Slavery and Christ’s Supreme Lordship: How to Live Under Human Authority

0:02 Father, I ask now that you would cause us to magnify the supreme lordship of Christ by the way we submit ourselves in the fading lordships of this world so that Christ gets the glory in our lives in this service and in our walk. help me to so speak that it's faithful to your word and a help to these friends and a glory to your son in whose name we pray amen so it's a very very high privilege for me to preach the word of God to you I don't take it lightly I think preaching is a very sacred sober serious glorious joyful calling and I hope you feel that way about it as well.

1:02 You've heard how the text was chosen and I was thrilled to do it. The text, I said, what comes next in Colossians? Because they gave me the option, just do what I want to do. I said, what comes next? They said, how about 322-41 which is about slavery? I said, I want to do it.

1:24 I want to do it. slavery is in the Bible. It's in American history to our shame. And it's in the world today. And it's a big deal. And this text, I invite you to go there with me, Colossians 3, 22. This text is more radical than many realize, as is the larger teaching of the Apostle Paul and Jesus on this issue. So let's read it. This is chapter 3, verse 22. Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men.

2:25 Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there's no partiality. Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you have a master in heaven.

2:57 I think the main point of this text can be summed up like this. Christians so first slaves and masters but all of you if you're a Christian magnify the supreme lordship of Christ in the way you serve in the subordinate lordships of this world that's the main point I think of the text let me say it another way we exist to make much of the greatness of Christ by the way we submit to the fading structures of this world. And they are all fading.

3:46 Government as we know it and democracy as we know it will be no more when King Jesus comes. Marriage will be no more, Jesus said. They neither marry nor are given in marriage in the resurrection. All children will be grown up in the kingdom.

4:10 And family life as we know it will be no more. Slavery will be no more in the kingdom of God. They're all fading. so we want to look at the details of this text but before we go to the details I think it's important to clarify probably four things that these Christian slaves and masters believe or are or should be doing from the book of Colossians and the wider teaching of Paul so let me take four things just briefly as preliminary to the looking at the text and drawing out that main point, which I hope you'll be able to see when we get there. So first, who is Jesus Christ to this slave? Who is Jesus Christ to this master? And you've been in this. I don't need to spend much time here. Colossians 2.9 In him, Christ, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. That's a bombshell on Colossae. That's a bombshell on Dallas.

5:27 That's outrageous. Jesus Christ is God. Everything changes if you believe that. Chapter 1 verse 16. By him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible, invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things and in him, everything holds together. Are you kidding me? Everything changes if you believe Colossians. He's God. He made everything that is. He holds it all in being moment by moment. Everything that exists, exists for him, through him. You exist to magnify the greatness and beauty and worth of Jesus Christ. If you're not doing it, you are wasting your life. You don't know why you exist. It's so clear and so stunning. It's like a bomb dropping on your family and your school and your business and your city.

6:47 The God-man is sovereign. Verse 10, chapter 2. He is the head of all rule and authority. he is absolutely in charge. He rules Israel today and Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran and Russia and Ukraine and the election process of America. He is absolutely supreme, unrivaled, survival, serene.

7:36 Chapter 2, verse 3. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. and he died for us. I mean, it doesn't get much sweeter than verse 13 and 14 of chapter 2. He canceled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. I mean, if the record of your debts was on a piece of paper, scrolled out, you reach across this room out into the streets across the city you are hopelessly in debt because of your sin he rolls it all up puts it in his hand and a nail goes through it and it's over that's just stunning this is getting better than 2 13 and 14 he nailed my debts to the cross so that's who he is So these slaves sitting beside the master in church, that's who they know.

8:50 That's who they love. That's who they follow. That's their king. That's got implications. Second, who are they? Who are they in him, in relation to him? Chapter 1, verse 4. We heard of your faith, you Colossians, you slaves, you masters in the church. We heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

9:19 They believe Jesus and they love each other. That's what it says. You Colossians, you masters and you slaves. You believe in him, that God, man, and you love each other. Chapter three, verse three. you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life appears you will appear with him in glory you're dead slave, you're dead master you're alive in him, your real life is coming and this couldn't be glorious, chapter 1 verse 13 I was just blown away with this, talking with Brian yesterday in the car about it. He has delivered us. Christ has delivered us.

