Colossians 3:22

Colossians chapter 3, I’m going to read from verse 22 through chapter 4 verse 1. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flush, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons. Masters give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a master, in heaven. God blessed to us the reading of his sacred and precious word this morning. Many churches are deeply interested in social issues today. We might even say that they are preoccupied in many cases to neglect of spiritual matters. Churches expend great amount of energy. and also resources in campaigns against porn shops and abortion clinics. They have food kitchens, the feed the hungry, and homeless shelters to take care of the homeless. And for many churches, the preaching and teaching of God’s word is taking a back seat to these various social action programs which cater to a person’s earthly needs. What should we as a church think about all of this? Should the church be giving priority to modern social problems? Odd as it may seem, the answer really is right here in our text. Now, you may be startled to find Paul addressing this huge social problem that we find in our text. text slavery. One of the two men who brought this letter to Colossae was a man named Onesimus, who was mentioned in chapter 4 and verse 9 of this book. Onesimus, you recall, was the runaway slave, who earlier had runaway from his master, Philemon, who was a member. That master was a of this particular church in Colossi. But by God’s providence, he went to Rome. And by God’s providence, he met the Apostle Paul in Rome. And by God’s grace, he was saved and converted. So when Onesimus returns back to Colossi, he comes back evidently with two letters. One for the church, and one for his master. And so we have the book of Fulose. as well as the book here of Colossack. What would Paul have to say about this social issue of slavery? And remember, this is of primary concern to Onesimus, who is a slave. And there are slaves, obviously, in the church, or he wouldn’t address it here in our text. Now you can just imagine how many churches today would react to this situation. They’d probably be staging protests, setting up programs to help runaway slaves, spending huge amounts of money, maybe to purchase slaves back in order to free them and so forth. I want to talk about the Christian and social conditions from this text of Scripture. Now let me begin by saying this. You are confronted with the problem. problem of slavery as a social condition in the world. You find scripture addressing the subject here of slaves and masters. Now, Paul has been speaking about Christian behavior in the household. We’ve talked about husbands and wives. We’ve talked about parents and children. But there’s one more aspect that he has to deal with, and that that is slaves and masters. Slaves were often household servants, and therefore they were part of the family. The household, if you would, and they normally lived in the house with the family. Now, the word for servants here actually means slaves. It comes from a Greek word that means to bind. So we see these people were in bondage. Paul was not specifically addressing his. the case of hired servants will see that this certainly is applicable to business owners and workers. And we’ll be looking at Lord willing in the future, this text with regard to that aspect as well. But the meaning of servants is plain from verse 11 when he talks about that, you know, in Christ, there’s neither bond nor free, which means either a slave or someone who is not in slavery, someone who is free. not in any bondage. So we shouldn’t have any, shouldn’t be any question about what he’s talking about. Also, the fact that he mentions masters in verse 22, and also in chapter 4, verse 1. It should make it clear here that he’s addressing those who were owners of the slaves. So the slaves were considered the property of their owners. Thus, we must address the problem of slavery and how the Bible speaks about this social condition. Now, as we think about this, If you look at the society in which these people lived, slavery was a huge matter in the Roman Empire at this particular time. Slavery with all its associated evils was universally accepted in Paul’s date. It was considered the indispensable part of a civilized society. In fact, more than half the people you would meet on the streets in a great city like Rome or Coloss. say in this day and age would be slaves. Over 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire. Roman citizens considered work beneath their dignity. The Roman Empire was run on slave labor for the most part. Slaves were the laborers, the domestic servants, the clerks, the teachers, the doctors, the architects, the artists. They were involved in all areas of occupations here. Often slaves came from territories that were conquered by the Roman Empire, and these people were forced into slavery. So they could even be more educated and more cultured than their masters, but they were enslaved. Yet these slaves were brought and sold and used and discarded as heartlessly as as an animal would be used or a tool. Cato, the Roman statesman, put it this way. old slaves should be thrown on a dump. And when a slave is ill, do not feed him anything. It is not worth your money. Take six slaves and throw them away because they are nothing but insufficient tools. There’s no doubt that the early Christian churches had many slaves in the membership. And thus Paul addresses the subject here. So you find, Scripture addressing the subject of slaves and masters. Now, you find Scripture offends the moral sensibilities of some people by not outrightly condemning slavery. People are of an outrage that the Apostle here doesn’t utterly condemn slavery and demand it be eradicated. You know, people claim that slavery is clearly wrong and sinful, and therefore Christianity ought to denounce it. it violates the dignity of man, we’re told. It’s unfair to treat someone like that. All men should be viewed as equals. All men should be free. Things of this