“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” [1]
Surely slavery can’t be a problem in our modern society, can it? Or is it possible that we have shut our eyes to the despair of our world? Something within the heart of fallen people wants to exert power over vulnerable people. Consequently, people are enslaved with alarming regularity.
Were you aware that slavery is still practised in at least fifteen nations around the world? [2] It should be no surprise to anyone living outside of the hermit kingdom that North Korea still enslaves people. Though the North Korean government doesn’t necessarily identify the forced servitude of those who are ensnared in their system as slavery, over one million North Koreans are nevertheless enslaved. These doleful souls are forced to provide free labour for the corrupt government.
Some may find it surprising to discover that India is estimated to have over eighteen million people enslaved. Often, entire families are enslaved, having been tricked into illegal debt and compelled to repay exorbitant fees to free themselves from the debt. Many of these “slaves” are forced overseas to work for a pittance in order to repay family debts.
Uzbekistan compels forced labour, a form of slavery, for over one million people. China forces over three million people to beg, sells children illegally or forces sexual slavery. Over one million Russian men, women and children are enslaved. Enslaved Russians are sold to countries such as South Korea, China, and Oman. Many of those sold as slaves are women sold into sexual slavery.
Among the other nations that enslave segments of the population are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Sudan, the Dominican Republic, Yemen, Iraq, and Indonesia. In these nations, children are often sold as slaves to labour in mines and on plantations. These child slaves provide cheap labour to mine the riches required by the wealthy nations of the world—gold and precious stones. In other instances child labourers paid a pittance harvest crops that are used to manufacture food items prized in the west—chocolate, cola nuts, sugar, and other such food stuffs. In other instances, children work as virtual slaves producing products that will be sold cheaply in western markets. Though it may make us uncomfortable, it is nevertheless true that in many instances, child labour—labour that is almost indistinguishable from slavery produces goods that we claim to need—recreational equipment and clothing, shoes and even some electronic equipment. If we can’t see it, then it is of no concern to us—or is it? Perhaps we should be asking questions about the goods we purchase. Perhaps we should be demanding an accounting from those marketing the goods we buy.
Be aware of a dark secret hidden from view of North American consumers. Many companies, especially companies that promote themselves as “woke,” are built on slave labour. Adidas AG, Hennes & Mauritz AB, Kraft Heinz Co., Coca-Cola Co., and Gap Inc. are among companies at the end of a long, often opaque supply chain that travels through China’s northwest region of Xinjiang. Residents there are routinely forced into training programs that feed workers to area factories. [3] Nike, Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung are among eighty-three multinationals that have been linked to forced labour by Uighurs in factories across China. According to researchers with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, more than eighty thousand Uighurs were transferred to work in Chinese factories between 2017 and 2019. [4] Other companies utilizing this slave labour include Tommy Hilfiger, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, General Motors, Google, and Huawei. [5]
It is perhaps somewhat surprising for some who listen today to learn that slavery is still somewhat common in the Philippines, in Guatemala and in Nigeria. In fact, data indicates there are more slaves in the world now than at any time in human history. [6] We cannot make the problem of slavery disappear by ignoring the reality of what is occurring in our world. Unlike Cain, we dare not say to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Slavery in North America, in one form or another appears with distressing regularity in news reports. Sometimes the slavery consists of forced labour of immigrants. While there is no state sanctioned slavery anywhere in North America, we nevertheless read about people who are reduced to slavery. What else could we call people who are brought into our nation and compelled to work as indentured servants until they have repaid their master? What else could we call it when people are not allowed to leave the home of those who sponsored them because their passports have been seized and because they are unfamiliar with our laws they are terrified of being discovered by the police? Trapped by fear and held in thralldom because an unscrupulous individual has seized their passport, these poor souls become slaves.
Often, authorities will learn of individuals enslaved by foreign nationals living in North America, but we also read of individuals compelled to work without pay. Those holding them hostage claim they must recoup what was spent to get the people here. These benighted souls are compelled to provide what is essentially slave labour to work off a debt that may never be paid. Sometimes these people are even coerced into prostitution. Though there are no slave markets on the Fraser River, we read with distressing regularity of young women and young men who are forced to sell their bodies, and the proceeds of those sales are given to a pimp who treats the one who is prostituted as though she or he is a commodity. And that is precisely what they have become! [7]
Let me hasten to say that those who purchase sexual services from the girls and boys who are prostituted on the streets of our cities and towns are participating in and perpetuating a form of slavery for their own perverted gratification. While the johns may argue that they are merely gratifying their (fallen) desires, they are treating the individual as though she or he was a slave with no independent existence. Those wicked men and women who use prostitutes are promoting slavery.
