Slavery. It's one of the darkest chapters in human history. Looking back, we see the millions of people that have suffered from its cruelty and depression in many cultures.
But despite slavery being horrible, it's still alive today. In fact, many forms of slavery still exist throughout the world, whether as involuntary servitude, chattel slavery, or sex trafficking. And one problem that many people believe today is that the Bible approves slavery.
So is that true? In the Old and New Testament, the Bible does mention rules for slaves and their masters. And if that's the case, doesn't the idea of slavery contradict the loving and just God that we pray to?
So in this video, we're going to explore what the Bible has to say about slavery, so that maybe you can have an answer if someone brings it up, or so you just know in case you're curious. So regarding this topic, I have six thoughts for you to think about. Hey Impact family, thanks for all your support and watching our videos.
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If you're interested, you can click the join button in the description below. So thank you and back to the video. Thought number one, God created us in His image with value, dignity, and beauty.
Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 to 27 and 31. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image after our likeness. " So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him.
Male and female, He created them. And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good. In this passage at the very beginning of the Bible, God creates everything from nothing.
And God does this over the course of several days and creates the earth, the heavens, plants, and vegetation, and all the creatures to inhabit the earth. And on day six, the final day of creation, before He rests on the seventh day, He creates humanity, which is the highlight of His creation. And He created Adam and Eve, unlike any other part of creation, because He created them in His own image and likeness.
You see, all human beings are created in God's image, which means that every person has value, dignity, and beauty that doesn't come from themselves, but from God. Now I want you to think about what makes something valuable. Suppose you have a very valuable item, like a jersey signed by your favorite athlete.
Now some of you might kill me for this, but let's just say that it's a Patrick Mahomes jersey. Now someone would be willing to pay you for this jersey depends on its value, which is determined by several factors. Factors like what quality is the jersey?
How good is Mahomes? Is it signed? How many others like it are available?
And I would say that the value of this Mahomes jersey is determined, and we could even say limited by these factors. Now what I want you to see is that while this may be true for objects like Mahomes jersey, it is not true of human beings. You see, our value is not limited in the same way because we are all made unique and are special to God, whose image is beautifully displayed in our many talents and abilities.
You see, our value is not limited in the same way because we are all unique and are special to God, whose image is beautifully displayed in our many talents and abilities. So understand that a person's value is not limited because we are created in the image of an unlimited God. So when it comes to slavery in the Bible, I need you to remember that God from the very beginning made people special because they were created in his image, and he said it was very good.
But when sin entered into the world, people stopped seeing themselves and others the way that we should. And that leads us to thought number two. God has saved his people from slavery in the past, Exodus chapter 20 verses 1 to 2, and God spoke all these words saying, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
" In this passage, right before God issues the Ten Commandments through Moses, God reminds the Israelites that he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. And I know sometimes we may think of the Ten Commandments as just being a list of rules or laws, but this passage reminds us that it is God who had a strong heart to save his people from slavery and with his power delivered them from the Egyptians. And I want you to see that slavery was a real and painful experience for God's people, but God personally intervened and set them free, and this revealed his desire to bring freedom to those created in his image.
So when it comes to the problem of slaves being in the Bible, the first book of the Bible talks about how all people are made in God's image, and in the second book of the Bible, God himself frees slaves. And unfortunately, slavery did not end there. Creation went on, and people continued to sin against each other.
And this brings us to thought number three. God allows certain forms of slavery to exist in human history and has included provisions for fairness and compassion in the past. Deuteronomy chapter 23 verses 15 to 16, "You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.
He shall dwell with you in your midst in the place that he chose within one of your towns. Wherever it suits him, you shall not wrong him. " This passage is from the Old Testament law, which Moses wrote to include moral laws, civil laws, and ceremonial laws for the Israelites.
As Christians, we believe that only the moral law continues under Christ, and that the civil and ceremonial laws don't apply to us today. For example, a moral law in the Old Testament is "do not murder," also known as the sixth commandment. So you can see here that this still applies to Christians today as a universal moral law affirms by Jesus.
Ceremonial laws relate to religious practices or rituals like sacrifices or festivals. So laws about giving burnt offerings, for example, do not apply to Christians today. And civil laws relate to Israel's governance.
So laws about pledges and loans would also not apply for Christians. But just because we don't need to abide by these civil and ceremonial laws, that doesn't mean that we can't learn from these laws that honestly reveal God's heart and show various principles that we can apply to our lives today. And this is one example.
This specific law made provisions for runaway slaves, ensuring that they were treated fairly and compassionately. So see God's heart for slaves here. Now let's look at an example from the New Testament.
Ephesians chapter 6 verses 5 and 9. Bond servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart as you would Christ. Masters, do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven and that there is no partiality with him.
You see, the Apostle Paul wrote this during a time when the Roman Empire was very influential in the world and slavery was still a widely accepted practice. The term bond servant is related to a slave, but the word is usually associated with service that paid off some sort of debt with the expectation of freedom. And here Paul instructs bond servants to serve sincerely as if he were serving Christ.
And then he reminds masters to treat their servants with respect, knowing that they both serve God. And I would even highlight that this passage has an explicit command for masters to stop threatening their slaves. So get this, God calls for fairness and mutual respect, even in a broken system.
And Paul commands slaves who became Christians to remember who they really belonged to and to live in a way that would point others to the gospel of Christ. And in the same way, he commands masters to not forget who their ultimate master is and to treat their slaves differently because of that reality. And some of you might ask, why didn't Paul command more?
