WEBVTT 00:00:00.380 --> 00:00:21.679 Father, sometimes your word frightens us, and just as sometimes you frighten us, we worry, Father, that if we get really close to you, if we get really close to Jesus, that we will have to believe terrible things, or that you will make us do terrible things, or that you will just diminish our life in some way. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:47.280 And, Father, we confess that often it's even uncomfortable for us just to bring this to you in prayer. But, Father, we thank you so much that you know our hearts, that you know what really goes on inside of us. You see our fears, our hesitancies, our doubts. You see our glories and our strengths. You see everything there is to see about us, and still you love us, and still you desire to make your home within us and fit us for heaven. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:01:05.420 Father, we ask that you make the gospel very precious to us, more and more precious to our hearts, and bring your word home deeply into our hearts, that we might live lives that bring you glory. And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:07.420 Amen. 00:01:35.420 --> 00:01:37.420 Amen. 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:07.420 Amen. 00:02:35.419 --> 00:02:37.419 Amen. 00:03:05.419 --> 00:03:05.939 Amen. 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:06.939 Amen. 00:03:06.939 --> 00:03:09.979 Amen. 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:10.500 Amen. 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:10.979 Amen. 00:03:10.979 --> 00:03:17.079 slavery. But in fact, it's rarely at its best. That when it does talk about slavery, what it does 00:03:17.079 --> 00:03:23.979 is it legitimizes slavery, it empowers slavery, in fact, weaponizes slavery for the masters. 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:31.899 And we now know that slavery is a terrible, terrible evil. So how on earth could you 00:03:31.899 --> 00:03:38.639 possibly take seriously a book that empowers and energizes slavery? And we all know that 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:43.779 if it is empowering and energizing slavery, it's also empowering and energizing racism. 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:50.239 So how on earth could any reasonable person in 2020 believe a book like this that does such a horrible 00:03:50.239 --> 00:04:00.099 thing? And that would just be what everybody knows. Everybody knows it. Like they wouldn't even have to 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:05.299 argue it. They wouldn't even know it. And then in fact, if one of your friends heard the text that 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:09.520 we're looking at today, and we're going to start reading at Colossians chapter 3, verse 22, 00:04:10.380 --> 00:04:14.280 and you read, so you just heard that. That's what's going on in people's minds, that slavery 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:20.900 is encouraged. It's weaponized, in fact, in the Bible. And you say, no, no, no, no, it's not weaponized. 00:04:20.960 --> 00:04:26.160 And then they say, whoa, whoa, whoa, let's read Colossians chapter 3, verses 22 and following. And 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:29.819 here's what it says. And I'm not going to use the word bond servants. I'm going to use the word slaves, 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:37.779 which is a valid translation. Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, 00:04:38.659 --> 00:04:45.219 not by way of eye sees a service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the 00:04:45.219 --> 00:04:50.980 Lord. Whatever you do, work hardly as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:56.879 receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ, for the wrongdoer will be 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:02.939 paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your slaves justly 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:07.719 and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. And after this, your non-Christian or 00:05:07.719 --> 00:05:14.540 you're just your secular or your spiritual friend would just go, there you go, like the mic drop. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:22.980 Take that. What are you going to say? And we would probably go, um, we'd probably go, um. 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:29.840 So that's one of the reasons that we need to look at this text. For many people, it is a defeater of 00:05:29.840 --> 00:05:36.920 the Christian faith. And for some of us, maybe many of us who are Christians, it's an inconvenient 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:42.560 thing that we don't really like thinking about. Uh, you know, it might be one of those things that, 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:47.560 uh, in church, if you just follow the lectionary readings, it never comes up. Uh, but if you are a 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:52.400 Christian, a new Christian, or maybe a longtime Christian, you finally decide to read the Bible from 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:59.679 cover to cover and you will come across texts like this. So what do we do? Well, 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:09.239 let's look, uh, Andrew, if you could, let's look at verse, uh, 22 first. And it actually, uh, it sounds 00:06:09.239 --> 00:06:15.099 like a weird place to begin, but there's something at the end of verse 22 that begins to help us to 00:06:15.099 --> 00:06:20.799 understand what's going on. Cause in fact, I'd like to say, and I think the Bible teaches that only the 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:28.460 biblical gospel makes slavery morally unthinkable. That's the big idea for today. Only the biblical 00:06:28.460 --> 00:06:35.759 gospel makes slavery morally unthinkable. And I actually think this text is part of that message 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:43.639 of making slavery morally unthinkable. You go, what, what? How do you get that? Well, let's look. