Slavery and Suffering Well.

Opening:

It is beautiful thing to worship the Lord on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we will be diving back into our study of 1 Peter. We will be in 1 Peter 2:18-25. We are in the section where Peter is addressing the Christian attitude toward authority. In summery, the Christian recognizes that God is the highest authority. We are to obey God always. But we also recognize that God establishes lesser authorities. And we are to obey them where we can. We obey God in all things and obey lesser authorities wherever we can. He began by detailing how a Christian is to handle submission to the civil government. The civil government is not God. They can never command us to disobey God. But they are to be obeyed. Now Peter is dealing with slaves and masters. With this in mind, would you stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Passage:

1 Peter 2:18–25“18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Dear heavenly Father, we ask you to bless this time. Would you speak to us through your word. Give us understanding and wisdom. May we apply this text to our own lives and live ever more before your face. We ask this in Jesus name, amen.

Need:

Life is unjust and we are often treated unfairly. The record of history is often a record of dark and vile deeds. It is a record of struggle, pain, slavery, and death.

Text Idea:

Peter wrote this to instruct slaves in how to submit to their masters and how to endure unjust suffering well.

Sermon Idea:

In the same way, we can learn to suffer well in this painful life when we obey the command to set Christ as our example.

Interrogative:

This life is often truly unfair. We are often treated unjustly. How do we endure truly unjust treatment? We look to our example, our Lord, Jesus Christ. In His mistreatment we find our own example on how to endure unjust treatment. In Him we find the blueprint on how to suffer well.

Transition:

So let’s dive into this text. First we must examine the biblical view of slavery.

Point 1: The Biblical View of Slavery.

1 Peter 2:18 “18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.”

Explanation:

That word “servants” is really “household slaves.” Peter is giving commands to slaves. Particularly slaves that served in the households of their masters. And now we must handle a very sticky subject. Why doesn’t Peter just outlaw slavery? One cannot have a conversation with an aggressive atheist or unbeliever without hearing the accusation, “the Bible promotes slavery!” This is one of the top “gotcha” statements. But is there any substance to it? So let’s talk about slavery.

First, let me define slavery. The Lexham Bible Dictionary gives a good definition of slavery. It says, Slavery is “The practice of one person owning another as property, or one person owing a debt to another and repaying that debt via their labor.” Now if we are honest, we will see that this is a very broad definition. It encompasses a lot. And the reason for this is because slavery has existed through all human history. And there have been many forms of slavery. Some have been far worse than others. But does the Bible endorse slavery? First we have to look at the different types of slavery.

1. There have been various forms of slavery throughout history boiling down to roughly two categories.

This is a broad simplification but I feel it is accurate. Throughout history the two broad categories of slavery are those of Indentured servitude and chattel slavery. Now, what we know of as slavery and what was practiced here in the United States is the second category, Chattel slavery. It is a dehumanizing and completely evil practice. But what is the first category?

a. Indentured Servitude.

Indentured Servitude was a practice in the ancient world where when a person went into debt, they would sell themselves or their family as servants for a time in order to pay their debt. Now selling your children is always seen as vile and evil. But we must not disconnect this from the lens of history.

In the ancient world, there really were no laws in place protecting debtors or the poor. If you owed someone money, you were at their mercy. They could take anything they wanted, and there was really no protection. If they wanted your house, your wife, your kids, they could take them. You could be sent to prison, or even executed.

So what someone could do, is sell themselves into slavery to a wealthy benefactor who would pay their debt off, and then they would serve this benefactor until they repayed them.

So let’s play this out. Say we lived in the ancient world. And say I were to go into severe debt. I owed a million dollars to someone. I have no hope of paying them back. Now that person could come and take my wife and kids. They could throw my whole family into prison, which was a death sentence of slow agonizing pain, they could even have me and my family executed.

Now, I have a couple options. I can go to this person and offer to serve them as a slave for ten years in order to pay my debt and avoid death or worse. Or, a rich benefactor can pay my debt for me. So say Rod, who is very gracious and kind, comes to me and says “Jonathan, I will pay your debt. Sell all you own in order to pay some of it, and I will pay the rest. You and Katharine and the boys will live with us and work for me for the next five years.” Now technically I would be Rod’s slave. But he was being incredibly kind and loving in doing this.

