Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

We have been going through a little mini series here in the book of Colossians.

We first discussed Biblical Marriage and talked about the Biblical complementarian view of marriage - that we are equal and yet not the same.

We discussed that we have different roles.

Then last week we discussed Biblical Family.

We discussed the family relationship including the obedience of children and the leadership of the family by the parents - especially fathers.

Today we continue learning what the Bible has to say about our earthly relationships.

Instead of focusing on the family we are going to be focusing on the workplace.

God has designed us to work.

Work is not something that was part of the curse.

It was something from the beginning that God gave to Adam and Eve as a gift.

They were given dominion over the earth and given a job to do.

The Fall of Man and the subsequent curse brought on by that fall led to a new difficulty that came into the work environment.

Sin entered the world and work was made much harder.

It now takes much more work to get the job done and many difficulties continue to arise both relationally and practically.

Let’s see what the Bible has to say about working in a world affected by sin.

Join me as we read God’s Word:

Before we get into this message I want to give a preface in understanding this Scripture in its context.

We are going to practically apply this Scripture to our lives by comparing it to the workplace.

This application is entirely valid, but we must understand that the context in which these verses were written is not a 1:1 comparison.

We see the first word here is bondservant.

This word may be translated slave as well.

The word slavery brings about an anxiety in the mind of the American believer no matter what your skin color.

It reminds us of the moral failings of our churches in the past and the moral failings of cultures and societies far before us.

Frankly, it reminds us of the sin of this world.

So as we come to a Scripture like this, we have to start by understanding it in context.

Slavery was practiced by the Romans and was widely accepted in many of the cultures that proceeded it all the way up to and including early American history.

We will be applying this Scripture in our context today so that we can see how we can take Scripture like this and be changed by it even in our culture today.

Yet, we need to make sure that we realize the original context of this passage as well.

Before we jump into the message I think we need to address a couple of quick points that are culturally relevant today.

1. Scripture does not condone slavery.

Theologian Wayne Grudem eloquently combats this misunderstanding of Scripture with the following quote:

“The Bible does not approve or command slavery any more than it approves or commands persecution of Christians.

When the author of Hebrews commends his readers by saying, “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one” (Hebrews 10:34), that does not mean the Bible supports the plundering of Christians’ property, or that it commands theft.

It only means that if Christians have their property taken through persecution, they should still rejoice because of their heavenly treasure, which cannot be stolen.

Similarly, when the Bible tells slaves to be submissive to their masters, it does not mean that the Bible supports or commands slavery, but only that it tells people who are slaves how they should respond.”

- Wayne Grudem

2. Although slavery is not directly attacked by Scripture, the seeds of overthrowing slavery are listed throughout the Scriptures.

Biblical critics are correct in saying that Scripture does not come right out and condemn slavery.

This is because the Bible is focused on spreading the Gospel.

As the Gospel would spread, righteousness would abound and eventually abolish slavery.

And that is what happened in many nations.

Christians such as William Wilberforce of England and Abraham Lincoln of the United States used their Christian values found in Scripture to combat this detestable practice.

The Scriptures clearly undermine the idea of slavery throughout its pages.

We see verses on equality, love, and sacrifice.

We see verses that assert that the first will be last and the last first (Matthew 20:16).

We see leaders being called to serve.

Even in our Scripture today we see Paul addressing bondservants directly in his letter which shows that they were equal in standing among their fellow church members.

So with that aside, it is crystal clear that Scripture teaches a higher way of thinking than slavery.

I think that this topic is the best example and proof that the heavily pedaled social gospel in America today is not what works.

Slavery was eventually abolished by true believers through the work of the Gospel.

If we want to change our world - we needn’t overly focus on all of the injustice solely.

We must focus on evangelism and share the Good News of the Gospel with those around us.

True regenerate men and women will lead to a changed world.

Yes, we need to speak out on behalf of the oppressed.

Yes we need to be in agreement with Micah 6:8:

But our main concern should be the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because government laws, protests, manipulation, convincing arguments, books, and political maneuvers do not change hearts.

You may change a mind which can sadly be changed back in an instant.

But you won’t change a heart with anything other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And it is only true heart change performed by Christ that lasts.

Let us pray.

Prayer

Getting into our message for today, we are now going to discuss how Christ is honored in the workplace.

The first is:

I. Christ is Glorified by Godly Employees (Colossians 3:22-24)

We have already mentioned and explained this word bondservants.

We understand that it was another word for slave.

Paul will get to admonishing masters in a bit but note the strong language used here again.

Obey in everything.

This is the same phrase that we saw with children obeying parents.

This is another tough command.

Obey in everything those who are your earthly masters.

As we exhorted children, obviously we obey Christ first and anything that is against the Word of God should be actively resisted.

The best modern contextual application of this Scripture is the workplace.

Although the employee/employer relationship is certainly much different than the bondservant/master relationship, there remains many similarities.

As an employee we need to obey those in our authority and be a blessing to them.

And we are to obey them in everything as long as it isn’t against the Word of God.

I think this is a very difficult command for our current humanistic/me first culture.

The natural bend for most employees is to obey what they agree with and what they think is a good idea.

When something seems to negatively affect them or doesn’t seem to make sense to them, there is a quick backlash in the workplace.

I pray that we aren’t like this.

I pray that we do our best to work in harmony at our workplaces.

Obviously there is a time to stand up when unrighteousness is encouraged and we should.

We should boldly stand for Christ and righteousness like Daniel did when he was commanded not to pray to God and did anyway and was cast into the lion’s den (Daniel 6:10-28).

We should not compromise our Christian values no matter what the cost.

Yet we should do our best to work in peace.

Paul gives a strong encouragement for peace in 2 Corinthians 13:11

We should not be intentionally disagreeable.

We should not be workers of strife or drama.

When we seek peace through loving others with the love of God, we will create a much better atmosphere for both ourselves and our colleagues and managers.

And understanding this parallel verse in its context, this peace and agreeableness should be present in the church as well.

Yet, this is only possible through the power and love of Christ working inside of us through His Spirit.

Moving on through verse 22 we see two ways that we are not to obey.

We are not to obey or work hard because someone is watching us or to earn points with our employer.

Eye-service here refers to those servants who would only work hard when their master was watching.

They worked hard to avoid punishment and to hopefully get rewarded.

This hard work was done with only selfish gain and was dishonest.

This type of working lacks integrity.

Integrity is the integral part of character.