Instructions for Servants (Ephesians 6:5-9)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:06.240 Please remain standing, and let's give our attention to Ephesians chapter six, versus 2 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:14.949 five through nine. I said that we are slaves of the Lord in my 3 00:00:15.109 --> 00:00:20.109 prayer, and I mean that in the way that he fully owns us and 4 00:00:20.230 --> 00:00:25.899 we are fully obligated to serve him and love him. I'm under a human 5 00:00:25.980 --> 00:00:30.100 master. This is quite difficult to do, but under God it is a 6 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:37.250 rich blessing. We consider his instructions now to those who have, who are 7 00:00:37.409 --> 00:00:41.329 stationed in life, particularly as slaves or, as listed here, bond servants, 8 00:00:41.850 --> 00:00:46.890 and consider God's word to them. Let's give our attention now to God's 9 00:00:46.929 --> 00:00:53.320 Word Ephesians chapter six, of verses five through nine. Bond Servants, obey 10 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:58.159 your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you 11 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:02.679 would Christ, not by way of I service, as people pleasers, but 12 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:07.030 as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 13 00:01:07.989 --> 00:01:11.989 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 14 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:15.750 knowing that whatever good anyone does this, he will receive back from the Lord, 15 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:21.579 whether he is a bond servant or is free. Masters. Do the 16 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:25.659 same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both you, 17 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:30.659 their master and yours, is in heaven and that there is no partiality 18 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:34.569 with him. May God bless his word to us. You may be seated. 19 00:01:41.849 --> 00:01:48.319 We continue this evening hearing Paul's instructions to to our households, and he 20 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:52.120 addresses a particular part of our households that, as far as I know, 21 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:59.760 none of us have. None of us have a slaves or bond servants in 22 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:06.109 our homes. None of us are masters of of these slaves. None of 23 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:09.870 us are slaves, at least in the same way that is meant here, 24 00:02:10.710 --> 00:02:15.099 and so this will perhaps challenge us in some ways, as we've talked about 25 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:22.580 in these other sections of Paul's instructions to our homes, our households, we've 26 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:28.340 asked ourselves, how do we think about the instructions that may not directly apply 27 00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:31.169 to us? If you're not a wife, how do you hear the instructions 28 00:02:31.289 --> 00:02:35.289 to wives? If you're not a husband, how do you hear the instructions 29 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:38.770 to husbands, and so on and so forth. And now we have this 30 00:02:38.930 --> 00:02:44.090 clear command to bond servants and how they are to relate to their masters, 31 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:51.280 their earthly masters, and so, as before, this may not and I 32 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:55.680 don't think does relate directly to any of you in this exact same way that 33 00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:00.189 they would have experienced it. But then again, you might be surprised by 34 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:05.550 how it relates. And certainly, as we see in Verse Eight, we 35 00:03:05.710 --> 00:03:09.949 have instructions that are given to all of us very directly. It says, 36 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:14.740 knowing that whatever good anyone has done this he will receive back from the Lord, 37 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:21.500 whether he is a bond servant or is free. Wells we think about 38 00:03:21.860 --> 00:03:24.780 these instructions, let's buy a get begin by thinking a little bit about the 39 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:31.090 context in which this command to bond servants come. I'm first a word about 40 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:36.689 this word, bond servant. It's probably not one you've used this last week 41 00:03:36.729 --> 00:03:42.479 or maybe ever in your entire life, except for reading the Scriptures. I 42 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:47.639 want to help you to understand this first by reading a somewhat lengthy section that 43 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:52.080 you will find in your bibles, but it is not actually a part of 44 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:57.030 the Bible properly speaking, and I'm talking about a word that is found in 45 00:03:57.150 --> 00:04:00.870 the preface of your bibles. I won't ask you to raise your hands how 46 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:05.509 many