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:48.660 Let's look at the, at verse 22. Just look at the last little bit of it. You know, not by way of eye 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:54.360 service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Other translations will 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:59.900 have in the fear of the Lord. Now this begins to be in a very important clue to what's going on here. 00:07:00.520 --> 00:07:05.660 Some of you have heard the story that I've shared before over the years of, uh, you know, between the 00:07:05.660 --> 00:07:14.340 age I became, I came to faith in, uh, when I was 16 and probably between the ages of 16 and 26, 27, 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:19.039 28, I had quite a few times where I had crises of faith and I almost gave up on the Christian faith 00:07:19.039 --> 00:07:24.239 for a variety of reasons. Uh, and one of the very hard times in my Christian faith was, I think it 00:07:24.239 --> 00:07:29.159 was in my third year of university. Um, and in my third year of university for the first time in my 00:07:29.159 --> 00:07:32.859 life, I've shared this. Some of you have heard it before. I came into contact with a person who seemed 00:07:32.859 --> 00:07:37.639 to really know what they were talking about, who basically, who maintained very clearly that Jesus 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:43.959 never taught that he was God. The word Trinity is never in the Bible. And the, the, the idea of the 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:49.659 Trinity is not taught at all. There's only one God. It's not Jesus. He's just a prophet. And I, 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:54.180 of course, started to respond that she was wrong and she challenged me. She gave me all these Bible 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:58.779 verses. And now, you know, maybe one of the things that's going to happen to us in heaven is that in 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:04.379 heaven, God will replay our lives so we can actually remember what went on. And some of it will be things 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:09.120 we laugh about. Some of the things will be things that we are really glad Jesus died for us because 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:14.199 of the terrible things we did or thought. But it might very well be if that happened, I'd go back 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:18.819 in time and there's like 50 times I heard that the word Trinity was never in the Bible, but I can't 00:08:18.819 --> 00:08:23.399 remember it. I only memory is that the first time I ever heard it was from this woman. I didn't believe 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:28.060 her. I thought, well, she's not a Christian. What does she know about it? And I was shocked to discover 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:32.259 that she was right, that the word Trinity wasn't in the Bible. And when I went to try to show her 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:37.279 from the Bible, that the Bible, in fact, does treat the divinity of Jesus, that Jesus did claim 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:41.939 to be God and that, you know, that there's three persons, one God. And when I started going for 00:08:41.939 --> 00:08:47.700 looking for verses, I didn't find what I wanted. In fact, I was massively disappointed in the text 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:53.580 that I saw. And I had a very hard time for four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks as I struggled through 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:58.919 it. And I now know that the problem that I had was that I was looking for the wrong thing, 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:05.939 that I was expecting something like the Athanasian Creed to be in the Bible, that I could just turn 00:09:05.939 --> 00:09:10.179 in the Bible and I'd find something like the Athanasian Creed or the Nicene Creed or the Apostles 00:09:10.179 --> 00:09:16.819 Creed. And I could show her here, you know, here it is. Here's the Trinity and here's the divinity of 00:09:16.819 --> 00:09:23.120 Jesus. And I was expecting something very obvious and dramatic like that. And it wasn't there. It isn't 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:27.919 there. If you go looking for something like that, it's not in the Bible. But what I began to understand 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:35.839 and it's become more and more clear over time is that the doctrine of the Trinity and the deity of 00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:43.639 Jesus is part of the deep structure of the Bible. It's so present everywhere in the Bible. It's the 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:50.979 way the whole Bible is structured and organized. It's so present that you, in a sense, don't see it. 00:09:51.439 --> 00:09:56.099 An analogy would be this. You come from a place you don't know what forests are, 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:01.560 and you go into this place and all you see is tree after tree after tree. And after you've been in 00:10:01.560 --> 00:10:05.580 for an hour, now there's a tree, there's lots of trees, there's trees all around us. And then you 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:13.940 turn to the person and say, where's the forest? You go, well, we're in the forest. Well, they say, 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:19.879 no, no, all I see is trees. I don't see the forest. No, no, no, you're in the forest. You're surrounded by 00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:27.379 trees. You're in the forest. And then you go, oh, like the forest. Oh, and it's the same thing. Why am 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:33.000 I saying all of this? If you are familiar with the Old Testament, what our Jewish friends call the 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:36.840 Tanakh and what we Christians call the Old Testament, if you're familiar with it, you will 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:44.259 see constantly in the Old Testament, the fear of the Lord. It's one of the main big teachings of the 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:49.439 entire Old Testament. And every time it mentions the fear of the Lord, it's talking about God. You 00:10:49.439 --> 00:10:58.299 are to fear Yahweh. You are to fear the Lord. And now here in verse 22, you see the fear of the Lord, 00:10:58.299 --> 00:11:08.919 but it's connected to Jesus. This constant Old Testament theme of describing people's response 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:17.759 to Yahweh is applied to Jesus. In fact, I could almost every single Sunday, if I wanted, I would 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:22.899 bore you to tears, but almost every Sunday, I could probably show you how the text talks about the 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:30.159 Trinity or about the divinity of Jesus. It's so present. It is like going into a forest and saying, 00:11:30.319 --> 00:11:36.059 where's the forest when all you see is trees? And I want to suggest that the exact same thing 00:11:36.059 --> 00:11:42.500 happens with slavery. What