So depending on how it was done, indentured servitude was either a horrible curse or an act of desperation that literally saved you and your family’s lives. And this is what the Bible regulates extremely strictly. In the Old Testament, God’s people were forbidden from enslaving their fellow Jews. And if they had any slaves, they were commanded to treat them as equally made in God’s sight. There are numerous commands given specifically to protect the dignity of the slave. For example, all slaves were to be freed every fifty years during the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:40). The Bible commended the act of redemption, not slavery when someone went into debt. (Lev 25:25) Slaves who were beaten and injured were instantly freed with their debt being forgiven. (Ex 21:26-27) And in fact Paul commends slaves to seek their freedom if possible. (1 Cor 7:21) But The Bible consistently teaches that in this unsanctioned practice, one must recognize the dignity of the slave.

Owning another person is never good, but when regulated like the Bible does, it is focused on redemption, not enslavement.

But there was another form of slavery. That is the act of Chattel slavery.

b. Chattel slavery.

Chattel slavery is all together evil. It is kidnapping and enslaving. The Bible calls this “man-stealing.” It is dehumanizing, and utterly wicked. There is no way for this to be any form of good. Whereas with indentured servitude there are at least occasions, rare as they may be, where it is the best of bad options; chattel slavery is utterly evil. And the Bible makes no qualms about condemning this horrific practice. In fact, the Bible condemns chattel slavery with the death penalty.

Exodus 21:16 says “16 “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” This is the penalty for chattel slavery. To steal a human being, dehumanizing and enslaving them, deserves death. In fact, the Bible is so harsh on this practice that if you even purchase a chattel slave, you also deserve the death penalty. This is an utter abolition. And in fact, this was the very passage that abolitionists like William Wilberforce used in abolishing slavery throughout the west.

2. The Bible Does Not Endorse Slavery, But It Does Recognize it Exists.

So you see, No where in the Bible will you find the idea that humans owning one another is a good thing. The Bible is not pro-slavery. The Bible teaches that all men are created equal. The Bible teaches the dignity of all men, rich or poor, being made in the image of God. It never once teaches that slavery of any kind is a good thing.

Slavery has been part of the human condition since the fall. And the Bible recognizes this. And it is at this point that many skeptics come in and say that this is an endorsement. But recognition is not endorsement. In fact, in God’s law, God specifically regulates protection of slaves. And it teaches that slaves should seek their freedom. The Bible teaches that all men are equal. But if a man is sold into slavery, God commands them how to behave. And if a man were to have slaves, God does not bless this, but God gives commands to the masters that force them to recognize the dignity of their slave as being made in God’s image.

But people still have questions. For example, why does the Bible not just prohibit slavery all together? Well, in reality, the Bible gives the seeds for the ending of all forms of slavery.

3. The Bible gives the seeds for the ending of all forms of slavery.

We must remember that the Bible is a book that brings about reformation. There are many evils that are outright banned, like Chattel slavery. But there are many other things that the Bible clearly looks down on, but does not outright condemn. Instead, the Word of God works through hearts and society to see them end through reformation. Remember, we live in a broken world that has been drastically damaged. And at Christ’s death and resurrection He began the undoing of that curse. But it was not instant. Many come to Christ from broken places. And there is much work to be done.

So the Bible lays out how all men, kings or slaves, are made in His image and are to be treated equally under the Law. And when this is done, slavery crumbles. And history bears this out.

4. It was the imposition of the Bible and biblical standards on the political sphere that obliterated slavery in the west.

The abolitionists who ended the slave trade in the west were Christians seeking to apply God’s Law to our legal system. They looked at the Word of God and saw that all men were image bearers of God and they laid their lives down in order to see our broken legal codes conformed to God’s Law. These godly men and women fought their whole lives to see this abomination of chattel slavery undone. And in doing so, the entire broken system of slavery was undone. They believed where the law of the land and the Word of God are in conflict, the law of the land is wrong and must be changed! They believed Christ was Lord over the political sphere, and indeed He is!

