Colossians 3:22-4:1 Series

Above All: Colossians 3:22-4:1

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

08-07-2022

Got it Wrong?

Recently, a former student of mine posted on Facebook a question that caught my attention. This is what he wrote:

“If the Bible got it wrong on slavery, can we really trust anything the Bible says?”

Does the Bible, “get it wrong” on the the issue of slavery? Can we trust the Word of God on all the other hot-button issues?

My challenge to us today is that the Word of God can be trusted and that if we study what the Bible says about slavery closely, we will discover Paul’s revolutionary approach to dismantling the institution from the inside out.

Review

In chapter three, Paul has been making the case that believers in Jesus have taking off the old nature and have put on the new nature and that changes how we do relationships in the church and in the home.

Last week we learned that wives should submit voluntarily to their husbands and trust their leadership.

Husbands should love their wives well avoid being harsh with them.

Children should obey their parents because it pleases the Lord and it teaches them to come under authority.

Parents, in particular, fathers, are not to exasperate their children and cause them to lose heart.

That Paul included these “household codes” is not strange but his focus on the Lordship of Christ in these relationships was revolutionary.

The third pair that Paul gives instruction to are slaves and masters.

We are going to look at the difference between slavery in Paul’s time and our idea of slavery.

We will look at the directions he gives to both slaves and masters.

We will learn about a runaway slave named Onesimus.

We will apply these principles to our work life as well.

Turn with me to Col 3:22.

Prayer.

Words to Slaves

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. (Col 3:22-25)

This was not the type of slavery that we think about in the history of our country. I think the first time I learned about slavery was watching the Roots miniseries when I was a kid. It was brutal bondage that defied human decency. More recently, “Twelve Years a Slave” or “Django Unchained” highlighted the evil of what southerners called the “peculiar institution.”

It’s been estimated that at that time, one third of every person were slaves and that there were over 50 million slaves in the Roman Empire.

Slaves were of all races and ages. You could become a slave by being captured in war, by being in debt, or by choice. Slaves were manual laborers but also were high ranking government officials (Joseph, Daniel) They ran business and households. They were educated, something more highly educated than their master. Some slaves even had their own servants. And slavery was temporary, not life-long bondage.

But it was still sin for one human being to own another like an animal. So why didn’t Paul simply say that Christians were going to abolish slavery?

Because complete emancipation would have caused the breakdown of the society. The Bible doesn’t condone slavery it regulates it much like the Bible doesn’t condone divorce but it gave rules to do when divorce happened.

Instead Paul sets in motion Biblical decrees that undermined the very nature of slavery and ultimately led to its death and it was Christians like William Penn and William Wilberforce that helped bring that about in our country and England.

Paul addresses the slaves in the church at Colossae showing that there were both slaves and masters that had become new creations through the Gospel.

Paul considers slaves morally responsible human beings that have responsibilities when it came to living out their faith.

I can image the look of wonder on their faces when they were included in these household instructions.

“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.” (Col 3:22) 

Paul addressed the slaves in the church in Ephesus was well:

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.” (Eph 6:5-6)