do we want? We want there to go and to be something like a group of 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:48.599 woke political people, progressive Christians, some type of manifesto. And we expect there should 00:11:48.599 --> 00:11:54.359 be something like a manifesto. And we just turn in the Bible and we say, well, here's the anti-slavery 00:11:54.359 --> 00:11:59.659 manifesto. And you can just point at it and you can see very clearly that the Bible has this nice 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:05.739 anti-slavery manifesto. You have nothing to fear and, you know, raise up and throw off the 00:12:05.740 --> 00:12:11.360 shackles. That's what we expect to see when we see it. But I want to suggest that, in fact, the 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:20.340 fundamental teaching of human beings being made in the image of God and having an integrity and a 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:26.440 nobility based on the fact that they are human and created by God, sustained by God, and that God 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:32.220 has created human beings for freedom is part of the deep structure of the entire Bible. 00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:38.320 It is part of the deep. Every week you could look and see how the Bible is upholding the notion of 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:43.860 human dignity and human freedom, that we have been made for freedom and that we have done things to 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:49.360 undermine freedom. And it's part of the deep structure of the Bible. And it's so much a part of the Bible 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:54.420 that when you go looking for it, it is like going in and only seeing trees and not realizing that you're 00:12:54.420 --> 00:13:01.220 in a forest because we're looking for the wrong thing. So, I mean, just in Genesis chapter one, 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:05.519 it's taught at the very, very beginning of the Bible that every human being is made in the image of God, 00:13:05.680 --> 00:13:13.100 that a human being has a dignity and a nobility and an integrity that is not bestowed by the state. 00:13:15.060 --> 00:13:23.540 One of the deep problems in this country is that, in fact, the Bible is countercultural and offensive 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:31.179 to our culture because we believe in Canada, all of the knowledge elites of our country and cultural 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:39.199 elites believe that the dignity of being a person is a right bestowed by the state, completely opposed 00:13:39.199 --> 00:13:47.519 to the Bible. It is the same mindset that legitimizes slavery, is part of the basic cultural discourse 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:56.000 of Canada. And the Bible teaches that human beings have a dignity and integrity given by God because 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:03.559 we are image bearers of God that can only be recognized by the state, but is not granted by the state or 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:09.819 bestowed by the state. And it is part of Genesis one, it is part of Genesis two, and it is all the way 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:18.420 through the Bible. So how does it show itself here in this particular text? So over the last, 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:22.720 I didn't do it last week because we talked about husbands and wives. I'm going to read that text 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:27.440 again in a moment. If you're curious about what I had to say, you can look at last week's sermon. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:37.980 I'm not going to repeat myself. But from Colossians chapter 2 verse 16 to chapter 3 verse 17, I spent 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:44.600 five weeks sharing how the gospel causes you to grow. And I gave the first bit in chapter 2 about 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:48.460 how you have to make that decision about whether or not God grows you or you're going to grow yourself. 00:14:49.020 --> 00:14:55.400 And some of you remember that I almost every single week I use the analogy about how we are cut 00:14:55.399 --> 00:15:01.699 roses. And God doesn't just sort of give a rose life. His project is to make us into something like 00:15:01.699 --> 00:15:08.100 a giant sequoia, which is the biggest tree that exists on the planet. And one of the reasons, 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:12.299 one of the ways I tried to show that is in Colossians chapter 3 verse 4. You won't be able to see it on 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:17.399 the screen. The verses after this, you'll be able to see. But in chapter 3 verse 4, it says, 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:23.259 when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. So there's this 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:29.279 wonderful truth that, you know, on this side of it, when you die or when Jesus comes back, you might be 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:38.840 severely disabled. You might be very, very, very elderly and very, very frail and point to death. 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:44.460 You might be very, very sick, riddled with cancer. But the moment that Jesus returns, 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:49.919 or the moment that you are in Christ and you die and you pass, in a sense, through death, 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:57.839 the veil of death, you see Jesus. And when you see Jesus, you will be like him. And he isn't just 00:15:57.839 --> 00:16:02.379 made you into a rose, he's made you into something like a giant sequoia. You will be like Jesus. You 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:09.479 will be a creature of glory. And that's the end of the story if you are in Christ. Now, why is this 00:16:09.479 --> 00:16:14.679 very significant as we get to the part about slavery? Well, it is because, you see, Colossians 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:20.479 proves that slaves could become Christians and, in fact, needed to become Christians. 00:16:21.099 --> 00:16:25.579 If you go back and you look at the beginning and the end, Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus was a slave. 