1Timothy 6:1-2 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these things.
Many people read verses like this in the bible and are tempted to respond with accusation as though the bible commends slavery and even the type of abhorrent slavery typified in the American slave trade during the 17th to 19th centuries. Before we talk about the thrust of these verses, we should make just a few statements about slavery in the bible.
1. Slavery was never a part of the original plan of Creation. It is a result of sin.
2. Sin created all the circumstances to make slavery a reality in the world. Those circumstances range from finding a solution for poverty, retribution for sins against another human, to the consequences of war and the horror of human hatred.
3. The bible clearly condemns man stealing as sinful.
4. The Old Testament law gives instructions to regulate a practice in Israel that protects both the slave and master. It includes the repayment of debt and both the way of freedom and the ability to stay under a master’s yoke should it be the individual’s wish.
5. The Scriptures do not place humans in the category of mere possessions.
6. Slavery was commonplace in the Roman empire and governed by Roman law. More than 30% of people were slaves.
7. In many instances it was impossible to tell a slave from a master and sometimes slaves were also masters with high standing and positions of significant responsibility.
8. While the Apostle Paul encourages slaves to respect and work well for masters, he also encourages slaves to rightly work toward freedom. (1 Corinthians 7:21).
9. The worst kind of slavery described in the bible is the bondage to sin that every single human experiences outside of knowing Christ.
To read more about the accusations against the bible when it comes to slavery (and sexism), I recommend Dr Jim Hamilton’s article - LINK HERE.
Back to the verses at hand.
In his instructions to Timothy as he pastors the church in Ephesus, Paul makes a note for Timothy to provide pastoral guidance to those in his church who are slaves. He notes two situations. There are slaves with non-believing masters and slaves with believing masters. In either category, Paul highlights what is most important for a believer who is a slave. It is also the most important category for any believer in any circumstance in which we find ourselves. In any and every circumstance we are to live according to how we shine the beauty and glory of Christ and represent his name.
To those with non-believing masters.
Slaves with non-believing masters should always understand that their identity is not as a slave to an earthly master. That is their circumstance, but not their identity. All Christians find their identity in Christ and in fact, we are slaves to Christ first and foremost. Paul wants the Christians in Ephesus who happen to be under a yoke of slavery to use their current circumstance of life to promote the name of Christ and gain opportunity for the gospel. Paul says to treat their masters with honor for the sake of the name of God and that the teaching of God (the gospel of Christ) might not be reviled.
For many of us today, we can attribute this to our own places of work where we are contracted for work to the benefit of our employers. Reading Paul’s statements should give us a heart-felt desire to be the best employee our employers have. We seek to show them the respect and honor their position warrants. We go the extra mile. We pray for them. We are careful to complete our tasks with skill and diligence. We are pleased to work for their success, and we rejoice when they achieve it. Paul is saying that worldly bosses should be stepping over each other for the opportunity to employ Christians because they are the best employees of all. Christians work in a way that leaves a good taste of the name of Christ and they make for themselves an opportunity for gospel witness both in action and words. If you want a great example of this, read the book of Daniel.
To those with believing masters
There also seems to be a situation in Ephesus where some Christians had taken advantage of having a believing master. Perhaps if their master had come to Christ, they thought that there was no longer a need to work as a witness. Even more so, perhaps they felt a sense of entitlement from their brother in Christ when it came to them having greater privilege than others. Why should they take orders from a fellow believer? Paul corrects this thinking by his normal instruction about the church family. When it comes to the fellowship of the family of Christ, we are always under more, not less, obligation to fervently serve one another. This doesn’t mean that Paul would not want to see the Christian master free his slaves or treat them with extra love as brothers and sisters in Christ. He certainly instructs Philemon to do this with Onesimus. In 1 Timothy, Paul is instructing Timothy to pastorally guide Christian slaves who are in his church. It could be that in becoming a believer in Christ that these people had acted opposite to the way they should. Every single one of us knows how that can sometimes be the case in our own circumstances of employment. Some of us need to repent and work on the basis of the grace of Christ that compels us to diligence for the sake of his name.
Conclusion:
In whatever circumstance we find ourselves, the most important instruction for every Christian is that our lives are first and foremost Christ-centered and not self-centered. Our desire in work is not what we want most out of it, but how Christ is most glorified in it. That seems to be good advice for every slave of Christ. We are Christ-centered slaves.