Living Authentic Community
The Emperor's Memo
I want to take you back to the summer of 362. The most powerful man in the world sits down and writes a memo. And it's about church people.
His name is Emperor Julian. Julian was the nephew of Constantine, the first Roman emperor to become a Christian. Julian was raised in a Christian home. But somewhere along the way, he turned from the faith. When he became emperor, he set out to bring back the old gods. He reopened the pagan temples. He put the priests back on the payroll. He even barred Christians from teaching.
In the middle of all that, Julian sends a letter to a man named Arsacius, the pagan high priest of Galatia. And Julian had a problem. Christianity was growing, and the worship of the pagan gods was not.
So in this letter, Julian lays out why he thinks that's happening. Listen to this:
"Why do we pagan leaders not observe that it is the Christians' benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase atheism?" (Atheism was his word for Christianity.)
Think about that. This is an emperor, an enemy of the church, putting together a list of the reasons the church is winning. And there are three things on his list.
What the Emperor Saw
The first was benevolence to strangers. The Christians were taking care of the poor so well, even the poor they didn't know, that people were flocking to them. The emperor says, "For it is disgraceful when no Jew is a beggar and the impious Galileans support our poor in addition to their own."
Can you hear the frustration in that? He's saying, "They aren't just taking care of their people. They're taking care of ours." And Christians were converting in mass numbers.
The second was their care for the dead. Many poor people in the Roman world couldn't afford a burial. So Christians buried them, strangers included, as an act of honor.
Think about a church funeral dinner. It's still one of the most visible things a small-town church does. People notice who shows up when somebody dies. They noticed in 362, too.
The third was the holiness of their lives. Christians were known for honest, clean living. No fraud. No theft. Faithfulness in marriage. And outsiders noticed. Julian calls it "pretended," but he still had to put it on the list.
So what's the emperor's solution to grow his faith? Act more like the Christians. Here's what he tells Arsacius: "I believe that we pagans ought really and truly to practice every one of these virtues. And it is not enough for you alone to practice them, but so must all the pagan priests in Galatia, without exception."
Why It Didn't Work
What Julian didn't realize was that his plan was doomed from the start, because it was artificial. He was copying what the Christians were doing. But the Christians were doing it out of love. The pagans were doing it out of competition.
And the Christians learned that kind of love from somebody. Jesus ate with people nobody wanted at the table. His critics called him "a friend of tax collectors and other sinners" (Luke 7:34). And Jesus told his followers, "When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" (Matthew 25:40).
That's the difference. Julian could copy the program. He couldn't copy the people, because he didn't have their Lord.
So let me ask you something. When was the last time the world looked at the church and said we were doing such a good job at something that it tried to mimic us?
What Peter Told Them
For the early church, that didn't happen by accident. It's what Scripture told them to do.
Peter wrote a letter to Christians whose old friends mocked and slandered them for living differently. Later in the letter he says: "Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you" (1 Peter 4:4).
To people like that, Peter writes these words.
1 Peter 2:11-12: "Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world."
Look at verse 11. Peter calls them "temporary residents and foreigners." In other words, you live in Colfax, but you belong to God first.
Then he tells them to keep away from "worldly desires that wage war against your very souls." Notice where the fight starts. The first battle is inside, not out there.
Now verse 12. "Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors." Among, not away from. Peter isn't building a fort to isolate and protect us. He puts us right in the middle of the neighborhood.
"They will see your honorable behavior." The word Peter uses for "see" means watching closely, over time.
Feeding strangers and burying the dead is what "honorable behavior" looked like. Julian saw it. He called them "impious" in the same breath, and he still saw it. That's exactly what Peter said would happen: even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see.
And then Peter says, "they will give honor to God." That's the goal. It's God's reputation we care about, not ours. We're not serving so people will say nice things about our church. We're serving so they'll see Jesus.
Carry This Out the Door
So here's what I want you to carry with you.
