WEBVTT

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What does the average unbelieving man or woman

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in America think of the church today? The average

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unbelieving man or woman in America, what do

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they think of the church today? Some interesting

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statistics came out recently from the Pew Research

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Center, and I always like to see those types

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of reports to see what's happening in our world.

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In 2014, 2014, 63 % of Americans held a mostly

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favorable view of churches in our country. And

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I don't know if that encourages you, but actually

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if you think about it, that's not a great number.

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Six out of 10, not a great number. But can I

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now share with you, it's gotten much worse over

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the past 10 years. Much worse. That number has

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now fallen to 51%. So just about half of Americans,

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let me translate, 170 million people. in this

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country no longer have a positive view of the

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church. And in a similar trend, which probably

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surprises nobody, the reputation of church leaders

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has also spiraled down quite a bit. Now, I'm

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sure there's all kinds of reasons for this. Part

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of it is just this weird era we're living in

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where, in general, we are losing trust in our

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institutions. You can feel that trend happening

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today. But it does make you pause and think,

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what have we done or not done as Christians that

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have caused our fellow citizens to have this

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perception of the church? So in our call to worship

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that we read just a moment ago from the Sermon

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on the Mount, we heard Jesus say that we are

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supposed to be the salt of the earth. Salt of

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the earth. That means we're to enhance the flavor

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of life in the midst of this fallen world. We're

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to be flavor enhancers, showing the people. how

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good and precious it is to live a godly life.

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But then Jesus said, if that salt loses its saltiness,

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its taste, then it's good for what? For absolutely

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nothing. Then Jesus wanted to say, look, you're

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also the light of the world. That means our lives

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should visibly stand out in the midst of darkness.

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And that collectively, the church is supposed

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to be this city on a hill, this refuge of goodness

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for people to look up to and see and say, I want

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to be a part of that. And the purpose of all

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this, according to Jesus, is really not about

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us per se. It's about making the body of Christ

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visible. And when people see how we live our

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lives together, the idea is that they'd be drawn

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to Christ and they would glorify our Father who's

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in heaven. That's the purpose. Now, I realize

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that God is fully sovereign over salvation, that

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he will save whom he will save, but it is also

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true that by our testimony, the testimony of

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our lives each and every day, God has called

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us to play a role in seeing sinners come to saving

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faith. Sometimes that just blows my mind, that

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he would let us participate in this. The question

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is how we become so much like the world that

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we've lost our saltiness. Has our light grown

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so dim that we no longer stand out? So here's

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the point for this morning. If we love the gospel,

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if we want to have a platform to share the gospel

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with a lost world, then we have to demonstrate,

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each one of us, what a saved life looks like.

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We have to show the world the beautiful fruits

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of a relationship with Jesus. If not, what we

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do is we give unbelievers reasons to reject him,

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reasons to dishonor our Lord. So this is important

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stuff. Grab your Bibles. We're going to Titus

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chapter 2. We're back there. Back in Titus after

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a couple weeks of celebrating the blessed season

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of Easter. And glad to be back in this very practical

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chapter. Now, I don't know if you noticed it

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or not as we were going through the first portions

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of chapter 2, but this idea of representing the

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gospel well has already been a consistent theme

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in Titus 2. If you remember, Paul started out

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by laying out this really important contrast

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for us. At the end of chapter one, he talked

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about certain men, he called them out, certain

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men in the churches of Crete who said, Paul said

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this of them, they profess to know God, they

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claim to know him, but by their deeds, by their

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lives, they what? They deny him. They profess,

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they say that they trust in Christ, but by their

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lives they deny him. And then listen to this.

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Paul says that that disconnect between what they

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say and what they do renders them, listen to

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the words, detestable, disobedient, and useless,

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like salt that has lost its flavor. That's important

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for us to see. So the truth is, This hit me as

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I was studying. Hypocrisy in the church that

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we're all so familiar with today, guess what?

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It was present a long time ago, all the way back

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to the first century, the early parts of the

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church. Hypocrisy was there. Why? Because we're

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humans. But then Paul lays out the contrast at

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the beginning of chapter two, saying, but as

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for you, Titus, I want you to tell the believers

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there in Crete that they have to be different.

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They can't be like those people. They can't just

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say one thing and do another. They've got to

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be salty. They've got to be flavorful. They've

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got to be beacons of light. And this is how I

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want you to do it. And then Paul gives Titus

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these instructions. I want you to start by telling

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the older men to do this. And then I want you

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to speak to the older women and then to the younger

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women and the younger men and give them specific

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aspects of what a redeemed life should look like.

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and command them to live that way. Here's what's

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interesting. At the end of each one of those

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sections in chapter two, Paul then gives a purpose

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statement for each one. I'll put them on the

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screen. But if you look at verse five in your

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text, after speaking to the older men and older

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women, he writes, they should be this way. Why?

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So that the word of God will not be dishonored.

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Then if you drop down to verse 8, after addressing

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the young men and the young women, he writes,

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they should be that way so that the opponent

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will be put to shame having nothing bad to say

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about us. Purpose statements, right? This is

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why you should live a godly life. This is why

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what you profess should be how you live. And

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then today, if you peek ahead to verse 10, we

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get a third purpose statement. He wants... this

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particular group, to act this way so that they

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will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in

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every respect. Now, who is he addressing in this

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last section? Bond slaves. So look at verse nine.

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We'll look at these two verses today. Verse nine,

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he says, Titus, I want you to urge bond slaves

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to be subject to or submissive to their own masters

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in everything, to be well -pleasing, Not argumentative,

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not pilfering, fancy word for stealing, but showing

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all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine

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of God our Savior in every respect. So what we

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have here are both negative and positive reasons.

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for us to live in a way that is pleasing to God

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first and foremost, but second, will draw people

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to the doctrine of God. Negatively, we should

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live godly lives so that our hypocrisy doesn't

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dishonor the word and push people away. Positively,

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we should live godly lives so that we shine this

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beautiful light on the truth of the gospel. It

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couldn't be more clear, right? We see it all

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through the New Testament, this principle. Now

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I'm going to come back to these two verses because

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we're going to work through them very carefully.

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But first, I can't just ignore who this is addressed

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to in the passage. Bond slaves. So as I promised,

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promised this what, four weeks ago? Four weeks

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ago? We need to talk about the Bible's view of

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slavery. So this has become a very hot topic

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recently, just so that you know. What the increase,

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the crazy increase in theological podcasts, I'm

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literally looking for people who don't have a

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podcast these days. They're so... They're so

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all over the place. But apologetics being done

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now on social media sites like X and YouTube,

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it's everywhere. And the boldness of our enemies

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in criticizing our faith is also growing. So

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you've got this group of hostile people who are

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pointing the finger at the Bible and claiming

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that God condones of slavery, that he actually

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approves of the moral evil of slavery, and therefore

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their conclusion is, your God cannot be a moral

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God. That argument is all over the place right

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now. So it's good for us to be able to understand

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the topic, address the subject, both for our

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own peace of mind, but also so that we can give

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an answer to people who attack the character

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of the scripture. So look, I have limited time

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today, but what I'm gonna try to do is walking

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through a logical perspective on slavery in the

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Bible. And we'll start with this very important

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statement. Because of sin, We'll start there.

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Because of sin and the fallen state of our world,

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slavery is absolutely ubiquitous in human history.

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It is everywhere. In every history book, in every

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civilization, it is as universal and pervasive

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as war. Between human civilizations, between

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conquest and colonization, every general category

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of people on the planet has been on both ends

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of slavery. Sometimes having slaves, sometimes

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being slaves. You just can't find people groups

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that haven't been a part of that. So no, when

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people say, you know, the early American colonists

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invented slavery, don't laugh at them, but don't

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let that stand. It's not even by a long shot,

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right? In fact, slavery is not unique to any

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single culture or civilization. And this is a

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very, very important fact to know. The rules

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and the customs of slavery throughout history

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were not the same. Depending on the time, depending

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upon the culture, depending upon the civilization,

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all the customs of slavery look very, very differently.

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Each civilization had its own version of slavery,

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and therefore, we have to make sure we judge

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each one based on those particular customs. By

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the way, you should know that slavery has not

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disappeared from the earth. It is still with

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us in huge numbers. Today, there's somewhere

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around 50 million people in the world who are

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not free. victims of human trafficking, of forced

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labor, of sex work, and a quarter of those are

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children. Think about that. Women and girls make

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up more than half of the slaves in the world

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today. And the biggest perpetrators? Well, the

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short list is India, first of all, China, North

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Korea, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, and the

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Congo. And you might be surprised to know that

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the longest running, most expansive slave trade

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was run by not Europeans, but Arab Muslims. Very

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few people know this. Beginning in the 7th century

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and running all the way into the 20th century,

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Arab slavers have captured more slaves from all

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over the world than any other people group. So

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the history of slavery is quite muddy, but it's

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been everywhere. Now, the biggest challenge those

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of us in the West face when we look at the Bible

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and try to discern its position on slavery is

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the cultural baggage that we bring to the text,

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right? Based on our experience and what we're

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taught about slavery in this country. So for

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us as Americans, we all have the same picture

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in our minds when we think about the slavery

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that took place in the American South. during

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the colonial period. And that has been drilled

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into our heads as students in school, and rightfully

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so, because it's a dark stain on the history

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of our country and a dark stain on the history

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of our people. What took place in the American

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slavery experience is called chattel slavery.

