In the book, “The Great Stain” Frederick Douglass is quoted as saying “Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference—so wide that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity…”
Slavery was a horrible evil in the history of America. It was built on greed and racism and power.
Many slave-owners used the bible to justify their owning of slaves. They had what was called the slave bible which removed the story of Moses and many of the verses that would have promoted freedom and the dignity of every individual person.
As we read the passage for today we might rightly bristle as we hear the word slavery and the call to respect your master.
Structural evil, like slavery, is at times allowed in scripture as God accomplishes his greater good.
Think of Joseph.
A Hebrew, sold into slavery by his own brothers.
Joseph was faithful to his master, but mistreated by his master’s wife.
Sent to prison where he labored faithfully but was forgotten
Went to Pharoah and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he interpreted dreams.
What happened next… he went on a book tour and was free to do what he wanted.
NO! He served under Pharoah. Joseph might have been second in command in Egypt but he was still under the authority of Pharaoh.
At the end of Joseph’s life he said speaking to his brothers, the one’s who sold him into slavery.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20.
Last Sunday, I had lunch with Earnest Alexander. He has been a friend to me for many years. He’s been my boss and he has challenged me as only Earnest can.
Earnest has had a hard life and a good life. Would he be my friend without the bleak history of our country? I don’t know.
Would he have impacted many lives – white, caucasian, hispanic, asian without the evil in our country?
Earnest I think can say with Joseph – You meant it for evil but God meant it for good, the saving of many lives.
To think about slavery though is not to think about it as a math problem. There is no amount of good that outweighs evil. God in his sovereignty can take profound evil and redeem it to bring about good.
Even though slave owners in the South misused the bible to condone slavery, the bible does not condone slavery.
Paul in 1 Timothy 1:10 condemns slave traders.
Paul wrote to Philemon a slave owner asking him to receive back Onesimus (his slave) as a brother
Paul told slaves that if one could receive their freedom then they should.
Exodus 21:16 condemns the kidnapping and selling of individuals.
Abolitionists like William Wilberforce were led to end slavery because of their Christian convictions.
The ethic of the NT is to treat others as you would have them treat you and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus also said that his Kingdom is not a Kingdom of this world. Jesus is not seeking to overturn the social order but to bring about a new Kingdom
Jesus said, Come unto me all who are weary and burden and will give you rest. Take MY YOKE upon you. (Be enslaved to me, Be bound to me) and learn from me for my YOKE is easy and my burden is light.
Paul also is not concerned with a revolutionary change of the social order. He was preaching the gospel and instructing Timothy to establish churches so that people’s hearts that are enslaved to sin would be set free and bound to Jesus the true Master.
I would agree with Fredrick Douglas, there was a wide gap between the Christianity of the slave trade and the Christianity of Christ.
Paul wants Timothy to tell the church that if Jesus is your master, then your life under Jesus should impact the way you relate to your earthly master.
As we gather here on Sunday we are asking ourselves over and over is there a gap – wide or small between what we proclaim in here and the way we live out there 9-5 Mon-Friday.
Are we enslaved to Christ or captured by culture? Being enslaved to Christ will is the only way to know true and lasting freedom
Are we living under the yoke of Christ or the yoke of our personal satisfaction?
Let me read our passage for today.
1 Timothy 6:1-2
All who are under the yoke as slaves should regard their own masters as worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and his teaching will not be blasphemed. 2 Let those who have believing masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.
Slavery in the first century was vastly different from Slavery in America.
In the city of Rome and in the Italy peninsula it is estimated that 90% of the population may have been slaves. Throughout the rest of the empire, including Ephesus, the number was lower but still there were many many slaves.
Actually, slavery was a part of the normal societal structure of the entire world until the 18th century when the abolition movement began in Britain.
Slavery was not based on race in the Roman Empire.
A person became a slave voluntarily or involuntarily.
Voluntarily because they had a debt to pay off and had no other means to pay the debt
Involuntarily because they were prisoners of war or were born into slavery.
Slaves also had rights. They earned money, could own property and freely marry.
Slaves were farm workers, semi-skilled workers but also artisans, architects, physicians, philosophers, writers, and teachers.
It is interesting to think of Physicians as slaves and our own process for becoming a Physician.
4 years of undergrad.
3 years of medical school
Grueling Residency
And what does a lot of this school get you… lots of debt.
How can you pay for the debt? Sign up for a program to work in an underserved area for a period of time and your loan will be forgiven.
Sounds a little like a 1st century slave.
Often when a slave would purchase their freedom in the 1st century they would start a business and begin working alongside their former master because the slave now had developed a specific expertise.
While slavery in 1st Century was not as harsh as the American experience of slavery it was still a demeaning job. Slaves in society were at the bottom of the social order. Their job was undesirable and they work often demeaning.
As Paul wrote to Timothy he knew that many in the church were in this lower class of slave and many probably had masters who were in the church.
As Paul is instructing slaves his primary focus is to encourage these men and women to work under their master with respect so that their true master Jesus would be honored.