In the same way, whenever you search out pornography and fill your mind with the degrading images, know that many of those pictured are forced into a form of slavery, whether through need or through coercion. I am aware that some women who perform sex acts in pornographic films claim to do so voluntarily. However, many of those who participate in the production of pornography are enslaved by emotions distorted through drug abuse or emotions twisted through betrayal by men, and women as well, who should have been protectors. Therefore, those who view pornography are guilty of perpetuating and promoting slavery. We have witnessed the accusations levelled against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, accusations that accuse both of these individuals of preying on young women, treating them as virtual slaves for high-profile men.
I understand that the text speaks of God’s deliverance of Israel based upon His relationship with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. While I would not think to detract from God’s love for His ancient people, the principle remains that the LORD is opposed to the issue of slavery. I understand that He permitted slavery in ancient Israel, but even a casual reading of the Word makes it clear that God does not approve of enslaving any people. The text is worthy of our careful consideration.
GOD HEARS — At the outset, it will prove beneficial to ask what is the value of a slave—how much does it cost to purchase a slave? It is estimated that during the days of the Antebellum South a slave would have been valued at what is the equivalent of one hundred fifty thousand US dollars in today’s currency. [8] Contrast that to the value of a slave in our world today. According to Kevin Bales, Professor of Contemporary Slavery at Britain’s University of Nottingham, in those nations that permit slavery in this day, even if the slavery is hidden in the shadows, the average cost of a slave is just ninety dollars. These slaves range in value from seven dollars for a Rohingya refugee to seven hundred fifty dollars for a North Korean “slave wife.” [9]
Think about that! Ninety dollars is the average price for a slave. In the eyes of this fallen world, the worth of a person created in the image of God is ninety dollars! And in some despicable instances, a slave is worth only seven dollars. Islamic savages who claimed to be setting up a modern caliphate bartered captured women—Yazidi, Kurds, and even the occasional western woman trapped by the fighting. Many of these women were not even in their teens; and some were sold for amazingly low prices—a pistol or three banknotes, so they could be used as sex objects for these filthy men. [10]
In the days when Israel was held captive, we read that “God knew.” In the same way, we may be assured that God knows the pain experienced by those enslaved in this day. Those nations that encourage slavery through ignoring what is done need to know that the LORD knows the evil that they impose upon others. Does Saudi Arabia prosper as they treat Filipinos as virtual slaves? Do Saudi princes imagine that they will continue to amass fortunes as they enslave Indians desperate for work in order to provide for their families? When children are held in thralldom in the Congo, in Pakistan, in Sudan, or in the Dominican Republic, will these nations escape divine judgement? And when young women are enslaved by drug dealers or by pimps so that they must sell their bodies on the streets of our great cities in North America, can we imagine that God will continue to bless Canada or the United States? Will God turn a blind eye to what we tolerate in our own nation? Will He pretend that we are not complicit in this evil?
I have no way of knowing whether my words may reach the ear of someone held in slavery. Should my words somehow, and by the mercies of the Living God, reach the ear of one who serves as an indentured servant, having sold themselves into slavery, or whether my words are brought to the attention of one of the child labourers who are truly enslaved by those who cobble shoes or sew clothing, or a child enslaved by those who compel them to dig for diamonds or precious medals, or whether my words somehow awaken the soul of a young woman enslaved by a ruthless and cruel pimp who forces her to sell her body—that one who is enslaved needs to hear that he or she is not forgotten. Though men may ignore your cries, there is a God in Heaven, and He hears your cry for freedom. You are not alone; God hears your silent sob and He counts your tears.
What is essential to understand for anyone who hears my words is that God is not blind to this evil that continues to plague the earth. Earlier in the Book of Exodus, we read of God’s knowledge of the suffering Israel endured. Scripture informs us, “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” [EXODUS 2:23-25].
When the Lord sent Moses as a deliverer, the message he carried was that God knew. Thus, Moses was instructed, “Gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt”’” [EXODUS 3:16].