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:29.719 How do we know it was a slave name? In fact, it's a very interesting thing. He's a person who 00:16:29.719 --> 00:16:34.299 obviously wasn't raised in a good Jewish home or a Christian home because his name means he was 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:40.000 dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. And yet, even though somewhere along the lines, not told, 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.440 he became a Christian. And he had a slave name. He's a Christian. He's a slave. Onesimus, 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:49.379 who's going to be mentioned in the next chapter, is a slave. In fact, the book of Philemon, which 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:56.059 probably accompanied this book, is a letter by Paul where he urges Philemon, the slave owner 00:16:56.059 --> 00:17:04.440 of Onesimus. And now both Onesimus and Philemon have become Christians. And Paul urges Philemon to free 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:12.039 Onesimus. But we know that slaves were Christians. So what does that mean? In the Roman world, 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:20.980 to be a slave is not to be a person. You have lost your dignity as a person, as a slave. And yet, 00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:28.420 this says to Onesimus in Epaphroditus, if Philemon had sinned and refused to free Onesimus, 00:17:28.420 --> 00:17:37.880 Onesimus knows that one day he will be like Jesus. Outside the walls of the church, outside of the 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:43.820 walls of the place where they would gather and were inside, he is not a slave. He is a brother. 00:17:44.580 --> 00:17:49.860 And if they were women slaves, they were sisters. Inside the walls of the church, they are brothers 00:17:49.860 --> 00:17:56.180 and sisters. In the world, they are slaves. They are non-persons. But they know that the world does 00:17:56.180 --> 00:18:04.240 not define who they are or what their destiny is, what the end of the story is for them. For them, 00:18:04.320 --> 00:18:12.140 the end of the story is they will be like Jesus, creatures of glory. That is the end of their story. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:19.340 And if you're in favor of slavery, it gets worse. If you understand what the Bible's teaching, 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:25.160 it only gets better. Go down to chapter 3, verse 17. And you know, when I was talking about 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:29.460 about chapter 17 properly, and when we were talking about husbands and wives, 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:35.680 verse 17 is one of these Janus texts. It both summarizes the stuff that's come before, 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:41.420 and it also, in a sense, introducing what follows. So when you read chapter 3, verse 17, 00:18:41.800 --> 00:18:46.400 and Paul is now going to go into his household code, he's going to talk to husband, wives, 00:18:46.860 --> 00:18:54.279 husbands, children, parents, slaves, slave owners. What you have to understand is that verse 17 is Jesus 00:18:54.279 --> 00:19:01.680 giving his people their marching orders. Jesus giving his people their marching orders. 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:07.960 And so what does it say in verse 17? And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:13.619 of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do in word or deed, 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:19.059 do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:24.559 The wife, that is her marching orders. The husband, that is his marching orders. The child, 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:29.919 that is the child's marching orders. The parents, that are their marching orders. The slave, 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.240 that is the slave's marching orders. 00:19:36.639 --> 00:19:45.740 The slave has a way to do everything in the name of Jesus to illuminate the gospel and bring glory to God. 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:55.339 Look what happens next. Note in verse 18, wives, submit to your husbands. But, and we, I'm not going to, 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:59.099 we talked about that last week, so I'm not going to go into it again. But note, note thing which I 00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:02.839 didn't bring out very much last week because I was going to bring it out this week. It says, 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:10.480 wives, submit to your husbands. And what does it say? As is fitting in the Lord. As is fitting. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:18.319 It fits. Okay? A broad word means in a second. Don't jump down to verse 20. Children, obey your 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:26.099 parents in everything. Here's the phrase, for this pleases the Lord. We're going to go now, 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:31.259 when we start reading in a moment, the passage is about slaves. You don't see anything about it being 00:20:31.259 --> 00:20:40.039 fitting or pleasing the Lord. Why is that? Because it is part of the order of creation. Before the fall, 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:47.759 God created human beings as male and female, and he created them with the possibility and the 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:54.480 intention that those who are called to marriage would enter into marriage. That it's actually part 00:20:54.480 --> 00:21:01.039 of the order of creation from a Christian point of view. And we all know that there is, of course, 00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:06.400 a great problem that people can be married and desire to have children and not be able to have 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:12.180 children. And for many, many people, that's a great sadness to them that they are married and cannot 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:19.200 physically have children. But we understand that parents having children is natural. It's part of 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:27.400 the order of creation. We understand that there's something sad that we are to weep over if that's not 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:33.960 able to happen. But when it comes to the slaves, it doesn't say that it's part of the order of creation. 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:39.360 It doesn't say it's fitting. It doesn't say it's right. It doesn't say it's pleasing the Lord. 