of you have read the preface in the Bible, but I would encourage 47 00:04:05.509 --> 00:04:09.909 you to do that sometime. You'll every time I've ever done that I've found 48 00:04:10.340 --> 00:04:15.699 interesting and fascinating things there. This is from the preface to the English Standard 49 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:19.100 version. If you happen to have that particular version, you might find this 50 00:04:19.300 --> 00:04:27.050 preface at the very beginning of your bibles. I had one version of the 51 00:04:27.170 --> 00:04:30.410 ESV that didn't have it in it and all the other ones I did look 52 00:04:30.449 --> 00:04:36.170 in, in look in, did have it in there in the preface you'll 53 00:04:36.209 --> 00:04:43.000 see a section that call says English translations of the Bible and as you look 54 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:49.600 down those paragraphs there's another one that says special notes and under that section there's 55 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:58.310 a little paragraph. Nope, that's not the one I want. There's one 56 00:04:58.389 --> 00:05:10.579 that begins. This is why we have verse references right. Well, I 57 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:14.019 have the quote written here and perhaps you can. You can find it on 58 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:16.980 your own, but I'll read you this quote that I have written down from 59 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:21.649 the preface regarding bond servants in particular. That's where we're after. Third, 60 00:05:21.769 --> 00:05:28.610 a particular difficulty is presented when words in biblical Hebrew and Greek refer to ancient 61 00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:34.839 practices and institutions that do not correspond directly to the modern world, such is 62 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:40.160 the case with the translation of a bed in Hebrew and do loss in Greek 63 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:45.279 terms, which are often rendered slave. These terms, however, cover, 64 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:51.430 however, actually cover a range of relationships that require a range of renderings. 65 00:05:51.949 --> 00:05:55.870 So you see their point. They're they're saying there is one word in these 66 00:05:55.910 --> 00:06:00.709 languages that mean various different things. They're used in different contexts either slave, 67 00:06:00.990 --> 00:06:06.300 bond servant or servant, depending, as always. That's my addition there on 68 00:06:06.379 --> 00:06:14.100 the context. Further the word slave currently carries associations with the often brutal and 69 00:06:14.339 --> 00:06:19.730 dehumanizing institution of slavery in Nineteen Century America. For this reason, the esv 70 00:06:19.889 --> 00:06:26.329 translation of the words of bed and Dulass have been undertaken with particular tension to 71 00:06:26.410 --> 00:06:31.649 their meaning in each specific context. Thus, in Old Testament Times, one 72 00:06:31.689 --> 00:06:36.519 might enter slavery either voluntarily to escape poverty or to pay off a debt, 73 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:42.680 or involuntarily by birth, by being captured in a battle or judicial sentence. 74 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:47.269 Protection for all in servitude, and ancient Israel was provided by the Mosaic Law. 75 00:06:48.269 --> 00:06:51.790 In New Testament Times, a due loss is best described as a bond 76 00:06:51.870 --> 00:06:57.430 servant, that is, as someone bound to serve his master for a specific, 77 00:06:57.470 --> 00:07:02.019 usually lengthy period of time, but also as someone who might nevertheless possess 78 00:07:02.139 --> 00:07:08.860 property, achieve social advancement and even be released or purchase his freedom. The 79 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:13.620 translators then end with this. The ESV usage thus seeks to express the nuance 80 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:18.129 of meaning in each context. Where absolute ownership by a master in is in 81 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:23.569 view, as in Romans slips six, slave is used, where a more 82 00:07:23.889 --> 00:07:27.930 limited form of servitude is used, bond servant is used, as in First 83 00:07:27.970 --> 00:07:31.360 Corinthians seven, twenty one through twenty four, where the context indicates a wide 84 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:35.959 range of freedom, as in John Fifty one, servant is preferred. Footnotes 85 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.920 are generally provided to identify the Hebrew or Greek and the range of meanings that 86 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:47.149 these terms may carry in each case. So this hopefully provides a helpful explanation 87 00:07:47.269 --> 00:07:53.670 of how one set of translators approached a difficult question. How do you think 88 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:59.339 about these words that God gives to us in relationship to the contexts in which 89 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:01.699 we have now? And the way they tried to deal with with that is 90 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:09.379 by using different words for different kinds of service that express and get after the 91 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:16.329 particular context that is used. With that being said, here in Efhesians chapter 92 00:08:16.490 --> 00:08:22.850 six. The ESV chooses the word Bond Servant as the best English translation of 93 00:08:22.649 --> 00:08:28.560 this particular institution. What Paul is addressing here. Bond Servant, is the 94 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:33.519 best way to express the reality of the situation of these people in the household. 