10:12 God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son. So Christian, a decisive transfer from one kingdom to another, one allegiance to another, one patriotism to another, has happened, or you're not a Christian. he has delivered us from the domain of darkness, he has done it, you are transferred into the kingdom of his beloved son, you are now under the supreme lordship of Jesus Christ, and nobody else, no president, no husband, no ruler, no teacher, no parent, no boss, one Lord over all supreme and you're in his kingdom now you are sojourners and exiles in Dallas or wherever you're from it's a new kingdom a new allegiance America is a foreign country to you if you're a Christian Okay.

11:34 verse 11 which you're going to hear next week here here in this kingdom in this church there is not greek or jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian sithian slave free but christ is all and in all that's what you hear next time i would like to do that I will do it, kind of. That's the second clarification. Who is Christ? Who are you? Now third, or who is the slave and the master? And now third, what's their purpose in life? If you're the slave, you're the master, or you're the Christian at Watermark, what's the purpose of your life?

12:26 Chapter one, verse 18. Christ is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent your purpose, my purpose the slaves, the master's purpose is to join Christ in making him preeminent that's your job that's why you're alive that's why you're on the planet to make Jesus look preeminent to everybody you know. So back to where we started. We have one more clarification, but back to where we started.

13:05 The calling of the Christian and the point of this text, I believe, is we exist. The slave exists. The master exists to magnify the supreme lordship of Christ by the way we serve in subordinate lordships. to make much of the greatness of Christ by the way we submit to the fading structures of this world, and they're all fading. Now, one more clarification before we get to the text.

13:44 If I had an hour, oh, how I would love to just deal far more broadly in the New Testament and in Paul with the whole issue of slavery. But let me give a summary of what that hour would look like. I'll read maybe what? Three texts from about 20 that I would use in that lesson to try to give you a sense of what, as a totality, the New Testament has done with slavery. All right. So here's the first one. Understand this, that the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, the sexually immoral, the men who practice homosexuality, and slavers. Mark that one.

14:36 Literally, it means man stealers and slavers. Stealers, kidnappers of people into slavery. that's who the law is laid down to condemn virtually the entire system of slavery in this country was based on disobedience to that text stealing people from africa selling them in the west indies or on the coast of america the entire system was based on ignoring that text and slavers man stealers are condemned That's number one. Number two, Galatians 3, 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is no male. There is no female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

15:33 Slave and free, united before God, equal fellow heirs of eternal life. Staggering statement as they sit together in church.

16:38 That's pretty radical. I was bought already. I can't be owned by two people, and I'm owned by Jesus. That's totally revolutionary in the first century and throughout the history of the world, and eventually, eventually it began to take hold. So I wish there were time to do an hour's worth with those and about 17 other texts that I have been working on over the years. But let me sum up what that hour would conclude with. So here's my concluding. I actually took this paragraph out of that hour. Okay, so I've done this. The New Testament ordered human relationships in Christ in such a way as to transform the master-slave relationship into something so different from owner property that what remained of the shell is unrecognizable as slavery.

17:52 I'll say it another way. When the New Testament instructions to masters and slaves are obeyed, what is left of the master-slave relationship is not a relationship of owner property. the master is transformed from owner to one who is owned by Christ among others like his slave and the slave is transformed from property to co-heir of Christ with the master that transformation would make slavery unrecognizable as slavery and frankly we don't know enough to make pronouncements in various places throughout the Roman world about how effective it was in various communities so you can't say well it didn't work you don't know that it certainly did not work globally and today it hasn't worked globally because there are people who don't believe this millions of people don't believe this but those who believe this everything changes in all your relationships.