The slaves needed to know that the LORD heard their groaning! Israel had been enslaved for centuries! Throughout those long, dark years of enslavement, the nation that enslaved them was heaping up sin upon sin, and during the entire time, the slaves groaned and cried out for deliverance. The Word does not say that they cried out to God, and yet the LORD heard their groaning. God knew their pain, the grief in which they drowned because their freedom was brutally stripped from them. Because their slavery had lasted so long, it is likely that they had lost hope. The account provided appears to reveal a people who were beaten into submission, a people who were cowed into silence, a people who didn’t want to rock the boat—they just wanted to survive another day. Nevertheless, God knew; and God knows the sorrow, the heartache, the desperation experienced by those enslaved in this present day.
It should be evident that God knows the sorrow of the enslaved; He hears their groaning. God knows the pain of the young woman who is prostituted, her body no longer her own as she is owned by a pimp and sold to wicked individuals who seek a moment of self-pleasure. And God knows the silence of those who permit such slavery to continue. Even those who participate in such slavery know they are acting wickedly.
During my days in San Francisco, I was sometimes asked to visit families living in an area of the city known as “The Tenderloin.” The Tenderloin was a district containing a large number of massage parlours, striptease joints, and other such places. Almost any sexual activity was available for a price. On one occasion, I was asked to visit a couple in the Tenderloin. I took with me a large Panamanian man from the congregation named Armando.
As we passed one striptease show, the barker pulled back the curtain and said, “Come on in, gentlemen. We have every kind of pleasure for your enjoyment.”
I don’t know what happened, but I sort of snapped. The Spirit of God seemed to capture my heart, and I turned to confront the man. I accused him of being a bully and a coward. That barker was quite a bit bigger than Armando, and Armando weighed a good three hundred pounds. He was pretty solidly built, but that barker was larger still. Armando grabbed my arm and began to pull me away, saying, “Come on, Mike. Just leave him alone. Let’s get out of here.”
I suppose that would have been the sensible thing to do, but I wasn’t ready to quit. So, I continued to get in the face of that barker who was clearly agitated, and now was becoming menacing toward me. He uttered a few threats and moved toward me.
At that moment, I said, “Shame on you! What if that was your daughter taking off her clothes to let filthy men leer at her? What if that was your wife doing disgusting things for those wicked men? Would you sell you daughter that cheaply?”
To our utter amazement, that big man fell to his knees in front of Armando and me and began to weep. At last, he gasped out, “I’d kill her. I’d kill my daughter before I let her do that.”
Seizing the moment, I growled, “Then you should be ashamed. You’ll sell some other man’s daughter, but you’d rather kill your own little girl before you let her do that. She has a mother somewhere that is heartbroken at the thought that her daughter is being sold in this manner. She has a father somewhere that weeps at the thought that his little girl has been sold for the disgusting amusement of evil people. Shame on you!”
Armando relaxed somewhat at this point and suggested that the barker should read the Bible, and maybe he should come to our church. I offered to pray with the man and suggested that it was time for him to find an honourable occupation that didn’t include bartering the souls of young women. We watched him get up from his knees and begin a long walk away. We prayed that it would be a walk into decency and continued on to the appointment we had made to visit in that area.
I remember a visit I had with a young woman in New Westminster. She was incarcerated, picked up for prostitution. She was sixteen years of age, and was addicted to heroin. I don’t recall precisely how I received the call to visit her and to speak with her about the Saviour, but it was common in those days that I would receive requests to visit people who were in jail or who were fighting addictions. As I visited with this young woman, I spoke to her of Christ, telling her that the Saviour was able to set her free. The Son of God would receive her as she was, delivering her from bondage.
At this, tears began to silently fall from the young woman’s eyes and roll down her cheeks. She said, and I cannot ever forget her words, “I’ve never known a man who accepted me for who I am. I’ve never known a man who didn’t want something from me.” Does that revelation break your heart? It should!
I assured that young woman that the Saviour was a gentleman. He asked nothing of her, but He had already revealed His love for her by taking her brokenness upon Himself and giving His life as a sacrifice to set aside her sin. I assured her that her cries for freedom had been heard. I wasn’t telling her that the Saviour was a “get out of jail free card.” I was adamant, however, in telling her that she would be free from her bondage to sin and accepted into the Family of God. What she had been was of no import to the Master because He was focused on what she would become.
Perhaps you recall an incident that occurred during Jesus’ ministry in Judea. In Luke’s Gospel, we read, “One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner’” [LUKE 7:36-39]. The Pharisee knew “what sort of woman” she was? How did he know? Had he done nothing to set her free from that lifestyle?
Jesus, however, actually knew all about her. And He did the unexpected! He forgave her sin. So, Jesus spoke to his host, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And Simon answered, “Say it, Teacher” [LUKE 7:40].