95 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:41.629 The preface I just read from the ESV is largely correct and what it 96 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:46.789 says fact. I don't have any corrections to make, just perhaps some things 97 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:52.190 to add and give more nuance. The thing you want to understand about these 98 00:08:52.269 --> 00:08:56.299 servant is that slavery in the ancient world was much more varied than what we 99 00:08:56.460 --> 00:09:01.700 know of slavery in America, and this is helpful because, as we think 100 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:05.500 about how these first Christians might have heard this, we might think that there 101 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:11.009 was a range of situations in which they themselves were in, a range of 102 00:09:11.169 --> 00:09:16.769 possibilities, a wage of difficult ethical challenges and questions or how they might go 103 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:24.120 about fulfilling their service. Some slaves, bond servants were high ranking, powerful 104 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:31.399 bureaucrats, others worked in the minds and did terrible, backbreaking work. Some 105 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:37.879 were close members of the family and we're even buried right along with the children 106 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:43.509 and other members of the family. Others were not close at all. Some 107 00:09:43.870 --> 00:09:50.389 were women enslaved because of the passions of men. Some chose to become slaves 108 00:09:50.429 --> 00:09:54.659 to live a better life, to be free of debts. They gave up 109 00:09:54.779 --> 00:10:01.379 their freedom in order to gain protection and help from their master. Some went 110 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:09.129 into slavery servitude willingly. Others were kidnapped and sold into slavery. Some were 111 00:10:09.250 --> 00:10:13.289 born to it, their parents already being slaves. Some who were left to 112 00:10:13.409 --> 00:10:18.370 die as infants, a common practice in the ancient world, were the often 113 00:10:18.450 --> 00:10:24.000 picked up and then brought or prest into bond servants, bond service in a 114 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:28.759 particular family. And of course, as you might imagine, some masters were 115 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:33.279 kind and some were not. Some slaves were honest, loyal, hard workers 116 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:39.629 and others not. The slave master relationship and a household, as you might 117 00:10:39.669 --> 00:10:46.429 imagine, was perhaps a difficult one at times. Can you imagine perhaps not 118 00:10:46.470 --> 00:10:50.340 a slave but just a servant, let's say, a live in a person 119 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:56.419 who's helping that you're paying, living with you and your family seven all the 120 00:10:56.539 --> 00:11:01.299 time, seeing everything, watching everything, being very personal and all of your 121 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:07.610 affairs. Some, under Matt were honest and loyal hard workers. Others would 122 00:11:07.610 --> 00:11:13.809 try to undermine their masters at every point. Some even murdered their masters in 123 00:11:13.889 --> 00:11:18.600 their beds. And so from all of this you can see that slavery in 124 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:26.600 the ancient world was very complex, nuanced and deeply woven into the fabric of 125 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:35.110 society. Christianity, True Christianity, posed a potential threat to all of this 126 00:11:35.029 --> 00:11:41.830 in a very serious way. How? So? Well, because, in 127 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:46.509 addition, but well, I'd say for first of all, because Christianity, 128 00:11:46.659 --> 00:11:52.019 believing God's words as it is, did not see the slave as a half 129 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:56.980 of a person or a partial person or a nonperson, but instead saw each 130 00:11:58.139 --> 00:12:01.019 and see is, each and every person, as someone who's made in the 131 00:12:01.100 --> 00:12:05.970 image of God. Like all others. A slave had dignity and was commanded 132 00:12:07.009 --> 00:12:11.210 to be treated with respect and love and hospitality, just as any other person 133 00:12:11.409 --> 00:12:16.759 made in the image of God was. Christians had a duty, before the 134 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:22.759 Lord of Heaven and earth to treat every person, even their enemies, even 135 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:30.590 their slaves, with this kind of respect. It also elevated Christianity, elevated 136 00:12:31.149 --> 00:12:37.590 slaves to an enormously high position. These words, you remember, that we're 137 