THE MASTER/SLAVE RELATIONSHIP

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.

Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

Colossians 3:22-25, 4:1 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Slavery was prevalent in biblical times. We know so because the Bible speaks to it on many occasions.

One of those occasions is found at the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 3, beginning at verse 22 through the first verse of chapter 4. Look again at these words now:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.

Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

It’s interesting here that these verses immediately follow guidance to members of a family, specifically the wife, husband, children, and fathers. Most Bibles have headings to bracket off sections of scripture and these headings serve to let the reader know the theme that lies ahead. In this section of Colossians 3, my Bible had the header, “Instruction for Christian Households” and as we read the verses in today’s passage, it’s obvious that both the masters and slaves were Christians.

Note here that Paul doesn’t advocate for slavery nor does he encourage slaves to revolt and rebel against their masters. Rather, he places the emphasis on their lives as they live them in the Lord’s sight, no matter their status in it.

Slaves were to show complete submission and obedience to their masters with the goal of not only pleasing them but the Lord. In fact, the slave’s labor for their master was to match the level of work that would be done if the Lord was the One tasking them. And indeed, Paul wanted the slaves know that their true Master was Jesus, not the earthly master they labored for.

If they did this, then the Lord would give them an inheritance as their reward but if they failed, then they would face the consequences of God, the God who brings judgment on the disobedient, no matter their socio-economic or cultural status.

As for the slave masters, they also were also accountable to the same Master as the slaves, a Master who also watched the way they treated the slaves. God commanded the earthly masters to “be just and fair” to their slaves. Abuse and mistreatment would be considered a violation of the Lord’s orders and the masters would be subject to consequences themselves.

Slaves and masters. Both in worldly relation to one another. Both equally accountable to a God who holds no favorites.

Before I close, there’s a deeper meaning to this passage, one that applies to all Christian believers.

The great American pastor, John MacArthur, wrote a great Christian book titled “Slave”. If you haven’t read it, I would highly recommend it.

In the book, MacArthur highlights how many Bible translations misrepresent the Greek word, “doulos”, which is used 127 times in the New Testament. The word means “slave” but when it was translated into many of the Bible translations popular with believers today, the word “slave” was replaced by the word “servant”. Obviously, there is a big disparity between these two words and that disparity leads to a watering down of the message the Lord intends to convey through His word regarding the relationship between Him and His people, a people who are utterly subordinate to Him.

People can choose to be servants but there’s nothing in the world that says they have to. They are independent and free to make their own choices.

Slaves have no real rights or freedom. They belong to their masters, dependent on them fully for their needs.

When we replace the word “slave” with “servant” in the scriptures, we lose sight of the true relationship that exists between the Lord and those He created. There is one Master (capital M) and everyone here on earth is a slave to Him, whether they see themselves that way or not. That’s the real Master/Slave relationship.

The Master’s slaves work for Him and in return, He cares for their needs and rewards them with an inheritance when they believe in Jesus, His Son, as Savior.

Anyone who chooses to live outside of the true Master doesn’t escape enslavement. Rather, they are a slave to sin who becomes their worldly master.

We are all slaves working for one divine Master. People not in Christ are also slaves, slaves to sin who serves as their master, a master who cares nothing for anyone who he rules.

In the end translation, we are all slaves to one of two masters.

Choose yours wisely. Choose the Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com