Argumentation:

And this is something we have utterly lost. You see, the Bible opposes slavery. It regulates it in a righteous way where it is implemented, but the Bible when applied consistently destroys the idea that man can own man. God alone is the owner of men. And this is the history of the west. When Christians took political office and fought to see righteous laws enacted, they were the ones who ended the slave trade.

All through history the world has angrily asked, “How could those Christian extremists attempt to impose their morality on others?!” Hear me very clearly on this, it was Christians imposing their morality on others that ended the slave trade, ended the practice of burning wives alive with their recently dead husbands, ended the practice of marital rape, ended the practice of human sacrifice to bring rain and good crops, ended the practice feeding baby girls to wild dogs, and it will end the practice of abortion.

Remember, when someone opposes using the Bible as our standard for the political sphere, they would have been the ones defending slavery.

Christ is Lord of all. And this means that slavery is wrong because Christ opposes it. This means human sacrifice is wrong because Christ opposes it. Abortion is wrong because Christ opposes it.

Transition:

But with the stage set, Peter is writing to Christian slaves at a time when slavery had not been ended by Christians imposing God’s Law on the civil sphere yet. And he gives them commands.

Point 2: Peter’s Command for Slaves.

Look with me again at 1 Peter 2:18–21“18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

Explanation:

Peter’s commands boil down to three points.

1. Submit to your masters.

These Christian slaves had masters. And those masters had real authority. And wherever they could, they should seek to serve those masters well. This means they are to work hard. They are to seek to be useful. They should not just do the bare minimum. They should truly seek to give their best. Do their jobs well.

And notice this, Peter says they are not to serve well only the good masters but also the bad ones. Peter does not give them an easy out. They cannot say, “well this master mistreats me so I can be lazy and disobedient.” No. They are to do good regardless of their master. They are to work hard and seek to bless their master even if they are evil.

See, they very well could have had a good master. A master who is kind. Who bought their debt and treats them as image bearers of God. But they also could have had horrible masters who beat them and treated them as animals. But Peter commands them to be diligent and respectful regardless of this. This is not an easy command. But Peter tells them why in the second point.

2. If you suffer for obeying God, you are blessed.

Peter says in verses 19-20 “20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” You see, if they had a wicked master who punished them for doing good, they would be blessed by God. It is precious in the sight of God when we suffer for righteousness sake.

And this brings us back to the central point of how Christians react to authority. Remember, Christians obey God in all things and obey lesser authorities wherever we can. So why would a master beat a slave for doing what is right? Well, wicked men hate what is right. And likely, many of these Christian slaves were beaten or even killed for disobeying their maters. In fact, we know from history that many Christian slaves were sent to the lions in the Colosseum for refusing to obey their masters in worshipping the household gods.

The masters would command their slaves to worship these false gods, perhaps even the emperor, and the Christian slaves would refuse. They could have been the hardest workers and best slaves in the house. But they would not disobey God. They would refuse to bow to idols. And they were torn apart by lions for it. Peter is saying that doing what is good and suffering for it is gracious in God’s sight. And remember, God defines good. Not Caesar, not the President, not slave masters, not employers, not husbands, not pastors. God defines it. And these slaves suffered horribly for obeying God and doing what He said was good.

And this was likely disheartening. Picture being one of these slaves. You are trying so hard to obey God’s command given through Peter. You work hard. Your master’s household has improved and become far more profitable because of your faithful work. You love your master’s family. He is an evil man, but through Christ, you have grown to love him and even pray for the salvation of him and his family. Then one day he commands you to commit adultery. You are torn. You know that you could die if you refuse, but you know you cannot disobey God. You refuse and are beaten within an inch of your life. Then you are commanded to bow down to the image of Caesar. Now you come to it. It’s just an idol. It’s not a real god. You begin to justify in your head how you could do it and still be faithful. But deep down you know you cannot. Christ alone is God. Christos Kurios. You refuse. You are sent to the lions for disobeying.

You reflect on your time of slavery. You were a hard worker. You gave your being to truly see your master thrive, even though he was evil. You never were disrespectful. You always called him lord. You never gossiped about him like the other slaves. You truly were good to him. And this is how you end up? How is this fare? How could this happen? Your heart sinks. But then you remember Peter’s third point in this passage.