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:43.230 reading here in these household codes, come on the heels of discussion about the 138 00:12:43.389 --> 00:12:48.539 inaugurated Kingdom of God in the world, that we are coers with Christ, 139 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:52.139 that he has blessed us in the heavenly places with every spiritual blessing. And 140 00:12:52.340 --> 00:12:58.179 when Paul says that, he's not just talking about the wealthy of the congregation 141 00:12:58.690 --> 00:13:03.529 or the free people in the congregation or the men or whoever. He means 142 00:13:03.769 --> 00:13:09.129 everyone, the children, the women, the slaves, the men, the 143 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:15.159 freed people, the rich, the wealthy, everyone who puts their faith in 144 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:22.919 Christ belongs to him. They become part of his family and in that way 145 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:28.710 they are equal with those who sit around who are sitting around them. This 146 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:37.309 is why James chastises the church for giving preference to those who have high honor 147 00:13:37.470 --> 00:13:43.100 and station or wealth in the church. No partiality, he says. Paul 148 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:46.620 says we are one in Christ, neither male nor free, Male, female, 149 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:54.340 slave, free Jew gentile. We all are one in him and because 150 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:58.370 of this is our reality in Christ. The expression of this kingdom on Earth 151 00:13:58.570 --> 00:14:05.929 institutionally is the church, and that could create for some interesting situations. There 152 00:14:07.090 --> 00:14:11.960 is no biblical reason why a slave, for example, couldn't be an elder 153 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:18.519 or minister in a church, even an elder and an overseer of his overseer, 154 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:24.070 an interesting situation to imagine. How would you, perhaps, as a 155 00:14:24.269 --> 00:14:30.389 master, as an overseer, deal with your servant, as your elder in 156 00:14:30.429 --> 00:14:37.149 the church? I don't know of any particular examples from history in which this 157 00:14:37.350 --> 00:14:39.700 was the case, or at least I couldn't think of them in the time 158 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:43.659 that I had, but this to me does not seem like an unrealistic kind 159 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:48.460 of possibility. What are the qualifications for an elder in the church? Simply 160 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:52.409 that a man be of good character and of good faith, that he be 161 00:14:52.490 --> 00:14:58.009 able to lead and and and teach in the in the way of the Gospel. 162 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:05.570 If Christianity was truly followed, a slave would not have a special section 163 00:15:05.769 --> 00:15:09.399 to sit in, he would not be limited in his access to word or 164 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:13.320 doctrine or teaching. The spirit would not be doled out only partially to him. 165 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:20.799 Know he or she would have full access to all the gifts of Christ, 166 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:26.429 just as anyone else. Can Imagine how that might change your perspective on 167 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:33.149 things as a slave, to become a Christian, to be elevated to such 168 00:15:33.190 --> 00:15:39.620 a high status in the eyes of God, to have him as your master 169 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:43.220 above all masters, to know that to him you owe a duty and a 170 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:50.970 responsibility above all else, would change everything the way you see. Do feel 171 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:56.370 think it would all be framed in a new way? Of course, this 172 00:15:56.490 --> 00:15:58.769 isn't unique for the slave. It's the same for husbands, it's the same 173 00:15:58.850 --> 00:16:03.049 for wives, for children, for parents, for all of us, and 174 00:16:03.169 --> 00:16:07.240 whatever our particular callings are. The fact that we are called by God, 175 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:11.320 that we are adopted into his family, that he pours out this inheritance on 176 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:15.879 us, which Peter says is kept in heaven for you, Unfai, aiding, 177 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:22.750 undefiled, these things ought to change the way we act, the way 178 00:16:22.750 --> 00:16:30.070 we live, the way we think about ourselves. Well, how what effect 179 00:16:30.230 --> 00:16:36.340 ought this to have in the home? We've considered that, for wives and 180 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:41.259 for husbands, for children and parents, fathers in particular. But about bond 181 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:47.019 servants? If you met a bond servant who would recently be Crem a Christian, 182 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:51.450 what would you advise him? What would you advise her? Well, 