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Let me try to define that. First of all, it involved

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taking people from Africa and forcibly kidnapping

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them, often separating them from their families.

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taking them out of their homeland, importing

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them to a foreign country, just that, imagine

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the horror of that, of being forcibly taken and

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separated from your loved ones. If they survived

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being carried across the ocean, once they arrived,

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they were utterly dehumanized, treated as property,

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stripped of their rights, subjected to brutal

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living conditions, and used as forced labor for

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life with no hope of ever being freed. The other

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thing that's unique and horrible about the American

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chattel system is that it's rooted in racial

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superiority and economic exploitation. That's

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why we call it such a dark period in our history.

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Now, why do I feel the need? I know that makes

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us uncomfortable, doesn't it? Why do I feel the

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need to share it? Because our enemies, what they

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will do is they will cherry pick verses out of

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the Bible, rip them out of their historical context,

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and then try to say that the slavery in the Bible

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is the same thing as American chattel slavery.

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But it isn't. Those comparisons are not accurate.

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That is so important to understand. So we need

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to show people why they shouldn't impose their

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conception of slavery and lay it on the scriptures.

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Does that make sense? Okay, good. Now, obviously,

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the Bible acknowledges the existence of slavery.

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It responds to slavery. But there's no justifiable

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reason to claim that the Bible approves of slavery.

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There's no reason for that. As if it's morally

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good or even morally neutral. It's always important

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to recognize that when the Bible describes aspects

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of human history, it doesn't necessarily mean

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divine approval. Did you catch that? When it

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describes human history, it doesn't mean divine

00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.759
approval. So, for example, when actions like

00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.919
going to war are described in the Bible or divorce

00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:25.919
in the Bible or engaging in polygamy, those things

00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:29.259
are documented for our edification, but we shouldn't

00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:32.240
reflexively say, well, then God must approve

00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:36.039
of them or God must condone them. And here's

00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:38.460
the truth. There are valid historical reasons

00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:43.559
for God making concessions, concessions for such

00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:46.580
things at certain times in human history. And

00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:50.019
I'll explain as we go along. In terms of the

00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:51.940
Old Testament era, it's important to remember

00:14:51.940 --> 00:14:54.720
that slave ownership was practiced in the ancient

00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.820
Near East long before Moses came on the scene.

00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.879
Long before the law was established, slavery

00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:03.840
was everywhere. So the law that was given to

00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:07.539
Israel neither instituted slavery nor ended it.

00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:11.940
Instead, what God did was he regulated. slavery

00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:14.799
through Moses, providing instructions for how

00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:18.559
slaves should be treated. Why? So that Israel

00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:20.500
would be different from the surrounding nations.

00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:24.159
That's a big part of the law, right? And in the

00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:26.120
surrounding nations, in fact, in the entire rest

00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:28.960
of the world, slaves were absolutely brutalized,

00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.500
had no rights whatsoever. And the reason for

00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:35.240
the concession of slavery in that day was very,

00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:39.159
very simple. It was a tool to help the poor survive.

00:15:41.549 --> 00:15:44.769
Let me say it again. In many cases in Old Testament

00:15:44.769 --> 00:15:47.370
Israel, the reason for that concession was it

00:15:47.370 --> 00:15:50.590
was a tool to help people survive under harsh

00:15:50.590 --> 00:15:53.149
conditions. It's very similar to the concession

00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:56.429
that God gives about polygamy. We talk, why is

00:15:56.429 --> 00:15:58.470
there polygamy in the Old Testament? Well, because

00:15:58.470 --> 00:16:02.309
in that day, in that context, that history, women

00:16:02.309 --> 00:16:05.429
needed the protection and provision of a man

00:16:05.429 --> 00:16:08.750
to make it through life. And guess who got killed

00:16:08.750 --> 00:16:13.340
in wars? Mainly men. So there'd be fewer men

00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:16.279
than women, so polygamy became necessary. Otherwise,

00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:19.279
you were going to have women just dying because

00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.679
they're unable to fend for themselves. So does

00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:25.340
God approve of it? Not necessarily. Does he make

00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:27.919
a concession for the sake of survival? Yes, he

00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:31.059
does. Does that make sense? And the fact is,

00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:34.299
in ancient agrarian societies, it was often hard

00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:37.419
to survive. So sometimes a person would literally

00:16:37.419 --> 00:16:41.519
sell themselves into slavery. They would sell

00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:43.940
themselves, what we would call indentured servitude,

00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:46.559
for a couple reasons. Maybe to pay off a debt.

00:16:47.299 --> 00:16:51.220
Maybe just so they have basic sustenance. And

00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:52.879
sometimes a man would have to make a horrible

00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.820
decision and sell a child into servitude in order

00:16:56.820 --> 00:17:00.110
to save the entire family from starving. And

00:17:00.110 --> 00:17:01.870
the hope was with the law and the protections

00:17:01.870 --> 00:17:04.349
of the law that they could sell that child into

00:17:04.349 --> 00:17:07.509
slavery and that child would actually be better

00:17:07.509 --> 00:17:10.509
off with a more wealthy family and be provided

00:17:10.509 --> 00:17:13.569
for and protected. Now, as I say that, I know

00:17:13.569 --> 00:17:16.089
that sounds terrible. To our modern ear, that

00:17:16.089 --> 00:17:19.589
sounds awful. But that highlights the exact problem

00:17:19.589 --> 00:17:22.630
we have with trying to interpret a text that

00:17:22.630 --> 00:17:27.670
is 3 ,500 years old. without laying our moral

00:17:27.670 --> 00:17:31.769
standards from our day on top of the text. Now,

00:17:31.829 --> 00:17:33.970
what the Old Testament describes is very different

00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:36.690
and far better than the American chattel system.

00:17:37.609 --> 00:17:40.970
First of all, it was often contractual and temporary.

00:17:42.150 --> 00:17:45.490
It wasn't for life. Second, it came with built

00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:47.410
-in protections for the servant. For example,

00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:50.289
Hebrew slaves were only to serve for six years.

00:17:50.589 --> 00:17:52.730
And on the seventh year, they were to be set

00:17:52.730 --> 00:17:55.839
free. And you know what? The reality is, in some

00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:57.799
cases, they didn't want to be set free. They

00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:00.359
wanted to stay there because it was easier to

00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:03.220
be a household servant and be provided for by

00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:05.819
the master rather than being thrown out there

00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:09.019
and having to fend for themselves. So it's more

00:18:09.019 --> 00:18:12.380
complicated than the American experience. And

00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:14.319
the law made sure that slaves were treated well.

00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.380
Even when they were released, the law said, if

00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:20.829
I release a slave, Not to just send them out

00:18:20.829 --> 00:18:23.329
empty -handed. I'm to give them provisions, resources,

00:18:23.470 --> 00:18:26.109
so that they don't fall right back into poverty.

00:18:27.009 --> 00:18:30.849
So God regulated this carefully. Now, does that

00:18:30.849 --> 00:18:33.150
mean there was no abuse in the system? Of course

00:18:33.150 --> 00:18:36.289
not. Of course not. Would there have been slaves

00:18:36.289 --> 00:18:39.430
that were treated poorly? Obviously, because

00:18:39.430 --> 00:18:42.509
that's human nature. Were sometimes slaves taken

00:18:42.509 --> 00:18:44.630
in wars, foreigners that were brought in and

00:18:44.630 --> 00:18:46.750
treated poorly because they weren't Israelites?

00:18:46.849 --> 00:18:49.589
I'm sure that's true. Again, all of that is part

00:18:49.589 --> 00:18:52.390
of the sad truth of human nature. The system

00:18:52.390 --> 00:18:55.990
isn't ideal. Again, it was a concession that

00:18:55.990 --> 00:18:58.410
God made for the fallen world. But still, the

00:18:58.410 --> 00:19:01.309
law in Israel provided options for people in

00:19:01.309 --> 00:19:04.069
the midst of hardship, and it was far more humane.

00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:07.500
than slavery in any other culture of the ancient

00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:12.380
Near East. You tracking? This is important. Interestingly,

00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:16.099
the Old Testament law is clear, very clear about

00:19:16.099 --> 00:19:18.900
one of the most vile characteristics of American

00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:22.720
chattel slavery. According to Exodus 21, the

00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:25.519
capturing or kidnapping of people and selling

00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:31.339
them into slavery was punishable by death. punishable

00:19:31.339 --> 00:19:33.859
by death if you kidnap someone and force them

00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:36.539
into slavery. And by the way, very few people

00:19:36.539 --> 00:19:38.240
know this. This shows up in the New Testament

00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:42.140
as well. Paul lays this out in 1 Timothy 1, 9

00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:44.640
and 10. He includes in this list of some of the

00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.619
most grievous sins, including murder, he includes

00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:51.720
kidnappers or enslavers as a part of that list.