Then, Jesus told a parable and drew a conclusion that stunned those listening. Jesus said, “‘A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.’ And he said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ And he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this, who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace’” [LUKE 7:41-50].
GOD KNOWS — Some sixteen hundred years ago the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus wrote, “The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind small.” [11] Much later in history, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translated the seventeenth century poem, “Göttliche Rache,” penned by Friedrich Van Logau. The poem reads,
“Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all.” [12]
The quote finds even earlier expression in the writings of the Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, who wrote, “Wheels of justice grind slow, but grind fine.” [13]
Ultimately, the society that condones slavery will itself be enslaved. That society may not be conquered by invaders and the people themselves enslaved, but the society which permits slavery to continue unchecked will find their own hearts increasingly held in bondage by attitudes that are more constricting, attitudes that are more restrictive, than can ever be imposed through binding with any chain of steel.
Those who suffered under the brutal tyranny of Nazi Germany may have wondered how long they would suffer during the dark days that began in 1939. To be certain, the situation appeared tenuous as the Allies moved at what must have felt to be a glacial speed in rolling back Nazi occupying forces beginning in Africa and covering much of Europe. However, from the standpoint of the Lord God, there was never any doubt that the brutal regime would be defeated. The wickedness of the National Socialist regime was known by God, and when He at last permitted the Allies to defeat the Nazis, the devastation to the German people was awesome, frightening, terrifying.
God knows when evil people oppress others on the earth, and you may be assured that He knows when His people are mistreated. Because God knows, we can be confident that He will not always permit such wickedness to continue unchecked. Be assured that the Living God is offended when wicked people oppress others; and when the wicked enslave others, God knows. To verify this truth, one need but consider the Jewish people. In the 1800s, the Kaiser of Prussia asked his head adviser if he could prove the existence of God. Otto Von Bismarck replied, “The Jews, sir, the Jews.”
God’s Chosen People suffered as slaves for over four hundred years, just as God had said. You will remember that God told Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve” [GENESIS 15:13-14 NET BIBLE].
Throughout the long years, individuals were born into slavery and died as slaves during that dark time in the history of Israel; and yet, God watched and grieved over the pain of His people. We don’t understand why the Lord acts as He does, but we are confident that He will at last act. We can’t fully comprehend God’s justification for allowing the Amorites to live without immediately judging them. Yet, the LORD said, “The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit” [GENESIS 15:16b NET BIBLE].
Thus, we can’t understand why God didn’t act according to our timetable. However, He did act when the time was right. Throughout the long years as Israel waited, God was still God; He was extending mercy to a people that we might not imagine deserved mercy. Peter speaks to that issue when He looks forward to the judgement of God on a broken, sinful world, as he writes, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” [2 PETER 3:9].
We can’t adequately explain why the LORD permitted Israel to be enslaved, but we recognize that when He at last delivered them He revealed mercy toward them even as He devastated the Egyptians. No one can adequately explain why God permitted slavery to exist in the British Colonies, slavery that persisted until the last vestige of slavery was ended through disastrous civil conflict in the United States. What any one with a modicum of historical understanding understands is that an awful price was exacted of the States as they engaged in that prolonged and bloody conflict. The death of thousands of men and women, the maiming of thousands more, and the economic devastation that hindered advancement for decades was an awful price to pay.
No one can explain why God permits the scourge of slavery to persist in Muslim countries today, but it is obvious that the lack of social progress and the failure to assume leadership among the nations is an awful price for those nations to pay for their continued enslavement of people to this day. It would be a fool’s errand to imagine that we can explain why God permits Islamists to justify enslaving women to this day. However, we know that ultimately, those who do such evil deeds must give an accounting to the Lord.
Over a decade ago, I preached a sermon that questioned why God delays judgement. In that sermon, I told the story that made an impression on me as a young Christian. This is that story. The account is related of a tyrant who cruelly oppressed the Faith during the days of the Roman emperors. As one saint of God was haled before that wicked man, the ruler gloated, “Now where is your God, Christian?” The saint of God responded with measured tone, “God is driving nails in your coffin, O tyrant.” [14] That is true of those who enslave others, as well. Know that there is a day of reckoning.
I am confident that the Living God knows when people are enslaved. He knows the sorrow of the child who is compelled to toil at tiresome, tedious labour to produce sporting equipment for wealthy westerners. God knows when the child is driven to sickness because she must produce stylish clothing for teenage lotharios prancing along Canadian avenues. God knows the stolen childhood so wealthy corporations can provide a rich dividend to investors. Make no mistake, God knows.
