Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries with Doctor Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

Our God and our father. We ask now that the words of my mouth, the meditations of our hearts, would be acceptable in your sight. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. One of the grimmest facts of ancient Rome was the fact of the institution of slavery. In later years, John Wesley would say, of slavery, it is the sum of all evil. Historians tell us that in the days that the apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians, that the institution of slavery was so gigantic in its influence that over 60 million men, women, and children called themselves slaves. As a matter of fact, Rome saw herself as the mistress of the world, whose task was simply idleness. And all of the actual work of Rome was not accomplished by roman citizens.

In fact, if you were a roman citizen, it was considered to be improper for you to be involved in any type of labour. Now, most of us have an image of slavery, that is, the field hand and the labourer. Well, in ancient Rome, those tasks were for slaves, but also the task of being a doctor was performed by slaves. Teachers were slaves, and those who were closest to the emperor themselves, the secretaries who did all of the writing and the maintaining of that office, they, too, were slaves. For the roman citizen, idleness was their primary activity, and slaves became the instrument by which the roman citizen could live a quiet, idle, festive life.

Now, in Athens, the institution of slavery had reached such a point that if you were in a court of law, that the testimony of a slave could only be given in that court of law, as long as that testimony came as a result of torture. And that was the only testimony that a slave could give in a court of law. If you, on the other hand, were a citizen of Athens, all that you had to do was come under oath and your testimony was accepted. It was the practice in Rome that if an individual master was killed, that everyone who was a slave in the house would also be killed without any legal inquiry as to the cause of death.

And so you can see that slavery was a horrible institution, one that certainly enslaved not only physically the body, but also the spirit of a man or woman. And as we look at slavery in the ancient world, we find that the understanding of being a slave was that you were not a person, but rather a thing. So it was Aristotle who said, a slave is a living tool. And in the world of Rome and Greece, there were farm implements. And in the world of agriculture, they divided those instruments that were used for work on the farm into three categories, the first category being the articulate tool, the second, the inarticulate tool, and the third, the tool which is mute. The articulate tool for the farmer was the slave. The inarticulate tool.

Tool were cattle and oxen and the beasts of burden who could not speak, and those which were considered simply mute. Tools were items like wagons and shovels and rakes, but all of them considered tools. So the slave was seen as a beast who could talk. And so slaves, of course, were routinely killed, routinely drowned, routinely tortured. As a matter of fact, we have a number of instances. Augustus killed a slave who accidentally killed his pet bird. Here’s another account of a slave who dropped a crystal goblet and was cast into a pool of lampreys, which is an eel like animal, and they were eaten. But these are not isolated instances.

And if were to spend our time today just understanding what it meant to be a slave in the days of the apostle Paul, we would, in fact, find it very difficult to conceive of the atrocious life that a slave was asked to live. Now, it’s against that background that the apostle Paul speaks to slaves. In the book of Ephesians, chapter six, he gives an instruction to those slaves. And listen closely. Remembering the background of slavery, the apostle Paul says, be obedient to your masters. Now, you can imagine in our time how that teaching seems not to consider what it would be to be a slave. You mean, as a slave, I am to obey my master? That’s right. Now, against this teaching is also a proverb, that was very common in the days of Paul.

And that proverb was, for as many slaves as you own, so have you that many enemies. And so it was understood that there was an adversary relationship between the slave and his master. And you can imagine how startling the words of Paul must have sounded when he said to those slaves who lived under such terrible conditions, be obedient to your masters. But that is not all that Paul said on the subject. For the obedience that Paul gives to the slaves is that they are to obey their masters as if they were obeying the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Now, often when we consider the subject of slavery, we think only of the slave. But it is important for us to see that Paul addressed not only the slave, but he also addressed the master of that slave.

And he reminded the master that he, in fact, also had a master, that master was the Lord Jesus Christ. And that according to Ephesians, chapter six, verse eight, as he speaks to the slave and to the master, he reminds them, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he be slave or free. And so he says to the slave, you are to obey as unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says to the master, you are to obey your master, God himself, who has come in the person of Jesus Christ. And when the apostle Paul addresses these masters, he does not use the common Greek word for master. That word is the word despates, from which in English, we get the word despot.

That would have been the common word for Paul to have used to translate the word master. But he never uses that word in reference to the masters of slaves. Rather, he uses another word. That word can be translated either master or Lord. That word is kurios. And it is of some importance to us that it is the word kurios, Lord that is used in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, as the apostle Paul would address even the word to masters, it was not the common earthly master who was seen as a despot, but rather it was to remind them that they. They were lords over those servants. But also there was a greater master who was above them, Jesus Christ. And that Jesus Christ would judge those masters according to a standard that showed no partiality.

Now, there are some who say that the apostle Paul, in fact, supported slavery. And I think that this is a great slander against the apostle Paul. Rather than supporting slavery, what we find in the writings of Paul is the very dynamite that was used to explode and to rip apart the institution of slavery. Because it was Paul who taught for the first time in the history of man, that those who were slaves could now, through Jesus Christ, become my brother or my sister. It was Paul, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, who for the first time in the history of the world, gave the concept that a slave who is considered to be simply an articulate tool, through the grace of God, could be restored and adopted into the family of God, and that he could even speak to God himself.

