First Century Moments

Stephen J. Nichols (SN): Today on 5 Minutes in Church History, we have our friend Dr. Guy Waters back with us again. Dr. Waters, welcome.

Guy Waters (GW): Thank you, Dr. Nichols.

SN: Dr. Waters is professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss. He's written a number of wonderful books and, as a New Testament scholar, he has spent a lot of time in the first century. So, I thought it would be helpful for us to take a peek into the first century. This is the century in which Christ was born and lived and carried out His public ministry. This is the century of the New Testament, and as we move out of the pages of the New Testament, the stage is set for the early church. This is a very important century for us. What do we need to know about it?

GW: A few things stick out about the first century. We talk about the twentieth century as beginning in 1914 with the start of World War I. And the first century A.D. really began in 31 B.C. at the battle of Actium, which ended decades of struggles, civil war, and upheaval within what became the Roman Empire. Augustus triumphed over Antony and Cleopatra, and that ushered in what has come to be known as the Pax Romana. It was a period of stability, order, and economic activity, and it allowed the Apostle Paul and many others in the church to travel freely under protection of the government, to enjoy the benefits of a stable society, an economy that was flourishing. And that, humanly speaking, provided a wonderful environment for the church to grow.

I think another thing that would have struck us if we were able to travel back in the first century is what today we would call cultural and religious pluralism. If you were to walk the streets of ancient Rome, one thing that would surprise you is that you would see very few Italians. The people would be mostly from the east, from Syria, from Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), and other parts. This brought not only an influx of language and culture but also religion. It was a religiously plural society, and there was a lot of blending and a lot of questioning, and there are indications of that in Acts 17. There, Paul goes to Athens and sparks the Athenians' curiosity, and it gives him a chance to talk about the gospel.

I think another thing that would have characterized the first century, at least in the minds of many, was that it was a decadent time. Morals were at a low level. Abortion and infanticide were rampant, and slaves could be horribly mistreated. For many people in society, it was not always a pleasant experience. One of the ways that the church distinguished itself over in its first decades was its care for the throwaways of society, people for whom no one else had concern.

SN: Against this pluralism and against this decadent culture, Christianity was born, with its theology, its trinitarianism, and also its Christian ethic. It seems to me, especially as I read his epistles, that Paul is constantly helping his congregations navigate these waters so that they can live according to a biblical ethic.

GW: That's exactly right. Some of the trends that I've identified, I think that many Christians can look around today and say, "You know, I see things like that in the world today." We shouldn't be discouraged by that fact. Paul wasn't discouraged by that fact. It prompted him to stand up straight to preach the gospel.

SN: I was thinking of that too as you were talking. It seems that the first century has a lot in common with what we're experiencing here in the twenty-first century. And yet, in that context, Christianity was not only born, but it thrived and grew and came of age.

GW: That's right. And it's a reminder that this is a movement of the Holy Spirit. As the church was committed to the Word and to faithful to the Word, it saw God's blessing, and we could see the same today.