WEBVTT 00:00:00.060 --> 00:00:03.500 What is your calling? 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:08.519 What is God calling you to? 00:00:09.220 --> 00:00:12.800 And that's a question that Christians ask one another often. 00:00:13.620 --> 00:00:16.780 Are you called to marriage? Are you called to singleness? 00:00:17.820 --> 00:00:19.500 Which profession do you feel called to? 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:26.519 And 1 Corinthians 7, 17-24, which we'll just read for us in a span of mere eight verses, 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:31.579 is the word calling appears in this passage eight times. 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:37.879 And really it's as good a passage as any in the Bible to teach us about the nature of Christian calling. 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:43.299 And this passage is actually still a part of the passage we covered last week, 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:50.820 where Paul was dealing with specifically the issue of whether married people should remain celibate within their marriage 00:00:50.820 --> 00:00:57.520 or seek divorce to get out of their marriage in order to have a single-minded devotion to God. 00:00:58.340 --> 00:01:03.219 Corinthians were asking that question, and Paul's emphatic response in both cases was no. 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.180 If you're married, you should continue conjugal relations, 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:11.099 and if you're married, you should stay married because you can serve God even if you are married, 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:12.659 whether you're single or you're married. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:17.539 And this passage is really the theological basis for that exhortation. 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:22.820 And so here he says, he's teaching us basically that as people who were purchased by Christ, 00:01:23.360 --> 00:01:27.320 we can fulfill our Christian calling no matter what condition we are in. 00:01:27.520 --> 00:01:30.860 Really that's kind of the main point, the theological basis for what he said last week. 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:35.840 Because for him, it doesn't ultimately matter what condition we were in 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:38.660 when we were called by God into relationship with him, 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:43.200 because it's possible to honor him and serve him in whatever situation we are in. 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:46.300 And that's why Paul says if you're married, stay married. 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:50.239 And in next week's passage, he'll say if you're single, stay single, 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.340 unless your passions are too strong, right? 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:58.000 So because whether we're single or married is irrelevant to our Christian calling. 00:01:58.579 --> 00:02:01.939 Singles as well as married people can fulfill their Christian calling. 00:02:03.039 --> 00:02:07.500 So to prove this, Paul employs illustrations in verses 17 to 19 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.639 to show that circumcision is irrelevant to our call. 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:17.159 And then in verses 20 to 22, he shows us that even enslavement is irrelevant to our call. 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:23.599 And then finally in verses 23 to 24, he tells us that redemption is relevant to our call, right? 00:02:23.679 --> 00:02:26.359 So those will be my three points, the headings for today. 00:02:26.459 --> 00:02:32.399 So circumcision is irrelevant, enslavement is irrelevant, and then redemption is relevant. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.599 And verse 17 reads, 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:40.340 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, 00:02:40.740 --> 00:02:43.180 and to which God has called him, right? 00:02:43.219 --> 00:02:44.500 So that's how it reads in ESV. 00:02:45.099 --> 00:02:50.000 And in the ESV, it kind of sounds like what the Lord assigned us to 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:54.159 and what God called us to are the exact same things, as if it's referring to the same thing. 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.719 But the context teaches us that they're actually not the same thing 00:02:57.719 --> 00:03:03.960 because the rest of the passage distinguishes our situational assignment from our Christian calling. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.900 So it's two different things that Paul has in mind when he says this. 00:03:07.259 --> 00:03:09.000 The NIV makes this a little bit clearer. 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:09.479 He says, 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:10.259 It says, 00:03:10.780 --> 00:03:19.740 So that's our calling as a believer. 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:22.599 And whatever situation we're in, that's how we should live. 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:25.879 So this points out something that's very important, 00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:30.939 is that we tend to think of our calling primarily in terms of our vocation. 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:32.060 Isn't that right? 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:40.159 Whether it's to be an architect or a teacher, a doctor, a president, or a wife and a mother. 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:46.799 But for Paul, the word calling is not primarily a vocational term, but a relational term. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:52.760 In 1 Corinthians 1.9, he tells us what Paul means by calling. 00:03:52.920 --> 00:03:53.140 He says, 00:03:53.740 --> 00:04:07.420 Our Christian calling is primarily relational rather than vocational, 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:10.140 even though, of course, God has something to say about our vocation 00:04:10.140 --> 00:04:12.880 and how we have to live in that vocation as a Christian. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.560 It's about our fellowship with the triune God, 00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:18.219 how we receive his love and grow in our love for him. 