00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:55.680
So any version of slavery that matches what happened

00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:58.220
in the American chattel system in the South,

00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:02.420
is clearly condemned in Scripture. I have to

00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:04.759
say that very clearly. The conditions we see

00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:07.500
in the American experience, clearly condemned

00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:12.240
in Scripture. Everybody hear that? Okay, good.

00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:17.500
Got really serious in here. Now, when we come

00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:20.380
to the New Testament era, the historical situation,

00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.759
again, is unique, and we have to treat it as

00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:26.119
unique. Slavery in the Roman Empire was incredibly

00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:29.089
widespread. I should have had a map for you on

00:20:29.089 --> 00:20:30.849
this, right? This would have been the moment.

00:20:32.009 --> 00:20:36.569
Excuse me. So estimates are that, get this, a

00:20:36.569 --> 00:20:39.490
third of the people living in the Roman Empire

00:20:39.490 --> 00:20:43.589
were living in some form of slavery or servanthood.

00:20:43.630 --> 00:20:46.490
A third. Do you know how many people that is?

00:20:46.630 --> 00:20:48.930
You've seen how expansive the Roman Empire is.

00:20:49.630 --> 00:20:52.230
Many were taken slaves by virtue of being conquered

00:20:52.230 --> 00:20:55.430
by Rome. which again separates it from the American

00:20:55.430 --> 00:20:57.730
experience. Slavery in Rome was not based on

00:20:57.730 --> 00:21:00.430
race or ethnicity. If you were conquered, didn't

00:21:00.430 --> 00:21:02.410
matter what color you were, you were gonna be

00:21:02.410 --> 00:21:05.390
a slave or a servant. Like the Old Testament

00:21:05.390 --> 00:21:08.210
era, some people in the empire volunteered themselves

00:21:08.210 --> 00:21:11.089
into servitude because it was either a way to

00:21:11.089 --> 00:21:13.769
survive and catch this, in the Roman system,

00:21:14.130 --> 00:21:17.529
for some people, it was actually a way to find

00:21:17.529 --> 00:21:20.750
more opportunities to better oneself. Yeah, slavery,

00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:24.819
to better oneself. So some slaves could be found

00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:27.960
working in the fields. That's very common. Some

00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:31.019
were trained as gladiators. Some were tradesmen,

00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.400
able to serve wealthy families by doing a trade.

00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:36.440
Many were domestic workers. It's true that many

00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.920
of the girls became prostitutes. Some were children,

00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.339
and this was common in the Roman Empire. They'd

00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:45.000
been abandoned at birth and left on the streets

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.980
to die, and they would be picked up and, air

00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:51.079
quotes, rescued into slavery. But at least they

00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:54.210
would survive and be cared for. Some were promising

00:21:54.210 --> 00:21:57.690
young men who went to elite families and sold

00:21:57.690 --> 00:22:00.869
themselves into servitude for the purpose of

00:22:00.869 --> 00:22:03.069
learning things like accounting, things like

00:22:03.069 --> 00:22:06.609
medicine, things like politics. So the point

00:22:06.609 --> 00:22:09.369
is, in the Roman system, there's this wide discrepancy

00:22:09.369 --> 00:22:12.650
in what a slave or servant looked like. Some

00:22:12.650 --> 00:22:15.210
slaves did nothing but hard labor all their lives.

00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:18.559
Others actually became quite wealthy and powerful.

00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:21.500
We know stories of slaves who rose up in a household,

00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:24.619
ran their master's business, got their own families,

00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:27.140
had their own children, their own pieces of land,

00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:29.900
and became very powerful within the Roman Empire.

00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:33.339
So there was mistreatment, but others were treated

00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:36.819
very well. So the conditions you faced as a slave

00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:39.759
in the Roman Empire depended upon the personality

00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:42.259
of your master and the whims of your master,

00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:45.660
and there's this huge discrepancy. from one end

00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:48.759
to the other. So when the enemies of Christianity

00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:51.220
ask, well, why didn't the New Testament writers

00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:55.299
just blanket condemn slavery as a moral evil

00:22:55.299 --> 00:22:58.279
and say it must be done away with? That is really

00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:02.299
the big question that people are asking. Well,

00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:04.960
this is part of the answer. The characteristics

00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.420
of slavery in that time weren't universal enough

00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:12.240
to just allow for one simple sweeping reform.

00:23:13.150 --> 00:23:16.950
It just wasn't that simple. In many cases, banishing

00:23:16.950 --> 00:23:18.930
slavery at that time would have been disastrous

00:23:18.930 --> 00:23:22.750
because the entire Roman economic system depended

00:23:22.750 --> 00:23:25.890
on the work of servants. Imagine this. You immediately,

00:23:26.069 --> 00:23:28.829
you overthrow slavery in the Roman Empire. Immediately,

00:23:29.069 --> 00:23:32.849
a third of the population has no work, nowhere

00:23:32.849 --> 00:23:34.750
to go, and no way to provide for themselves.

00:23:36.049 --> 00:23:38.089
That type of thing would have been catastrophic.

00:23:39.029 --> 00:23:40.970
Millions would have actually starved to death.

00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:45.079
if that had happened. So rather than attack slavery

00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:47.779
as an institution, what God does is he allows

00:23:47.779 --> 00:23:50.299
this concession for the fallenness of mankind,

00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:53.359
and then, this is the beautiful part, from within,

00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.460
he seeks to reorder the relationship between

00:23:56.460 --> 00:23:59.759
slaves and masters and to provide certain protections

00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:03.359
for his people who are caught up in it. In other

00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:05.559
words, we're gonna undermine the institution

00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:09.569
of slavery from inside. This seems to be God's

00:24:09.569 --> 00:24:12.109
plan. So consider the power of this verse from

00:24:12.109 --> 00:24:15.190
Galatians 3. We know this verse, right? Imagine

00:24:15.190 --> 00:24:18.529
if you're a slave and you read this. You're all

00:24:18.529 --> 00:24:22.890
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For

00:24:22.890 --> 00:24:24.750
all of you who are baptized into Christ have

00:24:24.750 --> 00:24:27.190
clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither

00:24:27.190 --> 00:24:32.089
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free

00:24:32.089 --> 00:24:37.140
man. Fascinating. So this verse represents the

00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:39.680
heart of how the gospel transforms everything.

00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:42.859
Being found in Christ breaks down all these man

00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:45.880
-made barriers, including barriers of race and

00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:49.380
social status. Now, even though that's true,

00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:51.539
does that mean that every societal problem is

00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:55.059
just gonna be, you know, cease to exist? Of course

00:24:55.059 --> 00:24:57.759
not. What it means, though, is that in the kingdom

00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:00.779
of God, no person is valued more than another

00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:05.259
based on their earthly identity or rank. And

00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:08.359
that changes everything. Sometimes we forget

00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:10.819
how radically, I'll use the word, radically progressive

00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:14.799
the gospel was in ancient times. It transformed

00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.980
everything. It, through relationships, turned

00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:20.880
them upside down and made people think. Very,

00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:24.319
very important. Now, we know from places like

00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:27.180
Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6 and 1 Timothy 6

00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:31.539
and the entire book of Philemon that Paul repeatedly

00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:35.190
commands a whole new perspective. for both masters

00:25:35.190 --> 00:25:40.369
and slaves, telling both sides, both sides, reminding

00:25:40.369 --> 00:25:43.650
them of their obligations before the Lord. And

00:25:43.650 --> 00:25:45.369
being more concerned about Christian character

00:25:45.369 --> 00:25:48.390
within social structures than overturning them,

00:25:48.609 --> 00:25:51.609
Paul commands slaves, first of all, to render

00:25:51.609 --> 00:25:53.910
good service to your masters, to be submissive,

00:25:53.950 --> 00:25:58.059
to do good work. But then, and this was shocking

00:25:58.059 --> 00:26:01.160
for this day, he turns to masters and says, and

00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:04.099
you, Christian masters, have to treat your slaves

00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:07.480
carefully and humanely. He even warns them in

00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:10.680
Colossians 4 .1. He says, masters, grant your

00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:14.119
slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you

00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:18.059
too have a master in heaven. Ah, lest you think

00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.039
you're this free man who can do as he wants,

00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.720
you have a master in heaven who's always watching.

00:26:25.349 --> 00:26:28.750
To Philemon, and I recommend you read the book.

00:26:28.869 --> 00:26:31.470
It's fascinating. Paul writes and encourages

00:26:31.470 --> 00:26:34.269
this friend of his, Philemon, to welcome back

00:26:34.269 --> 00:26:37.329
a man named Onesimus, who was a runaway slave.

00:26:37.910 --> 00:26:40.410
And the whole theme of the book is biblical love.

00:26:41.789 --> 00:26:45.849
Paul calls Onesimus my child. This runaway slave

00:26:45.849 --> 00:26:48.089
calls him my child, calls him my very heart.