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:47.860 You see how the entire institution of slavery has been decoupled, decommissioned. It's not part of 00:21:47.860 --> 00:21:52.880 the order of the gods, as it is in the pagan religions, as it is in many of the religions of the East, 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:58.920 where to be a Dalit in Hinduism, the lowest order is something that you deserve. It's something that 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:05.640 you've brought about by karma. It's not that slavery is not part of the natural order. It's not right, 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:10.620 but it is something that has to deal with, be dealt with. In the Roman world, one third of the 00:22:10.620 --> 00:22:16.880 population of the Roman Empire were slaves. And in fact, at the time of the writing of this, it was 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:24.200 unimaginable to have an economy, a world without slaves. It would be unimaginable. And yet in a world 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:29.819 where slavery was unimaginable, the Bible doesn't connect it to creation. It doesn't say that it's 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:35.140 pleasing and it doesn't say it's fitting. Well, what does it say? And George, you might say, George, 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:42.960 but it still seems as if it's weaponizing what slave masters can do. That you look at it, George, and 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:48.100 I mean, that's, you've said some interesting stuff, but it looks as if it's weaponizing the power of the 00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:54.339 masters. It is doing the exact opposite to the masters. And I'm going to show it to you. Look at 00:22:54.339 --> 00:23:06.059 verse 22. Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:13.119 people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart would be single-mindedness is basically a more literal way 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:20.339 to put it. But what is the single-mindedness is the fear of the Lord. Now, here's the thing. 00:23:20.959 --> 00:23:28.379 They're earthly masters. And in fact, literally, they're masters of the flesh, fleshly masters. 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:36.799 Now, this is definitely to knock slave masters down, not just one or two levels, but in a very 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:43.019 profound ways. In fact, the Greek word is sarx, which we know of as the word flesh. And it tends to 00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:48.579 have two primary meanings in the New Testament. It either means that human nature and the human 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:55.940 part of us that is in complete and utter rebellion against God. And the other part is that as a result 00:23:55.940 --> 00:24:05.960 of the fall, the frailty and the fragility and the temporiness of earthly life. So how in a world where 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:12.559 the powerful determine everything, which is still the world that we are in today, largely, not 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:17.919 perfectly because there's a Christian memory still operating within our culture, but where the 00:24:17.919 --> 00:24:24.220 powerful can be the powerful and they get their way. In a world like that, the slave masters are called 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:32.899 flesh masters, masters of the flesh, which definitely carries an odor of sin and rebellion against God 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:40.840 and the order, the idea of fragility and weakness. It comes because you're in a world separate from God. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:46.519 And those are how the slaves are to understand their masters, but they are still to obey them. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:52.060 I'll get to that in a moment. But can you see how in a very, very powerful way, it doesn't connect it. 00:24:52.340 --> 00:24:59.120 Not only does it not connect it to creation, it connects it to the fall with the word earthly or fleshly. 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:05.599 And then it continues on in verse 23. Now, remember, the emphasis is on fearing the Lord, 00:25:05.699 --> 00:25:11.019 the fear of the Lord, the singleness of mind is for the Lord. Why? Because in verse 17, 00:25:11.139 --> 00:25:14.959 you're to do everything in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God, 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:22.000 the Father through him. Is a slave to give thanks to be a slave? No. Is he or she to give thanks and 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:29.099 praise because he is oppressed and powerless? No. Why is he to give thanks and praise? He is to give 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:35.159 thanks and praise because he has his mind set on Christ. Because the end of the story is that he 00:25:35.159 --> 00:25:41.519 will be like Jesus. It is because he can go through his day not alone, but with Jesus. It is because he 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:48.439 understands the key of the entire story of the world is seen not in power, but in the one who set 00:25:48.439 --> 00:25:55.839 aside his power and glory and divine prerogatives to take all that and put it aside and remaining fully 00:25:55.839 --> 00:26:03.659 God to enter into our created order, humble and lowly and to die upon a cross willingly out of love 00:26:03.659 --> 00:26:14.139 for you and me. And that story can begin to shape the slave's life. That is what he can be and she can 00:26:14.139 --> 00:26:20.720 be thankful for. That is the end of the story of the powerless. Is it the father, the creator of all 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:30.120 things, has chosen and called that slave to be his child forever? And not just a child, but to have 00:26:30.120 --> 00:26:34.660 the status of a son, the one who will inherit all things. And that's what continues on right here in 00:26:34.660 --> 00:26:40.960 verse 23. Whatever you do, work hardly that single-mindedly. Once again, all whole, all of you 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:49.700 from the soul for the Lord and not for men. Knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the inheritance 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:57.380 as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. In a world where the slave master is to be called Lord, 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:04.559 the slave master is called the flesh master. Is the Lord mentioned here time and time and time again? 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:15.539 But who is the slave reminded? Is the Lord? It's Jesus, not the slave master. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. 