Colossians 3:22-4:1
Notes
Transcript
Wow! what an incredible 3 weeks of Summers at the Beach Sundays!!!
Praise the Lord for all that he has done
9 or so students interested in Salvation and following the Lord in believers baptism.
The largest attendance in the history of Summers at the Beach this Summer.
We went from an average of 45 to 50 students to this year 80 to 90 a day!
Incredible growth.
We praise the Lord for Kara and Lauren making this happen and run smoothly.
Also this year our mentors and interns. We have 7 college mentors and they are doing an excellent job this Summer. They have jump all in on what it means to be in community at Bridge of Faith.
Also 9 high school interns are growing and learning this Summer
This year we added credit recovery to Bridge of Faith. That was a learning curve.
In MO, they don’t fail you for grades in high school. No one gets held back. You just don’t get the education you need. You can finish your freshman year of high school with zero credits. So some students were able to work with the help of a teacher on their chrome-books to get credits caught up.
I walked in and one student said to me I have done more work in this room than I did all year at school.
Our kitchen crew made so many meals happen!
Our numbers jumped this year and they kept up. Over 100 meals served for breakfast and Over 100 meals served for lunch. Then packing 100 bags for Thursday, Friday and Saturday Breakfast and lunch for those 3 days. Sending half gallons of milk for each student for the weekend.
Daily discipleship happens all across this campus throughout Summers at the Beach.
I am humbled by how the Lord has worked.
Summers at the Beach, Summer School, mentors, and interns are driven from the Bible as we believe that EVERY individual has been created in the image of our God.
It is our desire to instruct and teach so that children and students come to know that they are created in the image of our creator.
For many years, students from our area were told that they were less than because of this area. We read our Bible and know that they to have been created in the image of our Heavenly Father and we want them to know and believe this truth.
This leads me to where we are today. I want to jump back in to preaching through the book of Colossians. Our last sermon from our series on Prison Letters was on Mothers Day of this year.
We talked about the Lordship of Jesus is the Home’s solution.
I stopped at verse 21 on this day. I wanted to dedicate some more time to verse 22.
This topic of Slavery
Read with me
22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.
23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,
24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.
1 Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.
I wanted to spend some more time on this subject because at the lunch table this past school year one of the questions that came up for Colten was around this topic.
Does the Bible condone Slavery?
Here is the short answer. The Bible does not condone or celebrate slavery.
Slavery still exist today. More people today find themselves in a situation of slavery than ever in the history of the world.
You can find slavery prevalent around the world but it also exist in many forms here in the United States as well. One of the ones we can be most familiar with is human trafficking.
I will say it again the Bible does not condone or celebrate slavery.
An understanding of slavery in scripture can be helpful for our understanding and shaping us as we read the scriptures.
In the Roman Empire, people were either slaves or they were free.
Slavery in Rome was not based on race or ethnicity; anyone could become a slave and most slaves could become free.
Becoming a slave
Prior to the first century A.D., the majority of slaves in the Mediterranean world were prisoners of war.
However, the first Century, the primary source was through birth into the slave system.
A child born to a mother who was a slave was also a slave regardless of the father.
An abandoned child could also become a slave. If an infant was left to die then slave traders would often gather the child and sell it as a slave. Children would also sometimes be sold by their fathers due to the pressures of poverty.
Living as a slave
Slavery meant the complete loss of rights.
Slaves could be sold or loaned out at the will of the owner.
The treatment slaves received depended on their owner
Abuse from owners was not uncommon
There were few restraints placed on the owner on how they could punish their slaves.
Under good conditions
Slavery could offer security
Slaves needs were met by his or her owner.
Slaves could own property but ultimately a slaves property was property of the owner.
Becoming Free
Faithlife Study Bible Slavery in the First Century
Emancipation was possible under certain legal stipulations. Owners were prevented, however, from releasing a slave from service directly. Both the slave and the owner were required to appear before a magistrate in a ceremony where a “freedom tax” was paid to the magistrate on top of the price already being paid for freedom.