00:26:48.769 --> 00:26:51.470
He points out to his friend Philemon, who is

00:26:51.470 --> 00:26:54.890
a slave owner. that this brother, Onesimus, is

00:26:54.890 --> 00:26:58.009
now better than a slave. I know he ran away from

00:26:58.009 --> 00:27:00.430
you, but now that he's a Christian, he's better

00:27:00.430 --> 00:27:02.829
than a slave. He's a brother in Christ. And so

00:27:02.829 --> 00:27:05.069
he says to Philemon, I want you to receive him

00:27:05.069 --> 00:27:08.630
back like you would receive me. That turns everything

00:27:08.630 --> 00:27:11.930
upside down, doesn't it? So all of that was designed

00:27:11.930 --> 00:27:14.630
to encourage Philemon, basically, to move towards

00:27:14.630 --> 00:27:19.490
setting this man free. So Paul upsets the apple

00:27:19.490 --> 00:27:22.329
cart. In terms of just pure practical advice,

00:27:22.609 --> 00:27:24.930
Paul mentions to the Corinthian church, to the

00:27:24.930 --> 00:27:28.029
slaves there, he says, look, if you got saved

00:27:28.029 --> 00:27:31.009
when you were a slave, it's okay to be content

00:27:31.009 --> 00:27:33.769
in that position. Serve your master well, but

00:27:33.769 --> 00:27:39.609
if you can get free, get free. Good advice, right?

00:27:40.069 --> 00:27:42.430
And then he levels the playing field for all

00:27:42.430 --> 00:27:45.549
believers, writing this, for he who was called

00:27:45.549 --> 00:27:48.490
in the Lord while a slave is free in the Lord.

00:27:49.320 --> 00:27:53.140
Likewise, who he was called while free is Christ's

00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:58.319
slave. Playing field level. Friends, understand

00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:03.559
how radical these words were for that day. How

00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:06.720
radically progressive they were. And here's the

00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:09.220
thing. The New Testament writers, the New Testament

00:28:09.220 --> 00:28:12.019
writers did not see themselves as agents of sweeping

00:28:12.019 --> 00:28:15.680
political change or even social change. That

00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:18.660
was not their goal. Their aim was transformation

00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:22.039
of the human heart, one person at a time, one

00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:24.160
body of Christ at a time. That's what they were

00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:26.680
after. But of course, over time, those small

00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:28.960
changes in the hearts of men and women, in the

00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:33.000
hearts of churches, gradually impacts cities

00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:37.059
and cultures and countries and policies. And

00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:38.940
that's eventually what we see in the abolition

00:28:38.940 --> 00:28:42.230
movements in the West. first in the UK and then

00:28:42.230 --> 00:28:45.549
in the US. Seeds are planted in the New Testament

00:28:45.549 --> 00:28:48.789
that later would grow into movements for freedom

00:28:48.789 --> 00:28:51.829
and equality and justice and human rights for

00:28:51.829 --> 00:28:55.670
all human beings. So never let our enemies forget

00:28:55.670 --> 00:28:58.569
this. The abolition of slavery in the West did

00:28:58.569 --> 00:29:02.410
not come out of secularism. It was not a secular

00:29:02.410 --> 00:29:05.730
invention. It was a movement led by Bible -believing

00:29:05.730 --> 00:29:09.319
Christians. The moral foundation for those things,

00:29:09.400 --> 00:29:12.559
freedom, equality, and human dignity comes from

00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:14.940
the Bible. Not from the world, from the Bible.

00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:18.279
The Bible is the very reason why slavery was

00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:21.660
eventually overthrown here in America. Amen?

00:29:23.339 --> 00:29:28.119
Okay, deep breath. I know that's a very cursory

00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:32.039
look at this issue. And I can see the emails

00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:34.759
coming this week. It's good. If you have questions,

00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:37.400
let me know. Reach out. We can sit down. buy

00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:39.920
me a coffee, right? We can sit down, we can talk

00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:41.980
about it. But now we need to get back to Titus

00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:46.279
2. Can we do that? Okay. In light of what we

00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:49.319
just talked about, let's look again at these

00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:53.299
verses as Paul addresses Christian slaves in

00:29:53.299 --> 00:29:56.160
Crete, verse 9. By the way, before I do that.

00:29:57.360 --> 00:29:59.200
Spurgeon commented on this text. I thought, you

00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:01.079
know, it's good to get a Spurgeon quote in here.

00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:27.269
Here's what he wrote. He says, which they were.

00:30:29.109 --> 00:30:30.690
That's what we're about to get into in verse

00:30:30.690 --> 00:30:32.630
nine. Let's look at verse nine again. Paul starts

00:30:32.630 --> 00:30:35.069
by writing, hey Titus, I want you to urge or

00:30:35.069 --> 00:30:38.950
exhort bond slaves. Now, just stop, I'm sorry,

00:30:39.049 --> 00:30:41.410
we're gonna stop right there. I want you to think,

00:30:41.430 --> 00:30:43.549
maybe this question comes to mind, maybe it doesn't,

00:30:43.549 --> 00:30:46.230
but let me ask it. Does that initial phrase,

00:30:46.450 --> 00:30:49.250
urge bond slaves, does that mean that slaves

00:30:49.250 --> 00:30:52.349
would have been present in the life of the church

00:30:52.349 --> 00:30:55.490
in Crete right alongside men and women who were

00:30:55.490 --> 00:31:00.470
free? Absolutely. Does that mean that there would

00:31:00.470 --> 00:31:03.009
have been slaves present with people who owned

00:31:03.009 --> 00:31:07.609
slaves? Absolutely. The answer is yes. So while

00:31:07.609 --> 00:31:09.630
that, because of our American experience, that

00:31:09.630 --> 00:31:12.890
is so hard for us to picture, the evidence indicates

00:31:12.890 --> 00:31:15.549
that in first century Greco -Roman churches in

00:31:15.549 --> 00:31:18.250
the West, they were socially mixed like this.

00:31:18.369 --> 00:31:21.650
Both Jew and Gentile, worshiping side by side.

00:31:21.710 --> 00:31:24.049
People said it couldn't be done, but it was happening.

00:31:24.410 --> 00:31:27.940
And slave and free. worshiping side by side.

00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:32.259
Now, was it always easy? Probably not. Were there

00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:35.059
probably some issues? Absolutely, because we're

00:31:35.059 --> 00:31:37.880
human beings. But it was made possible by the

00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:41.819
nature of the gospel. The social status of being

00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:45.200
a slave or a master was a secondary issue to

00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:47.099
early Christians. What mattered most was they

00:31:47.099 --> 00:31:50.920
were found in Christ. So regardless of their

00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:52.880
social condition, that's my brother, that's my

00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:55.799
sister. It levels the playing field. In fact,

00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:58.680
It's likely, and I don't have actual evidence

00:31:58.680 --> 00:32:01.380
for this, but it's likely that you could have

00:32:01.380 --> 00:32:05.819
a slave, an indentured servant probably, in a

00:32:05.819 --> 00:32:08.960
local church who was an elder with spiritual

00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:14.380
authority over a slave owner in the church. That's

00:32:14.380 --> 00:32:17.519
how radical the gospel was in that day. Just

00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:19.559
another proof, by the way, that New Testament

00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:21.660
slavery is not the same thing as American chattel

00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:24.180
slavery because that would never, ever happen

00:32:24.180 --> 00:32:29.369
in the American South. You with me? Okay, now,

00:32:29.470 --> 00:32:31.849
when we look at this text, it's really hard to

00:32:31.849 --> 00:32:33.650
make application with this because I don't expect

00:32:33.650 --> 00:32:44.109
anybody here to ever be a slave. But the church,

00:32:44.269 --> 00:32:47.589
gosh, that was bad. I got nothing from that.

00:32:48.970 --> 00:32:52.390
The church has traditionally talked about New

00:32:52.390 --> 00:32:54.730
Testament passages like this one, and it's in

00:32:54.730 --> 00:32:57.940
multiple books. in terms of modern -day employment.

00:32:59.259 --> 00:33:03.339
Now, it's not a perfect parallel, right? But

00:33:03.339 --> 00:33:05.900
there are some similarities between you or I

00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:08.920
taking a job today and somebody in the first

00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:12.519
century who would have sold themselves into indentured

00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:15.460
servanthood. There are some parallels. It's not

00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:18.960
a perfect analogy, but regardless of that, it's

00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:23.259
always good for us to consider our lives and

00:33:23.259 --> 00:33:26.640
employment. and to ask the hard questions about

00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:29.220
whether we're being salt and light in our workplace.