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:22.120 And often, the Christians who are the most insecure, 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:27.040 the ones that have this insatiable desire to prove themselves to other people, 00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:30.159 are ones that are too focused on their vocational call 00:04:30.159 --> 00:04:34.060 and not enough on their relational status before God and how they relate to him. 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:39.600 But Christian call is about communion with him, our companionship with God. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:44.000 And so in verse 17, Paul's telling us that we should fulfill our Christian calling 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.520 to abide in God, to remain in him, whatever situation we are in. 00:04:49.300 --> 00:04:55.080 The Corinthian believers, some of them, were so fixated on changing the circumstances of their lives, 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.340 the conditions that they were in. 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:59.840 For example, seeking sexual abstinence in marriage or seeking divorce 00:04:59.840 --> 00:05:03.500 by going even a step further to seek divorce when they're married. 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:07.540 But Paul tells them that instead they should focus on fulfilling their Christian calling 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:10.139 in the situation that they've been called in. 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:13.399 So only let each person, verse 17, 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:16.699 only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:18.620 in which God has called him. 00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:23.199 And lest the Corinthian believers challenge Paul on this point, 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:23.920 Paul adds, 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.420 this is my rule in all the churches. 00:05:27.699 --> 00:05:30.459 So he's saying, I'm not being particularly restrictive to you. 00:05:30.459 --> 00:05:33.859 This is, in fact, what I teach in every church that I've ever ministered in. 00:05:34.339 --> 00:05:38.899 And the word rule is a word that means arrangement or order, right? 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:43.099 And Paul is here establishing a principle by which we are to be guided. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:44.219 All Christians are to be guided. 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:50.799 And he's not laying down here a law saying that Christians must not change their life situations. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:55.439 Paul envisions clearly in the preceding passage and in the passage that follows 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:58.000 that some life situations will change, right? 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.779 So he's not saying don't change your situation, 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:02.819 but he's saying that's not your focus. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.879 Your focus should be on fulfilling your Christian calling in the situation you're in. 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:08.180 That's the general principle. 00:06:08.339 --> 00:06:09.339 That's the general rule. 00:06:09.699 --> 00:06:10.660 That's what he's talking about. 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:14.379 And then in verses 18 to 19, read with me here, 00:06:14.699 --> 00:06:17.680 Paul offers his first illustration to demonstrate this point. 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:22.019 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? 00:06:22.660 --> 00:06:25.879 Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:29.879 Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? 00:06:30.500 --> 00:06:32.500 Let him not seek circumcision. 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.480 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:39.159 but keeping the commandments of God. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:43.360 So it's easy for us to read that and not our assent. 00:06:43.459 --> 00:06:46.699 And like, yeah, of course, you know, circumcision doesn't matter for our spirituality. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:52.199 But you have to kind of assume the perspective of a Jew listening to this, right? 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:58.339 For a Jew, hearing Paul say this, they would have been indignant and shocked. 00:06:58.620 --> 00:06:59.519 I mean, they were responsible. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:00.579 Are you kidding me? 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:00.920 Right? 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:04.199 I mean, circumcision is a commandment of God. 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:04.939 Right? 00:07:05.039 --> 00:07:11.039 Circumcision is the sign that God personally commanded of his people through the great prophet Moses. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:14.960 And it has served as such a sign for over a thousand years, 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:18.160 the distinguishing mark that separated Jews from Gentiles. 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:20.240 And you're telling me that it doesn't matter? 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:23.920 So this is really significant what Paul is saying here, logically. 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:27.700 In fact, what we learn in Paul's epistle to the Galatians is that 00:07:27.700 --> 00:07:32.920 there were many Jewish Christians who, in fact, were teaching Gentile converts 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:36.720 that they needed to be circumcised in order to be a true Christian. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:37.160 Circumcision. 00:07:37.760 --> 00:07:38.780 So Paul says, 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:43.440 was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:45.960 Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.420 Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:49.860 Let him not seek circumcision. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:53.660 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, 00:07:53.900 --> 00:07:55.880 but keeping the commandments of God. 00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:58.980 Circumcision was a sign of the old covenant, right? 00:07:59.140 --> 00:08:02.480 Therefore, it is no longer a command for the people of the new covenant. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:07.700 The cross of Jesus Christ had a radically equalizing effect, 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:12.360 so that now Jews and Gentiles stand shoulder to shoulder at the foot of the cross. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:15.860 And those who are not circumcised as well as those who are circumcised 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:19.800 can enjoy the same salvation privileges that are in Jesus Christ. 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:20.680 That's what that means. 00:08:21.640 --> 00:08:23.879 And that means for us also, 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:29.460 we can't take pride in our own religious heritage or accomplishments 00:08:29.460 --> 00:08:32.100 apart from Jesus Christ. 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:37.639 In terms of fulfilling your ultimate calling as a Christian, 00:08:37.779 --> 00:08:41.420 it doesn't matter whether you're a first-generation Christian 00:08:41.420 --> 00:08:45.879 or whether your family tree goes back a hundred generations of Christianity. 00:08:47.060 --> 00:08:49.720 It doesn't matter whether you had believing parents 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:51.240 who loved you and discipled you 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:53.519 and brought you up in the instruction of the Lord 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:56.279 so that you have quite an unremarkable, so to speak, 00:08:56.539 --> 00:08:58.259 in a worldly sense, conversion story. 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:02.799 Or whether you had unbelieving parents who steered you away from the Lord, 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:03.700 maybe even abused you, 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.819 and you have the most dramatic conversion story in the world. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.879 It doesn't matter in an ultimate sense for fulfilling your Christian calling. 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:14.720 It doesn't matter whether you went to public school or private school 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.159 or if you were homeschooled. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.820 It doesn't matter whether you're from a Baptist tradition 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:21.740 or a Pentecostal tradition or a Reformed tradition. 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:25.039 Apart from Christ, those things mean nothing 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:30.000 because those things in and of themselves cannot save a single person. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.899 It's Christ who recreates us so that we become new creations. 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:36.759 And when we repent of our sins and believe in Him, 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:40.659 it's no longer our heritage, our background that defines us. 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:44.200 It's Christ and His call that defines us. 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:50.120 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:52.419 but keeping the commandments of God. 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:55.120 So let me ask you, how are you living now? 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:58.759 How is your relationship with God now? 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:02.379 All of us, no matter what our religious background is, 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:05.500 no matter what religious baggages we bring to the table, 00:10:05.819 --> 00:10:10.000 we can fulfill our Christian calling by the power of the Spirit. 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:12.039 I hope that fills you with hope. 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:13.179 It fills me with hope. 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:15.720 Because we can't fulfill our Christian calling to abide in God 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.000 no matter what situation we are in. 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:24.659 This also means that we cannot take pride in our social or ethnic heritage 00:10:24.659 --> 00:10:25.819 apart from Christ either. 00:10:25.820 --> 00:10:29.820 In terms of fulfilling our ultimate Christian calling, 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:32.740 it doesn't matter whether we're Asian or Latino, 00:10:33.300 --> 00:10:36.280 black or white, Jewish or Gentile. 00:10:36.660 --> 00:10:40.060 When we come to Christ, our racial, ethnic, and social heritage 00:10:40.060 --> 00:10:43.040 are all consecrated, set apart for Christ, 00:10:43.040 --> 00:10:46.900 so that we don't need to deny our heritage or seek to change it 00:10:46.900 --> 00:10:48.300 in order to follow Him. 00:10:48.299 --> 00:10:55.139 And we can keep God's commandments as Caucasian or Asian or Latin or African Americans, 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:59.079 as Nigerians, Koreans, Portuguese, Chinese, English, and American. 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:01.919 Because by this, of course, I don't mean, 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.659 and Paul doesn't mean that we don't have to change anything in our cultures. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.759 Every culture has things that are scriptural, that are biblical, 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:10.719 that honor God, 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:12.579 and every culture has things that don't honor God 00:11:12.579 --> 00:11:13.740 and that need to be changed. 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:14.879 That's not what I mean. 00:11:14.980 --> 00:11:18.180 But what I'm saying is that we don't need to seek to change our background, 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:19.700 our heritage, where we come from, 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:23.919 because our condition is not what's decisive in how we follow Christ's call. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:29.240 There's something radically equalizing and unifying about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:35.039 And Paul wants the Corinthian believers in this particular situation 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:39.000 to apply that principle to their desire to be demarried as well. 00:11:39.259 --> 00:11:42.139 They want to escape marriage so that they can be more holy, so to speak, 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:44.379 in a mistaken understanding of marriage. 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:47.399 And so basically, Paul's saying, by analogy, 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:49.419 marriage counts for nothing. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:51.600 Celibacy counts for nothing. 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:54.960 What counts is keeping the commandments of God. 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.840 You can stay wherever you are and honor God where you are. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:01.200 So that's the first point of this, Paul's fourth point in this section. 00:12:02.019 --> 00:12:05.200 And then he turns to address the issue of enslavement. 00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:09.620 And so he followed this kind of logical flow in verses 17 to 19. 00:12:10.019 --> 00:12:12.379 In verse 17, Paul offered the principle. 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:15.200 And then in verse 18, he offered an illustration. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:19.639 And then in verse 19, he offered his rationale, his explanation, reasoning. 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:23.920 And he follows the exact same pattern here in verses 20 to 22 00:12:23.920 --> 00:12:27.120 to teach us that enslavement is irrelevant to our call. 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:28.519 That's my second point. 00:12:29.060 --> 00:12:30.159 He says in verse 20, 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:34.740 each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.919 The condition to which we were called does not negate our ability 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:41.740 to fulfill our Christian calling. 00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:42.980 So we should remain in it. 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:44.500 That's the principle. 00:12:45.299 --> 00:12:47.679 And then in verse 21, he gives us another illustration. 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:49.919 Were you a bondservant when called? 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:51.940 Do not be concerned about it. 00:12:51.940 --> 00:12:56.060 But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. 00:12:57.040 --> 00:12:58.940 That sounds kind of crazy, doesn't it? 00:12:59.540 --> 00:13:02.460 If that didn't sound crazy when you first read it, you probably didn't read it correctly. 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:03.320 So look at it again. 00:13:04.160 --> 00:13:05.940 Were you a bondservant when called? 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:09.000 Do not be concerned about it. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:19.139 Even a state of enslavement to another person, Paul says, is irrelevant to fulfilling our Christian calling. 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:27.960 But Paul knows, of course, that it is better for the sake of the believer's well-being to gain freedom if possible. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:29.500 So he adds a little qualification. 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:34.519 He says, but if you can gain your freedom, by all means, avail yourself of the opportunity. 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:39.460 But Paul nevertheless insists that whether we are free or enslaved, 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:43.500 we can fulfill our Christian calling in whatever condition we are in. 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:51.179 Now, I have to digress a little bit to give some context because I have no doubt that some slave masters in history 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:55.500 have quoted this verse to justify slavery and to tell their slaves to stay put. 00:13:56.179 --> 00:14:03.039 But that would be a misapplication of this verse since the fact that slaves can honor Christ in their enslavement 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.299 does not mean that their masters are right to enslave them. 00:14:06.779 --> 00:14:08.639 I mean, they still have to keep God's commandments. 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:17.360 And also, when we think of slavery, hear the word slavery, right away our mind goes to 17th, 18th, 19th century modern world slavery. 00:14:17.819 --> 00:14:19.899 But this would be wrong. 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:23.740 It would be a mistake because the slavery in the Greco-Roman world of the New Testament 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:29.340 was far more like indentured servanthood than it is like the modern world slavery that we know of. 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:36.899 So it's really not too different from professionals who have come under a contractual agreement to render their services 00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:40.139 and are bound to only render their services to this particular person. 00:14:40.539 --> 00:14:42.899 It's kind of that kind of indentured servanthood. 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:48.759 So biblical scholar Murray Harris writes in his book, Slave of Christ, about the difference. 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:56.179 And first thing he notes is that slaves in the Greco-Roman world were indistinguishable from the rest of society 00:14:56.179 --> 00:14:58.019 by race, speech, or clothing. 00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:03.340 So they were never segregated from the rest of society and lived like everyone else. 