The believers of apostolic times lived in one of the most
perverse empires ever to rule a substantial portion of the
globe. Abortion, homosexuality and prostitution, murder for
entertainment, idolatry and emperor worship, and slavery
were all accepted practices. What did the church do? Did
they become social and political activists? Did they
retreat from society, forming special "spiritual" colonies
untouched by worldliness. If they did, we find no record of
it in Scripture. But we do find these practices among those
who worshipped Christ in the Roman Empire:
1. They preached Christ. Theirs was not a message of morality, but of the righteousness of Christ. When they spoke of the great sinfulness of their culture, it was not for the purpose of stopping sin, but proving man's need of Christ. (Romans 1-3) They had one message for the world: Christ and Him crucified. (1 Cor. 2:2) For them, it appeared that such a message was sufficient to accomplish all that God intended. And they were right.
2. They worshipped together. (Heb 10:3) They did not invade the idolatrous temples of their cities. They simply met in homes in order to hear the word of God preached, to exhort and encourage one another, and to pray with and for one another. They counted the attendance of these assemblies a necessary thing to their spiritual well-being, for at such gatherings they were reminded of the truth of the gospel and given strength on the inner man to face the coming week.
3. They lived their lives as citizens of Rome, conforming to its laws as much as conscience would allow, setting and example of godliness by being decent, wholesome, law-abiding, working citizens. Though some were in politics, they were in politics before they were converted; we do not read of any of them seeking political office in order to effect a change in their culture, making it more "god-centered." They were charitable, helpful, kind, honest, and decent people who did not try to impress their lifestyle on others. They were like salt in their world; their very presence making it a better place without actually directly changing the world in which they lived. But Christ was in them, and His presence in them manifested through their preaching and godliness shook the world around them and brought it to its knees. Without firing a shot, without enacting one law through Caesar, Christ triumphed over the wickedness of that day. The church of the 20th century would do well to follow their example.