Category Archives: Slaves

Bible, Bondslaves, Masters, Pleasing, Scripture, Slaves

DON’T BE A PEOPLE PLEASER

COLOSSIANS 3:22

“Slaves, obey those who are your human masters in everything, not with eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.”

I had a boss one time who did not like to see any of his employees sitting around. Even though all the tasks were done, he thought we should be doing something. We all learned to hop up and get busy the second any of us saw his truck coming down the street. Don’t get me wrong, we all worked hard. He was just very demanding. Some bosses are like that.

Paul turns to the topic of slaves and masters, a topic that most of us have never had to deal with personally. Spiros Zodhiates, in his Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, says this about this topic in his introduction to Colossians. “The occasion of the writing and sending of this Epistle was that of Paul sending a messenger to Philemon in Colossae in connection with his runaway, but now converted, slave, Onesimus (Colossians 4:7-9).”

APPLICATION

How do we apply verses about slavery to our 21st century lives? Well, it’s the principles taught. Remember, every word of God’s Word is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). Who are you trying to please? That’s the question Paul was raising for the slaves. These slaves were Christians, but they were still slaves. They were to please God first and allow Him to handle their masters.

And Paul says they are to “obey…in everything.” The word “obey” is the same word he used in verse 20 regarding children obeying their parents. When Paul says to obey everything, that meant these slaves couldn’t pick and choose what they obeyed. I am sure Paul did not mean to imply they should participate in ungodly, sinful behavior to please their masters. That would go against the very principles he had been teaching. But every other task they were assigned should be completed.

We are going to see more verses on this topic over the next few days. Paul spent a considerable amount of time on this because the Roman world, which was seeing more and more Christians come to faith, was full of slaves. These slaves needed guidance on how to live their new faith in their present circumstances. We will see how this applies to us, as well.

Father, I am Your slave, Your bondservant and am committed to please You above all.

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Bible, Harm, Masters, Scripture, Slaves, Threats

NO THREATS

EPHESIANS 6:9

“And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

Have you ever threatened anyone or been threatened by someone? Threats are not to be taken lightly. I had to cancel a trip out of the country within the past year due to threats of harm. There are people who will kidnap, harm or even kill you just because you are a Christian. When threatened, we need to take precautions. And heaven forbid if we are the one threatening.

Paul instructs the masters (slave owners) to moderate their behavior towards their servants or slaves. Notice he did not tell them he had to set them all free, even though that happened some. Instead, he said to “give up threatening” them. Why? Because these believing slaves had the same heavenly Master as they did. They were both children of the King. We should never threaten family, should we?

APPLICATION

This word for “threatening” is only used two other times in the New Testament. Once is in Acts 4:29 which reads, “And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant it to Your bond-servants to speak Your word with all confidence,” This is the passage where Peter and John had been arrested and then released by the religious leaders. They knew God had heard the threats that had been made against them and that He would protect them.

Later in the book of Acts, this same word is used to describe Saul (before he became Paul). In Acts 9:1 it says, “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,” Paul was madder than a wet hen about these new believers. He felt his way of life was under attack, so he was letting them know he was coming after them. Isn’t it funny that right after Paul’s conversion he too was threatened and people tried to kill him.

There is never a reason for us to threaten someone with harm. I am not saying you can’t defend yourself. That could happen. But we should never be the aggressor. And if you are a boss, for goodness sake, don’t threaten your employees. You may have to discipline or even fire someone, but that does not call for threats. Follow Paul’s example here in today’s verse.

Lord, forgive me when I have threatened others with my attitude or unkind words.

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Bible, Bosses, Scripture, Service, Slaves

GOODWILL

EPHESIANS 6:7

“With goodwill render service, as to the Lord, and not to people,”

I really like my job. I have the opportunity to invest in the lives of men all over the world through our ministry (Every Man A Warrior). If you don’t know about us, check us out at www.everymanawarrior.com. Because I love my job, it does not feel like a job. It’s a lifestyle. I am nearing retirement age but haven’t decided what I should do about that. I really enjoy the ministry God has given me. That’s why today’s verse rang true for me.

Paul continues his address to slaves and masters by telling the slaves, “with goodwill render service.” The Greek word for “goodwill” is only used one time in the New Testament – right here in today’s verse. The word is eunoia which can be translated goodwill, kindliness or enthusiasm.” Paul reminds them they are working for Jesus, not their masters. It is He they are pleasing.

APPLICATION

To “render service” (douleuó) is the verb form of the Greek word for “slave” (doulos). Douleuó means to serve voluntarily or involuntarily. It also means that you have given up all of your personal ownership rights to someone else. Now, think about that for a minute. Isn’t that exactly what we are asked to do when we come to Christ? We place our lives in His hands and allow Him to mold and make us into the image He desires. At least, that is what we are supposed to do.

So, if we are supposed to do that with goodwill, we can’t be moaning and complaining about it, can we? Remember the definition of this word. It can mean enthusiasm. Have you ever met someone who was enthusiastic about their job? My wife and I had a server recently at a restaurant who served with goodwill. She greeted us cheerfully. She was observant of our needs during our meal. She even brought us “to go” drinks without being asked. That’s enthusiastic. That’s goodwill.

