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Saints in Caesar’s Household Philippians 4:22 Presented by Chris Reeves * Southside Gospel Meeting * August 26, 2019

Caesar’s Household Nero Claudius Augustus Germanicus was Roman Emperor from Oct. 13, A.D. 54 to June 9, A.D. 68 Nephew of Caligula Had his mother murdered in A.D. 59; promoted athletic games

Caesar’s Household Raised taxes to build his public works Known to be a “monster” not a man; a bloody debauchee; known for tyranny and extravagance, known to be compulsive and corrupt

Caesar’s Household Seutonius recordes that Nero set the “great fire” of Rome (July, A.D. 64) to clear the way for his building projects and Tacitus recordes that he blamed the fire on Christians

Caesar’s Household In A.D. 64, he divorced his wife Octavia for infertility and married a freedman named Pythagorus, playing the part of the bride In A.D. 68, he committed suicide

Caesar’s Household “Household” is the term for a house; a dwelling place; then, the people who live within In the case of Caesar, his domus or familia Caesaris would refer to the slaves, attendants, soldiers, freedmen, aristocracy, court officials, etc., living in or around the imperial palace

Caesar’s Household There were Christians in Caesar’s household possibly from the time of Pentecost in A.D. 33 (Acts 2:10), or from the time of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome in A.D. 60-63 (Acts 28:30-31; Phil. 1:12-13) Note the word “especially” in Phil. 4:22, meaning “chiefly”, “most of all”, “above all”

Saints in Caesar’s Household The power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16) Willing to break from (“saints”) a very sinful environment (Rom. 1:18-32; 12:1, 9; 13:13-14) Willing to courageously and fearlessly serve Christ in difficult surroundings (Rom. 5:3-4; 8:17-18; 12:14)

Saints in Caesar’s Household Willing to esteem Christianity higher than their privilege (Rom. 1:6-7) Were not ashamed to be identified as Christians (Rom. 1:8; 16:19) Wanted to encourage other Christians through their heart-felt greetings (Rom. 16:1-16)

What Can We Learn? You can be a faithful Christian anywhere It’s harder to be a Christian in some places than others The harder the place, the more convicted the Christian and greater the reward