19:10 so state my main point again and then we'll go to the text and see if we see it the main text of this the main point of this text in 322 to 4.1 on slavery and masters is to that we are to magnify all christian slaves masters and all christians you today are to magnify the supreme lordship of Christ by the way you serve in the subordinate lordships of this world. So why am I using the word lordships? Okay, we're going to read this text again, and I'm going to change one word because, and I wish the English translators did it this way, the word master and the word lord for Jesus, same word. you translate it that way it sounds very different let's read it that way so kurios from liturgical traditions of kuria kuria eleison, Lord have mercy we all know that word if we're in that tradition and it means Lord so earthly lords divine lord, same word slaves, I'm at verse 22 slaves, obey in everything those who are your lords A C C A S not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

20:38 Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ for the wrongdoer will be paid back for his wrong that he has done and there's no partiality. Lords, treat your slaves justly and fairly knowing that you have a Lord in heaven. That has a very different ring than just calling it master, slave. So what's the point? The point is that earthly lords and earthly slaves in Christ are supposed to shape their lives decisively, their attitudes, their behaviors, shape their lives decisively by the supreme lordship of Jesus over both of them.

21:36 That's the point. Slave and master, you both have the Lord shape your life around that reality and let it have all its full effects on these subordinate structures we have in this world. the word not is important serve the lord not your subordinate master look at verse 23 this is really really amazing to me verse 23 whatever you do work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. That's amazing.

22:30 Work not for your earthly Lord. It's almost as if the earthly Lord doesn't exist. So the earthly Lord says, go to the river and bring water for the dinner tonight. and this earthly slave is with hearty sincerity you see that in verse 23 work heartily with hearty sincerity, not man-pleasing, gladly runs off for the water. And Paul says he is doing that not for the earthly Lord. That's what it says. Not for the earthly Lord. What does that even mean? What does it mean for you?

23:23 it means that he is so profoundly shaped and governed by his life in the superior lordship of Christ over all the details of his life that his compliance with the earthly Lord is as if it were not a compliance to any man. Now I think that's a description of Christian freedom, your freedom today. Because every one of you live in more than one of those relationships of subordination and leadership. child parent, husband wife, citizen government, student teacher, employee employer, player coach, church member elder pastor, choir member choir director, corporal sergeant, on and on.

24:27 Every one of you. lives in a relationship or several like that. And this text is summoning all of us. Magnify in your town, magnify the supreme lordship of Christ by the way you serve in those subordinate lordships. Verse 23, again, work heartily as for the Lord, not for men. It is a radically Christ-saturated life, right? It takes seriously all the relationships ordained by God and describes ultimacy and decisiveness to none of them.

25:30 we comply with all non-sinful instructions from proper authorities with such a radical orientation on the Lord, Jesus, above all, behind all authority, that it's as if our horizontal obedience is only to Christ. That's how radically Christ-oriented this text is. That is amazing freedom. So, earthly Lord, you think I am obeying you.

26:15 It's not what you think, boss. it's not what you think you don't have any final authority over me sergeant, president, policeman governor, you don't have any final authority over me, I don't do anything you say just because you say it now that's got to be galling to people who love power you look him in the eye and say I'll do it but I'm not doing anything you say just because you say it Mr. Tyrant you have no ultimate claim on me at all. I march to the beat of a different drummer. You tell me to do anything that contradicts his will, it's not going to happen.

27:13 No matter what your role is in my life or what you can do to me. I'm going to do your bidding I'm going to do it freely I'm going to do it heartily as to him because he's my king you're not you're nothing as it were very humbling and very free this is Christian freedom so that's radical Christian freedom inside submission to subordinate lordships where we all live and ought to live in this temporary fading world until he comes let's pose one more question What powerful incentives does Paul give to help the slave, the master, us, live under the superior lordship of Christ in such a way that we can happily, freely, willingly serve appropriate authorities in our lives?

28:34 What incentives does Paul give to help the slave, the master, and you? Now we know, we've already seen from chapter 2, verse 14, a huge incentive. Namely, that Christ staggeringly bore our debts, right? So Christ, this slave, this master, no, my debts are paid. I'm forgiven no condemnation for my life they both are saying that together in the one common Lord that's massively transforming for your life I mean if you wake up in the morning and walk into your day with no condemnation hanging over you what a sweet freedom what a way to walk what a way to live changes everything that's not what Paul refers to in this text he refers to two other things by way of incentive to help you live in the structures where you live as you ought to live.