00:27:17.379 --> 00:27:26.179 Jesus is Lord. And you will receive an inheritance. And it's very, very unfortunate in our English 00:27:26.179 --> 00:27:34.240 translations that there is a paragraph drop between verse 25 and chapter 4, verse 1. You shouldn't see 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:40.200 that there's a paragraph difference there because, in fact, chapter 4, verse 25 doesn't just give 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:48.160 advice to slaves. It says something to the masters. It says, for the wrongdoer will be paid back, 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:55.359 for the wrong is done. There is no partiality. That's what the slave owner is told. You do wrong, 00:27:55.680 --> 00:28:03.380 there's no partiality. And then there's this bombshell in the original language. 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:09.520 It's not as grammatic, and that's why usually it's translated in English in a way to make it more 00:28:09.520 --> 00:28:15.000 grammatic and easier to read. But in the original language, it says, masters, treat your bond servants. 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:20.700 In my version here, it says justly and fairly. Literally, it says, masters, treat your bond servants 00:28:20.700 --> 00:28:30.340 with justice and equity. That's what it says. Treat the slave with justice and equity. 00:28:30.339 --> 00:28:40.659 In a world that could not imagine any economy or political structure without slaves, 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:47.159 the Bible says you treat them with justice, you treat them with equity. 00:28:48.699 --> 00:28:53.679 And with time, even though everything within their mind and their culture shapes them to think a 00:28:53.680 --> 00:29:01.160 particular way, they go, one moment, how can you treat a slave with equity if a slave is a slave? 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:09.680 And how can there even possibly be justice if you're treating the slave as a slave? 00:29:10.680 --> 00:29:15.200 But doesn't it empower it? Not at all. Listen and think about what's happening. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:24.039 I think most of you are familiar with Star Trek. If you're not, you know, it's a harmless diversion. 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:31.259 I just watched the Picard first season on DVD just a little while ago. But just imagine it's a Star 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:37.420 Trek episode, okay? And in a Star Trek episode, you folks who really know Star Trek, just give me a 00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:41.160 little bit of grace, a time out. Sometimes I get things wrong because I'm not a Trekkie. 00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:47.259 But imagine a science fiction scenario, something like Star Trek. And Picard, because he was the 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:53.340 greatest of the captains, not Kirk. But Picard, he comes with the Star... Oh, I just caused some... 00:29:53.340 --> 00:30:00.900 Now I've lost part of the congregation. So, you know, if you're watching this and you're not part of 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:06.000 Church of Myra, we let anybody come in. You can be a Leafs fan, a Sens fan, you can be a basketball fan 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:11.140 and not like hockey. You can like Kirk. You can like Picard. You can think, who are they and who 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:18.180 cares? You're welcome at Church of the Messiah. We're very open-minded and truly inclusive in the 00:30:18.180 --> 00:30:23.360 senses like that. So, anyway, so just imagine whether it's Kirk or whether it's Picard, they 00:30:23.360 --> 00:30:27.240 come to a world which is very, very primitive and where there's something like slave owners. 00:30:28.080 --> 00:30:31.620 And, you know, part of the first directive, which they always sort of manage, they manage 00:30:31.620 --> 00:30:35.120 to interfere with the world without interfering with the world. You know, that's part of the 00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:38.960 thing. But you're there and they maybe bring their ship down so people can see their ship. 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:44.220 They can see all these powerful things they can do. And Picard and the crew have done something to 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:50.559 intervene in a person who's being abused. And so maybe let's say that Joe's the slave and Daniel 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:56.680 over here is the slave owner. And Picard and the crew have come in. They use all their power, 00:30:56.799 --> 00:31:04.160 all their might. They've stopped Daniel from doing something terrible to a slave Joe. And at the end of 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:09.880 the episode, Joe wants to come with Picard. And Picard says, I really like you, Joe. You're a really 00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:16.019 good guy. Listen, I can't bring you right now. We're going to come back for you. Okay? But I am 00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:23.480 going to come back for you, Joe. And you're going to join the Starship Enterprise. And I'm saying, 00:31:23.560 --> 00:31:29.759 Joe, you're really important. You know, I can't interfere right now. You have to sort of live here 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:36.220 right now. But I want you to know, you see all my power, all my might. We're keeping it. I'm going 00:31:36.220 --> 00:31:40.359 to have a sensor here. I'm keeping an eye on what's happening. And while I'm talking to Joe, 00:31:40.879 --> 00:31:48.240 Daniel, the slave owner is right here. And I say, I'm keeping my eye on you. I'm going to come back. 00:31:48.599 --> 00:31:54.079 I'm going to make things right. There's going to be judgment. And at the end, you're going to go on 00:31:54.079 --> 00:32:01.839 Star Trek Enterprise. Now, I say that to Joe while Daniel's hearing this. Now, does Daniel now feel 00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:10.439 empowered? Does Daniel feel weaponized with his slavery? No. 00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:22.140 And if you're in this church and you own a slave and you hear Paul saying, there's no partiality, 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:30.240 wrongdoers will be punished. The slave, Joe, you have an inheritance. Who is the Lord? Jesus is the Lord. 00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:33.559 Does the slave owner feel empowered? No. 00:32:33.559 --> 00:32:44.759 No. They do not feel empowered. They have been undermined. 