00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:31.420
So that's what we're going to do. And this is

00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:33.039
where we should start, because here's the thing,

00:33:33.079 --> 00:33:38.339
you guys. For most of us, our workplace is probably

00:33:38.339 --> 00:33:41.660
going to be the most common place where we find

00:33:41.660 --> 00:33:46.259
ourselves in evangelistic situations. That's

00:33:46.259 --> 00:33:48.779
probably, for most of us, the most consistent

00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:51.299
mission field that we will have. And that means

00:33:51.299 --> 00:33:54.750
we all have a huge responsibility to be a testimony

00:33:54.750 --> 00:33:57.809
to Christ in those places. Now, I know that the

00:33:57.809 --> 00:33:59.690
market's changed in the last 10 years or so,

00:33:59.730 --> 00:34:02.130
so I know a lot of you got, used to be, I'm gonna

00:34:02.130 --> 00:34:05.089
sound like an old guy, back in my day, we went

00:34:05.089 --> 00:34:09.590
to an office to work. It was amazing. Like nine

00:34:09.590 --> 00:34:12.289
or 10 hours in an office or at least some type

00:34:12.289 --> 00:34:15.530
of place of work. And you ended up spending a

00:34:15.530 --> 00:34:18.250
lot of time with your coworkers. A lot of it

00:34:18.250 --> 00:34:21.150
was work, but some of it was casual conversation.

00:34:21.920 --> 00:34:24.820
opportunity to share the gospel. And so we take

00:34:24.820 --> 00:34:26.820
that seriously. And so you should, if you go

00:34:26.820 --> 00:34:30.079
to an actual place of work and you haven't thought

00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:33.019
about it before, what a mission field you have

00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:35.659
right in front of you each and every day. One

00:34:35.659 --> 00:34:37.659
of the pillars of our church covenant says this,

00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:42.699
we commit to living carefully in the world, recognizing

00:34:42.699 --> 00:34:46.400
that we have a special obligation to lead a new

00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:49.679
and holy life. And that is uniquely true in the

00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:52.940
workplace. We have great opportunities. So within

00:34:52.940 --> 00:34:56.579
this passage here in Titus 2, you see five important

00:34:56.579 --> 00:34:59.440
principles for servants. So we're going to walk

00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:01.659
through them. And as we do, I want you to think

00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:04.179
about how am I operating right now in my workplace

00:35:04.179 --> 00:35:07.500
or in my sphere of influence? Am I doing these

00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:10.119
things that we see in this passage? And before

00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:13.019
some of you check out, because we do this, right?

00:35:13.099 --> 00:35:14.940
We're like, ah, it doesn't apply to me. Before

00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:17.059
you check out, let me address some other situations.

00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:20.989
If you primarily work from home, and you're not

00:35:20.989 --> 00:35:24.369
doing in -person work with others, you still

00:35:24.369 --> 00:35:26.369
have a responsibility here because you still

00:35:26.369 --> 00:35:30.130
do have important interactions in your work where

00:35:30.130 --> 00:35:33.130
you can shine a light. It might be with clients

00:35:33.130 --> 00:35:35.789
or with team members. It might be on the phone.

00:35:35.849 --> 00:35:38.309
It might be online. Maybe it's in Zoom communications,

00:35:38.530 --> 00:35:41.719
whatever. Do not discount this passage just because

00:35:41.719 --> 00:35:44.599
you're not in a traditional working place. In

00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:47.719
fact, I would say to you, if you work from home,

00:35:47.820 --> 00:35:50.300
you probably need to think outside the box in

00:35:50.300 --> 00:35:52.519
terms of how can I create some opportunities

00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:58.099
to be with people, right? Because we get siloed

00:35:58.099 --> 00:36:01.239
in our home offices, right? We need to be with

00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:04.000
people. Why? For the purpose of evangelism, for

00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:06.739
our testimony. If you're a stay -at -home wife

00:36:06.739 --> 00:36:10.199
slash mom, slash homeschooler, I want to remind

00:36:10.199 --> 00:36:15.099
you, you also have a boss. And he's always with

00:36:15.099 --> 00:36:18.739
you. I'm not talking about your husband. I'm

00:36:18.739 --> 00:36:21.260
talking about the Lord. He's always with you,

00:36:21.300 --> 00:36:24.920
your boss. And you have an even heightened responsibility

00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:28.199
because the people that you oversee in your life,

00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:31.280
those little eyes, those little ears, they see

00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:33.820
and hear everything. So nobody gets to check

00:36:33.820 --> 00:36:36.840
out on this. You good? Okay, principle number

00:36:36.840 --> 00:36:41.099
one. Verse 9, be subject to or submissive to

00:36:41.099 --> 00:36:46.380
your own masters. There's the S word again, right,

00:36:46.460 --> 00:36:48.420
that shows up in Paul's letters. He likes to

00:36:48.420 --> 00:36:51.800
use the word submit because so much of life is

00:36:51.800 --> 00:36:56.380
submission. I know in our brains we immediately

00:36:56.380 --> 00:37:00.179
go to wives, correct? But we all submit to all

00:37:00.179 --> 00:37:01.940
kinds of things all the time. First of all, we

00:37:01.940 --> 00:37:05.860
submit to God. But then we also submit to governing

00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:08.789
authorities. And we submit to law enforcement.

00:37:08.909 --> 00:37:12.250
We submit to the courts. We submit to elders

00:37:12.250 --> 00:37:14.469
at church. Yes, wives submit to their husbands.

00:37:14.710 --> 00:37:18.010
Children submit to their parents. And here, employees,

00:37:18.130 --> 00:37:22.210
we submit to those whom God has put over us in

00:37:22.210 --> 00:37:25.449
authority. Now, we've already seen in Titus 2,

00:37:25.489 --> 00:37:28.789
the Greek word for subject to is hupotasso. As

00:37:28.789 --> 00:37:31.590
I shared earlier, it means to order yourself

00:37:31.590 --> 00:37:35.250
under someone of a higher rank. It's a military

00:37:35.250 --> 00:37:40.769
term. order yourself under them, hupotasso. So

00:37:40.769 --> 00:37:43.170
in the workplace, we voluntarily submit ourselves

00:37:43.170 --> 00:37:46.710
to our bosses. How are you guys doing with that?

00:37:48.849 --> 00:37:54.230
Good? Sure. Now, the phrase in everything should

00:37:54.230 --> 00:37:56.690
be qualified by everything that doesn't require

00:37:56.690 --> 00:37:59.630
disobedience to God, right? Or everything that

00:37:59.630 --> 00:38:01.969
doesn't violate my conscience based on scripture.

00:38:02.489 --> 00:38:07.150
So if your boss orders you to lie, or to go into

00:38:07.150 --> 00:38:09.730
dishonest business practices, you have every

00:38:09.730 --> 00:38:12.429
right to say, I can't do that. But other than

00:38:12.429 --> 00:38:14.949
that, and that's usually a rare occurrence, we're

00:38:14.949 --> 00:38:19.150
to do as we're told. Now, as I say that, having

00:38:19.150 --> 00:38:21.809
been an employee for many, many, many years in

00:38:21.809 --> 00:38:25.730
my life, I know how many thoughts and feelings

00:38:25.730 --> 00:38:28.750
come to our mind in terms of the temptation to

00:38:28.750 --> 00:38:31.849
disobey those who are in authority over us. We

00:38:31.849 --> 00:38:35.250
think things like, well, look, My boss hasn't

00:38:35.250 --> 00:38:38.289
earned my respect. Or I don't think my boss really

00:38:38.289 --> 00:38:43.429
knows what he's doing. Or I'm pretty sure I know

00:38:43.429 --> 00:38:46.429
a better way to do this. Or my boss isn't as

00:38:46.429 --> 00:38:48.809
kind or sensitive to me as I think he should

00:38:48.809 --> 00:38:52.630
be. Or the tasks I'm given are beneath me. And

00:38:52.630 --> 00:38:54.590
then there's the ever -present, based on what

00:38:54.590 --> 00:38:59.869
I'm doing, I should get paid more. Okay? Newsflash.

00:38:59.869 --> 00:39:03.530
In every... you will ever have on this planet

00:39:03.530 --> 00:39:05.929
Earth, there is something to complain about.

00:39:07.769 --> 00:39:11.510
Because it's run by human beings. Trust me, I

00:39:11.510 --> 00:39:14.570
know this because I've had some awful jobs. Not

00:39:14.570 --> 00:39:17.429
this one, by the way. Man, I've been working

00:39:17.429 --> 00:39:21.769
since I was 16 years old. I worked as a Little

00:39:21.769 --> 00:39:26.449
League umpire. I worked in a machine shop. I

00:39:26.449 --> 00:39:31.659
sold shoes in a mall. Whew, stories. I worked

00:39:31.659 --> 00:39:35.639
a job installing lamps and ceiling fans. I've

00:39:35.639 --> 00:39:37.780
delivered mail. I've worked as a security guard.

00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:40.659
I've done so many crazy things. And in every

00:39:40.659 --> 00:39:43.739
one of those jobs and more, I had many reasons

00:39:43.739 --> 00:39:47.300
to be unhappy. The thing about our culture today

00:39:47.300 --> 00:39:49.800
is it tends to feed grumbling. I know social

00:39:49.800 --> 00:39:52.320
media is a part of this, right? It feeds grumbling.