183 00:16:51.490 --> 00:16:56.370 now we come to Paul's answer to that question. He says bond servants obey 184 00:16:56.490 --> 00:17:03.319 your earthly masters with fear and trembling, the flip side of that being with 185 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.599 a sincere heart. Two ways I think of expressing the same thing, as 186 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:17.990 you would Christ. Paul wants them to think about their service to their earthly 187 00:17:18.109 --> 00:17:22.349 masters, who may or may not be Christians, as service to him, 188 00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:27.029 even as he said to wives and two children, to obey your parents and 189 00:17:27.109 --> 00:17:33.579 the Lord or to submit to your own husband's as to the Lord. Here 190 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:41.819 obey your earthly masters with a sincere heart, as you would Christ. And 191 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:45.849 how is that? Well, Paul says, not by way of I service 192 00:17:45.930 --> 00:17:51.769 as people pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of 193 00:17:51.890 --> 00:17:56.690 God from the heart, rendering service with a good will, as to the 194 00:17:56.890 --> 00:18:03.000 Lord and not to man. What an encouragement I think this would be to 195 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:07.000 me if I were in this situation. Three times he says, as you 196 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:11.440 would Christ, as spawn servants of Christ, as to the Lord. Three 197 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.470 times he reminds them again, again and again, you belong to him. 198 00:18:17.269 --> 00:18:19.789 This work that you're doing, this work that you're called to do, is 199 00:18:21.109 --> 00:18:25.549 done for him. It's similar, actually, to the way that Paul talks 200 00:18:25.589 --> 00:18:29.940 to all of us as Christians in Romans Thirteen about submission to our government. 201 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:37.339 He says that God has placed leaders and rulers over US and by his will, 202 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:41.220 and they are called, they are called to lead and to serve in 203 00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:44.450 this way, and we are to submit to them. We are to pray 204 00:18:44.569 --> 00:18:48.369 for them. And Paul doesn't just mean good Christian leaders, he means even 205 00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:53.690 the despots, even the really bad ones. He writes these things remarkably, 206 00:18:53.730 --> 00:18:59.480 even when Nero was emperor. Play pray for those, he says. Pray 207 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:04.440 for those who are in authority over you submit to them. Now there are, 208 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:07.759 of course, good qualifications we have to place on this, because Paul 209 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:12.950 prices a qualification on it. The service is to Christ. So if our 210 00:19:14.150 --> 00:19:18.190 government or our earthly masters, are husbands or our parents, or if anyone 211 00:19:18.230 --> 00:19:22.710 who has some authority over us, commands us to do something that is against 212 00:19:22.710 --> 00:19:29.339 the will of the Lord, we say no, because we never hopefully, 213 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:36.619 we never look Jesus in the eye and say no. That's not what Christians 214 00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:41.329 do. Christians always say yes to the Lord because his will is always good, 215 00:19:41.369 --> 00:19:48.089 always perfect, always right. Likewise, just as we are free to 216 00:19:48.250 --> 00:19:56.039 disobey our earthly Masters when Christ's will supersedes that of our earthly masters, we 217 00:19:56.119 --> 00:20:00.200 are also called not to fear them more than Christ. We are not to 218 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:04.240 serve those here on earth and serve those who are above us, as if 219 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:10.630 they were God themselves, as if everything that we might do in pleasing to 220 00:20:10.670 --> 00:20:15.509 them is even more important than than the will of the Lord. But it 221 00:20:15.630 --> 00:20:21.230 also means that we are given from freedom and permission and that we are operating 222 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:25.380 in God's will, even when we're doing things that we'd rather not be doing, 223 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:30.619 things that seem silly or foolish or a waste of time. We submit 224 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:37.450 to them, not because they're wise or they're not a waste of time, 225 00:20:37.289 --> 00:20:41.130 but we submit to them because we submit to the Lord, because of the 226 00:20:41.289 --> 00:20:47.450 ways in which he has structured are the institutions in this world and and and 227 00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:52.680 the various callings in which into which we have been called. He says that 228 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:59.720 we are to obey from a sincere heart, as to the Lord and not 229 00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:03.240 to man. No, you of course know the difference between obedience with a 230 00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:08.549 sincere heart and not obedience with a sincere heart. Perhaps you have been or 231 00:21:08.910 --> 00:21:18.390 tried to work with people that are pretending to work, looking busy, never 232 00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:23.900 really actually doing things or perhaps even worse, directly stealing, directly causing problems. 