Our neighbors are watching. Let's meet their needs in a way that points them to Jesus.
And if someone asks you why you're doing it, tell them. Peter says it just a chapter later: "If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it" (1 Peter 3:15).
Julian had to order his priests to be kind. Nobody has to order us. Jesus already went first.
So let's go follow him.
Small Group Questions
ICE BREAKER QUESTIONS
Think about a time when someone served you unexpectedly, no agenda, no expectation of return. How did it make you feel? What was it about their kindness that stuck with you?
When was the last time you noticed Christians doing something that genuinely stood out from the surrounding culture (either positively or negatively)? What did you notice? What do you think the people around them thought?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Pastor Nate introduced the first of five core values: Authentic Community. He said: "If the mission statements are the 'why,' the core values are the 'how.' They're how we actually live those mission statements out." Why do you think "Authentic Community" is listed first among the core values? How does this value connect to the three mission statements we've already discussed (planting truth, cultivating relationships, transforming lives)?
Pastor Nate told the story of Emperor Julian in 362 AD, who tried to revive paganism but was frustrated by how fast Christianity was growing. He wrote a letter identifying three reasons Christians were winning: benevolence to strangers, care for the dead, and holiness of their lives. Which of these three do you think our church does best? Which do we need to grow in? What would it look like if an enemy of our church had to write a letter admitting what we were doing well?
Julian wrote: "It is disgraceful when no Jew is a beggar and the impious Galileans [Christians] support our poor in addition to their own." The early church took care of people outside their own community, including people who despised them. How is this different from the way many churches operate today? What would it look like for Colfax Christian Church to serve not just "our people" but genuinely care for the poor and marginalized in our wider community?
The second thing Julian noted was care for the dead, Christians buried strangers who couldn't afford burial, as an act of honor. Pastor Nate said: "Think about a church funeral dinner. It's still one of the most visible things a small-town church does. People notice who shows up when somebody dies." What simple acts of presence (at funerals, in hospitals, after a job loss, after a divorce) might still be our most powerful witness? Where could you show up this week for someone in grief?
Pastor Nate said: "Julian could copy the program. He couldn't copy the people, because he didn't have their Lord." His pagans were serving out of competition; the Christians were serving out of love. How do you tell the difference between serving from genuine love and serving from competition, obligation, or image management? Which have you been more motivated by lately?
Pastor Nate asked: "When was the last time the world looked at the church and said we were doing such a good job at something that it tried to mimic us?" Why do you think this is less common today than it was in Julian's time? What has the modern church become known for instead? What would it take for us to become known again for benevolence to strangers, care for the dead, and holy lives?
1 Peter 2:11 calls Christians "temporary residents and foreigners." Pastor Nate said: "You live in Colfax, but you belong to God first." How does this identity shape the way you engage with your community? Are you living like a permanent resident of this world (invested in its ways and values) or like a foreigner (loyal to another kingdom)?
Peter says to "keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls." Pastor Nate observed: "The first battle is inside, not out there." Why does authentic community in the world require fighting a battle inside ourselves first? What internal battles are you currently losing that are preventing you from serving your neighbors well?
Peter says to live properly "among your unbelieving neighbors", not away from them. Pastor Nate said: "Peter isn't building a fort to isolate and protect us. He puts us right in the middle of the neighborhood." Where are you tempted to withdraw into a Christian bubble rather than engaging the neighborhood God has placed you in? What's one neighbor you've been avoiding that you could engage this week?
The sermon's central takeaway: "Our neighbors are watching. Let's meet their needs in a way that points them to Jesus." Peter adds in 1 Peter 3:15 that we should be "always ready to explain" our hope when asked. Pastor Nate said: "We're not serving today so people will say nice things about our church. We're serving so they'll see Jesus." How do you serve in a way that keeps the focus on Jesus rather than on yourself or the church? When was the last time someone asked why you were doing something kind, and what did you say?
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