00:39:52.420 --> 00:39:54.619
We have to be careful with this as Christians.

00:39:54.780 --> 00:39:57.760
It feeds, the culture feeds our sense of victimhood.

00:39:58.349 --> 00:40:00.909
The response today, back in my day, you just

00:40:00.909 --> 00:40:03.730
kind of sucked it up if work was hard. Today,

00:40:03.809 --> 00:40:07.309
we run straight to the HR department. Christians,

00:40:07.329 --> 00:40:10.090
too. We run straight to it. Now, don't get me

00:40:10.090 --> 00:40:12.429
wrong. Sometimes we should take serious issues

00:40:12.429 --> 00:40:16.070
and work through that process. But even if we

00:40:16.070 --> 00:40:18.710
did run to HR for something, always with caution.

00:40:20.010 --> 00:40:24.630
Why? Because our testimony is at stake. It's

00:40:24.630 --> 00:40:27.809
not just us. We represent Christ. We're ambassadors.

00:40:28.969 --> 00:40:31.710
So whenever possible, you want to work through

00:40:31.710 --> 00:40:35.789
grievances and conflicts at work using biblical

00:40:35.789 --> 00:40:39.389
principles. But we often don't think about that.

00:40:39.449 --> 00:40:42.630
We just respond. And we respond like the world.

00:40:43.250 --> 00:40:46.429
And we lose our salt and our light. We want to

00:40:46.429 --> 00:40:48.789
use biblical principles. That means even in our

00:40:48.789 --> 00:40:52.650
conflicts, we exhibit proper submission. And

00:40:52.650 --> 00:40:55.289
we show patience and we extend grace. And we

00:40:55.289 --> 00:40:58.150
engage in productive communication, not just,

00:40:58.150 --> 00:41:01.289
you know, using our tongues to hurt people or

00:41:01.289 --> 00:41:04.250
to complain. All with the hope of showing the

00:41:04.250 --> 00:41:06.030
unbelievers around you that you are different

00:41:06.030 --> 00:41:09.230
from others. That you don't handle things in

00:41:09.230 --> 00:41:12.530
a selfish way or a nasty way like everybody else

00:41:12.530 --> 00:41:15.090
in the world. We've got to be salt and light,

00:41:15.170 --> 00:41:18.190
even in our conflicts. But submission is at the

00:41:18.190 --> 00:41:21.110
center of all that. So let's make sure we understand.

00:41:21.250 --> 00:41:22.949
Interesting, when Peter addresses this issue,

00:41:23.130 --> 00:41:25.349
here's what he, he adds a condition to this in

00:41:25.349 --> 00:41:28.190
his first epistle. He says, servants, be submissive

00:41:28.190 --> 00:41:31.809
to your masters with all respect, not only to

00:41:31.809 --> 00:41:35.610
those who are good and gentle, ah, but also to

00:41:35.610 --> 00:41:38.530
those who are unreasonable. That verse hurts,

00:41:38.670 --> 00:41:42.070
right? Because look, it's easy to be submissive

00:41:42.070 --> 00:41:45.130
to a good boss, but even when they're unreasonable,

00:41:45.469 --> 00:41:49.039
we have an obligation here. And if a first century

00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:52.760
slave can do that, you can do that. Because you

00:41:52.760 --> 00:41:54.920
actually have an advantage they didn't have.

00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:59.440
You can walk away from your job. You can quit.

00:42:00.280 --> 00:42:02.599
Now, if it comes to that, if that's what's best,

00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:05.559
you need to quit a job. Even taking that step

00:42:05.559 --> 00:42:08.860
should be done in a way that is respectful and

00:42:08.860 --> 00:42:12.400
submissive so that the world, again, says that

00:42:12.400 --> 00:42:15.289
guy or that girl handled that differently. They

00:42:15.289 --> 00:42:17.489
have a different boss. Their true boss is the

00:42:17.489 --> 00:42:20.570
Lord. They claim this as they worked here. They

00:42:20.570 --> 00:42:23.090
profess Christ, and guess what? They lived it

00:42:23.090 --> 00:42:27.489
out. It's beautiful. So yes, your job is primarily

00:42:27.489 --> 00:42:30.070
about your financial needs, but there is so much

00:42:30.070 --> 00:42:34.309
more at stake when you go to work. So much more

00:42:34.309 --> 00:42:36.090
at stake than just the practical side of it.

00:42:36.130 --> 00:42:38.610
So tomorrow, tomorrow's Monday, right? How many,

00:42:38.650 --> 00:42:41.670
we love Mondays? Love them. Tomorrow, I want

00:42:41.670 --> 00:42:43.650
you to think differently as you go to work in

00:42:43.650 --> 00:42:46.949
whatever capacity you are working. Are you pointing

00:42:46.949 --> 00:42:50.210
people to Christ by the way that you work? That's

00:42:50.210 --> 00:42:54.250
principle number one. Second one, there it is.

00:42:54.650 --> 00:42:57.190
Also verse nine, urge bond slaves to be well

00:42:57.190 --> 00:43:00.510
-pleasing. In other words, employees should show

00:43:00.510 --> 00:43:04.170
excellence. Do things that are good and acceptable

00:43:04.170 --> 00:43:09.320
to the one who has authority over you. Think

00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:12.199
right now, the work that you're doing. If your

00:43:12.199 --> 00:43:15.599
boss walked in the door, would they say, he or

00:43:15.599 --> 00:43:18.920
she works with excellence? Here, his work, her

00:43:18.920 --> 00:43:23.579
work is well, good, and pleasing to me. That's

00:43:23.579 --> 00:43:25.860
important. The Greek word there, by the way,

00:43:25.860 --> 00:43:27.900
for well -pleasing shows up nine times in the

00:43:27.900 --> 00:43:31.159
New Testament. Other than this one use in Titus,

00:43:31.159 --> 00:43:34.900
it always refers to pleasing God. That's important.

00:43:35.449 --> 00:43:37.550
The implication is this. When you work in a way

00:43:37.550 --> 00:43:40.110
that is pleasing to your boss, you're working

00:43:40.110 --> 00:43:45.010
in a way that pleases the Lord, which Paul explicitly

00:43:45.010 --> 00:43:48.170
says in his letter to the Colossians. Look, slaves,

00:43:48.289 --> 00:43:51.630
in all things, obey those who are your masters

00:43:51.630 --> 00:43:55.769
on earth, not with external service as those

00:43:55.769 --> 00:43:59.000
who merely please men. but with sincerity of

00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:02.159
heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do

00:44:02.159 --> 00:44:05.679
your work heartily as for the Lord rather than

00:44:05.679 --> 00:44:07.980
for men. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

00:44:09.739 --> 00:44:14.139
Do you go to work with that in mind? How excellent

00:44:14.139 --> 00:44:17.739
would your work be if you knew that Jesus was

00:44:17.739 --> 00:44:21.219
sitting next to you at your workstation? How

00:44:21.219 --> 00:44:24.239
excellent would your work be? He is, that's the

00:44:24.239 --> 00:44:29.130
point. He is. So how would that affect your attitude

00:44:29.130 --> 00:44:31.929
at work if you knew Jesus was right there at

00:44:31.929 --> 00:44:34.070
your workstation? Your attitude, how would that

00:44:34.070 --> 00:44:37.429
change it? How would it impact your commitment

00:44:37.429 --> 00:44:39.829
to the job, about your honesty, about your diligence?

00:44:40.889 --> 00:44:42.869
Look again at the passage on the screen from

00:44:42.869 --> 00:44:45.710
Colossians 3. Look at those phrases, with sincerity

00:44:45.710 --> 00:44:49.269
of heart and work heartily. What does that mean?

00:44:49.469 --> 00:44:51.590
That means that our work should be more than

00:44:51.590 --> 00:44:55.349
just reluctant compliance. Okay, fine, I'll do

00:44:55.349 --> 00:44:59.579
that. Okay, whatever. This is beneath me, but

00:44:59.579 --> 00:45:02.920
fine, right? We can get grumpy like that. Work

00:45:02.920 --> 00:45:07.059
heartily as to the Lord. Your work should be

00:45:07.059 --> 00:45:09.019
done with a sense of responsibility. And can

00:45:09.019 --> 00:45:11.300
I, I'll be honest with you, with joy and with

00:45:11.300 --> 00:45:14.659
thankfulness, even if you're not loving it at

00:45:14.659 --> 00:45:16.960
the moment, with joy and thankfulness, why? Because

00:45:16.960 --> 00:45:19.880
God has given you a job and God is providing

00:45:19.880 --> 00:45:23.619
for your needs. So turn that thinking around.

00:45:23.800 --> 00:45:27.929
He is your supervisor. That's number two. Number

00:45:27.929 --> 00:45:31.989
three, urge bond slaves not to be argumentative.

00:45:32.650 --> 00:45:34.610
Antilego is the Greek term here, and it just

00:45:34.610 --> 00:45:38.769
means speak against. Speak against. It's a compound

00:45:38.769 --> 00:45:42.250
word. Christian workers should not be known as

00:45:42.250 --> 00:45:45.269
those who verbally undermine those in authority.