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:11.160 And that's in stark contrast to New World slavery, which was race-based and primarily exploited Africans and African-Americans 00:15:11.160 --> 00:15:13.639 and had them segregated from the rest of society. 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.100 So it's just totally two different things. 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:19.460 And then secondly, he says the slaves in the Greco-Roman world often were highly educated, 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.560 sometimes even more highly educated than their owners. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:28.639 This is in stark contrast to New World slavery where the slaves were relegated, uneducated, 00:15:28.700 --> 00:15:31.019 and mostly relegated to menial and manual labor. 00:15:31.019 --> 00:15:37.419 And then third, slaves in the Greco-Roman world made the same wages as free laborers, 00:15:37.439 --> 00:15:40.980 so often they were able to make enough money to buy themselves out. 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:45.600 And even if they weren't able to buy themselves out, they were expected to be manumitted 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:49.799 after about 10 years of service or at least by the time of their late 30s. 00:15:50.779 --> 00:15:58.279 In contrast, the New World slavery, people were coerced into slavery for life with little compensation. 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:06.439 And fourth, finally, people in the Greco-Roman world often sold themselves into slavery as a solution to their financial woes. 00:16:07.439 --> 00:16:11.139 But that was a way of paying their debts, paying off their debts. 00:16:11.539 --> 00:16:15.579 But the slavery that we know of in the modern world was sourced through kidnapping. 00:16:16.319 --> 00:16:18.699 People, they weren't selling themselves into slavery to get out of debt. 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:21.900 It was a way of exploiting a population. 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:26.400 And kidnapping is unequivocally condemned in the Bible. 00:16:26.520 --> 00:16:29.140 1 Timothy 1, 9, 11, Deuteronomy 24, 7. 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:35.259 So for all of these reasons, it's unfair to equate slavery in the Bible with modern-day slavery. 00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:42.240 And that's why our translation, the English Standard Version, ESV Bible, instead of using the word slave, 00:16:42.439 --> 00:16:47.659 which is the Greek word there, it uses the word bondservant to maintain that distinction 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:51.139 so that we don't confuse and think about the kind of slave that we're familiar with. 00:16:51.819 --> 00:16:54.679 So scripture teaching, that's all that to make a point, 00:16:54.960 --> 00:17:00.120 that scripture teaching in no way justifies the slavery that we know of in the modern world. 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:05.000 But even if we understand this, Paul's statement is shocking, isn't it? 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:07.539 Were you a bondservant when called? 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:10.259 Do not be concerned about it. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:15.039 Isn't it better to not be under debt? 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:21.740 Isn't it better to be free, to be able to work for yourself and not for someone else? 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:27.460 But Paul's parenthetical statement implies the answer, yes, yes, it is better. 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:29.980 It is better to be free rather than enslaved. 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:31.719 And that's why he adds that qualification. 00:17:32.159 --> 00:17:35.819 But nonetheless, Paul writes, do not be concerned about it. 00:17:35.919 --> 00:17:38.799 Sure, if you can get free, by all means do so. 00:17:38.959 --> 00:17:44.539 But don't despair because you can't get free because you can still fulfill your Christian calling. 00:17:46.179 --> 00:17:48.639 Then Paul gives us his reason in verse 22. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:55.800 Four, he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:01.140 Likewise, he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. 00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:03.860 It's a clever wordplay right here. 00:18:04.580 --> 00:18:11.040 He's saying that you might be free, you might be a freedman, but you are no less a bondservant of Christ. 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:19.059 And if you're a Christian, he's saying also that you might be enslaved to another, but you are no less a freedman of the Lord. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:27.039 The gospel equalizes and unifies believers no matter what societal standing prior to coming to Christ. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:35.920 And that's why in Paul's epistle to Philemon, so he's writing to a Christian slave owner named Philemon. 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:43.559 And he writes on behalf of a slave, a runaway slave that belonged to Philemon. 00:18:43.659 --> 00:18:46.839 His name is Onesimus, and he had run away from Philemon. 00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:51.599 And he had met Paul, and under Paul's ministry, Onesimus became a Christian. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:58.919 And so Paul addresses Philemon in this letter, and in verses 15 of 16 of that one chapter book, he says, 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:06.379 for this perhaps is why Onesimus was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:13.759 no longer as a bondservant, but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:20.920 So in terms of their societal standing, Philemon is the slave owner, and Onesimus is the slave. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:24.119 In Christ, they have become brothers. 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:30.500 The gospel equalizes and unifies, and that's why Paul's able to say here in verses 21 to 22, 00:19:30.980 --> 00:19:33.779 were you a bondservant when called? Don't be concerned about it. 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:37.379 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:41.460 Likewise, he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:46.079 This is so counterintuitive, isn't it, as we think about our lives? 