nature, we’re told. Some cast aside the scriptures because they think that if the scripture teaches slavery being allowable, that it must not be a very good religion. Why doesn’t Paul denounce slavery? Why doesn’t he say, you Christian slaves, escape from your masters, revolt. Seek refuge among those Christians who will help you. Why doesn’t Paul say, you Christian masters, give up your slaves? Do not be an owner of slaves. God disapproves of this. It’s sinful. Why don’t we read anything like that? Now, it’s an interesting case, as we mentioned before, Philemon and Onesimus. Phileman was a Christian slave owner along to Colossese, the church, the church of Colossi, and he had a slave named Onesimus. It seems Annesus stole something from him, some type of property, and then fled. And as we’ve already said, Onesimus ended up in Rome, meets Paul, and is converted. At this point, Paul writes the book of Philemon, and he has a perfect opportunity here to denounce slavery. However, Paul orders Onesimus to return to his master. As much as he could have used him in Rome, he says, I really would like to have kept him, but I can’t, because he’s not mine. He belongs to you, Philemon. So he sends Anesimus back, doesn’t he? He orders Onesimus to go back. He’s not allowed to remain free. Paul offers to pay back, Philemon, for what? But Onesimus stole. He requests that Philemon now treat Onesimus, not as someone is unprofitable to him, not as just an ordinary slave even. But remember, even though he’s your slave, he’s a brother in Christ. Keep that in mind, he says. Yet he doesn’t command the master to set his slave free. He doesn’t change Onesimus’s social status. Now, you might look at this, as you say, well, that just doesn’t seem right to me. It seems wrong. Well, let’s look at a couple of things in regard to this. The first thing I want you to do, look at Exodus with me. Let’s look at the law of God here. In chapter 22, there’s an interesting passage here that relates to the Old Testament civil laws, but I think it’s important to consider. It says here, if a man shall steal an ox or sheep, and kill it or sell it. He shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief be found breaking up and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him, for he should make full restitution. If he have nothing, then he shall be sold. for his theft. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox or ass or sheep, he shall restore double. Now the Old Testament ceremonial law or the civil law here does not denounce slavery, but you’ll notice that it carefully regulates slavery. It’s interesting. If you ever read God’s law carefully, there are no jails. Just read it sometimes. There are no jails. either got the death penalty or you had to make restitution. One or the other when you committed some type of crime. Now let’s take the crime of theft, which is what’s meant in here in his text. If a thief was caught and condemned by the judges, he had to make restitution. A penalty would be added to it. So you had to pay back more than you stole. If a man would steal any cattle, let’s say, the primary source of one’s wealth is their animals, and suppose you stole someone’s cattle and this stolen cattle are found in your custody, then you had to pay back double. You stole four cows, you had to return eight. If the thief had killed or sold the sheep or oxy had taken. Now you’re not getting the exact one that was stolen. Five ox for one, four sheep for one sheep. You know, theft under the law would not necessarily enrich you. It could impoverish you. If the thief is not able to make restitution, it had that interesting part in verse three. He has to be sold as a slave. Uh-oh. Probably the court of judges here assign. this person to be a slave to the person he stole from so that he had to work off his debt. That’s how he would make restitution. If the thief breaks in the house at night and you kill him, it says, well, that’s just too bad for the thief. If it breaks during the daylight and you can see him, that’s a different story, because you can take him to court and you know who he is and so forth. The only difference here I’ve seen would be if you’re, you’re, life was at stake. You might have to, if you had to, like, defend your family and do something of that nature. But frankly, let me say this. This seems far superior to our modern prison system, doesn’t it? I mean, after all, when do you ever find, very rarely, you ever find a judge, he says, well, you’re going to make restitution for this. There’s never any additional penalty. Nothing like paying back double or four times or five times. and the other Old Testament law provided, other Old Testament laws, provided for the fact of freedom of slaves after seven years. In chapter 21 and verse 2, and also during the year of Jubilee. Guess what? God’s law also said, even the slave gets one day off. He gets a day of rest on the Sabbath day. You can’t even work your slaves on the Sabbath day. they according to the law of God. So that’s what the scriptures indicate. What you should realize is the Bible doesn’t condemn slavery. It doesn’t condone slavery. It regulates it. Not all slavery was the same, like, race-based slavery of the civil war period that we find in the United States in the past. Scripture often takes an existing social condition in this evil world and regulates it without condoning it and without condemning it. The same thing comes with divorce in Deuteronomy 24. God regulates it. It doesn’t say that he’s happy with divorce. He says he hates divorce in the book of Malachi. But he regulates it. People often become outraged because they wish to dictate how God ought to deal with certain social conditions and it offends them that he doesn’t do it the way they think he should. should do it. What I’m saying is if God states it this way, then we should take a good look at this carefully and not be so quick to judge the matter. so you’re confronted here with the problem of slavery as a social condition. There’s no question about the fact that it existed at this particular