I have always wondered what the ancient city of Rome was like when the Apostle Paul was there.
The ancient city of Rome has been buried in 2,000 years’ worth of subsequent history, or else dismantled as building materials were used for new projects over the years. As a result, it is very hard to look at the remaining ruins of ancient Rome and imagine anything much at all.
Therefore, I have been using photos of the ancient city of Pompeii (from the exact same time period) to help us imagine what the ancient city of Rome might have been like when the Apostle Paul was there.
Here you can see the Civic Forum of Pompeii. The Forum was the heart of daily life for the city and was the focal point of all the main public buildings. On the left of this photo, you can see the remains of the Sanctuary of Apollo.
At the far end of this wide-open Forum area are the remains of the Temple of Jupiter.
Here you can see a closer photo of the remains of the Temple of Jupiter.
Over to the right, off the main Forum area (across from the Temple of Jupiter) is the Temple of Vespasian.
With these views in mind, lets take a look at the Forum of ancient Rome.
In the very center of the photo, you can see the remains of four small pillars atop a mound of bricks. This is the Temple of Julius Caesar.
Far over to the left-hand side of the photo you can see three very large standing pillars. This is the Temple of Castor and Pollux.
Here is another view of the remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux.
The Temple of Vesta was perhaps Rome’s most sacred spot. Inside this temple was a sacred flame which burned. As long as the sacred flame burned in the Temple of Vesta, Rome would stand. The flame was tended by six priestesses known as the Vestal Virgins.
The Vestal Virgins lived in a two-story building surrounding a long central courtyard with two pools at one end. Rows of statues depicting leading Vestal Virgins flanked the courtyard.
At the far end of the ancient Roman Forum is the Temple of Saturn. These remaining columns which you can see, framed the entrance to the Temple of Saturn. Inside was a statue of the god Saturn, whose pedestal held the gold bars, coins, and jewels of Rome’s state treasury.
And so now we come to the letter which the Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christians living in ancient Rome. These people had heard the good news about Jesus Christ (from travelers who had come from Jerusalem). They had repented of their sin and turned away from worshiping false gods and goddesses. They had given their lives to worshiping and following Jesus Christ.
These early Christians living in ancient Rome did not have the Bible like we do today. They did not have teaching to help them in their new faith in Jesus Christ.
God loved these people of ancient Rome. God wanted them to have instruction so that they would be built up in their faith in Jesus Christ and know how to serve Him.
So, God had the Apostle Paul write a letter to these early Jesus-followers living in ancient Rome.
The letter to the Romans is a wonderfully instructive book about what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ. It also has very practical instruction for how to live as a Jesus-follower.
In Romans 12:1 Paul instructs: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”
After having just looked at all the temples of worship – worship to Apollo, worship to Jupiter, worship to Vespasian, worship to Julius Caesar, worship to Castor & Pollux, worship to Vesta, worship to Saturn, etc. – this command by God takes on an entirely new perspective. These early Christians living in ancient Rome had only ever known the practice of offering sacrifices in these temples.
Now God was instructing them that they themselves were the sacrifice which was to be offered to God.
A living sacrifice is a hard thing! Because it is not just a one-time giving of the sacrifice.
To be a living sacrifice means to sacrifice your time … then you have to live with the consequences of that sacrifice.
For example, sacrificing your time on a holiday weekend to help someone move. While everyone else is partying at the lake and having picnics and relaxing, you are sacrificing your time to load heavy boxes and furniture onto a moving truck … driving that truck to another city … then unloading and moving all those heavy boxes and furniture items into the new home.
It’s not just a one-time giving and then it’s done. You have to live with the consequences of that sacrifice. You have to go into a new week exhausted and weary … having just given up (sacrificed) your break and your holiday. You don’t get that time back. This is what a living sacrifice looks like.
To be a living sacrifice means sacrificing your strength to help someone in need … and then having to live with the consequences of that sacrifice.
For example, imagine being sick with pneumonia. Then the move weekend comes. You have been struggling all week to recover from pneumonia, but you aren’t quite better yet. The move has to happen. There’s nobody else to do it. So you sacrifice your health to make the move happen. You push yourself beyond what you should … and as a result, it sets you back considerably in your recovery.
This is what a living sacrifice looks like. It’s not just a one-time giving. You have to live with the consequences of that sacrifice. You have to keep going … depleted and exhausted, because of that sacrifice. You have to keep living. It’s a living sacrifice.
To be a living sacrifice means sacrificing of your finances … to help someone in need … then you have to live with the consequences of that decision.
Because you chose to make that financial sacrifice it sets you back personally in your own financial situation. You have to live with the consequences of that sacrifice. You have to work harder to make up the difference. It impacts you … and you have to live with the consequences of that decision. This is what a living sacrifice looks like.
To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to have a life “marked” by being a living sacrifice. Choosing to give. Even though there is nothing at all to be personally gained in it.
Choosing, on purpose, to make that sacrifice of our time, our strength, our finances to help others in need … because of our love for Jesus Christ.
The sacrifice is an act of worship for Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” – Romans 12:1
