As we begin our study that we started last week, if you did not read part one of our study, please do. You can access it on our Facebook page or on our website by typing in your search bar Hope Chapel Oak Lawn.
Last week we saw how the term slavery is used metaphorically by Jesus in Matthew 20:26-27, By Paul in Romans in 6:6-7 and by Peter in 2 Peter 2:19. With all three portions of scripture we saw how they differ from other portions of scripture in the New Testament that talk specifically about slavery.
We very briefly saw that in the New Testament there are six different portions of scripture that speak specifically to slaves and owners of slaves. 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:22-4:1, Titus 2:9-10, Philemon 1-25, 1 Peter 2:18-21.
Last week the point was emphasized that, “The New Testament does not condone slavery or condemn slavery, but it teaches slaves and slave owners who are believers in Christ how to treat and respect one another and living a life that honors Christ Jesus as their Savior.”
The primary point of our study as was stated last week is the following; in our daily Bible reading, when reading one of these six portions of scripture in the New Testament concerning slavery, which was part of the life of the church two thousand years ago, the question we need to answer is; how does what we read regarding slavery, apply to us today?
1 Corinthians 7:20-23
In 1 Corinthians 7:20-23 NLT Paul tells the slaves who were believers in Christ and were part of the congregation the following.
20 Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. 21 Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22 And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23 God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.
In the second sentence of verse 21 Paul was NOT stating that being a slave was not a big deal when he said “Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you…” This is why he continued to say, “…but if you get a chance to be free, take it.” However, this verse is not the primary point that Paul was making. The point that Paul was conveying to the slaves was, “Some believing slaves in Corinth may have been concerned that their social status inhibited them from living for God.” Paul says that if their status as a slave did not inhibit God’s call to salvation, it would not inhibit their freedom from sin and to freely live for the Lord, “…if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord.
Ephesians 6:5-9 and Colossians 3:22-4:1
What Paul instructs the slaves and their owners who are a part of these two congregations are very similar. In Ephesians 6:5 and Colossians 3:22 Paul, directly speaking to the slaves, gives the same instruction in both letters, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters.” In this one statement Paul is acknowledging that the born-again slaves have two masters “earthly masters” and Christ. This supports what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:22, that they “are now a slave of Christ”, meaning that Christ is their Heavenly Master or Lord of their lives. At this point Paul states two different points.
First, in Ephesians 6:5b he tells the slaves HOW to obey, “…with respect and fear”. Respect in this context means the Christians slave does his utmost to fulfill his duty to his earthly master. Fear in this context does not mean, dread or terror, but it is referring to reverence or devotion for one’s earthly master.
However, this kind of “respect and fear” is only possible because the slave has been born again, as a result of the change in his life. This is the principle that Paul taught earlier in this same letter, Ephesians 4:22-24, 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Secondly in Colossians 3:22b Paul tells the slaves WHEN they are to “obey” their earthly masters, “in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor”. There was a wrong way which was the normal way slaves served their masters. Paul corrected this mentality; he told them that they were to “obey” which was not in some things at certain times, but all the time. This was to be done, he said “in everything” that they did.
Paul was very familiar with the way of life and the attitude of how the slaves served their earthly masters. What he was telling them was the how and when they serve their masters was now different than before because Christ is now in their lives.
In the next verses, both Ephesians 6:5c and Colossians 3:22c , Paul now tells the slaves it is with the heart, a changed heart and the sincerity of the heart, that the “HOW” and the “WHEN” is accomplished.
Sincerity in this context is the virtue of one who is free from pretense and hypocrisy. It is not self-seeking it is openness of heart manifesting itself with an expression to others. Paul was able to give them an example that they were familiar with which would not be possible if it were not because of the slave’s personal relationship with the Lord. He tells them in Ephesians, “just as you would obey Christ.”, and in Colossians with “reverence for the Lord.”
Paul reemphasizes the importance of the attitude of the heart of the Christian slave in relation to their work and their earthly master. Ephesians 6:6, “Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men”. Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men”.
The application of all that Paul has been telling the slaves of these two congregations of Ephesians and Colossians in these verses, applies to us today as employees who get paid for what we do and even as volunteers in our churches and other places.
The next topic that Paul teaches the slaves of both congregations is concerning the reward that will be given to them from the Lord. Ephesians 6:8, “because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
Colossians 3:24-25, “since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.”
This can involve a reward received now as a slave or the reward that will be received when in Christ’s presence.
Matthew 6:6, But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 16:27, For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
There are two other important points that Paul makes in these verses. The first one is the slave needs to remember that as a Christian, “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Secondly, the reward received is for every Christian no matter their status, “whether he is slave or free”.
The final point that Paul deals with is with those of both churches who own slaves. Ephesians 6:9a, “And masters, treat your slaves in the same way.” He emphasizes and refers to what he had previously said in verse eight, “because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” Paul continues to tell them, “Do not threaten them”. To threaten means to, “state one’s intention to take hostile action against someone in retribution for something done or not done.” Because of the traditional secular cultural norms of how masters treated their slaves threatening them for whatever reason should not to be the way slaves were to be treated. As Christians the slave owners had a different standard and reason of how to treat their slaves. Ephesians 6:9b, “…since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”
Paul instructs the slave owners of the Colossian church about their responsibility in treatment with a consideration that was not common in the secular world. Colossians 4:1 “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.” He points out that the slave owners have a relationship to their Heavenly Master-Christ, as slaves of Christ. This is what Paul clearly told the Corinthian congregation, “And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ.”
In the way that both Christian slaves and slave owners are to treat each other, served as an example to the slave owners and slaves who were not Christian of the change and difference that having Christ as Lord of their life made.
Pastor John