God knows the shame and the sorrow in the heart of the young woman compelled to sell her body to enrich some despicable pimp who will use her until she is worn out and then cast her aside as some worthless item of refuse. God knows the situation resulting from the sleazy individual prowling the streets of our great cities looking for a young person on whom he can pour out his lust. God knows the grief and that attends the young person sent into African mines to moil and muck in the dirt for the treasures buried there. God knows the slavery imposed on those who should be free.
GOD ACTS — God will not always ignore the suffering of those souls who are enslaved. There is a point when God will hold the slaver to task. Though the slave may suffer, and undoubtedly the enslaved do suffer, those who take advantage of the slave will suffer divine retribution. Throughout the entire period when the slaver holds anyone in bondage against their will, that slaver is losing a part of his or her soul. The slaver is progressively becoming less than human. The slaver is destroying her own soul. But that is not the worst thing about the degrading action of anyone who enslaves another human—the slaver is preparing her own eternal destruction.
The Revelator saw the demise of Babylon the Great. As he described the destruction of that vast system, he wrote, “The merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls” [REVELATION 18:11-13].
Until reading the final item of trade, the list appears to be just a list of commercial goods that are sold, either in that ancient world or in this present world. All the trade items listed are rather commonplace, until we read that final recognition of the trade in “slaves, that is, human souls.” It wasn’t enough to say that people were enslaved, John compels us who read what he has written to witness that through the slavery, human souls are bartered, and destroyed. It is a reminder that enslaving another is destructive of the soul. Slavery degrades both the one enslaved and the one who enslaves.
I don’t want to make too fine a point, but there is a difference between an indentured servant and a slave, a difference that defines one who sells herself or himself into servitude and one who is enslaved against the will of that one. The Bible does speak of those who enter into a form of slavery for a period, or who sell themselves as what we now recognize as indentured servants. However, the Lord established protections for the person who was thus enslaved. Those who received the services of the one who sold himself or herself into such servitude were not permitted to take advantage of those in their care. The master of such people was to see himself more as an overseer responsible before God for the welfare of the individuals under his oversight. That this was the case becomes evident from Paul’s admonition when writing the saints in Colossae. He wrote, “Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” [COLOSSIANS 4:1].
Our view of slavery in the Bible is coloured by what we see in this day. However, there is little comparison between the two periods. First of all, slavery as defined in the Bible is not racially motivated; present day slavery, at least the slavery we normally encounter, is racially motivated. There were laws in the Old Testament to guard Hebrew slaves who served Hebrew masters; there are few laws protecting slaves in this present day. The Mosaic Law granted slaves freedom after six years of service if they chose freedom. Granted, this refers to Hebrew slaves and does not address slaves serving in Roman household. Modern day slaves have no possibility of freedom.
Throughout the Bible, the slaves we encounter are treated with dignity as a member of the household. Abraham entrusted his slave to oversee his household and even to find a wife for his son Isaac. Hagar, the mother of Abraham’s son Ishmael, was Sarah’s servant. As difficult as it may be for us to understand, slavery as described in the Bible was often self-chosen. Sometimes a person opted for slavery to pay off a debt. At other times, slavery was chosen as the way for a person to earn his or her livelihood.
The New Testament teaches that we are to regard ourselves as slaves of Christ the Lord. We are not chained and treated miserably as His slaves; we are members of His household and treated as sons of the Living God. For this reason, we must never allow ourselves to imagine that we can treat any person as less than a person. We are accepted in Christ as His servants, and we must treat others as we would ourselves be treated.
You also have a Master in heaven. Remember that! It is doubtful that what is written in the Word has any impact on the world at large, but what is written should have a decisive impact on those of us who claim to know the Saviour. We claim the Risen Saviour as Master. If we fail to act according to His revealed will, are we not culpable? Have we not positioned ourselves to be judged for our own wicked acts. At the best, we are ignorant, and ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse. More realistically, we are acting presumptuously, and presumptuous sin invites the most scathing condemnation from the Risen Saviour. Let the wise take warning.
There is a truth that can guide us so that we avoid even giving tacit approval of reducing any person to an object, mere chattel to be bartered. The truth that can guide us is found early in the Word of God. In the first chapter of the Bible, we read:
“God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.”