00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:51.120 Because it's easy for us to get caught up in trying to change our circumstances, 00:19:51.500 --> 00:19:54.259 and trying to improve the conditions of our lives. 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:59.660 But scripture teaches us that we can fulfill our Christian calling irrespective of our circumstances. 00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:02.180 I mean, how many times have you heard things like this? 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:04.980 It's so easy to blame our situations and environments. 00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:07.600 He says, oh, only if I could get a new job. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:11.919 Oh, only if I could move to a new city or country. 00:20:13.179 --> 00:20:15.659 Oh, only if I could marry that person. 00:20:16.699 --> 00:20:18.559 Oh, only if I could make more money. 00:20:19.579 --> 00:20:21.679 Oh, only if I could get that promotion. 00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:25.179 Oh, only if I could have children. 00:20:26.179 --> 00:20:28.740 Oh, only if I didn't have children. 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:29.720 Right? 00:20:31.120 --> 00:20:32.440 Then I would be fulfilled. 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:37.240 Then I'd be able to fulfill God's calling in my life. 00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:39.900 Right? 00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:42.400 I mean, I'm guilty of this at times as well. 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:46.900 And similarly, it's so easy for us, you know, more in a kind of larger framework. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:49.299 It's easy for us as people who are enmeshed in our culture 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:54.599 to get caught up in the spirit of the times and the various, you know, movements and hashtags of our age. 00:20:54.599 --> 00:21:00.039 If only our society would stop being so misogynistic. 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:05.480 If only our people would stop being so racist. 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:08.259 Then I would be able to thrive. 00:21:08.879 --> 00:21:12.179 Then I would be able to fulfill God's calling on my life. 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:16.899 Now, please don't hear what I'm not saying. 00:21:17.219 --> 00:21:17.319 Right? 00:21:17.699 --> 00:21:21.619 I'm not saying that these are unimportant. 00:21:21.619 --> 00:21:24.059 These are real injustices. 00:21:24.219 --> 00:21:27.639 And Paul would say, as he said to enslaved Christians in verse 21, 00:21:27.979 --> 00:21:31.219 if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. 00:21:31.919 --> 00:21:34.559 It would be good to affect a positive change. 00:21:34.699 --> 00:21:35.939 And when we have the opportunity. 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:39.459 And it is our responsibility as people who are called to love our neighbors 00:21:39.459 --> 00:21:42.559 to speak out on behalf of people who are oppressed. 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:46.859 That's a necessary and natural expression of our love for neighbor. 00:21:46.859 --> 00:21:50.879 But whether we can change our circumstances or not, 00:21:51.379 --> 00:21:54.740 Paul teaches us that we are never hostage to our circumstances. 00:21:56.159 --> 00:22:02.500 God will not let us elevate the imbalances and the injustices of our circumstances 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:04.559 to a level that would paralyze us. 00:22:04.979 --> 00:22:09.539 He will not stand to let the unfair circumstances and conditions of our lives define us. 00:22:09.859 --> 00:22:10.500 Instead, he says, 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:22.759 So even when the world is unfair, 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:25.160 even when we are oppressed, 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:27.960 even when we are bound in chains, 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:30.799 no matter what condition we are in, 00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:33.200 we are freed men of the Lord. 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:37.000 And we can fulfill our Christian calling 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:38.920 and keep God's commandments. 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:40.759 That's Paul's point in this passage. 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:43.559 And think about how liberating this truth is. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:48.259 Imagine if our relationship with God were contingent on our circumstances. 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:51.819 If it depended on the whims of other people, 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:56.299 then those of us who are born into unfavorable circumstances 00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:58.840 or stumbled upon it by accident, 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:01.039 we would have no choice but to despair. 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:07.440 But thanks be to God that this is not the case. 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:08.960 We might be enslaved. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:10.440 We might be bound. 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:11.799 But God is not bound. 00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:16.039 And because we are united with him in fellowship through Jesus Christ, 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:17.279 we are truly free. 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:20.220 And I pray this fills you with hope today 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:23.359 because that means whether you're a white-collar worker 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:24.740 or a blue-collar worker, 00:23:25.159 --> 00:23:27.039 whether you're privileged or underprivileged, 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:31.240 we can fulfill our Christian calling wherever we are. 00:23:33.139 --> 00:23:37.799 And Paul gives the ultimate theological reason for this truth in verse 23. 