Repercussions of a New You from Home the Workplace

When Jesus,

Colossians 1:15–16 KJV 1900

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

and when you accept Him as your Savior and Lord,

Colossians 1:21–23 (KJV 1900)

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Colossians 1:25–26 (KJV 1900)

25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

Colossians 2:6–7 (KJV 1900)

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

The result of Christ now being in us and we are now a new creation, this should be the norm in your life.

Colossians 3:15–17 (KJV 1900)

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

All of this finds in foundation in Authority and Submission.

Recognizing Jesus Christ as Lord is the part of salvation that is transferred through our lives.

We start with submitting to the authority of Jesus Christ!

As a part of this submission, it is passed through to others we come into contact with.

Where is this best played out?

In the home!

Last week we saw how this is played out in the Marriage, with the Husband and Wife.

Wife is to Submit, Husband is to Love and not become Bitter.

Then, we saw the next relationship is the Parent and Child.

Children are to Obey, Parents are Provoke not.

In biblical times, the next relationship in the Home was the Master and Servant.

Remember that in those days the homes had servants. Today, it is hard pull this idea into the 20th century.

The closest we can probably come and I don’t think this applies to anyone in this congregation, but imagine somebody who is employed in your home or living in your home who is not a regular family member.

Incidentally, your servants are not employees. Servants were slaves. They were the actual property of their masters, but the principles that apply to them certainly apply to employee/employer relationships throughout history.

Servants Obey

Colossians 3:22 (KJV 1900)

22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

Now’s here is a home where you have some slaves.

Now, maybe you don’t have that in your home—I know I don’t. However, and again I do not but, maybe you have a maid; maybe you have somebody who does your garden; maybe you have people who come and go, fixing things, doing things.

Maybe you want to look at this from the standpoint of your job or your employee/employer relationships.

Christianity has some principles on which this thing is to function.

And it’s very simple: if you are an employee, you are to obey everything.

Work with Sincerity

Notice—not with eye service, that is, not just when the boss is looking, as if you were to please him.

But with a single heart—really, you’re pleasing God.

The Greeks and the Romans—there were just slaves everywhere. This was a tremendously important thing in the home, that the slaves realized that they were to be submissive, even if they were Christians. They were to be submissive.

According to the flesh, their masters ruled them. Not that they were ruled by them spiritually. But in a fleshly relationship, not a superior relationship intellectually, or spiritually, or morally, or any other way, but just the flesh—they were in a position to obey.

Work in Fear and Reverence

Colossians 3:22 (KJV 1900)

22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

Work with All Your Heart

And they were to obey, verse 23 says,

Colossians 3:23 (KJV 1900)

23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Remember we have committed our Spirit to the Lord which is played out in our body.

Romans 12:1–2 (KJV 1900)

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

so, —whatever they did, they were to do heartily as to the lord and not to men.

Totally committed to serve as if the master were the lord Himself.

“Doing it heartily” is Enthusiastically, literally “working from the soul,” according to the Greek language.

Anytime you are given a command, there are two sides, right?

Paul addresses a Positive and Negative side to this command.

Let’s look at the Positive first.

The Positive Result

Colossians 3:24 (KJV 1900)

24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Now, listen. The Lord is going to pay you back. You may be underpaid and overworked in this life, but God one day is going to equalize everything. The good master will return.

The Lord is Returning.

And who do you ultimately serve? The Lord Christ.

As an employee on the job, as a servant in the home, whatever it is, wherever it is, for whomever you’re working, you are really working for the Lord. You are serving the Lord. And, whatever inequities there are, don’t let them condition your behavior.

You serve with a full heart; you serve whole-heartedly; you serve all-out; you serve with total commitment, because the Lord is the One you’re really serving and the Lord will pay you back.

That’s the positive! Now let’s notice the negative!

The Negative Result

Colossians 3:25 (KJV 1900)

25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

If the slaves fails to heed the admonitions, he’ll be punished. The Lord will discipline. And God is impartial.

Don’t think because you’re a Christian or because you know the Lord in a unique way that you have any special favors.

The Christian slave is not to presume on his Christianity as a justification for disobedience as a slave. And when the apostle Paul was writing this letter to the Colossians, no doubt he had in mind the case of Philemon, the slave -whom he sent back and asked Philemon to receive with love. If the slave has wronged, the slave has to pay for the wrong. He’s not exonerated because he’s a Christian.

So you see the two sides of that: servants obey.

Obey as if it were the Lord. Whatever you do, do it with your whole heart.

A positive reason: you’ll be rewarded by the Lord whom you’re really serving.

A negative reason: if you don’t, there will be a chastening.

Masters Give

Colossians 4:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

And then lastly, a word to the masters. “You give your servants that which is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.”

In other words, do unto others as you would have the Lord do unto you. Treat them fairly, as God, you would hope, would treat you.

Giving is the opposite of taking. Become a giver not a taker.

There is to be just and fair treatment in … • giver of wages not a taker of wages • be a giver of work assignments not a taker of assignments • be a giver of production and goals not a taker • Be a giver of expectations and demands not a taker • Be a giver promotion

The Master, employer or manager, expects at least two things from his workmen: diligence and loyalty. The charge to the employer is the same: be diligent in your management and in your loyalty to the workmen under you. Demonstrate your loyalty with fair wages and job security.

Now, in this simple thing and I’ve just run it by. We haven’t gone into any great depth.

But let me just say this: when you add this whole chapter together, what you have is the new man making a new home. In the world of the New Testament, a wife with this attitude, a husband with this attitude, children with this attitude, parents with this attitude, slaves with this attitude, and masters with this attitude, would absolutely be a dramatic, shocking reality in a society.

And it still should be true in a society today where homes are falling apart, where marriage is a joke, where people in our communities can’t believe that there’s anybody who’s happily married, or that there’s any home with peace, or that there’s any home with love and fun and unity and all of these things the Bible talks about.

There ought to be some that we can lay out there and say “Look here. Here’s one.”

If Christianity is to affect our world, it will affect the world from the vantage point that it affects the home.

And it all goes back to the same thing. Verse 1 of chapter 3:

Colossians 3:1 KJV 1900

1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

if you’re risen with Christ, live it. Put off the old man; put on the new man.

Colossians 3:15 KJV 1900

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Colossians 3:16 KJV 1900

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:17 KJV 1900

17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Verse 17: let the name of Christ guide you.

And the result is going to be that you’re not only going to be a new man, but a new wife, and a new husband, and a new child, and a new parent, and a new slave, and a new master.

Are you being a CATALYST or aN INHIBITOR?

And I really believe that if homes can become what God wants them to be, they can become the catalyst to change a messed-up world. And Christianity will continue to go on in history as the agency that has brought about great social reform.