And that this slave was no longer an inarticulate tool, became so articulate that even the living God wanted to hear from him. It was these teachings of the apostle Paul that began to present on the Roman Empire the wedge that would be forced to break open and tear apart this institution, which it is estimated that more than 50% of the people who lived in the roman empire themselves were slaves. Perhaps no writing has contributed more to the destruction of the institution of slavery than a little letter that was written by the apostle Paul. Paul, who found himself in prison one day the prison door was sprung open and thrown into that cell was a runaway slave by the name of Onesimus.

And as Paul came to know Onesimus, he found out that his master, in fact, was a man whom Paul had personally led to trust in Jesus Christ. And when he learns that Onesimus, this runaway slave, was fleeing from that master, he instructs him that he should return. So the apostle Paul writes a letter, and he addresses it to his dear friend Philemon, a book in the New Testament that takes but one chapter. And today we read it with little regard for its power, for what the that book, in a few verses, accomplished in the history of mankind.

Because it was in that letter to Philemon that the apostle Paul said, I am sending Onesimus, your slave, back to you, for perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a beloved brother. If you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. If he owes you anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay not to mention to you that you owe me even your own life. Referring to the fact that it was Paul who converted Philemon, and that because of the receiving of the gospel of Christ, that Philemon would live forever because. Because of Christ.

So we find that the chain of slavery which had been forged with hatred is in fact melted by Christian brotherhood, a teaching which we take today so much for granted that we are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. But the power of these few verses from the book of Philemon became the yeast which began to spread throughout the whole loath. As all of the Roman Empire would begin to look more closely, and as the gospel of Christ would spread throughout all of the Roman Empire, and masters would suddenly be looking at slaves and remembering the letter to Philemon. It was because of this little letter, as some historians believe, was one of the most influential causes in the breakdown of the institution. Institution of slavery.

Now notice that Paul’s discussion of slavery in masters and servants follows his teaching on the family, his instruction that husbands and wives are to love each other and that children are to obey their parents. And as we read in context, it seems strangely out of place that he should talk about the relationship of husbands and wives, and then he should talk about the relationship of parents and children, and then talk about masters and slaves. And to our ears it sounds strangely out of place. But that is only because of the change in the word family. For today, when we think of the word family, what we think of is a father, a mother, children, grandparents, that’s a family.

In the day in which Paul lived, the day in which Jesus Christ ministered, the idea of family in the Roman Empire was totally opposed to the definition that you and I have today. As a matter of fact, the word family means. In the Latin, it means servant, slave, domestic helper. And it was in this day that the Roman Empire had a practice which was called patria protestants, the power of the father. That the father had absolute power over his family. And if he chose for a son to die, then he should die. And if he chose for another son to join the army, then he shall join. And if that son should receive money, why, it was not his money, but his father’s.

The father who was the family looked upon all of the members of his family as domestic help, in fact, servants and slaves. And it was against that background of the Roman family that the apostle Paul came to teach about the Christian family. The Christian family, is not run by the tyrant husband, by the patria protests, whose word is law, but rather by the submission of that father to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and of the submission of that wife to her husband as he submits to Christ, and of the submission of children to their parents, as they in kind are submissive to Jesus Christ. And so the teaching is one of submission, which was contrary to the world of Rome and the understanding of faith, and family. And so it should come as no surprise to us.

Paul would speak about the family, fathers and mothers, and give a total new picture on their place, and then to give a brand new glimpse upon the relationship of that master and slave. And as we look at our own lives today, we find that each of us, in fact, has a master. Your boss in every way is your master, certain things. And we are called upon to live in a world where each of us is not a power unto ourselves. But we have people to whom we must report. And it is with that backdrop that I think, as we look at Ephesians, chapter six, that we will see the understanding of the place of work for a Christian. What is the Christian view of work? Well, first we must look at a few umbrella thoughts from the scripture.

The first is to remember in Genesis, chapter one, Genesis 12:8, that when God created Adam, he told him that he was to be fruitful, to multiply and in fact, to fill the earth and to subdue it. In the very next, chapter two, verse 15, we read that the Lord took the man and put him into the garden of Eden, and there he was to dress the garden and keep it notice that man was commanded by God to work, and this work was to Honor God. Secondly, there are some who suppose that the institution of work as we know it today is the result of the fall of man. But I would remind you that work was instituted before the fall, that the Lord told Adam that he was to till those fields and to manicure that garden before sin had ever entered this world.

And so, rather than work being a curse, in fact, it is a blessing. Now, what was the result of the fall? The result of the fall was that the Lord caused thorns and thistles to spring up, and that man would from that day forward earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. That is the result of the fall. But work is not to be perceived as a curse, something which we must endure, but rather it is to be seen as the blessing of the Lord. And the only institution that came out of that garden of Eden before sin entered the world was the institution of marriage. And how many are there today who look upon their marriage as though this were a terrible life sentence, and they look upon their work as though this were the result of a curse.