[GENESIS 1:27]
People are created in the image of God. All people have equal standing before the Creator. All alike are equally sinners and in need of redemption, and Christ the Lord has provided salvation for all who will receive the free gift of life. Therefore, we read, “To this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe” [1 TIMOTHY 4:10].
We have a mandate to carry the message of life to all mankind, as revealed in the Commission our Risen Saviour delivered to all who follow Him. Jesus commands, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:19-20].
In a practical sense, and in light of the message delivered this day, the revelation of our origin teaches us that we stand before God as equals—each person, male and female, regardless of race or nationality, is equally important and of equal value before the Living God. Since this is true, we must never imagine that one race is superior or another inferior. We must never imagine that women are inferior to men in any aspect or that men assume some superiority by virtue of a higher testosterone level. We recognize differing responsibilities before the Lord, and we recognize differing opportunities, but we confess equality in value before God Who gives us life. Understanding this truth, no follower of the Christ can ever approve of slavery, not even of a slavery that appears incidental because we have casually relegated someone to a position of inferiority in our own mind. We are responsible to declare freedom in Christ to all mankind, and we are obligated to receive one another as equal before the Lord as God brings others into the life of the assembly.
We who are Christians are taught, “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” [ROMANS 15:7]. God expects that His people will demonstrate the reality of His new Kingdom by refusing to embrace the ideas of this fallen world. We must never treat another person as less than the individual who was on the heart of the Master as He gave His life as a sacrifice for fallen people. We must not permit ourselves to reduce a fellow human to a mere piece of meat in our mind or in our practise.
And that brings us to the point of the message. Have you come to faith in the Son of God? Have you heard that He died because of your broken condition? Have you surrendered pursuing your own desires and begun to pursue what honours the Risen Saviour? The Word of God calls each of us to faith in Christ as Lord over life. This is the Word of the Lord who invites all who are willing to life. “If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved. The Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will never be ashamed.’ There is no difference between Jew and Greek, because they all have the same Lord, who gives richly to all who call on him. ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” [ROMANS 10:9-13 ISV].
For each one who has received Christ as Lord, ensure that you are not treating anyone as inferior to you before the Lord. Watch that you don’t begin to give even tacit approval to such a dreadful attitude. Make it your determination that within this assembly, all who come will be welcomed, and each alike will be invited to freedom in Christ. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Data for this argument is found at, Angie Harvey, “15 Countries Where Slavery Is Still Legal,” Jun 11, 2017, https://www.theclever.com/15-countries-where-slavery-is-still-legal/, accessed 12 February 2020
[3] Eva Dou and Chao Deng, “Western Companies Get Tangled in China’s Muslim Clampdown,” Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2016, https://www.wsj.com/articles/western-companies-get-tangled-in-chinas-muslim-clampdown-11558017472, accessed 20 July 2020
[4] Simina Mistreanu, “Study Links, Nike, Adidas and Apple to Forced Uighur Labor,” Forbes, Mar 2, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/siminamistreanu/2020/03/02/study-links-nike-adidas-and-apple-to-forced-uighur-labor/#19f9be0a1003, accessed 20 July 2020
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ann M. Simmons, “There are more slaves now than any time in human history, NY Daily News, Sep 19, 2017, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/slaves-time-human-history-article-1.3506975, accessed 15 February 2020
[7] Cf. “Our Model for Freedom,” https://www.freetheslaves.net/our-model-for-freedom/slavery-today/, accessed 15 February 2020
[8] Matt Davis, “5 ways of valuing a human being,” 03 August, 2019, https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/value-of-human-being?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5, accessed 15 February 2020
[9] Emma Batha, “How much is a life worth, ask activists fighting slavery?” November 16, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-slavery-conference-lives/how-much-is-a-life-worth-ask-activists-fighting-slavery-idUSKBN1DG2O4, accessed 15 February 2020
[10] Cathy Otten, “Slaves of Isis: the long walk of the Yazidi women,” The Guardian, Tue 25 Jul 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/25/slaves-of-isis-the-long-walk-of-the-yazidi-women, accessed 24 April 2020
[11] https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/59/messages/975.html, accessed 26 January 2020
[12] Cf. “Mills of God,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mills_of_God, accessed 26 January 2020
[13] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/74930-wheels-of-justice-gind-slow-but-grind-fine, accessed 26 January 2020
[14] Michael Stark, “Why Does God Delay Judgement?” The sermon is still found on Faithlife Sermons, https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/33628-why-does-god-delay-judgement, accessed 27 June 2020
