Bible Land Tour (Mediterranean)(I)

Neal Pollard

56 Christians from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia converged on the Hotel Gioberti in Rome, Italy, to begin a tour of places where the great preacher, evangelist, writer, and leader, Paul, shared the gospel of Christ. We began where it all ended for him: Rome. While our visit to where it all began for him, Israel, will sadly not be a part of our itinerary due to the tragic events now occurring there, we will visit a great many places where he helped fulfill Christ’s Great Commission in incredible, far-reaching ways.

He longed to get to Rome to “obtain some fruit among” them (Rom. 1:13), converting the citizens of that city the same as he had in so many other places. We know from Acts 28 that he did reach this city. This weekend, we saw what he found in his day. Emperors who would be declared gods by their senate, idolatry and the worship of gods of war, water, the sun, and a pantheon of others, and immorality like that described by Paul in Romans 1:18-32. Perhaps the first Christians came to Rome after hearing the first gospel sermon and obeying it (Acts 2:10). There are plenty of Christians to greet Paul as he approaches Rome in chains (Acts 28:14-15).

We encountered a city with stunning architecture, engineering marvels, Renaissance giants, and rich history that spans across, as John Moore eloquently put it, three eras–the pagan era, the Christian era, and the modern era. In a few hours, we will assemble with the saints at the church in Rome. It will be an exciting opportunity to meet in the capital city of what was, in the first century, the center of a global empire into which Christianity was born (Dan. 2:40-44). Standing in the midst of that city, imagining what our first-century spiritual family not only encountered but also endured, is a rare and beautiful opportunity to appreciate the power and spread of God’s eternal truth even in unfavorable social and political circumstances. It is a reminder, as Paul first put it, of the power of the gospel of Christ that brings salvation (Rom. 1:16). As Paul exhorted the Christians at Rome, I must not be ashamed of that gospel!

Author: preacherpollard

preacher,Cumberland Trace church of Christ, Bowling Green, Kentucky View all posts by preacherpollard