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First Order (B)
by
Terry Dashner
A continuation from "First Order"
In Galatians 4:4-5 it says, "But when the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, (5) To redeem them that were under the law, that we
might receive the adoption of sons" (KJV).
Simply stated, God's timing is perfect. Jesus, God's only
begotten Son, was sent to earth when the Roman Empire was
expanding, building roads, providing security for commerce, and
bringing the rule of law and order throughout the Mediterranean.
Can you imagine what would have happened if Jesus had be sent
another time, to another race of people other than the Jews?
Yes, the Jews were subjected to Roman rule and were not a free
people; but, the Jews were given certain privileges by the
Romans that were not granted to other races of people at the
time. For example, the Jews were not required to serve in the
Roman army because of their strict adherence to dietary laws and
Sabbath religious observances. The Jews would rather die at the
hands of their enemies than defend themselves on the Sabbath
day. Rome recognized this and allowed them the freedom to
observe monotheism and their Mosaic Law.
God sent His Son among a race of people that had roots and moral
foundations. He was not sent to the polytheistic Romans or the
pagan Greeks but to the Jews who had ceremonial, civil, and
moral laws embedded in their culture from centuries of religious
observances of the one true God. One could say that the history
of the Jewish nation was the history of the preparation for the
coming of God into the world in a unique way in Jesus Christ
(William Barclay, The Ten Commandments, Westminster John Knox
Press 1998, p.1).
Jesus did not come into a society which knew nothing of goodness
and of morality and of ethics and of God. He came into a society
which, as the New Testament itself would put it, already
possessed the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5.17). The Jewish
ethic, which was the foundation of the Christian Ethic, was
itself founded on the Ten Commandments. But these Commandments
might well be called the universal foundation, not only of
Jewish ethics, but of all ethics. They contain the basic laws of
human conduct in society, laws which are not so much
particularly and exclusively Jewish, but which are the
starting-point of life for all men who have agreed to live
together in any community (Ibid., p.1).
Let's review them again. I. You shall not have other gods before
(or besides) me. II. You shall not make for yourself a graven
image. III. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain. IV. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. V. Honour
your father and your mother. VI. You shall not kill. VII. You
shall not commit adultery. VIII. You shall not steal. IX. You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. X. You
shall not covet (Ibid., pp.1-2).
To be continued...
Pastor T.
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon.
About the author:
www.ffcba.com
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