If you are working for a boss, can you serve them that way? Maybe you have been complaining a little too much lately. Maybe you have just been a little slack in your work effort. Serve them as unto the Lord. You are working to please Him, not them. And give thanks to the Lord for your boss, whether they are good or bad. Pray for them. That pleases our Lord.

God, I do want to serve You and my employer with goodwill, knowing that it pleases You.

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Bible, Bosses, Employee, Masters, Scripture, Slaves

HOW TO SERVE YOUR BOSS

EPHESIANS 6:5

“Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;”

I have never been one to slack off work just because the boss wasn’t around, but I have known others who were like that. I had a job once that involved working with a partner. Let’s just say my work ethic and his didn’t exactly match. He was always wanting to take longer breaks and was late just about every day after his lunch break. But when the boss was around, he was a busy bee.

Paul addresses the slaves/masters or employer/employee relationship in today’s verse. In Paul’s first century world, it was common for slaves and masters to both come to Christ, thus affecting their relationship. Paul tells the slaves to remain obedient. They should not take their relationship as brothers or sisters in Christ to cause a problem in their “work” relationship. Those last three words of the verse are key – “as to Christ.”

APPLICATION

There are really a lot of verses about work in the Bible. We are told to work as unto Christ. Let’s look at a few, and as we do, assess how you are doing (if you are still gainfully employed). In 1 Timothy 6:1-2 we read, “1All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against. 2 Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers or sisters, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles.”

In 1 Peter 2:18, Peter addresses the same issue. “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are harsh.” Oooh, this is a hard one. It is easy to follow a leader or boss who is kind and fair, but the ones who aren’t make it quite challenging. But the Word is the Word, right?

The parallel passage to today’s verse is found in Colossians 3:23-24. “23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” I think it is pretty clear. As slaves or employees, we are to serve our masters/employers well. Why? Because we are serving a higher authority. We want to please Him in all that we do.

Father, forgive me when I have not served my bosses well. Help me be an obedient and submissive servant.

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Battles, Bible, Enemies, Enslavement, Freedom, Oppression, Rescue, Salvation, Scripture, Slaves

IT WAS FOR FREEDOM

GALATIANS 5:1

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Why do people fight wars? Most of the time it is for freedom. One group is trying to force another group to live a certain way, to surrender to their army, to deny their beliefs in favor of another. It’s almost always one group trying to force their will on another. We will see in today’s verse that spelled out so clearly.

Paul is emphatically stating that freedom is ours. That is why Christ died – to set us free. But from what? Well, he states that in the second part of the verse. He says, “do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Here he is referring, of course, to the slavery of the law. The law was forcing these young believers to follow the old Mosaic law, which Christ has set them free from. He was the final, perfect sacrifice for all mankind. They were free.

APPLICATION

All over the world today, Christians are facing the loss of their freedom – freedom to worship, freedom to share Jesus. Check out The Voice of the Martyrs website (www.persecution.com) to read some of the stories they share about these saints. We often think this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the 21st century. How wrong we are.

What else does God’s Word say about our freedom? Jesus explains it so well in the gospel of John. John 8:31-36 says, “31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ 33 They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, “You will become free”?’ 34 Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.’”

There is really nothing else to add to that. Jesus said it all. The Son sets you free. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Aren’t you glad? No longer slaves. We’ve been set free! Sin has no more power over us. The penalty of sin has been removed. Praise His holy name.

Lord, I give You praise for the freedom You have given me in and through Christ. 

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Allegory, Bible, Chains, Devil, Encouragement, Freedom, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Law, Scripture, Slaves

ALLEGORY PART 1 – HAGAR

GALATIANS 4:24

“This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar.”

I have to admit that I am not a grammatical genius. If you have read many of my blogs, you have probably already figured that out. Right? So, I looked up the definition of allegory. “It is a figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principal object is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances.” – Webster. Thank you, Mr. Webster! I am sure we all understand it now.

Paul tells us plainly that he is going to be speaking “allegorically.” This Greek word is only used one time in the New Testament. It literally means to speak publicly something other than. Paul is going to be comparing the story of Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac to our slavery to sin and our freedom in Christ. This allegory is not to imply in any way that the Old Testament story is not true. You can use an historical truth allegorically to make a point, which is what Paul has done here.

APPLICATION

Now that I have bored you to tears with the English lesson on allegories, how do we use today’s verse in our lives? Well, let’s focus on the topic of this first part of the allegory – Hagar. Who was she? She was a servant girl of Sarah’s. But she was more than a servant. She had been given to Abraham by Sarah to try to conceive a child which would satisfy God’s promise to give then a child. God never instructed them to do this. They just decided to “help God along.”

This first part of the allegory isn’t very encouraging. Hagar and Ishmael represent slavery to sin. Even after Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, she was still a servant. Nothing had changed. You and I are slaves to sin until we come to Jesus. We have no power to resist. We have no way to escape the devil’s schemes. There is no hope. We can’t “perform” our way out of sin. We have to have the chains broken.

