IT is worthy of remark, that when St. Paul wrote from Rome, where he was imprisoned, to the Church in Philippi, he commended them with all his heart for their fellowship in the Gospel, and at the same time he told them that many in Rome had been stirred up to proclaim Christ by reason of his bonds. Now, if the ancient Roman Church had been the great missionary center that some would have us believe, we should assuredly find in the epistle to the Romans some evidence of that fact. We find evidence, both in the epistles to the Thessalonians and the Philippians, of their Gospel or missionary zeal, while we find a lack of such zeal in Rome, as we have observed. And more, Onesiphorus is highly commended because he sought out the apostle in Rome, and was not ashamed of his "chain"! At that time "all forsook" Paul; they feared the sword of the pagans, and the cruelty of the emperor, Nero.
These incidental remarks in the epistles afford us a sidelight respecting the mission spirit of the ancient Church of Rome.