3. Look to Christ as your example.

You recall the words of 1 Peter 2:20–25“20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

You remember how Christ was righteous and how He did no wrong. You remember how Christ fulfilled the prophesies of Isaiah. He never sinned. Deceit was not found in his mouth. He was reviled and did not revile in return. He did not threaten when marching to the cross. You remember that God is the judge. He will make all wrongs right. You are not the judge, He is. And you feel the weight lift off your shoulders. Yes, Christ walked this path before you. He paved the road. He is your example. You can hold your head high. You are forgiven. You will die in minutes for doing what was right. But that is no fearful thing. God says your death is precious. Soon you will be united with the Lord. You hold your head high and walk to meet the lions. Clear conscience, bold faced. And you start to sing a hymn with the other Christians there for the exact same thing.

Argumentation:

You see, many Christian slaves experienced just that. And Peter is encouraging them to suffer well in their horrible circumstances. And I cannot imagine how comforting these words were to them. I imagine many of them memorized this passage. And many of them likely reminded themselves of this while receiving a beating or even facing death. “All is well, I have obeyed Christ.” What comfort.

Transition:

But what of us? We are not slaves. Slavery is no longer legally practiced here thanks to the imposition of the Bible on our laws. So how do we apply this? Well, life is still filled with pain. And It is still filled with mistreatment. We will face mistreatment in this life. So when we look at this passage we see the blueprint on how to suffer well.

Point 3: How to Suffer Well.

Explanation:

If you recall Peter has promised us that we will be mistreated. We will be lied about and slandered. And in our age, we see this truth. Christians are the one class in our culture that it is completely okay to discriminate against. People are lying about Christians constantly in every form of media. In fact, today, you could easily lose your job for your Christian faith. That is happening all over the place. So it is important that we take this passage to heart. We are in a dark age. We must know how to suffer well. So how do we do that?

How do you keep going if you are despised and rejected for being a Christian and holding to basic Christian truth? First, remember Christ.

Remember Christ, who never sinned, suffered well.

Christ, who never lied, never sinned, never did a single thing wrong was hated and crucified. If you ever truly suffer for your faith, remember, you are not alone. Christ is right there with you. As you are beaten down, remember the back of Christ that was whipped for you. If your family rejects you, remember Jesus who was rejected by His family and driven from His home town. If you are ever mocked and spat upon, remember Christ who was spat upon and mocked for you.

And remember this most of all. He didn’t deserve it. He had done nothing in His life to deserve any of it. He was spotless. We are stained. He was sinless, we are sinful. He was innocent, we are guilty.

People always ask, “why do bad things happen to good people?” That only ever happened once in human history and that was to Christ. Every evil thing that happens to us in a way is deserved. Now we may be truly being mistreated. But we are sinners. We at least know we on some level have earned our suffering. But Christ, He was sinless! And He suffered more than any of us. The only one who truly was innocent suffered more than anyone else. He was truly unjustly treated. And He did it to save us. He did it to pay for our sins. And in Him, we now can follow Him. We must obey Peter and follow Christ’s example.

2. Follow Christ’s Example.

He paved the rode. You see, there is that kind of cheesy old saying in the church “WWJD, what would Jesus do?” There is a lot of truth to that question. When we are suffering, Peter calls us to follow Jesus’ example. We are to ask, What did Jesus do? How did Jesus handle this? I will do the same. He is our example. When we are mistreated, we can look to Christ who was far more mistreated and see how we ought to act. “Follow in His steps” as Peter says in verse 21.

Do not sin, do not wickedly revile or lie. Trust God who will judge and set all to right. Be at peace, God is in control.

And Peter ends this by reminding us of our salvation. How do we suffer well? Remember your redemption.

3. Remember Your Redemption.

Peter ends by saying this, “24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Peter is reminding them of the overwhelming beauty of their salvation. When you are suffering, nothing is more peace bringing that remembering you are free in Christ. Your sins are forgiven. Men may hate you, but you are right with God. Christ bore your sins and they were crucified with Christ. Your sins were nailed to the cross. We died with Him. Our debt is paid! We were raised from the grave with Christ! You see, as one pastor I love said, “You and your sins died with Christ. You and your sins were buried with Christ, and you but not your sins were raised from the grave with Christ!” -Douglas Wilson

When suffering comes, remember Christ, follow Christ, and remember your redemption. But Peter ends this with one last note. And that is where I want to close.