00:32:50.319 --> 00:33:02.980 Only the biblical gospel makes slavery morally unthinkable. And the only reason that for large 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:09.120 parts of the world, but sadly, maybe not the majority of the world, the only reason there are 00:33:09.120 --> 00:33:15.660 significant parts of the world that understands that morally is slavery is morally unthinkable 00:33:15.660 --> 00:33:23.579 is either directly through Christian teaching or indirectly through the spillage or the echoes 00:33:23.579 --> 00:33:32.759 of Christian teaching. Which is why in countries like North Korea and China, you have functional slavery. 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:43.339 And this, in fact, actually is very important for the next thing. Andrew, if you could put up, I think, 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:46.860 hopefully, yeah, you got that. If you could put up the next thing, and this is just very briefly, 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:55.039 the biblical gospel empowers and gives hope to the powerless. The biblical gospel empowers and gives hope 00:33:55.039 --> 00:34:04.799 to the powerless. Imagine, so here's, you see what we want in our culture is we want virtue signaling. 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:14.960 We want virtue signaling. And we expect Paul to do virtue signaling, to say to the slaves, 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:25.400 slaves, start a revolution, try to overcome slavery, stand up for your rights, tell them who's boss. 00:34:25.920 --> 00:34:31.220 And that's what we want them to do. You go look at the ancient writings and see what happens to slaves 00:34:31.220 --> 00:34:40.300 who are mouthy and disobey and try to revolt. Their life was short and brutal because it was put down 00:34:40.300 --> 00:34:48.600 brutally. Imagine for a second that you had an opportunity, somehow or another, God gives you the gift of tongues 00:34:48.600 --> 00:34:54.000 and you can all of a sudden speak Korean. And at the same time that you can all of a sudden speak Korean, 00:34:54.560 --> 00:35:02.360 God gives you an internet connection with some people in North Korea, whether it is just in a working class place 00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:07.140 or in one of their many prison camps, but the whole nation is one prison camp. 00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:14.059 And you get to now share the gospel with Koreans in North Korea and some of them become Christians. 00:35:14.860 --> 00:35:20.900 Now, what are you going to tell them to do? Are you going to say, well, I want to feel good about myself. 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:26.380 I'm going to tell those North Koreans that they should rise up. They should argue for democracy. 00:35:26.660 --> 00:35:31.559 They should argue for their rights. Well, that's really helpful for North Koreans. 00:35:32.360 --> 00:35:36.640 You might go away from that internet call feeling very virtuous. 00:35:38.599 --> 00:35:42.820 They're not going to do it. You know what they'd say? 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:46.180 Boy, is that person ever stupid. 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:51.440 Is that person ever stupid? 00:35:55.579 --> 00:36:01.880 And our progressive and woke friends want Paul to say something stupid. 00:36:02.360 --> 00:36:07.200 So we can feel virtuous about ourselves. 00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:17.120 The fact of the matter is, is because we, by our flesh, are so addicted to understanding everything in terms of power and rights, 00:36:17.220 --> 00:36:20.200 it actually makes it very hard for us to know how to deal with the powerless. 00:36:20.199 --> 00:36:25.539 Like the truly, from the eyes of the world, powerless. 00:36:25.539 --> 00:36:33.259 I've shared before how in my first three years of ordained ministry, I was in a larger suburban church. 00:36:33.739 --> 00:36:36.460 And one of the things I had to do was go to do hospital visiting. 00:36:36.739 --> 00:36:39.840 And I also had to go to some nursing homes and other places. 00:36:39.900 --> 00:36:40.880 And I had to go to a place. 00:36:41.059 --> 00:36:42.500 And there was a woman named Diane. 00:36:42.619 --> 00:36:43.820 Diane of blessed memory. 00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:46.980 And she was completely and utterly bedridden. 00:36:47.100 --> 00:36:48.559 I can't remember the disease she had. 00:36:48.660 --> 00:36:53.780 But it was one of those things that, by the time I saw her, she needed help to breathe. 00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:55.000 And she had a little mic. 00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.100 And she could barely speak any types of words. 00:36:58.240 --> 00:37:00.460 And I had to get really close to her to try to hear her. 00:37:00.820 --> 00:37:02.480 And she had lost her husband. 00:37:02.660 --> 00:37:04.420 And her kids had nothing to do with her. 00:37:04.420 --> 00:37:06.980 And I hated visiting Diane. 00:37:10.659 --> 00:37:12.480 I hated visiting Diane. 00:37:13.780 --> 00:37:15.139 I can't get her healed. 00:37:15.800 --> 00:37:17.960 I can't tell her her husband's going to love her. 00:37:18.260 --> 00:37:20.920 I can't tell her her kids are going to get there, see her. 00:37:21.139 --> 00:37:22.920 I can't do anything to empower her. 00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:31.820 I can truly say that the only person who got ministered to in that room was me, by Diane. 00:37:34.420 --> 00:37:36.800 Because Diane loved Jesus. 00:37:37.539 --> 00:37:40.280 And she knew the end of the story for her. 00:37:40.740 --> 00:37:47.079 And the end of the story for her was not a shrunken woman in a room. 00:37:49.059 --> 00:37:50.320 Abandoned and alone. 00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:58.800 And she just wanted to be treated like a person and to be reminded about Jesus. 00:38:00.440 --> 00:38:03.059 You know, in the world, if you're addicted to power, 00:38:03.059 --> 00:38:06.900 what do you do for people that can't have power? 00:38:07.920 --> 00:38:12.840 What do you do when you have to minister to people with Alzheimer's? 00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:14.420 People at the end of their life. 00:38:16.619 --> 00:38:18.539 People who are severely handicapped. 00:38:18.820 --> 00:38:21.559 I can tell you what the smart people in Canada want to do. 00:38:21.639 --> 00:38:24.639 They want to extend the right of doctors to kill them. 00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:28.199 And I am not being extreme. 