God |

As I was studying Romans this past weekend, I bumped into a passage in chapter 5 that talks about perfect timing. It got me thinking about an intriguing question on Facebook the other day, which asked: if you could go back in time and tell our 18 year old self three words, what would you say? Several of the answers were funny. It is clear that timing in what we do can make all the difference. I could have profited from buying Netflix stock for about a dollar a share (it is now around $500/share). The difference of a few years can make a huge difference.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:6-11).

Regarding timing, rather than reinvent the wheel, I found a sermon by Dr. John Barnett (Discover the Book Ministries) that beautifully explained why the placement of Jesus’ life and death in time was so perfect. The timing made all the difference. The main points below are a rehash of his message, and his points are worth repeating.

Reason 1: Global citizenship

When we look back over history, the period that encompassed the Roman Empire was the most consolidated time for getting a message out. Alexander the Great had carved out a path and laid out a vast empire. The Roman Empire followed established order and understanding for most of the known western world.

I think of an architect who laid out the plan for a house. The house is built with organization and reason. The result was a layout that anyone could navigate and negotiate with reasonable ease. Imagine trying to navigate from the island of Britain to the middle east if you are interrupted by borders and differing politics at every turn. Paul and the apostles were able to ‘own’ the route of their travel because it was under one umbrella of government.

Reason 2: global language

Timing with the available languages was critical also. If we look at language differences in Europe today, we can easily list more than a dozen languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian, Swiss, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Hungarian, Austrian, Czechoslovakian, Armenian, Greek, Serbian, Croatian and more. In the days of the early church, the universal language was Greek and Roman (Latin). Over the course of a few centuries, language diversified, and sharing the gospel would have been difficult to allow for rapid disbursement.

Reason 3: Global Access

It is quite true that the world is more accessible today than it was in the first couple of centuries. We have radio, television, internet, and print to allow us to get the word out. It is a two-way process- we have to be able to give it, and we have to be able to receive it. In the Roman empire, people could transmit information over a large area. It was the first time that was really possible, since writing, language, and roadways were available to make it happen.

Reason 4: Global Peace

Certainly, individuals can come to know Christ in the middle of a war. Nevertheless, it is easier to share the gospel when our first order of business is not our own survival. When the land is not interrupted by war, the gospel can go forth more easily. In the United States over the last couple of years, we have had an issue with survival – to live through Covid, and to muddle through the constant political bickering. Statistics from the Southern Baptist Convention suggest they lost more than 400,000 members. The Presbyterians lost more than 50,000. Survival and bickering is not an easy time to spread the gospel. During the time of the Roman Empire, the ‘Pax Romana’ (Roman Peace) made sharing the gospel a well-timed event.

Reason 5: Global Degeneration

As Dr. Barnett described,

According to the descriptions of Tacitus, Suetonius, and Juvenal, we cannot portray with adequate blackness the low moral state to which the aristocracy and highest State officials had sunk...Debauchery and gluttony, subornation and poisoning, vulgarity and immorality, unchastity and licentiousness were the order of the day, especially in the middle of the first century.  ... In the large Hellenistic cities... lack of work ruined the masses..."

The early Hellenistic world really needed some moral change. I cannot help but think that the time we are living in now is increasingly immoral. Our state officials are problematic; we tend to overeat; too many are victims of pornography and sexual addictions. Could it be: the timing is right for another global sweep of the gospel once again?

Reason 6: Global expectancy

The timing makes a difference. As I l asked in the previous section, with widespread immorality in our time, and the advent of easy accessibility to the internet, and the universality of English throughout the world, I have a new expectation that faith can make a difference. Remember that first verse from Romans — “⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly”? Timing makes all the difference. Now is the right time to turn to Christ.

Category: God

When Perfect Timing makes a Difference