time. and so we find God regulating things. Secondly this morning. You should realize Christianity does not directly attempt to change social conditions in the world. You find that scriptures take an indirect approach to social issues. Christians are not instructed here to agitate for the abolition of slavery. Paul doesn’t call for Christians to march down the streets holding signs saying down with slavery in Rome or elsewhere. You never find that. In fact, Even Christian slave owners are not commanded to free their slaves, even if the slaves are fellow members of the church. Now, the Reconstructionist clamor for Christians to have dominion over the world. Dominion and their viewpoint is really sort of rigid, rigorous, rigorous political rule. You read their literature. Christians should seek, we’re told, political power so they can force change on society at large. That’s the Reconstructionist approach. So the Reconstructionist bids Christians to take what I call a top-down approach. Where you’re heavy-handed approach where citizens are forced to comply under the threat of punishment by the government. That is not the biblical way. Political dominion over men seems to be completely contrary to what Christ said. Christ said his kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world. and that those who are great in his kingdom have to be servants and not have the like the Gentiles have rigid dominion over people. As we read in Matthew chapter 20. Political dominion is the way of the world. It’s not the way of the Christian. Christ’s kingdom is spiritual, unlike the other kingdoms of this world. My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, they would use force. John 1936. So the approach to ruling must be different, particularly in the church itself. So what I tell you this morning is this. The Bible uses what I call the indirect approach. Men’s hearts need to radically change and through the gospel, and then society will be changed. I call this the bottom-up approach. Instead of using the government to heavily-handedly change society, what the gospel does through the church, church is it changes people’s hearts so that people are changed on the ground level. And as the people on the ground level are changed, society can be changed. So we’re working from the bottom up. I think that is the biblical approach here. Indeed, the scriptures teach the very principles that ultimately would destroy slavery. In Christ, all social barriers are inevitably broken down. We study this in chapter 3. verses 10 and 11. There is, we were told here, no bond or free in Christ. We’re all equal in Christ. There is an equality of the slave and the master in the kingdom of God. We’re brothers in Christ. As Paul indicates to Philemon about Onesimus. There is an equality there. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. all things whatsoever you would that men do to you, do you even so to them. this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7.12. So the Apostle’s approach to this social problem is like the woodman. the woodsman comes along and he might strip off the bark from a tree and he leaves it to die. and that’s sort of the way Paul approaches. The trouble today is the church leaders are not applying the biblical method. They’re not following the Apostles’ approach here. We want direct action. We want immediate change. So they get away from preaching the gospel, which is really the only real method of changing the world in which we live. And they promote all sorts of social action programs instead. So you find the scriptures take an indirect approach to social issues. Now you find the slave is given here a new perspective on his place in society. As a slave, you have a new master. Look at verses 22 and 23. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye services, men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God, and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not on demand. Whatever indignity or shame or drudgery is associated with being a slave, it is mitigated by the fact that you’re to see yourself as a slave of Christ. look above your master to your true master, the Lord Jesus Christ. You are serving the one who loved you and gave himself for you, the one who redeemed you, the one who took away your sins. And by the scriptures, we’re told that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It makes your service much more pleasant and meaningful when you’re serving Christ. So your work is now elevated above the mundane labor that you’re doing. You’re serving the king of kings. It adds dignity to your work. And since you are serving Christ, your whole attitude toward your work and your master is different. You obey your master in all things that are lawful because you fear the Lord. You fear God. You want to serve Christ. You want to please and honor your ultimate master. Instead of being rebellious and putting on a pretense of faithfulness under the watchful eye, and as soon as he’s not watching, you do whatever you want to do or go contrary to your master, now you serve your master sincerely because you realize you’re really serving Christ. It doesn’t matter how common and mundane that task. You do it heartily. You do it as under the Lord. So as a slave you have a new master. As a slave, you have a promise of a great inheritance as a reward. Verse 24. Knowing that the Lord, knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ. This is said to encourage the Christian slave. Now normally slaves would labor and receive very little or nothing in return. for their labors, from their earthly masters. You can labor 30 or 40 years and have absolutely nothing to show for. There was no pension plan. There’s no retirement plan. No accumulated sick days. No vacation days. No hope for the future. When you became old and sick and weak and unproductive, you’re likely to be discarded and left to die. However, your new master here promises you a heavenly inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fath not away. That’s reserved for you in heaven. It’s called a reward, but it’s called a reward of the inheritance here. It’s a gracious, it’s graciously given to you. It’s unearned. It’s freely bequested to you by the Lord. But serving Christ, therefore, is beneficial for you for you, for you have a glorious future. And you can rest from your earthly labors and you enter into paradise. that’s the promise for the slave. The third thing he says here, with regard to the slave, as a slave you can expect a day of judgment in which all wrongs will be made right. In verse 25 and in 4.1. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect to persons. Masters give unto your servants that which is just an equal, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven. slaves are often mistreated. You can have a very cruel and heartless master. The slave has no recourse, but to endure it, what could he do? He can’t do anything about it. But Jesus Christ is a master who will judge the actions of all men, so that if you’re mistreated, Christ will even the score. He will straighten it out. He will judge this person. Christ often judges the wrongs that people do in this life, but you can be sure. Sure, on the day of judgment, there will be absolute justice needed out. Now, as a poor slave, mistreated by a cruel and harsh master, you can be confident that the evil done to you eventually is going to be punished. That’s an encouragement to the slave. So you should realize Christianity does not directly attempt to change social conditions in the world. My third thought this morning is this, you should glean some praise. practical implications from the social condition mentioned here in our text. And the first is this. Your social condition in this world is of secondary importance. You know, the Bible’s main interest is man’s relationship to God. It emphasizes that above everything else. The first table of the law, your relationship to God, takes precedence even over the second. day of the law, your relationship to your fellow man. And we should recognize this important point. People think the slavery issue should consider of primary importance, and they get all worked up because the scriptures don’t absolutely condemn it. But you should ponder what the scriptures actually do say about slavery, but realize this world, and all its social conditions are going to pass away. What does it matter if you were a master and slave in this life if you end up in hellfire at the end? People all are bothered about earthly things and are prone to forget that God is the one that we must be right with. The Christian doesn’t ignore social conditions, but they are considered of secondary importance. Let me ask you something. Doesn’t God’s providence control all the events in your life? If God deemed it, best for you to be a slave? Isn’t it because it was because of your ultimate good that he did that? Think about that a minute. Wasn’t it better for Oneness to be a slave? Wasn’t it God’s purpose that he be a slave? Serve Christ regardless of your social status. That’s the scriptural approach. The second thing is this. You should realize the primary business of the church is to expound the scriptures. The New Testament doesn’t call upon us to focus on reforming social conditions because that’s not the root cause of man’s problems. The issue is always the heart state of man. Wicked hearts will corrupt even the best human system you can come up with. A righteous one will improve the worst human conditions. The primary task of the Church is found in the Great Commission. We’re the disciple of the nations. We’re to baptize the disciples. and we’re to teach the disciples all the things that Christ has taught us. Christians are not called upon here to protest slavery and the church isn’t commanded to focus on social issues. Isn’t it because the church has lost its belief, its faith in the power of the gospel, the changed men’s hearts that were now just focusing on earthly concerns, and it fails to preach the word. If the church is going to have a true and lasting impact on society, it must return to expounding the scriptures. Now, if you desire to improve society, I suggest three things. The first is this pray. Pray for reformation. That God would open the eyes of the blind, prosperous word, change hearts, and in that way indirectly, begin to change the society in which you live. pray for divine judgment that Christ would crush the wicked with his rod of iron and expand the role of the righteous and destroy the enemies of the kingdom of God. Pray for a peaceful life. That God’s providence would protect and preserve his church regardless of who is in political power. My second thought, be salt and light in the world. Don’t isolate yourself. Try to be a godly influence wherever you are. Be salt in this way. Witness for Christ. Bring light of the gospel to the darkness that is around you. It is the means by which people are changed. Love your neighbor. As you have opportunity, do good on all men, as the scripture tells us. Change what you can. Set your own godly example before the world. See. Godly print that they might see godly principles and actions and do what you can to change the situation when you see inequity. The third thought, you have to wait upon God. The kingdom of God is said to be like leaven. It spreads by a process of permeation, by growth, by development. Things don’t suddenly change. The Reformation of society takes time. It takes patience because it takes change hearts. My friends, this word in which we live has a lot of bad social conditions. We don’t condone slavery. Neither the Scripture itself condone slavery. But Christianity changes the world indirectly. Because if the gospel really permeates the society, slavery will end. Your relationship to God takes precedence over social conditions. That’s the key factor in all that we deal with with regard to this world. It’s not whether you’re a slave or not that’s the key issue. The key issue is, are you serving Christ where you are? And that’s what he focuses upon in this text. Well, I hope this was helpful to you. Let us close with a word of prayer.