Now that we have some background on slavery I would like to emphasize three things.
Awareness – Slaves I See You
Mandate – Respect your earthly authority
Motivation – Honor God’s Name and His Teaching
Awareness – Slaves I See You.
“All who are under the yoke of slavery”
The yoke is a wooden cross piece that was laid over the shoulder of oxen. It was a symbol of work. Ox grazing in the field, sleeping in the barn, no Yoke. When the yoke is laid on their back they know it is time to go to work.
Even though the life of a 1st century slave wasn’t like the life of a slave in the American south, their life was still associated with work. Hard labor.
All slaves… I see you… I know your work is hard. I have something to say to ALL of you – Voluntary, involuntary slaves… listen up!
Paul identified often with slaves. As a tent maker himself he would have understood first hand the difficulty of manual labor.
In Philippians 1:1 he introduced himself and Timothy as – The servants of Christ Jesus.
Jesus identified with slaves. In Mark 10 he said, the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.
At the last supper, Jesus took a towel, wrapped it around his waist and bent down to wash his disciples feet.
Jesus did the work of a slave. Jesus, Phil 2 said, took on the form of a servant when he came in human likeness.
Timothy, speak to the slaves, let them know that they are not overlooked and God has something important that he wants to do through their service.
Slaves – I see you – Your job does not dignify you, you bring dignity to your job
Mike Rowe has made a career out of highlighting “Dirty Jobs”
He shines a spotlight on those jobs that no one wants to do but that are critical to the infrastructure of our country.
I watched him tell the story recently of how the show came to be. His first “Dirty Jobs” excursion before the show was born was taking a tour into the sewers of San Francisco. He went with Gene Cruz down into the sewers of San Francisco and Gene’s job was to chisel out bricks in the sewer that had become erode by… sewage and replace them with new bricks. All day, 5 days a week… chiseling bricks so that people could enjoy a working toilet. Fun job… right?
As I listened to Gene’s story of chiseling out bricks, I thought of Bob Ulrich who we recognized a few weeks ago for his 70 year marriage to Sue. Bob was a brick layer. I wonder how many bricks Bob laid in his thousand and thousands of hours working as a brick layer. He was laboring faithfully to provide for his family and to honor Jesus.
Laying bricks one at a time.
We have a diverse range of careers represented in this room. Teachers, engineers of all stripes, military personnel, pilots, caretakers, healthcare workers, business people, moms at home caring for kids, skilled laborers
Your work matters. You are not unseen. You are not unimportant.
The way that you labor. The way that you work can bring glory to the God of the universe.
Your work does not dignify you, you bring dignity to your work.
I know some days you will feel like your work is not significant but God sees you. He knows the place where he has called you to labor.
Then Paul tells Timothy what to tell the slaves. I see them… I know they are part of your church… give them this mandate.
Mandate – Respect your earthly authority
ALL who are under the yoke should regard their own masters as worthy of ALL respect.
Emphasis here is on ALL – there is no loophole. ALL slaves… ALL respect
Please remember this verse can be abused, but Paul has already said … I do not support slave traders, those who would kidnap, punish and demean human beings but the person in authority over you is in a position that is worthy of respect.
He gives this instruction to two groups of people.
Slaves with unbelieving masters and slaves with believing masters.
What does he say to slaves with believing masters? He says you should honor them even more… you should work even harder for those masters who are believers because they are your brothers.
You don’t want to take advantage of your position as a brother or sister in Christ.
I’m going to be 10 minutes late to work, because I’m having a longer quiet time. My boss will understand.
My lunch break might run long because I’m sharing the gospel with a co-worker… My believing boss will understand.
That is like Spiritual Nepotism – WE don’t get special work privileges because we are part of the same spiritual family. In fact, we have a higher calling. Bless your boss because you are both serving the same Master – Jesus Christ.
Please understand that I am speaking to myself as much as I am speaking to you. Aaron challenged me last week when he said, those preaching at River have to bring steak because you deserve steak.
You are my brothers and sisters. You will understand if I had a hard week and the message suffers. You still love me… right? Yes but because you love me… I should work hard for you and do my best!
Last week Aaron spoke about the dignity of the office of elder in the church.
Elders should be treated with double honor especially those that are committed to teaching and preaching.
The word for double honor for elders is the same word that Paul uses when speaking of honoring masters.
Honors elders in the church
Respect those in authority over you in the secular world.
Here is what we see from that – Our training for godliness extends to every sphere of our life. There is no sphere of your life that is not touched by your allegiance to Jesus. He is Lord of all of it. Honor at church. Honor at work.
We often talk about this as living single story lives rather than having two story lives.
One story, the upstairs are the things of faith and spirituality
The second story is the downstairs of real life reality of jobs, houses, money, schoolwork.
For life under Jesus, there is no division, he is Lord of all of it. We seek to live a single story life. What we hear in here affects the way we live out there. What we read in here affects the way we live in here and out there.
