GOD’S WORD AND SLAVERY

Lightbearers MinistriesUncategorized

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 1 Peter 2:18 NKJV

This subject really troubled me.

How could I serve a God who allowed for, and even appeared to support, the involuntary ownership and service of one man to another man? The scourge of slavery has infected every fallen culture of man since Adam. All the religions of fallen man support it. We see it manifested blatantly all over the world. Even in the so-called free societies we see the state taking the fruit of one man involuntarily to give to another man. This type of theft is actually a form of slavery. So, how can God justify slavery, and even appear to promote it in His Word?

This is a huge subject in God’s Word. The Holy Spirit even devotes a whole New Testament book to the subject of a runaway slave who has been born again. Do you know which one?

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, Philem 1 NKJV

In American history, slave owners used New Testament verses to justify the involuntary  ownership of other human beings, many of them born again ones, and the fruit of their labor.

This was wrong…gut-level, heartfelt wrong. Personally, it was despicable, because I have a dear friend who was held as a slave illegally for ten years. But until I studied it, I couldn’t defend the integrity of our loving God, and the integrity of His precious Word, until I knew why He said what He said.

FOUR TYPES OF SLAVES – Hebrew slaves to Hebrew masters, Gentile slaves to Hebrew masters, Slaves under Gentile governments, Slaves to Jesus Christ.

Hebrew Slaves To Hebrew Masters

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. Ex 21:2-3 NKJV

A Hebrew man could sell himself into slavery to pay off a debt. In this context, his service was not involuntary, and it was only to extend six years, or in the year of Jubilee, even less. In the seventh year, or the Jubilee, he would be free to go. In that seventh year, if he truly loved his master, and all that his master had given him, then he could freely bond himself to his master for life. Then he would enter into a relationship that would be imitated spiritually in the New Testament by the servants of Jesus Christ, which we will develop later.

 Gentile Slaves To Hebrew Masters

…and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Deut 7:2-3 NKJV

Israel was to be separate from the Gentile nations. When they went to war with other nations, they were to wipe them out totally, men, women and children. If Israel ever took in foreigners, they were to be slaves, and that was mercy to them, because it is better to be a living slave, then a dead person. As a living slave, they could even give their hearts to the God of Israel, to become a believer, and enter into eternal life. Read the book concerning the gentile Ruth. Thus, mercy could have its greatest effect in their lives, and triumph over judgment.

Slaves Under Gentile Governments

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. Rom 13:1 NKJV

When you read about slaves in the New Testament books of Romans through Revelation, you are dealing with slaves under Gentile governments. The laws that God set up for the Hebrew people did not apply to them. Born again ones, under Gentile governments were to be obedient to the Gentile government. Same is true today, just as it was in bible times. God’s people are not to be seditious, nor are they to be rebellious. If you are unhappy under the laws of the land, then change the laws legally. Paul, Peter and the other New Testament writers taught the believers, even those who were slaves under the Gentile system, how to live righteously under their circumstances. They were not justifying their circumstances, but simply teaching them how to live in their current situation. Do you get that? This is why New Testament verses appear to support slavery.

Slaves To Jesus Christ

But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever. Ex 21:5-6 NKJV

The Hebrew servant, at the end of his six years of service, could bond himself to his master for the rest of his life. The bonded servant became the personal representative of his master. The master then became responsible for his bonded servant to live with the same quality of life as the master, because the bonded servant fully represented him. When people saw the servant, they saw the master. Jesus said, ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father.’ Is something starting to click in your heart?

The analogy to the bonded Hebrew servant is carried over today to the bonded servants of Jesus Christ. That man or woman who would be recognized as a servant of Jesus Christ must go through years of training. There are five levels of spiritual growth. You are only ready for the bonding when you have attained the fourth level. In my soberest assessment, I would say very few qualify. The reason for that is that the apostles, prophets and teachers, and to a lesser extent the pastors and evangelists, aren’t taking the time necessary to raise them up. You can’t put people in a spiritual microwave oven…

The acknowledgement of a bonded servant of Jesus Christ is recognized in the ministry of ordination. For the truly ordained one, there is no going back; it is lifelong commitment for which one lays down their life continually. Jesus Christ truly becomes Lord, and the ordained one grows into His perfect representative.

A Final Question – Are There Superior and Inferior Races, or Nations?

And He has made from one blood every nation ( Grk. ETHNOS ) of men to dwell on all the face of the earth Acts 17:26 NKJV

The answer is…NO. Carl and I sat with this pastor in his home for four hours while he told us with charts and graphs, how he was descended from the twelve tribes of Israel, and why that made him a very special human being. No…sorry! Dead in trespasses and sins is dead in trespasses and sins, even if you have Jewish blood in your spiritually dead carcass. It’s not about where you are born, or who your father was, but are you born again of God’s Spirit?

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I want you to get this truth. It is not about the color of your skin, or your gender, but rather the content of your character, to paraphrase a great man of God.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:26-29 NKJV

Do you have Christ in your heart? That is what I look for in a man, in a woman. I could care less about skin color, race, ethnicity or gender. Christ in you is what makes the difference.

Having said that, I believe that every ETHNOS has a distinct redemptive gifting that they bring to the body of Christ. I look for that to be manifested in an individual, and really in a family as they grow up spiritually. It’s truly exciting to see the beauty and the diversity in the body of Christ! With Christ at our head, we are the tribe of Jesus, the family of God. Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…