00:45:46.989 --> 00:45:49.130
That comes in all kinds of forms. We're not to

00:45:49.130 --> 00:45:51.230
mouth off to the boss. We're not to directly

00:45:51.230 --> 00:45:55.730
talk back to the boss. But more common, We're

00:45:55.730 --> 00:45:59.489
not to go behind the boss's back and talk poorly

00:45:59.489 --> 00:46:01.969
of him. That's the more, a lot of us don't like

00:46:01.969 --> 00:46:05.090
confrontation, so we'll hold our tongue in person,

00:46:05.150 --> 00:46:08.070
but man, get into the back room. We used to call

00:46:08.070 --> 00:46:10.570
this water cooler talk. Is that phrase still,

00:46:10.710 --> 00:46:13.030
it's probably not even used. Remember, Kim? You

00:46:13.030 --> 00:46:15.309
remember. What that meant was workers would get

00:46:15.309 --> 00:46:17.329
away from the boss and gather in the break room

00:46:17.329 --> 00:46:19.269
around the water cooler, and what would they

00:46:19.269 --> 00:46:22.250
start to do? Yeah, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk,

00:46:22.389 --> 00:46:24.519
talk, talk. usually running down the boss or

00:46:24.519 --> 00:46:27.699
the company in general, which is so great for

00:46:27.699 --> 00:46:31.679
company morale. But what a temptation. We tend

00:46:31.679 --> 00:46:36.699
to do that, right? That's not to be us as Christians.

00:46:37.099 --> 00:46:39.920
That's not to be us. Again, if you rightly see

00:46:39.920 --> 00:46:42.280
Jesus as your true boss behind your earthly boss,

00:46:42.480 --> 00:46:44.440
then you're not going to have that rebellious

00:46:44.440 --> 00:46:47.230
spirit. I can't tell you how many times in my

00:46:47.230 --> 00:46:50.170
life I've seen this with employees. They get

00:46:50.170 --> 00:46:52.250
bitter on the job. They don't like their boss.

00:46:52.429 --> 00:46:54.630
They don't like being told what to do. So what

00:46:54.630 --> 00:46:58.809
do they do? They subtly sabotage the work. They

00:46:58.809 --> 00:47:01.409
find ways to resist. They start slacking off

00:47:01.409 --> 00:47:04.050
more. They start doing half -hearted work. They

00:47:04.050 --> 00:47:06.210
start doing personal things on company time,

00:47:06.449 --> 00:47:10.789
right? And grumbling throughout the day. It's

00:47:10.789 --> 00:47:14.019
not to be us. We have a higher standard. Paul

00:47:14.019 --> 00:47:15.699
addressed this issue when he wrote to the believing

00:47:15.699 --> 00:47:18.360
slaves in Ephesus. This is such a good passage.

00:47:18.960 --> 00:47:21.739
How many times has Paul addressed slaves? It's

00:47:21.739 --> 00:47:24.239
a big deal, right? Slaves, be obedient to those

00:47:24.239 --> 00:47:26.360
who are your masters according to the flesh with

00:47:26.360 --> 00:47:29.320
fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart

00:47:29.320 --> 00:47:32.300
as to Christ. So he repeats what he said to the

00:47:32.300 --> 00:47:35.360
Colossians. But listen to this now. Not by way

00:47:35.360 --> 00:47:37.940
of eye service. In other words, not only when

00:47:37.940 --> 00:47:41.659
your boss is looking at you. You know, they say

00:47:41.659 --> 00:47:44.139
the character of a person is when nobody's looking,

00:47:44.300 --> 00:47:48.739
what do they do? How hard do they work? Not as

00:47:48.739 --> 00:47:52.119
people pleasers, he says, but as slaves of Christ,

00:47:52.300 --> 00:47:57.480
doing the will of God from the heart. Okay? So,

00:47:57.480 --> 00:47:59.780
look, if there's a proper form or process at

00:47:59.780 --> 00:48:02.000
work to air real grievances or make suggestions

00:48:02.000 --> 00:48:05.300
about improving work conditions, yes, a Christian

00:48:05.300 --> 00:48:08.139
employee is free to do that. But again, always

00:48:08.139 --> 00:48:11.099
with wisdom and sensitivity with an eye towards

00:48:11.099 --> 00:48:13.960
submission. Again, why? Because your testimony

00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:17.659
is at stake. Overall, the Christian in the workplace

00:48:17.659 --> 00:48:20.400
should be known for having a cooperative spirit.

00:48:20.559 --> 00:48:22.980
They should be known for always seeking the best

00:48:22.980 --> 00:48:25.860
of the company that they work for. Being a valuable

00:48:25.860 --> 00:48:28.360
team member. Being known as that guy or that

00:48:28.360 --> 00:48:31.539
girl who just is upbeat and positive and is working

00:48:31.539 --> 00:48:34.909
hard. And by the way, Those things should be

00:48:34.909 --> 00:48:38.389
true of us even if our boss is a Christian. Ooh.

00:48:39.530 --> 00:48:41.690
Because sometimes we'll go, ah, my boss is a

00:48:41.690 --> 00:48:43.889
Christian. I can slack off. Uh -uh. The standard

00:48:43.889 --> 00:48:47.469
is even higher. That's a whole other sermon.

00:48:48.010 --> 00:48:51.650
Adam at okillbible .com. Number four. We've got

00:48:51.650 --> 00:48:54.010
to get through this. Number four. Verse 10 now.

00:48:54.150 --> 00:48:57.190
Urge bond slaves not to pilfer. That seems pretty

00:48:57.190 --> 00:49:00.630
obvious, right? Don't steal things. But there's

00:49:00.630 --> 00:49:03.449
a subtle temptation here. How many of you guys

00:49:03.449 --> 00:49:05.769
have ever had a job and over time you start to

00:49:05.769 --> 00:49:09.150
feel underappreciated? Every hand should go up,

00:49:09.190 --> 00:49:12.369
right? Or underpaid, every other hand. Okay,

00:49:12.389 --> 00:49:15.409
good. You feel like the company, you know, I've

00:49:15.409 --> 00:49:17.449
had this before. Company's making money hand

00:49:17.449 --> 00:49:22.030
over fist. I can barely pay my rent. What happens?

00:49:22.230 --> 00:49:26.570
Bitterness. Resentment begins to sink in. And

00:49:26.570 --> 00:49:28.849
suddenly the employee finds himself justifying.

00:49:29.420 --> 00:49:31.500
Taking advantage of things. Take a little bit

00:49:31.500 --> 00:49:34.820
here. Take a little bit there. Maybe play with

00:49:34.820 --> 00:49:37.000
the slush fund a little bit. Lie on an expense

00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:40.320
account. Don't put in the required hours. Cheat

00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:44.059
on my time card. That is all pilfering. It's

00:49:44.059 --> 00:49:46.360
pilfering. It's stealing. For the Christian,

00:49:46.420 --> 00:49:49.500
we know that God is watching. Not only what we

00:49:49.500 --> 00:49:51.480
do, but the motivation of why we're doing it.

00:49:51.920 --> 00:49:55.079
And he is our true boss. Listen, when we defraud

00:49:55.079 --> 00:49:59.699
our employer, we're sinning against God. You

00:49:59.699 --> 00:50:02.619
gotta know that. So this one's about honesty.

00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:05.280
Honesty in all aspects of your work. And again,

00:50:05.320 --> 00:50:06.980
if you put yourself out there as a Christian,

00:50:07.079 --> 00:50:10.659
which you should do, when appropriate in the

00:50:10.659 --> 00:50:13.400
workplace, when the day comes that you get caught

00:50:13.400 --> 00:50:17.280
cutting those corners, what are unbelievers supposed

00:50:17.280 --> 00:50:20.780
to think then? Are they gonna judge you? Yes,

00:50:20.780 --> 00:50:23.139
but more importantly, they're gonna judge our

00:50:23.139 --> 00:50:29.260
Lord and dishonor Him. So it matters. Last one,

00:50:29.360 --> 00:50:33.199
number five. Also verse 10, urge bond slaves

00:50:33.199 --> 00:50:36.079
to show all good faith. In other words, Christians

00:50:36.079 --> 00:50:38.920
should be faithful and trustworthy. Faithful

00:50:38.920 --> 00:50:40.900
and trustworthy. We should be known for this.

