Welcome To Rome

The phrase “When in Rome” usually means that when you are surrounded by a certain culture, you should blend in and do what everyone else is doing. But for followers of Jesus, the question has never been, “How do we blend in?” The question is, “How do we live faithfully?” Paul wrote Romans to believers living in the shadow of a powerful culture. Rome had wealth, politics, pleasure, status, entertainment, and influence. From the outside, Rome looked impressive. But spiritually, Rome was broken. Our world is not much different. We are advanced but anxious, connected but lonely, entertained but empty, and loud about freedom while still enslaved to desire. Before Paul tells Christians how to live in Rome, he reminds them what saves them in Rome: the gospel.