Application:

Peter says in closing “ 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Now not a trick question, who owns the sheep? The shepherd. Peter is addressing slaves. And He closes by using two images for God. A Shepherd with us as sheep. This speaks of ownership. And Peter uses the word overseer. This is the term of a manager. Something slaves would have been familiar with.

You see, here is the truth. We are all slaves. We are either slaves to righteousness or to sin. This is Paul’s point in Romans 6. We are either slaves to sin or to righteousness. Let me blunt. Right now, you are either a slave to evil or a slave to God. You, sitting in your pew are either a slave to your sin bound to hell and eternal torment with Satan and all evil spirits, or you are in Christ, bought with His blood, a slave to righteousness.

Slavery is not an option. We are all slaves. But who is your master. Do you know? And here I lay this charge on you.

Action 1: Submit to God.

Turn from your sin and trust in Christ. Repent and have faith in Him and you will be set free by being enslaved to Christ. How does this work? How can a slave be free at the same time? Because Christ is freedom. And we are chained to Him, we are chained to freedom.

Are you enslaved to lust, to gluttony, to pride, to anger, to gossip, to a loud an boisterous spirit? Are you a slave to sin? You can be set free. Christ died to bring freedom. Take on His chains, they are light. Repent, be set free. In Him you will find a life of free servitude.

Dillon said “Everyone serves someone.” Do you serve God or your own sin? I beg you, submit to God. And for those of us who are saved, I give these commands and encouragements.

Action 2: Honor those God has given authority.

Honor God above all else, but then honor those lesser authorities. Honor you employers. Honor your parents. Honor you husbands. Honor your governing rulers. But Always honor God above them all. And know that honoring God first will cause us rejection by this world. We will suffer for it. But suffer well.

Action 3: Suffer well.

Remember Christ, follow Christ’s example, and remember your redemption. But I do not leave you with doom and gloom.

Action 4: Have hope, we win.

I opened by saying that life is unjust and we are often treated unfairly. The record of history is often a record of dark and vile deeds. It is a record of struggle, pain, slavery, and death. But if one looks a little deeper, you see something else. I am fond of saying God writes the best stories. And He does. He is the divine author of reality, and the story He is writing is one of great tragedy, but even greater hope.

At first glance, when we look at history we see it is dark and filled with pain. But in the story God is writing the darkness plays a distinct role. It is used by God to make the light shine brighter. You see, darkness serves to amplify light. The darker the night, the more beautiful the sunrise. And beloved, let me give you words of hope.

We shall not always suffer. We shall not always weep. Tears come to an end. Suffering will cease. Beloved, we win. Indeed, Christ has won. We are in a new age. The gospel is going forth, and indeed wherever it goes forth there is life. Wherever Christ is proclaimed life springs up like the first spring after the hundred years winter. Slaves are set free, unborn children are protected, marriage is preserved and honored, and more. Beloved, When Christ died and rose again, He conquered death. He broke the curse. All is being made new. He ascended and is reigning now over all. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:25“25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” Hear me now. I do not know what the coming chapters in God’s grand story will bring. They may be dark. They may be filled with foul orcs and dragons. We may have to walk many dark miles and fight many dark dragons in Christ’s name. But this I know.

Appeal:

The enemies will be conquered. Christ is reigning. He won. His enemies are being crushed. No matter how dark our age gets, these dragons will fall. They will be smashed into paste beneath the foot of the Lord of lords. The King will crush them. And we ought to rejoice. Sing a psalm of victory, Christ has won, is winning, and will win. And in His victory, we will take part. The darkness will fall. Suffering will end. Our tears will be turned to rejoicing.

Take heart. Christ has overcome the world. There is no darkness that can resist His light. Suffering will end. The grave could not keep our Lord. He rose and in Him, we are alive forevermore. So go to war, live righteously, laugh loudly, know your tears will not last forever. This darkness will not last forever. The Son has risen. The Son is rising. Night is passing. There is joy ahead for The Lord of joy reigns. Amen. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

I leave you with the words of Romans 6:19 “19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”

Go now in the freedom found in slavery to Christ.