Modern workplaces and societies are no less vulnerable to bribery, corruption and prejudice than ancient Israel. According to the United Nations, the biggest obstacle to economic growth in less developed countries is the lack of respect for the rule of law. [1] In places where corruption is endemic, it may be impossible to earn a living, travel around the city, or live in peace without paying bribes. This law seems to recognize that, in general, those who have the power to demand bribes are more guilty than those who are willing to pay them, because the prohibition is to accept bribes, not to pay them. Yet anything Christians can do to reduce corruption, whether on the side of donors or recipients, is a contribution to the “righteous decisions” (Deuteronomy 16:18) that are sacred to the Lord. (For a more detailed discussion of the economic applications of the rule of law, see “Land and Property Rights” in ¶s 26 and 27; 36:1-12 above. When God wrote the 10 commandments in stone, He wrote this basic framework for how mankind (not just Israel) should deal with God and with each other. The laws contained in the 10 commandments were known and kept before Moses. “Justified” means “counted by God as just” or “declared righteous by God” (see footnote ESV). If people were sinless and perfectly obeyed all of God`s perfect moral standards, they could be justified or “declared righteous” on their own merits.
But Paul says that this is impossible for any Gentile or even for any Jew (cf. Romans 1-2). We know that a person is not justified by works of law. Paul saw that Christ had taught justification by faith, and so he called God “the one who justifies the wicked” (Romans 4:5). Paul would soon show that this view was taught even in the Old Testament (see Galatians 3:6–18), although it was not the view of most first-century Judaism. (For example, a 1st century BC. The Jewish scriptures say, “He who does righteousness gathers life for himself with the Lord, and he who does wickedness is the cause of the destruction of his own soul” [Solomon Psalm 9:5]). In Galatians 2:16, “works of the law” mean not only circumcision, dietary laws, and Sabbaths, but any human effort to be justified by God by obeying a moral law. Faith in Jesus Christ. Some claim that Greek means the “faithfulness of Jesus Christ.” But “faith in Jesus Christ” seems much more likely, since “faith in Jesus Christ” is synonymous with the phrase, “we also believed in Jesus Christ.” “But through faith in Jesus Christ” is the opposite of being dependent on one`s own good deeds for justification, since justification comes through faith in Christ alone. We have also believed in Jesus Christ justified by faith in Christ, which means that justification is the result of saving faith.
Contrast, and not by works of law, clearly shows that no human effort or merit can be added to faith as a basis for justification. (This verse was frequently used in the Reformation by Protestants who insisted on “justification by faith alone,” as opposed to the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification by faith plus merit obtained by the “means of grace” administered by the Roman Catholic sacraments such as penance and Mass.) Paul concludes decisively: No one will be justified by the works of the law (cf. 3:10-14; Acts 13:39; Hebrews 10:1-14). When you first talk about the laws of nature, did you ever think about what would happen if we couldn`t rely on the sun to get up at a certain time each morning? Or what if the earth didn`t rotate on its axis for only a day or a few minutes? Or if the law of gravity was overridden? In a very short time, the Earth and all of humanity would be destroyed. All bodies in the universe are controlled in space and move according to laws. He`s right – there`s something rebellious about our human nature when we`re told we can`t or shouldn`t do something. And indeed, man`s attempt to govern one another often leads to laws and restrictions that are evil and sinful. But God`s law is perfect; He is the righteous judge, and His laws are not given to overwhelm us, but to expose sin in us, so that we can understand that we desperately need the righteousness of Christ. The law is a gift of grace.
There are many laws in the Bible. Some were covenant-specific, while others originated and extended beyond the Old and New Covenants. Many laws are still essential today, and they are all meant to give us a deeper understanding of what God expects and how He wants us to live. Many question the constitutionality of certain laws passed by their respective governments, even though those laws have been found constitutional by the highest courts in the land, and they feel opposed to and disobey the law. But the 10 commandments were not God`s only laws, as other laws are mentioned at Mount Sinai before the 10 commandments and the Old Covenant were issued. While some laws extend to both the Old and New Covenants, others were specific to the Old Covenant, and each has a spiritual element. The 10 commandments are at the heart of God`s law. They provide a fundamental and essential statement about God`s moral law, and other laws and the spirit of the law fall within this framework. External rituals should teach inner principles. But Israel lacked the spiritual discernment and heart to learn from these laws (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, God changed His approach, not because of errors in the law, but because of men (Hebrews 8:7-8). until heaven and earth disappear.
Jesus confirms the full authority of the Old Testament as Scripture for all times (cf. 2 Tim 3:15-16), down to the smallest parts of the written text: the jota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (or the iodine of the Hb alphabet.), and the dot probably refers to a small stroke or part of a letter used to distinguish Hebrew letters. deviate from the law. The OT remains an authoritative compendium of divine witness and doctrine in which certain elements (such as sacrifices and other ceremonial laws) predicted or anticipated events that would be performed in Jesus` service (see notes on Galatians 4:10; 5:1) and are therefore not models of Christian behavior today. Until all is accomplished, Jesus points to the fulfillment of the specific hopes of the OT partly through His earthly life, death and resurrection, and then more fully after His Second Coming. Now, with regard to the laws of the land or the laws of man, it is necessary that we be governed by laws that are not made only to contain the evildoer, but to protect the rights of all. Let me quote Doctrine and Covenants: It further suggests that workplace gossip is a serious offense. Some of this has to do with personal, external issues, which is bad enough. But what about cases where an employee damages a colleague`s reputation? Can the truth really be told if the person being spoken about is not there to speak for himself? And what about performance appraisals? What safeguards should be put in place to ensure that reporting is fair and accurate? On a large scale, marketing and advertising in the public space operates between organizations and individuals. In the interest of presenting one`s own products and services, to what extent can one highlight the gaps and weaknesses of competition without taking into account their perspective? Is it possible that the rights of “your neighbor” include the rights of other companies? The size of our global economy suggests that this imperative could indeed be widely implemented.
If iron, when heated, expands one day and contracts the next, it would not be impossible for anyone in the world to run a machine shop or make equipment of any kind. These laws are immutable and must be such that we can rely on them at all times and in all circumstances. Many people have heard of the 10 commandments and realize the importance of some of them, such as laws against murder and theft. But other laws of the Bible are less known or appreciated. Envy and greed are indeed particularly dangerous at work, where status, salary and power are routine factors in our relationships with the people we spend a lot of time with. We may have many good reasons to desire success, advancement or reward at work. But envy is not one of them. Nor is it obsessive to work out of envy of the social position that can make it possible.
Unfortunately, the sixth commandment has an all-too-practical application in the modern workplace, where 10% of all work-related deaths (in the US) are homicides. [1] However, readers of this article, “Don`t kill anyone on the job,” are unlikely to change this statistic significantly.