We spend about an hour in here on Sunday. You spend an hour or 1.5 in small group. Maybe you meet one on one and pray with friends another 1.5ish. Let’s say you spend 4 hours on “churchy” stuff in a week.
At your job you spend, 40, 50, 60 hours laboring. God is the Lord of all of it. Your 4 hours here gives you vision, instruction, and inspiration for your 60 hours there.
Respect does not mean agree. You might be smarter than your boss and your boss might make foolish decisions, but Paul is saying to slaves honor them as the authority, not as the expert.
Michael Scott is a character in the Office. I’m not advocating watching the show or not watching the show but I’m using it as an illustration.
If you are familiar with the show you know that Michael Scott is not a good leader. He is not a competent manager. He mostly thinks of himself. How he can look good for his bosses and do as little work as possible.
Those under him are undermining him and making fun of him at every turn. Pam and Jim are the competent characters on the show. They make fun of Michael and everyone complains about him.
For us as we watch shows like this, we have to be careful that the entertainment we choose is not training us in how we think about our bosses.
Michael is a bumbling idiot. Do I regard my boss in that manner? How do I think about my boss? Do I pray for them?
Notice Paul says – ALL should REGARD their master as worthy of ALL respect.
How do you think about those in authority over you?
Terry has mentioned this before – Complaining in America is our national pastime.
Paul says in Philippians – Do everything (including your work) without arguing and complaining so that you might shine like stars in the universe.
Do you want to be employee of the month? Do you want to shine at work?
Do not join in on all the complaining that takes place there. Don’t complain about your boss. Don’t complain about the tedious nature of your work.
Now let’s look at Motivation…. Why should I give those in authority respect?
Motivation – Honor God’s name and his teaching
Regard your master (believing or unbelieving) with honor so that God’s name and his teaching would not be blasphemed.
God’s name is representative of his full being, his authority, and majesty.
Slaves when you honor your master you are honoring the majesty, authority and character of the living God.
When you honor your boss you are honoring God.
If you discredit your boss, you are discrediting God.
Honor your boss so that God’s teaching would not be blasphemed.
If you honor your boss, then your witness of the gospel will not be compromised.
It is not that the gospel loses its power – it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. What changes is the credibility of our personal witness.
In court one tactic of an attorney would be to call into question the credibility of the witness.
If a witness can be discredited then the jury might not listen to their testimony.
The gospel is already offensive. The gospel claims that all have sinned. No one is worthy of peace with God unless they repent of wrong doing and trust in the blood of Christ to pay the penalty for their sin.
If you are a believer in Jesus, you are a witness of the gospel. It has changed you, now let it affect how you operate in every sphere of life so that your credibility as a witness to the gospel would not be called into question.
Kevin Loss is a member of our church. He is also a retiree. He is a blessing and a challenge to me personally.
Each week he meets with a group of other men who are retired. They talk about all sorts of subjects politics, religion… I’m sure the weather as well.
Kevin worked with one particular man who is now part of this retiree group and he has had opportunity to share the gospel with this man who used to work for Kevin.
Would Kevin have influence in this man’s life if Kevin was complaining about work and complaining about his boss?
Maybe, but Kevin’s credibility as a witness would be called into question.
Kevin was a faithful employee and supervisor for many years and now he still has credibility in this man’s life because of the example that Kevin was at work.
Colossians 3:22-24 says. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Kevin’s story is not different from many of yours. You are honoring God. I tell you Kevin’s story to encourage you to keep laboring. Your labor under your boss is honoring your heavenly father and it is bringing credibility to your witness of the gospel.
Students let me challenge you for a moment. Your school is your work. Your teacher is your boss.
As you prepare to launch into the work force see your schoolwork as preparation. Not just instruction in the field of work you want but a chance to train to honor those in authority.
When you honor those in authority, you honor God’s name.
Conclusion
Fredrick Douglas was correct in his assessment – there was a WIDE GAP between the Christianity of Christ and the Christianity of the slave trade in our nation.
Abolitionists motivated by the gospel recognized this reality and labored to bring an end to this evil.
As God gives us opportunity for social change we want to be faithful. We work with Youth Horizons so that people might be free from poverty, free from broken relationships that have plagued their families. We work with Embrace to call parents to allow their children to experience life!
We must remember that Social Change is never our primary objective.
Slavery to sin is the greatest evil. If we have trusted Christ, we are now enslaved to his will. His call on our lives is to proclaim the gospel, work for the good of others, and respect our earthly authority.Every person is enslaved to something. The key is to pick the right master. If you have trusted Jesus he is your master. If you have not trusted Jesus, sin is your master and it will rule you.
Turn from sin as ask Jesus to rule over you.
Paul told the church, to respect your earthly authority is to honor God’s name and his teaching.
Your witness will gain credibility through the value of your work.
Respect those in authority over you, as you do you will honor God’s name and his teaching.
In every situation of our lives, let’s live faithfully under the YOKE of Christ, the perfect master and call those around us to come to him and find rest him.