Hospitality in the Roman culture was not just throwing a good party.  It was often a matter of life and death.  Because of their faith, Christians were being forced from their homes and fired from their jobs.  They often had no one to turn to except for the church.

Material goods were in short supply in those days, so hospitality often meant living in uncomfortable, dangerous and sacrificial ways for the sake of the gospel.  Hospitality was far from entertainment but involved opening up homes for the greater purposes of other people’s needs in the church.