29:42 Here's one. He mentions the fear of the Lord's displeasure. And two he mentions hope for the Lord's inheritance. Fear of the Lord's displeasure and hope for the Lord's inheritance. fear and hope verse 22 obey your earthly lords not with eye service as people pleasers but with sincerity of heart fearing the Lord so fearing the Lord is supposed to help you do that fearing the Lord is to help you be free under the lordship of Christ living out in freedom and humility and gladness your relationships in subordinate lordships.

30:37 Fear of the Lord is supposed to do that. And the other one is, verse 23, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance. the inheritance as your reward so fear the Lord great inheritance coming assists you to live under the lordship of Christ in the lordships of this world now my question is does that work for you? does the fear of God work that way for you? and my guess is there's a lot of puzzled faces like i don't think so i'm not even sure what how the fear of the lord could be that positive that's so when i came to bethlehem the church i served for 33 years that first year my son my oldest son was eight years old, and we went to visit Dick Teigen. Dick Teigen had a German shepherd that was almost as tall as my son, and he met us at the door. The dog did. Look at my... And I remembered that I left something in the car that I wanted to give to Dick, and I asked Karsten, won't you run get for me what I left in the car and he trotted off to the car and this dog loped up behind him with a low growl big as he is more heavy than he was and he was of course scared and Dick said oh Kirsten you might want to just walk he doesn't like it when people run away from him.

32:43 and I thought, that's going into next Sunday's sermon, which it did, and it's going into this sermon, as it has probably 50 other sermons, because I've never heard a better statement about how the fear of God works. Dick said, why don't you just walk beside him and put your arm around his neck? He likes that. so does God and he does not like it when you run away you turn your back on God and go after other guides and other treasures and other lords he's going to growl at you he's going to track you down and if you don't ever turn and hug him you're done for so what's the point of the fear of God to get you back to hugging God to get your arm around the neck of this massively friendly German shepherd dog.

33:43 It's to drive you from your flight to your inheritance. That's the way they work together, right? The fear of God, and I'm not diluting fear into mere reverence. A lot of people say, it just means reverence. Yes, it means reverence. It also means being afraid. there are right seasons in life to be afraid of a very friendly God and that's running away from him don't run away from God don't turn your back on God he's going to growl at you and don't misinterpret that oh why is he don't I don't like that kind of God well then stop running so he drives you back to the inheritance the hug around his neck work heartily as for the Lord and not for men knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance so the fear of the Lord functions together with the promise of the inheritance and brings us back to where we ought to be under the supreme happy, safe satisfying lordship of Jesus Christ.

35:05 So as you come home, so here's what happens. As you turn from your running, and some of you clearly have been running. Can't have a room this big without that. As you turn from your running and face this growl, here's what you find. You find as you look him in the eye, a statement like, you're not my slave anymore. I'm not going to receive you as a slave. I'm going to receive you as a son, a daughter. And everything I have, everything I am is yours. That's what the inheritance means, right? Everything I have is yours. So he said to the older son, why are you out there? Come on into the party, your brother's home. everything I have is yours and with that all satisfying assurance I think at that point we are enabled by these incentives of fear and inheritance as well as forgiveness with those incentives we're able to come back into the lordship of Christ and magnify this is the point of the text and the point of the sermon to magnify the lordship of Christ by the way we gladly, happily, freely serve in the appropriate lordships of this fading world.

36:34 So, Father, I pray for these friends who are here that those who've been running would turn. It wouldn't take offense at the growl of your displeasure, but that they would realize coming home, they hear, I have an inheritance, and I want to share the inheritance of my ownership of the universe with you if you will come and bow before the lordship of Jesus Christ and serve gladly, happily, freely in the subordinate fading lordships of this world. Work that in us.