt they could not participate in many of these activities.

So, they were seen as enemies of the culture—haters.

They were even accused of being atheists since they worshipped an invisible God and refused to worship the pantheon.

In parts of America, Christians are now seen as enemies of women’s rights, enemies of tolerance, haters of homosexuals, and religious zealots.

Some of that is because Christians have not always articulated their views gracefully.

But some of that is because there is an unseen war that is raging between God and Satan.

Let me be clear—I do not think that the Church in America is undergoing persecution as a whole.

There have certainly been Christians in American who have been persecuted, and the culture is shifting away from what has been called “Cultural Christianity,” but that is not the same as saying that Christians are persecuted in America.

However, it is coming.

And if we are not prepared for it we may find our church pews empty as our members run to offer sacrifice to the emperor.

I want us to take note of some important aspects of this passage.

Persecution is the inevitable result of the clash between the world and the people of God.

When Christians act like Christ, it sets us apart from the world, and the darker the context in which we live, the brighter we shine as lights.