Praise be to God we have a “chain-breaker.” He is Jesus, the Righteous One. He is the One to whom we run for freedom. Paul is so aware of this. He now sees how bound to sin he was while he was under the law, which is also represented by Hagar. Paul wants these Galatians to be free in Christ, not bound to the law. In the same way, God wants us to be free in Jesus. Are you free today?

Lord, I am thankful You gifted men like Paul to write under the inspiration of the Spirit to give us these truths.

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Bible, Bondslaves, Freedom, Satan, Scripture, Slaves

A TALE OF TWO SONS

GALATIANS 4:22

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman.” 

This verse reminds me of the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Tale of Two Cities. It begins with this quote:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”

Do you see the analogies there? The opposites? Paul, in his own way is going to compare two opposites in the next several verses. One was Isaac, the son of Sarah, who was born free. The other was Ishmael, the son of Hagar, who was a slave of Abraham. Thus, Ishmael was born into slavery. This is the comparison we will see played out over the next several days.

APPLICATION

Now, hold it a minute, Carl. I am not a slave to anyone. Really? If you are not walking in the Spirit, you are slave to sin. Romans 6:16 says this, “Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”

Slavery isn’t just chains and cells. Slavery is bowing to the will of the flesh. Paul is going to compare freedom in Christ and slavery under the law. Believe me, he understood the slavery of the law because he had personally bound people with it as a Pharisee. He knew the hopelessness of it. And we can put ourselves under legalistic rules and regulations and lose our freedom in Christ.

But let me encourage you today to be “free indeed.” Free yourself from the lure of sin. Free yourself for self-inflicted laws. Let Christ lead you into true freedom in Him. Shake off the shackles that the evil one wants to tie you down with. He has no power over you. But through Jesus, you have power over him. Hallelujah!

O God, my Father, I am so thankful I have been born into freedom through Your Son.

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Alone, Bible, Deception, Devil, Foolishness, Judgment, Loyalty, Obedience, Opponents, Satan, Scripture, Slaves

WILD DONKEYS

HOSEA 8:9

“For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey all alone; Ephraim has paid fees for lovers.”

We have all seen wildlife shows where lions or jackals attack a herd. Have you ever noticed which animal they go after? They attack the young, the weak and the ones who are isolated from the herd. Those animals are easy picking. They lack the protection of the herd.

Hosea compares Israel to a wild donkey that is all alone. They were carried off to Assyria and became a target. Being alone in a foreign land was scary enough but being alone was worse. Assyria carried them there and put them in cities as slaves. They were scattered. They were without their God. They were alone!

APPLICATION

Are you feeling alone? There is no need to feel that way. If you are a believer, you have a family of believers all around you. You need their fellowship and their support. You cannot walk safely on your own. Just like that lone wild donkey, you are a target for the enemy. Satan loves to find a lone believer. His schemes make us easy prey when we are alone.

I belong to a couple of men’s groups that I do life with. They are my allies. They encourage me in my daily walk with Christ and hold me accountable when I fall. They are my brothers. I would not want to even try to live without them. I can tell them anything and know they will hold it confidential.

Having fellow believers around you serves as protection. We can all be on the alert. We can all sound the alarm. When we see a fellow believer all alone, we need to reach out and surround them. They may not know how alone they are and how vulnerable they are. Don’t let them do this alone.

I am so glad I have a family of believers to walk with me, Lord. Help me reach out to those who need others.

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Bible, Cleansing, Confession, Encouragement, Forgiveness, God's Will, Love, Redemption, Scripture, Slaves

PURCHASE PRICE

HOSEA 3:2

“So I purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a homer and a lethech of barley.”

When my daughter got married, our mutual friend in Uganda (who calls himself her African father) asked her fiancé for 20 cows. It was all a joke, but I managed to get a video recording of him asking that to play at their wedding. My son-in-law was glad he didn’t have to produce that.

Hosea had to buy his wife back from where she had obviously sold herself back into prostitution. Now you need to see this purchase price. Fifteen shekels was about half the price of a normal slave which indicated her worth now. Barley was the offering for adultery and the food for animals, which again showed how low her worth had become. But Hosea still bought her back.

APPLICATION

What is your worth? Do you see yourself worthy of purchase by God? Some people don’t. They don’t think God can forgive them for all their sins. Let me tell you He can. There is not a hole deep enough where God cannot reach down and pull you out. God wants everyone to come to him.

Perhaps you don’t think you need God. You’re just fine like you are. So not true. No one claim that. You may think you are too good for God. He has a way to humble those proud hearts, as well. Why? Because He desires a personal relationship with you.

So, what’s it going to be? Will you come to Him today? Let Him purchase you off the slave block of sin. You may think you’re free, but there is no freedom until you are His. Gomer thought she was free but was a slave to her sin. How about you?

Thank You, Lord, for paying the price for my sin through Your Son Jesus. I am free because of His shed blood.

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