Slavery

Osaka The Bible assumes we are all slaves. The question is, who is our master?  We can be a slave to sin/Satan or a slave to Jesus Christ.  If you are not obedient to Christ, are you really His?

westerly Proverbs 29:21 says, “He who pampers his slave from childhood will in the end find him to be a son.

Romans 6:15-18 says, What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were
slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 tell us, “Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.  Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.  Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.  Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that.  For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.  Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

My point is that we, as Americans, are so willing and eager to pursue our “rights.”  Just because we are Americans, does not mean we have rights.  The constitution says we are granted by God certain inalienable rights.  That was true of Adam, but he then gave them up in favor of slavery, which we are born into.  We belong to Satan when we come into this world.  If you reject Satan, it’s to be obedient to Jesus.  If you are not obedient to Jesus, you are embracing Satan.  Don’t get hung up with what happened 150 years ago in our country and, therefore, assume all slave/master relationships are bad. This is not so.  Bondslaves/bondservants were given freedom, but chose to stay.  That is why Paul, James, and Peter considered themselves slaves to Christ. Romans 1:1, James 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1  In the King James, they use the word, “servant.”

There are many places in the New Testament where slaves are mentioned in parables, Jesus didn’t make a value judgment against it.  He rather commended the good slaves.  In Matthew 25, Jesus tells about the good slave and evil slave.  The good and faithful slave was, “faithful with a few things,” and put you in charge of many things; then told, “enter into the joy of your master.'”  Can we be as reliable?

Mark 10:43 says,  “But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The slaves in scripture were not racially divided.  Dark-skinned people owned light skinned and vice versa.  Slavery was a social condition, not racial.  Just like in India with their cast situation.  They all look the same, but if a low cast person were to walk through a high cast neighborhood, they could be imprisoned or put to death.

Racial slavery, as far as I know, historically, has only been an American thing.  But I am not talking about racial slavery.  I am just referring to the fact of slavery, itself.

Take the current situation in Sudan.  You have the northern Sudanese enslaving the southern.  They look the same, but one is Muslim and one is Christian.  That is the issue there.  Everywhere in the world, slavery has been political and social, in America, a racial divider.

Scripture does not promote slavery.  Scripture does not promote sin.  Notice in Philemon …he was a slave owner and a Christian.  Onesimus was the slave, who had ran away.  Paul had converted him.  Paul said the right thing for him to do was to go back (verses 10-18).  He does not say to release him, rather, he wants him to greet him as he would Paul.  He would rather keep him with him to minister to him, but knew it was right to send him back.

We need to get past the black/white issue and not drag our American culture into scripture.  The greater issue of slavery, I again repeat, is who are you a slave to…because you ARE one.

Now, I have shown scripture that refers to believers as slaves.  Are you a bondslave?  Do you owe your life and allegiance to God?  Yes. You have been bought with a price.  Are you indignant because God purchased you?  1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Peter 2:16 tells us to, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

By the way, if you are truly anti slavery, we support a group called World Relief that provides food and necessities to starving southern Sudanese Christians.  They also buy back those that were enslaved by the Muslims. Can you believe that for $70, US, you can set someone free?  These are the ones Jesus was talking about when He said, “if you haven’t done it to the least of these, you haven’t done it to Me.”  World relief is nothing like world vision. World Relief makes good use of their resources. You can compare their financial reports to find this information. Email me if interested.

Remember, the point is, who is YOUR master!

My dh wrote this some time ago.