00:38:28.199 --> 00:38:29.119 That's the bill. 00:38:29.659 --> 00:38:33.239 The bill before Parliament right now. 00:38:33.619 --> 00:38:36.659 And all the smart people in the country support it. 00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:43.839 Because powerlessness is embarrassing and makes us cringe. 00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:50.760 And the Bible says that, you know what? 00:38:52.200 --> 00:38:55.579 What Diane needed to hear week by week was that Jesus loved her, 00:38:55.640 --> 00:38:57.059 that he died on the cross for her, 00:38:57.380 --> 00:38:59.420 that one day she would be like Jesus. 00:38:59.420 --> 00:39:05.519 And that even though she was in her very lowest state with next to no power 00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:07.480 and almost no prestige, 00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:10.659 she could make a difference for Jesus in that room. 00:39:10.980 --> 00:39:11.840 And you know what? 00:39:11.960 --> 00:39:14.619 It was true because she made a difference for me. 00:39:16.820 --> 00:39:21.680 She made a difference for many of the nurses and caregivers who came into the room. 00:39:21.679 --> 00:39:28.779 The gospel ennobles and empowers and gives hope to the powerless. 00:39:29.319 --> 00:39:32.539 Only the biblical gospel does this. 00:39:33.940 --> 00:39:36.199 Jesus died for her. 00:39:37.879 --> 00:39:40.059 He took her as his own. 00:39:41.419 --> 00:39:46.099 And she could be in that room alone, but not alone, but with Jesus. 00:39:46.099 --> 00:39:52.119 And surely in a country like ours, 00:39:52.179 --> 00:39:56.739 there's an alternative to urging people who were powerless and weak to be dead. 00:40:00.860 --> 00:40:03.639 Just final and closing, the final point. 00:40:03.779 --> 00:40:10.360 Both the powerful and the powerless need to receive the biblical gospel. 00:40:10.360 --> 00:40:16.140 Both the powerful and the powerless need to receive the biblical gospel. 00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:18.500 So much of what happens in our culture, 00:40:18.880 --> 00:40:21.280 and so much of what happens in Twitter, 00:40:22.019 --> 00:40:28.660 is based on doctrines of cultural Marxism and Marxism and intersectionality. 00:40:28.780 --> 00:40:32.980 There would be a large number of people who would say that as a white male, 00:40:33.140 --> 00:40:35.740 I shouldn't even talk about this text. 00:40:35.739 --> 00:40:39.019 And that in the wisdom of this world, 00:40:39.139 --> 00:40:40.379 by intersectionality, 00:40:40.539 --> 00:40:46.779 I am condemned to everlasting shame. 00:40:48.279 --> 00:40:49.519 I am male. 00:40:49.799 --> 00:40:50.739 I am white. 00:40:51.059 --> 00:40:52.319 I am heterosexual. 00:40:52.839 --> 00:40:53.859 I am a Christian. 00:40:54.679 --> 00:40:56.279 And in the wisdom of the world, 00:40:56.279 --> 00:40:59.119 there is nothing I can do about any of that. 00:41:02.539 --> 00:41:03.019 Nothing. 00:41:04.279 --> 00:41:05.479 There's no hope. 00:41:06.339 --> 00:41:09.439 There's neither hope for the truly powerless, 00:41:09.839 --> 00:41:13.399 nor is there hope for those who have some power. 00:41:14.099 --> 00:41:19.099 And the biblical gospel addresses masters and slaves, 00:41:19.539 --> 00:41:20.479 and says, 00:41:20.799 --> 00:41:21.919 there is one Lord. 00:41:22.179 --> 00:41:24.299 There is one who has died for you. 00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:28.539 There is one who longs you to know him as Savior and Lord. 00:41:31.779 --> 00:41:33.619 You can't amend your life. 00:41:33.619 --> 00:41:36.900 You can change. 00:41:37.699 --> 00:41:40.699 The end of the story is not fixed. 00:41:41.960 --> 00:41:43.000 Come to Jesus. 00:41:44.699 --> 00:41:45.559 Know him as your Savior. 00:41:45.719 --> 00:41:46.519 Know him as your Lord. 00:41:46.639 --> 00:41:47.400 If you're a master, 00:41:47.900 --> 00:41:48.500 you need him. 00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:49.319 If you're a slave, 00:41:49.539 --> 00:41:49.940 you need him. 00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:50.739 If you're powerful, 00:41:51.139 --> 00:41:51.739 you need him. 00:41:52.319 --> 00:41:53.039 If you're powerless, 00:41:53.519 --> 00:41:54.039 you need him. 00:41:54.519 --> 00:41:55.159 I need him. 00:41:55.339 --> 00:41:55.819 So do you. 00:41:55.820 --> 00:41:57.019 please stand. 00:41:58.700 --> 00:41:59.680 I invite you to stand. 00:42:04.280 --> 00:42:05.740 Let us bow our heads in prayer. 00:42:05.739 --> 00:42:10.219 Father, 00:42:10.279 --> 00:42:10.619 we ask, 00:42:10.699 --> 00:42:11.319 first of all, 00:42:11.639 --> 00:42:13.879 that you would turn the heart of our nation away 00:42:13.879 --> 00:42:15.539 from promoting, 00:42:16.479 --> 00:42:18.719 expanding the power of the state 00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:20.899 to have people put to death. 00:42:21.480 --> 00:42:21.879 Father, 00:42:21.959 --> 00:42:24.419 it seems impossible that that would ever change. 00:42:25.980 --> 00:42:26.379 But, 00:42:26.500 --> 00:42:26.699 Father, 00:42:26.779 --> 00:42:28.259 we know that it does not, 00:42:28.459 --> 00:42:29.639 it is not your will. 00:42:29.739 --> 00:42:30.839 It does not please you. 00:42:30.959 --> 00:42:34.139 And we ask that you would turn the hearts and the minds of politicians 00:42:34.139 --> 00:42:36.439 and of the cultural elites 00:42:36.439 --> 00:42:38.019 away from death. 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:40.399 Father, 00:42:40.480 --> 00:42:40.959 we believe. 00:42:41.059 --> 00:42:42.000 Help our unbelief. 00:42:42.939 --> 00:42:44.539 Help us to be faithful in prayer. 00:42:44.539 --> 00:42:46.219 And, 00:42:46.320 --> 00:42:46.400 Father, 00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:49.800 we confess before you that even though we read the gospel, 00:42:49.940 --> 00:42:53.559 that we still are deeply addicted to thinking terms of power. 00:42:54.800 --> 00:42:55.619 And we ask, 00:42:55.759 --> 00:42:56.000 Father, 00:42:56.099 --> 00:42:57.920 that you grip us with the gospel, 00:42:58.039 --> 00:43:00.519 that it might become more and more real to our hearts, 00:43:01.340 --> 00:43:05.039 that it would be the story by which we understand our own identity, 00:43:05.340 --> 00:43:06.219 our own destiny, 00:43:06.719 --> 00:43:09.119 would be the way by which we understand others. 00:43:10.139 --> 00:43:10.739 Forgive us, 00:43:10.739 --> 00:43:11.099 Father, 00:43:11.239 --> 00:43:14.519 for thinking that those who are most powerless do not need the gospel, 00:43:14.539 --> 00:43:20.380 grant us a courage and a winsomeness to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, 00:43:20.619 --> 00:43:22.800 to both the most powerful and to the powerless, 00:43:23.340 --> 00:43:25.119 and make the gospel real to our hearts. 00:43:25.759 --> 00:43:27.179 And all God's people said, 00:43:27.880 --> 00:43:28.139 Amen.