And the idea is not to enjoy the blessing of work, nor to enjoy the blessing of our family, but rather to remove ourselves from any responsibility in relation to either our family or in relation to work. And so many today look at work and they only want a vacation. They look at work, and if they are to be there at 08:00 that is exactly the moment they check in, or a little later. But if were to look upon work as a blessing from the Lord, something that should be encouraged and for which we are thankful, how much more we would enjoy our own lives. Thirdly, it is important to know that work is unique to man. There’s no other creature in the world who. Who knows about work. We talk about lions that hunt and cattle that graze and termites that gnaw.

But I’ve never heard anyone talk about the cow as he leaves the barn, that he is now going to work. Why? The very concept is foreign to our thinking. Animals neither know that they are working or not. It is simply part of the day’s activities. Animals do not have occupations. They do not go to be trained. Only man has an occupation where he changes from the setting of the home and goes to that place that he calls work and then returns. Fourth, that we need to see that biblically, all work is of equal value. Unfortunately, in our society, we list according to value certain jobs. I saw a study the other day. The most respected profession in America is a doctor, second most respected position, a minister.

But I would say that it is inappropriate to look upon work and to establish levels of value or esteem. So if a person does this type of work, we value them more, but if they do that type, then we do not value them. And why would we say that according to the Christian view of work, that it is wrong to place levels of esteem on work? The reason is because of our view of the church. The church where we are told it is one body with one head, Jesus Christ. But that body has arms and feet and eyes and ears. And the apostle Paul teaches us that we are never to look upon the foot and to consider it of less dignity than the hand.

And so that transposes into the area of work that we should never look upon any man’s work and determine whether we will give him value or esteem. Whatever a man or woman does for their work is honourable and requires equal esteem. So whether you are a doctor, a lawyer, whether you paint houses, whether you pick up the garbage, whatever your work, it is to be seen with equal value and dignity. Now, Paul tells us several helpful practices and principles related to work. The first in verse five of chapter six, Ephesians, he says that we are to consider that our boss is Jesus Christ. Whatever work you are doing, your boss, the one to whom you must answer, is Christ himself. And if Christ is our boss and our master, then who then will be lazy?

Who then will report late, knowing that it is to Jesus that we must report? How many times have you heard someone say, I don’t like my boss, I don’t get along with him? If you knew what I knew about my boss, you’d be sick of working there too. Well, I would remind you as Christians, your boss is Jesus Christ, and it is he whom you must please. And it is from his lips that you are waiting to hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant. Secondly, Paul wants us to see in verse six that whatever your work is, do not be motivated by pleasing men, but have rather as your motivation to please Jesus Christ with your work.

He says that we should not serve with eye service as men pleasers, but rather as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Do you remember in leave it to beaver, Eddie Haskell? Eddie Haskell who every time mister and misses Cleaver would come into the house, there suddenly Eddie would come too, and he would say, good morning, misses Cleaver. Good morning, Mister Cleaver. You look so nice today. And they knew that Eddie was a men pleaser. They knew that his words meant nothing, because as soon as he would leave and the parents were gone, he would begin to talk critically about family. Well, we are not to be Eddie Haskells. We are not to be looking for our boss to come so that he might be impressed with us.

But instead, we are to look at our responsibility of impressing Jesus Christ with our work, who is always there. He does not poke his head in once a day, but he is always there. So whether you’re washing the dishes, do it to Christ. Pumping gas, do it to Christ. Whether you’re programming computers, do it for Christ. Whether you’re teaching school, do it for Christ. Whether you’re a lawyer, do it for Christ. Whether you’re working in a corporation, do it for Christ. Whether you’re changing a diaper, do it for Christ. Whatever your work is do it to please Christ. I believe that if we would do our work to please Jesus, that we will more than satisfy our boss on this life, and they will be more than pleased with the way that you work for, really.

Work is something that we are all called to do. We will labour for 70 years, give or take ten. And each of us must have a perspective on that work. And sometimes it is easy to lose that perspective. Think that we are simply doing this to gain more money so that we can give it to our children, can squander it. And that at times, seems like a very frustrating purpose in work. But if our purpose in work is to please the living God, and we see that every day, each of the tasks that we do is for his glory, then our work will be transformed, not from a curse to a blessing. The story is told of three men who are working at the same project. The man came and asked the first, what are you doing? He said, I’m laying bricks.

And he asked the second, what are you doing? He said, well, I’m building a wall. And he asked the third, what are you doing? He said, I am building a cathedral to the glory of God. What is your work? Are you doing it day by day as a tiresome task? Or is the work that you are doing so glorious, so wonderful, so full of thanksgiving, that you are looking forward to presenting it to Jesus Christ and that your work will bring glory to him? I pray that you know the blessing of work. Let us pray. Our God and our Father, we thank you for the privilege of labour, of work, and occupation. And Father, we thank you that this, which seems so routine, can be used by you to bring glory. And it is through that work that we find our place in your plan.

Help us to be good workers. Help us to follow Christ and to seek to please him in all that we do. We give you thanks in Jesus’s name for our work. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. That’s Princeton Ministries post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. The Lord bless you and Doctor Smith looks forward to hearing from you.