233 00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:29.380 It's a big a big challenge, and it's can be very frustrating. 234 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:33.410 This is not what we are called to do when we serve those who are 235 00:21:33.490 --> 00:21:40.329 over us. The Lord's Apostle says that when we serve, we serve freely 236 00:21:41.289 --> 00:21:45.609 and from a sincere heart, seeking the good of those who are over a 237 00:21:45.809 --> 00:21:52.160 seeking to do what is right and what is wise. Now, this, 238 00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:59.000 of course, applies to us in different ways because, I said, none 239 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:03.390 of us are slaves, thankfully, it's an institution that we no longer have, 240 00:22:03.910 --> 00:22:10.670 praise God, and none of us are masters. And we are all, 241 00:22:10.869 --> 00:22:14.990 however, to authority in some do way or another. I mentioned the 242 00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:22.500 government. We've talked about other relationships in the home. My my friend and 243 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:26.779 professor who I've quoted various times, maybe even every time, I'm not sure, 244 00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:33.569 Steve Baugh and his wonderful commentary on this. He He. He makes 245 00:22:33.569 --> 00:22:38.650 an application actually to those in the military and says that if anyone is perhaps 246 00:22:38.690 --> 00:22:42.650 closest to that of a bond slave, it is those who offer service in 247 00:22:42.730 --> 00:22:51.680 this way, because there is the service is extended to every area of life. 248 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:59.390 It is often a long period of time and great harm and consequences can 249 00:22:59.470 --> 00:23:06.470 come to a person for not a following in order. No matter where what 250 00:23:06.630 --> 00:23:10.950 situation, we might find ourselves in. We certainly do all find ourselves, 251 00:23:11.029 --> 00:23:15.220 in some place or another, in a situation where we are called to obey. 252 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:19.099 None of us are free not to do whatever we want, whenever we 253 00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:25.220 want, all the time. How will we obey those who are over us? 254 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:29.170 How will we give them honor? We give them honor as we give 255 00:23:29.170 --> 00:23:34.250 our Lord honor. We give them respect. We seek to do good. 256 00:23:37.009 --> 00:23:40.769 Now, as I've said before, in other in the other commands Paul gives, 257 00:23:40.809 --> 00:23:42.880 this does not mean that all of a sudden every question is answered. 258 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.559 What do you do, for example, if you are hearing this and you 259 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:57.549 are a a slave to the passions of a man, I'll put it that 260 00:23:57.630 --> 00:24:03.509 way. Does it mean to obey your earthly master in a context like that? 261 00:24:04.710 --> 00:24:10.420 Very difficult. What do you do when you are called to obey and 262 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:15.859 your master is a fool? In every turn, in every command, he's 263 00:24:17.180 --> 00:24:21.779 squandering away his money, squandering away the things that are meant to protect you 264 00:24:21.900 --> 00:24:26.650 or your children? What do you do in a situation where you have an 265 00:24:26.690 --> 00:24:33.250 opportunity to gain your freedom and your master doesn't want you to? I'm not 266 00:24:33.289 --> 00:24:36.529 going to answer all of us or any of those. My point, though, 267 00:24:36.690 --> 00:24:41.359 is to say that Paul doesn't give us, as before, explicit directions 268 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.599 for every situation. What does he call us to do? He calls us 269 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:51.240 to think about ourselves and our lives and our various callings in light of our 270 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:55.750 calling to Christ. He wants us to think about our obedience, not merely 271 00:24:55.990 --> 00:24:59.549 is going through the motions, but is something that is carried out in him 272 00:24:59.589 --> 00:25:03.430 and in faith, and he wants us to think carefully about these situations, 273 00:25:04.150 --> 00:25:08.980 following these commands and seeing how they might apply in the content text of scripture, 274 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:15.180 in the context of our other on particular things in life. How do 275 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:22.410 these apply? How do we discern the Lord's will? These will be questions 276 00:25:22.650 --> 00:25:26.569 that we have to ask, and I will encourage you to answer them in 277 00:25:26.730 --> 00:25:30.289 the same way that you serve the Lord, with trust in him, with 278 00:25:30.450 --> 00:25:36.880 