Was he not able to recognize just how bad slavery is or wouldn't allowing it give others more of an excuse for harsher forms like chattel or sex slavery? And I would say those are good points. And that leads us to thought number four.
The New Testament explicitly condemns the act of enslaving others as a sin. First Timothy chapter one verses eight to eleven. Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.
In this letter, Paul instructs Timothy on how to leave the church in Ephesus, which needed a lot of order and worship and doctrinal instruction. And in this passage, Paul reminds Timothy to look out for false teachers and their teachings, which could disrupt the purity and unity of the early church. And he reminds them of the kind of people who need redemption through the gospel by listing out specific types of lawbreakers.
And I want you to see that he lists enslavers by name. And this would have included those who engage in capturing and selling people into slavery. And note that he groups this sin with other extreme sins like murder and sexual immorality.
And you know what's interesting, this passage along with many others is what motivated the abolitionists in America to their resistance to chattel slavery. And for those of you who don't know, chattel slavery is a form of slavery where people can be bought, sold, or owned as property. And it was this kind of slavery that continued in Europe and America until recently.
And back then, abolitionists viewed this verse as a powerful argument that Christians should resist slavery in all of its forms. And going back to Paul, this isn't all he had to say about slavery. Next, look at thought number five.
Paul wrote Philemon in the New Testament for the sole purpose of requesting the freedom of a slave. Philemon chapter one verses eight to ten. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you.
I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you for my child Onesimus. For those of you who haven't read the book of Philemon, Philemon was a kind and wealthy Christian man who lived in the city of Colossae. And he owned a large house where Christians often gathered for worship and prayer.
Philemon was known for his generosity and helping others in the community. And he had many servants, one of whom was named Onesimus. And from what we read, it looks like Onesimus ran away and possibly stole things from Philemon.
But after some time, Onesimus met the Apostle Paul, became a Christian, and then Onesimus assisted Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. And Paul loved Onesimus like a son, and he wanted to help him make things right with Philemon. So Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon with a heartfelt letter.
And in that letter, Paul asked Philemon to welcome Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ. Also, if you read the letter, Paul reminded Philemon of his own faith and kindness to him. And he said that forgiving Onesimus would show the love of Jesus.
And going back to the passage we just read, notice that Paul could have used his apostolic authority to sway Philemon. But instead, he uses love rather than authority to ask for Onesimus' freedom. Now, I want you to see that Paul, an apostle and leader of the church, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote an entire letter just to request the freedom of a slave.
So note that instead of accepting the forms of slavery, Paul encouraged freedom and brotherhood through Christ. And he pointed to the virtue of love to persuade Philemon to set Onesimus free. So can you see the repetition in both the Old and the New Testament?
God in the Old Testament sought the freedom of the Israelites, and now God in the New Testament sought the freedom of Onesimus. And this tells me that while God may have allowed slavery in the past, his desire is for people to be free. Martin Luther once commented on this letter that Paul lays himself out to help poor Onesimus and sets himself in his place and pleads his cause with his master just as Christ did for us with God the Father.
We are all gods Onesimus. You see, this is the power of freedom in Christ. Which brings us to our final thought.
Thought number six. Faith in Christ brings equality for people of all kinds. Galatians chapter 3 verse There is neither Jew nor Greek.
There is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. This passage describes the unity and equality that all Christians share because of their connection to Christ Jesus through faith.
In Paul's view, our faith in Christ represents a core part of our identity that transcends any other identity that we might have. Identities such as ethnicity, gender, or social status. Now, it doesn't mean that these other identities are unimportant or irrelevant to who we are, but that being a Christian is what should stand out and unite us with many diverse groups of people.
And what I want you to see is that the social distinction, neither slave nor free, shows us that Paul attributes unity to those who are free and those who are slaves because of what God has done through Christ. To put it another way, in Jesus we are all equal and the things that divide us or cause discrimination in this world are irrelevant to God. Yes, God has endured many years of people mistreating others through corrupt and sinful institutions like slavery, but such mistreatment will not exist in the new heaven and the new earth.
And as God continues to work in our world today, we will see even more movements to end slavery, discrimination, and all forms of injustice just as he intended from the beginning. So, to wrap up our main thoughts. God created us in his image with value, dignity, and beauty.
God has saved his people from slavery in the past. God allowed certain forms of slavery to exist in human history and has included provisions for fairness and compassion in the past. The New Testament explicitly condemns the act of enslaving others as a sin.
Paul wrote finally meant in the New Testament for the sole purpose of requesting the freedom of a slave, and faith in Christ brings equality for people of all kinds. Sadly, we can never forget the harm that slavery has done in its many forms, but the Bible presents us with the one true God whose heart is to bring life, freedom, and happiness to his creation. And as we look at this subject, we should never forget that God has performed many mighty acts of deliverance in and through people in every age to deliver others from slavery, and he continues to work alongside us by the power of his Holy Spirit to bring salvation in Christ and freedom to all.
So today, we can be grateful for God's heart, his mighty acts of deliverance in history, and ultimately, the salvation from our universal slavery to sin found only by faith in Jesus Christ, his only Son. And though he was slandered, reviled, and even enslaved to endure an unjust punishment by death on a cross, he submitted to this that he might free us from our slavery to sin and the rampant forms of evil seen all around the world. This gospel message brings redemption from sin, restoration, forgiveness, and freedom for people of every tribe, language, people, and nation.
And as Jesus says in John 8, 36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. " Jesus came to offer you that freedom that can never be taken away. So as you consider this, always remember that Jesus loves you.
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