Becoming a freed person meant acquiring certain social and economic advantages. Former slaves owned by Roman citizens could, under certain requirements, become citizens. This new status placed them in a social level above slaves and free noncitizens, but restricted their status below that of freeborn citizens. Former slaves who remained attached to their masters’ house could receive economic and political boosts not normally available to poor free persons. Former slaves may have learned a skill that enabled them to open a business—some entered freedom with money saved.
Newly-acquired freedom also had its drawbacks. Even after freedom had been granted, a former master could still control aspects of a former slave’s life and finances. In addition to various social obligations, freed persons could be required to work for their former master a set number of days each year. In contrast to the slave, however, the freed person gained certain rights.
22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.
It is hard to describe another political system that we may have to live under that relates to this subject.
You might be able to think of something that identifies with this topic.
What we have is a government system that does not align with what God desires and we have to navigate that system in a Biblical manner.
Does the Bible condone or celebrate Slavery? It does not!
You have to look at the whole of scripture on this topic. We don’t have time to go into it all today.
21 Were you called while a slave? It should not be a concern to you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.
22 For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave.
Notice the hope and intent of the Gospel or good news of Jesus. If you are called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman.
This is what the Gospel does. It sets you free. It sets you free from physical truths. When you are called, are you a slave? If you are physically a slave when you are called then you are the Lord’s freedman.
You are now the Lord’s. The heart of our God is to set the captive free.
Modern day application
If you give your life to Jesus at the age of 40 and you are in a career that may be challenging to your faith, then remember the Lord who has called you and bring light to that career.
The Christian orientation: Get saved in a position. Stay. You are the light of the world. He also says if you can gain your freedom then do it.
23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
The truth of the Gospel has the ability to bring freedom even in captivity.
How do we navigate a government system that goes against this idea?
22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.
Know your position in the Lord
Where is Paul writing this letter from?
He is in Prison and likely chained to a guard as he writes to encourage them. As it says in 1 Corinthians, slaves know that in the Lord you are free. In your freedom, obey your human masters in everything.
He then gives some unpacking to this statement.
He says don’t work while only being watched, in order to please men.
Know your position. You are the Lord’s slaves. You belong to Him. You serve Him. He is the Lord. You belong to the Lord alone.
As you belong to the Lord, don’t work while only being watched, in order to please men
but
work wholeheartedly
Fearing the Lord
Christians are not to be people who fear men. We are to fear the one who can cast both body and soul into hell. Fear the Lord!
13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he will become a sanctuary…
We fear the Lord and him only. As you fear the Lord, He will become a sanctuary (a place of safety, refuge, or holiness)
You run to the Lord and He becomes your sanctuary, place of safety or refuge.
You run to God and God becomes the enemy to all your enemies. The safest place in the world is with God.
23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,
No matter your status, wives, husbands, children, slaves or masters then everything you do, do it enthusiastically as something for the Lord
Fix your heart on the Lord in everything you do. Do it with excellence for the Lord. Work from the heart as to the Lord.
A half hearted worker or unfaithful worker is a poor testimony of the Lord.
Do our best for Jesus’s sake!
Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament Chapter 3
The believer who lives a shallow, disobedient life does not really believe in the all-sufficiency of Christ. Once the Christian depends on the Head—his risen, glorified Savior—for nutrition, guidance, and wisdom, he will discover mature Christian living in its fullness.
24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.
Knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord
The inheritance comes from the Lord
This is how you overcome your work not getting noticed.
You know that you serve the Lord. You know that your reward is from the Lord.
You are working for the Lord and no one is noticing
The Lord sees you and the reward is from him
In parenting, you may think no one sees what I am going through or in marriage you may be saying that people can’t see what I am walking through, or in your place of employment you think you are not noticed.
The Lord may be calling you to stay quiet. You may have some situations that you just can’t talk about with others.
The Lord sees you. He sees every moment you are returning good for evil. It is being written down and you will receive a reward of inheritance from the Lord.
In heaven, we will celebrate the evidence of God’s grace forever, even if nobody but you knew it happened during your life. I think that’s very powerful for sustaining relationships. Just like the compost pile. Whatever any good anyone does, he will receive back. So if you are in a situation like this slave, then remember, all the injustice that you endured at work or whatever the situation is today that would correspond is not wasted.
John Piper
1 Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.
This is the upside down Kingdom
