Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

(Continued from Day 231)

In addition to all the advancements in research and the sciences, Jewish people have largely preserved the concept of monotheism—the belief that there is only one God. In the ancient world, every group of people had their own god. Their gods liked them and didn’t like other people. God told Abraham, “I’m going to work through you to bring forth one God who blesses and loves all the nations of the earth.” In addition, the Jewish people largely preserved for us an understanding that no king or political leader should be worshipped as divinity

or God. In the ancient world, the king was considered a god, but his kingdom was a counterfeit of the Kingdom of God. The Jewish people said, “We don’t worship the king.” They refused to worship Pharoah, Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, or the Roman emperor. The Jews would not say, “Caesar is Lord,” because they knew he was not the Lord of Lords or the King of Kings. We still see the worship of leaders in some modern-day countries like North Korea, where the state is a cult run by a demonic leader who pretends to be God.

The Jewish people also preserved the rule of law. The God of the Bible rules through laws. He says certain things are right, and others are wrong. God doesn’t change what He has said because He got it right the first time. Every generation comes along and says, “God, we believe You’ve made some mistakes.” God responds, “No, I actually have not. I’m not going to change My laws, but you need to change your behavior. It’s called repentance.”

God rules through laws, which is the only way to get justice. In most ancient cultures as well as in most modern countries, might makes right. Life is about the survival of the fittest. If you are the one who has the bigger gun, or the bigger bank account, or the better attorney, you get to do whatever you want to do. But under the rule of law, there is hope for justice because the law rules over everyone. This includes the Ten Commandments, the heart of the law in the Old Testament. These rules include, “Don’t murder anybody and don’t steal anything. Don’t testify in court and lie or give false witness.” Our entire system of justice is built on the assumption that there are fixed, unchanging laws that come from a Lawgiver, who is the highest and unchanging authority.

In addition, we have science because we don’t believe in pantheism and deism, which both teach that the physical world is haphazard, disorganized, and chaotic. The belief of the Bible is that there is a Creator who is an orderly, consistent God. As a result, we can have scientific experimentation because there is consistency and order to the world God made.

Today’s Reflection

Why is it important that God rules through laws?