00:23:38.639 --> 00:23:41.059 You were bought with a price. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.279 Do not become bondservants of men. 00:23:45.460 --> 00:23:47.500 Circumcision is irrelevant to our call 00:23:47.500 --> 00:23:49.539 and enslavement is irrelevant to our call, 00:23:49.639 --> 00:23:52.180 but redemption is relevant to our call. 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:53.659 That's Paul's third point. 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:57.940 The reason why, even in unfair and unfavorable circumstances, 00:23:58.180 --> 00:23:59.820 even when we are bondservants, 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:03.340 we can enjoy freedom in Christ and fellowship with God is this. 00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:06.640 You were bought with a price. 00:24:07.600 --> 00:24:11.580 Your biggest problem in life is not him or her 00:24:11.580 --> 00:24:15.900 or your parent or your spouse or your society, 00:24:16.060 --> 00:24:18.519 your boss or your culture or your president. 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:21.539 Your biggest problem, 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:24.119 the biggest obstacle to the fulfillment 00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:25.839 and your salvation, 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:27.759 your biggest disadvantage 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:29.220 is you. 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:30.779 It's me. 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:35.279 All of us have sinned against God 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:38.099 by pridefully refusing to acknowledge him 00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:39.960 and choosing to live for ourselves 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:41.779 rather than for him 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:44.220 in spite of the fact that he is our creator 00:24:44.220 --> 00:24:46.559 and the source of all that is good 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:48.480 and right and beautiful in our lives. 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:51.099 And in John 8, 34, Jesus says, 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:52.720 Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:57.420 everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:01.400 We had sold ourselves into slavery to sin 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:05.259 and it was impossible for us to earn our way out. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:08.480 That was the situation we were in. 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:11.599 But God purchased us. 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:14.519 But God redeemed us. 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:18.180 And God didn't buy us with trinkets that cost him nothing. 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:20.099 It says in 1 Peter 1, 18, 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:22.319 You were ransomed from the futile ways 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:23.680 inherited from your forefathers, 00:25:23.859 --> 00:25:26.700 not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 00:25:26.859 --> 00:25:29.660 but with the precious blood of Christ. 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:32.059 That's what verse 23 means. 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:33.819 You were bought with the price, 00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:36.639 so do not become bondservants of men. 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:39.039 We have been purchased by God 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:40.619 and therefore we are bondservants of God, 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:41.180 not men. 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:43.620 And whenever we give our circumstances, 00:25:43.840 --> 00:25:44.560 our conditions, 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:46.740 too much power over our lives, 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:49.720 whenever we live as if our ability to follow God 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:51.680 is constrained by our conditions, 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:54.060 we are living as bondservants of men. 00:25:54.840 --> 00:25:55.940 And God says, 00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:56.980 I purchased you. 00:25:57.700 --> 00:25:59.360 You are not a bondservant of men. 00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:00.840 You're my bondservant. 00:26:00.839 --> 00:26:06.480 But what stood between us and God 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.679 was our own sins. 00:26:08.419 --> 00:26:10.359 And God dealt with that one sin for all 00:26:10.359 --> 00:26:12.079 by sending his son, Jesus Christ, 00:26:12.159 --> 00:26:13.759 to die on the cross for our sins. 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:16.859 And he rose again to give us new life. 00:26:16.939 --> 00:26:19.359 And that's why we can be faithful Christians 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:20.819 in whatever condition we are in. 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:25.119 So Paul concludes in verse 24, 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:27.699 In whatever condition each was called, 00:26:27.939 --> 00:26:30.359 there let him remain with God. 00:26:30.899 --> 00:26:32.359 This sums up the whole passage 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:34.739 and really brings the idea once again 00:26:34.739 --> 00:26:36.079 back to that idea of calling. 00:26:36.459 --> 00:26:37.279 What is our calling? 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:40.299 The Christian is called to relationship with God, 00:26:40.719 --> 00:26:42.259 to a fellowship with God. 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:45.679 And that's what it means to remain with God. 00:26:45.939 --> 00:26:48.219 The word remain is the same Greek word 00:26:48.219 --> 00:26:52.759 that's used, translated elsewhere as abide or dwell. 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:56.480 And it's the same word that's used in John 14, 10 00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:58.440 to refer to the mutual indwelling 00:26:58.440 --> 00:27:00.579 of the persons of the Trinity. 