a sincere heart. Faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ is not merely going 279 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:41.079 through the motions. It's not merely doing this thing or that thing or checking 280 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:45.000 all the boxes or and that's true even when seeking his will, when trying 281 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:51.630 to figure out the difficulties and trying to discern particularly challenging circumstances. What do 282 00:25:51.750 --> 00:25:57.029 we do? We trust him, we really trust him, as we read 283 00:25:57.069 --> 00:26:00.950 in Psalm Five, he is a shield over us. He protects us by 284 00:26:00.990 --> 00:26:06.700 his love and His grace. We go to him for that. When we 285 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:11.059 are struggling in our earthly circumstances, when we're struggling with our earthly masters, 286 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:17.220 are our earthly callings, or these difficult and varied situations we find ourselves in, 287 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:23.210 challenging relationship problems within the home, what do we do? Before all 288 00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:27.289 else, we go to the Lord and Faith and trust him to take care 289 00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:33.440 of us. If we seek to do our own will and our own way, 290 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:38.160 it will always end in disaster. But when we seek the will of 291 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:42.279 the Lord, not just obedience to the will of the Lord, but the 292 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:48.190 will of the Lord as it comes to us for faith, for going to 293 00:26:48.230 --> 00:26:52.390 him for all things, for trusting for the forgiveness of our sins, for 294 00:26:52.829 --> 00:26:57.549 trusting him for the all the struggles and failings that we have, he promises 295 00:26:57.630 --> 00:27:02.660 to take care of us. We serve the Lord, in other words, 296 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:07.579 because we are in the Lord. We serve him as his servants, because 297 00:27:07.619 --> 00:27:11.700 he is our master, and he is our master because he's given himself to 298 00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:15.930 us. In that way, he's given his very life over to us. 299 00:27:18.609 --> 00:27:25.569 We'll finish by reminding you that when the Apostle Paul talks about Jesus in Philippians, 300 00:27:26.769 --> 00:27:33.480 he talks about him becoming a slave, about descending so low that he 301 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:40.680 took on all obedience. He became a slave to righteousness so that he might 302 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:45.509 give us his righteousness. How terrible a thing would it have been if Jesus 303 00:27:45.589 --> 00:27:49.990 had been a people pleaser? Have you ever thought about that? What would 304 00:27:49.990 --> 00:27:55.430 have happened if Jesus would have come in the Pharisees said Hey, why are 305 00:27:55.470 --> 00:27:57.859 you doing this? And Jesus, I'm so sorry about that. I yeah, 306 00:27:59.220 --> 00:28:00.500 I'll see if, what if I can adjust things a little bit, 307 00:28:00.539 --> 00:28:06.700 do things a little differently for you? have be terrible because the Pharis, 308 00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:08.259 he's, didn't want the things of God, they didn't want the things of 309 00:28:08.380 --> 00:28:15.650 the of the father. What about if Jesus had been pushed around by his 310 00:28:15.170 --> 00:28:18.210 disciples? James and John, we want to sit on your right hand and 311 00:28:18.289 --> 00:28:22.329 we want to sit on your left hand. Or Peter, Jesus as go 312 00:28:22.450 --> 00:28:26.769 to the Cross and Peter says man never be and what if Jesus had said, 313 00:28:26.809 --> 00:28:30.759 you know, that's a good point. That sounds bad. I probably 314 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:34.400 shouldn't? Yeah, yeah, okay. Or what if Jesus just looked busy 315 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:40.480 about doing good works but never actually did anything? Never actually raised anyone from 316 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:44.430 the dead, never actually forgave any one of their sins, never actually healed 317 00:28:44.509 --> 00:28:48.069 their bodies, their sight, their souls? What if Jesus was just a 318 00:28:48.230 --> 00:28:56.779 show in his service to the world and to the Lord? We'd all be 319 00:28:56.940 --> 00:29:00.700 lost if Jesus was that kind of servant, we would all be dead in 320 00:29:00.779 --> 00:29:07.900 our trespasses and sins. But of course he wasn't. Jesus obeyed in this 321 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:11.769 way so that he could change us, so that he could change our hearts, 322 00:29:11.849 --> 00:29:15.809 so that we would no longer be slaves of ourselves, but so we 323 00:29:15.930 --> 00:29:21.849 could be owned by him, protected by him, governed by him, taking 324 00:29:21.930 --> 00:29:26.039 care of by him. And we do that first and foremost by believing in 325 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:33.400 him, by trusting in him. Let's pray and ask God to help us 326 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:33.759 to do that.