1 Timothy 6:1-2; The Foundation of the Family part 3

1 Timothy 6:1-2; The Foundation of the Family

Sermon in a sentence: Everyone is a slave to something.

Slaves were part of the Roman family.

We do not want to commit “chronological snobbery”.

If you join at eleven o'clock a conversation which began at eight you will often not see the real bearing of what is said. Remarks which seem to you very ordinary will produce laughter or irritation and you will not see why - the reason, of course, being that the earlier stages of the conversation have given them a special point. In the same way sentences in a modern book which look quite ordinary may be directed at some other book; in this way you may be led to accept what you would have indignantly rejected if you knew its real significance. The only safety is to have a standard of plain, central Christianity ("mere 2 Christianity" as Baxter called it) which puts the controversies of the moment in their proper perspective. . Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. All contemporary writers share to some extent the contemporary outlook - even those, like myself, who seem most opposed to it. Nothing strikes me more when I read the controversies of past ages than the fact that both sides were usually assuming without question a good deal which we should now absolutely deny. The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds,

1 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 7:21, Philemon 1, Ephesians 6:5-10, Colossians 3:22-4:1, Leviticus 21)

Slaves were part of the church family.

Slaves were welcomed into the church family.

The gospel includes even the lowest social positions

Despite their difficult situation, God expected their obedience to be an example.

Slaves are still part of the family.

Every single person is a slave to something. (Jeremiah 17:9, John 8:34)

There is freedom in Jesus Christ! (Matthew 6:24, John 8:36)