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:02.579 How they indwell one another, 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:04.339 abide in each other. 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:07.839 And how do we abide in God, 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:10.279 remain in God, dwell in God? 00:27:10.379 --> 00:27:13.099 John 6, 40 tells us that we abide in God 00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:15.500 by believing in his word and his works. 00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:18.539 And then John 15, 9 to 11 tells us 00:27:18.539 --> 00:27:21.440 that we abide in God by obeying his commandments. 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:25.779 So remaining in God entails trust on the one hand 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:27.580 and obedience on the other. 00:27:27.880 --> 00:27:30.220 It means to believe in him, to belong to him, 00:27:30.380 --> 00:27:32.860 and to behave in accordance with that identity. 00:27:33.980 --> 00:27:37.700 And we can do this in whatever condition each was called. 00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:42.620 Our call rather than our condition dictates how we live. 00:27:42.619 --> 00:27:46.439 If you are not yet a follower of Jesus Christ, 00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:49.019 I invite you to consider God's calling this morning. 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:52.339 Because it's only in responding to his calling 00:27:52.339 --> 00:27:54.919 that you can find salvation and true fulfillment. 00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:59.319 Especially in an urban context like ours, 00:27:59.619 --> 00:28:01.779 where upward mobility is everything. 00:28:02.139 --> 00:28:04.339 I mean, you guys, it's a rat race, right? 00:28:04.339 --> 00:28:05.739 We're always trying to climb the ladder. 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:08.240 And people's lives are characterized 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:11.200 by that relentless pursuit of more and more and more 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:13.380 and in search of fulfillment and happiness. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:16.700 But that's an ultimately vain and unfulfilling endeavor. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:20.859 Even if you reach the very top of our society, 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:23.319 no amount of money, sex, power, and fame 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:25.519 can satisfy the aching longing of your soul. 00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:30.240 As Augustine, a 4th century Christian theologian writes, 00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:32.299 God made us for himself. 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:36.839 And our heart is restless until it finds its rest in him. 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:40.220 We were created to worship God, 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:43.180 to love him and be satisfied by him, 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:47.000 to trust and obey him and God's beckoning. 00:28:47.639 --> 00:28:48.900 He's calling you. 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:51.799 Respond to him this morning. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:54.500 And if you're already a Christian, 00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:55.940 remember this important truth 00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:58.240 that as people who were purchased by Christ, 00:28:58.380 --> 00:29:00.119 we can fulfill our Christian calling 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:03.079 to abide in him in whatever condition we're in. 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:06.559 Don't be so preoccupied with the condition you're in 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:08.799 that you forget that your main occupation 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:11.319 is the calling to fellowship with God. 00:29:12.900 --> 00:29:14.500 Remember that your Christian calling 00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:16.920 is relational before it is vocational. 00:29:17.619 --> 00:29:20.140 Don't be so distracted with serving 00:29:20.140 --> 00:29:23.559 that you neglect to sit at the Lord's feet 00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:25.460 and listen to his teaching. 00:29:29.179 --> 00:29:30.419 Let's pray together. 00:29:30.419 --> 00:29:30.460 Let's pray together. 00:29:30.460 --> 00:29:44.039 God, we thank you for that great exchange on the cross, 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:46.720 that greatest transaction 00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:55.600 where we who were hopelessly indebted, 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:56.940 enslaved to sin, 00:29:57.779 --> 00:30:01.140 were purchased by the blood of the land. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:04.740 We thank you for your grace. 00:30:06.120 --> 00:30:09.940 We thank you that because of that reality of redemption, 00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:15.500 that we are now free from all circumstances 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:17.620 and conditions that bind us, 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:20.360 to be able to freely live for you, 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:21.380 worship you, 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:23.620 to have fellowship with you, 00:30:23.860 --> 00:30:24.920 and that nothing, 00:30:25.860 --> 00:30:26.779 no situation, 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:30.100 no man can constrain us from that reality. 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:32.240 We thank you for that. 00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:34.420 Help us now to live in light of it, 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.320 to your glory. 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:36.820 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:37.660 Amen. 00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:37.759 Amen. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:37.799 Amen. 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:37.820 Amen.