You remember that one of the big problems that faced the early church was the problem of conflict with the civil authorities of Rome.

The early church heroes, the martyrs who gave their lives in the Coliseum and the circus maximus,

and the ones who lighted the walkways of Nero's gardens as human torches because they were killed.

One right after another were sent into hiding in the catechons of Rome.

Did you ever wonder what it was that produced so much conflict between the emerging Christian community and the Roman government?

The real issue was the issue of political obedience and the charge of being subversive.

It's a strange historical phenomenon because the New Testament is peculiar in its high degree of scrupulosity of a bang civil magistrates.

Notice how that is a thing that comes through the writings of Peter, the writings of Paul, and depending over backwards obey the civil magistrates that Christ might be on, pay your taxes.

We'll have a piece with the civil magistrates, pray for the king, pray for the princes, and in the teaching of Jesus it's almost a priority of Christian behavior that we be models of civil obedience.

Well why is it that this first Christian community and its pristine purity of obedience would get in such radical conflict

with the civil magistrates of its own day?

Well it wasn't because the Christians refused to pay their taxes or because they were driving their chariots, 30 miles an hour over the Spina.

They got into trouble because Caesar in the Roman government developed into an imperial religious cult and in many cases the emperor was deified.

And as a test for loyalty to the government, the Christians were called upon to publicly recite the formula, Kaiser Curios.

Caesar is lowered.

And at that point the Christians said no, Caesar is Caesar, we'll pay our taxes, we'll render the Caesar the things that are Caesar's, we'll call him his highness, we'll call him his magistrate, we'll call him whatever he wants to call him, but we will not call him Curios.

When the Christians were called to say Kaiser Curios, they responded by saying with baldness, Jesus, oh, Curios.

Jesus is Lord.

That was the first confession of faith, long before the Council of Nightsea, long before the Council of Chalcedon, long before the Council of Constantinople, long before the Westminster Confession of Faith, the very first confession of faith of the Christian church was a simple formula.

Jesus, oh Curios, Jesus is Lord.

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