00:50:41.099 --> 00:50:44.139
Your boss should know that you are loyal to him

00:50:44.139 --> 00:50:46.820
and to the company. He should be confident that

00:50:46.820 --> 00:50:48.420
if he gives you something to do, you're gonna

00:50:48.420 --> 00:50:51.500
get it done. He should know that as a Christian,

00:50:51.559 --> 00:50:53.159
you're the type of person that works hard to

00:50:53.159 --> 00:50:57.579
come through when he needs it. That kind of worker

00:50:57.579 --> 00:51:00.840
is incredibly valuable to an employer, but also,

00:51:00.900 --> 00:51:03.480
more importantly, stands out as a light in the

00:51:03.480 --> 00:51:06.019
darkness. Just different from the rest of the

00:51:06.019 --> 00:51:08.940
world. Bosses notice these things, right? Dave,

00:51:09.000 --> 00:51:11.539
others have been a boss, you know. When someone

00:51:11.539 --> 00:51:16.719
works this way, they stand out. So if you want

00:51:16.719 --> 00:51:18.519
to make a difference in terms of evangelism,

00:51:18.659 --> 00:51:21.440
these are the principles. Be salt, be light.

00:51:22.639 --> 00:51:24.860
So in summary, we go to work with the idea of

00:51:24.860 --> 00:51:27.300
looking right through our employer and into the

00:51:27.300 --> 00:51:30.980
face of Christ. Best way to think about it, look

00:51:30.980 --> 00:51:33.280
right through him or her and look at the face

00:51:33.280 --> 00:51:36.579
of Christ. That's my true boss. And again, remember

00:51:36.579 --> 00:51:38.519
that if you go to work and talk about the Lord

00:51:38.519 --> 00:51:41.840
and then you fail to do these simple things and

00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:44.159
they're not hard, it's really just motivation

00:51:44.159 --> 00:51:46.860
of the heart. You can pray that the Lord would

00:51:46.860 --> 00:51:49.659
strengthen you for that. Just know that eventually

00:51:49.659 --> 00:51:51.860
you're gonna give unbelievers reasons to doubt.

00:51:52.329 --> 00:51:54.590
the truth of God's word. And we don't want to

00:51:54.590 --> 00:51:58.969
be responsible for that. Okay, got to wrap up.

00:51:59.050 --> 00:52:01.030
Final statement of verse 10 is so important.

00:52:01.289 --> 00:52:03.309
It's the perfect way to close out this section.

00:52:04.110 --> 00:52:10.949
Look back at verse 10. Not pilfering, but showing

00:52:10.949 --> 00:52:13.889
all good faith so that they will adorn or bring

00:52:13.889 --> 00:52:17.369
credit to the doctrine of God our Savior in every

00:52:17.369 --> 00:52:20.849
respect. Now, in one sense, the gospel doesn't

00:52:20.849 --> 00:52:24.880
need adornment. Right? It is the good news. It's

00:52:24.880 --> 00:52:26.719
the best news that's ever been given to humanity.

00:52:27.039 --> 00:52:29.780
And God doesn't actually need our help to save

00:52:29.780 --> 00:52:34.440
his elect. But as hard as this is to understand,

00:52:34.659 --> 00:52:38.079
he's ordained to include us in that work. He's

00:52:38.079 --> 00:52:41.519
allowed us, redeemed sinners like us, to participate

00:52:41.519 --> 00:52:45.179
in spreading the good news. And while that requires

00:52:45.179 --> 00:52:47.920
us to speak up, our verbal platform for witnessing

00:52:47.920 --> 00:52:52.059
is built on the character of our lives. We have

00:52:52.059 --> 00:52:54.460
to know that. That's what the word adorn means,

00:52:54.619 --> 00:52:56.619
by the way, in the original Greek. It's the verb

00:52:56.619 --> 00:52:59.059
cosmeo, which is where we get our English word

00:52:59.059 --> 00:53:03.800
cosmetics from. Cosmetics. It refers to, get

00:53:03.800 --> 00:53:07.559
this now, arranging something in an orderly manner

00:53:07.559 --> 00:53:12.639
so as to enhance its attractiveness. Does that

00:53:12.639 --> 00:53:16.460
fit cosmetics? Arranging something in an orderly

00:53:16.460 --> 00:53:20.269
manner so as to enhance its attractiveness. This

00:53:20.269 --> 00:53:23.889
word was sometimes used in classical Greek literature

00:53:23.889 --> 00:53:26.630
to talk about how a jeweler takes a precious

00:53:26.630 --> 00:53:30.570
stone and arranges it on a setting so as to show

00:53:30.570 --> 00:53:32.809
off the beauty of the stone. It's not about the

00:53:32.809 --> 00:53:36.050
setting. It's about the stone, right? And that's

00:53:36.050 --> 00:53:37.929
what our lives are supposed to do. We don't draw

00:53:37.929 --> 00:53:40.590
attention to ourselves. We make Christ attractive.

00:53:41.170 --> 00:53:43.730
We add brilliance and splendor to the truth about

00:53:43.730 --> 00:53:47.190
God's word. You and I are the setting that the

00:53:47.190 --> 00:53:50.780
stone goes in. Our lives are the setting. Christ

00:53:50.780 --> 00:53:54.039
is the precious stone. We want him to look beautiful.

00:53:54.619 --> 00:53:58.179
We want him to look attractive. So a Christian

00:53:58.179 --> 00:54:01.239
out in the world, humble and submissive, well

00:54:01.239 --> 00:54:03.980
-pleasing, not argumentative, honest, faithful

00:54:03.980 --> 00:54:07.400
and kind, he or she makes Christ attractive.

00:54:08.579 --> 00:54:11.159
And guys, this is all we're called to do. This

00:54:11.159 --> 00:54:14.650
is the great thing. We don't save anybody. We

00:54:14.650 --> 00:54:17.429
don't. Only God can do that. Our role is to play

00:54:17.429 --> 00:54:20.610
our part. We seek to please the Lord. We seek

00:54:20.610 --> 00:54:23.030
to be a good ambassador. And then we step back

00:54:23.030 --> 00:54:26.369
to see what God does. And he will save whom he

00:54:26.369 --> 00:54:28.570
will save. And here's the other cool thing about

00:54:28.570 --> 00:54:31.230
this. We don't have to be perfect in this. We

00:54:31.230 --> 00:54:33.769
really don't. This is an important principle.

00:54:33.929 --> 00:54:36.369
All of us are going to make mistakes, even in

00:54:36.369 --> 00:54:38.630
the workplace. We're going to make mistakes.

00:54:38.769 --> 00:54:40.550
We're going to be imperfect. We're going to have

00:54:40.550 --> 00:54:42.230
a bad day and we're going to lose our cool. We're

00:54:42.230 --> 00:54:45.920
going to snap at somebody. Right? Or we're going

00:54:45.920 --> 00:54:48.119
to say something in a work environment that we

00:54:48.119 --> 00:54:49.940
regret later on. Or we're going to be critical

00:54:49.940 --> 00:54:52.079
of our boss. And we're going to want to take

00:54:52.079 --> 00:54:54.139
those words back, but they escaped our lips.

00:54:54.300 --> 00:54:56.480
Or we're just, you know, we're going to get lazy

00:54:56.480 --> 00:54:59.159
and not work as hard as we should. But when we

00:54:59.159 --> 00:55:01.760
do that, when we drop the ball in our witness

00:55:01.760 --> 00:55:05.300
and it's been compromised, God then gives us

00:55:05.300 --> 00:55:08.360
a whole new opportunity. We can go to our boss

00:55:08.360 --> 00:55:12.539
and confess that. We can go to our boss and say,

00:55:12.599 --> 00:55:14.619
you know what? I haven't been working as I should.

00:55:15.440 --> 00:55:17.519
And I know that's not a good reflection of our

00:55:17.519 --> 00:55:21.440
Savior. And guess what? Because that is so unusual

00:55:21.440 --> 00:55:24.000
in the world today that anybody would ever own

00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:26.380
their mistakes and apologize and confess their

00:55:26.380 --> 00:55:31.159
sin, that will stand out in a dark world. Does

00:55:31.159 --> 00:55:33.820
that make sense? It's a whole new opportunity.

00:55:34.340 --> 00:55:36.420
It's actually maybe even a greater opportunity

00:55:36.420 --> 00:55:40.179
to witness for Christ to say, I blew it. But

00:55:40.179 --> 00:55:43.659
here I am. I want to make it right. And will

00:55:43.659 --> 00:55:46.099
you forgive me? That's life -changing stuff.

00:55:46.780 --> 00:55:49.500
So even in our mistakes, the Lord can use those

00:55:49.500 --> 00:55:52.420
things to glorify himself. And then just one

00:55:52.420 --> 00:55:55.039
final truth to encourage you. Sometimes I hear

00:55:55.039 --> 00:55:57.099
people say to me, you know, Jeff, when it comes

00:55:57.099 --> 00:55:59.699
to spiritual things, I don't feel like God has

00:55:59.699 --> 00:56:02.039
really gifted me to do anything in particular.

00:56:02.280 --> 00:56:04.579
Like, I feel kind of useless for the kingdom.

00:56:05.679 --> 00:56:08.719
But look at this again, this simple command to

00:56:08.719 --> 00:56:12.280
just adorn the gospel with your life. Any one

00:56:12.280 --> 00:56:15.480
of us can do this. Any one of us can do this.

00:56:15.539 --> 00:56:17.940
And when we adorn the gospel this way and make

00:56:17.940 --> 00:56:20.500
Christ attractive in the midst of a dark world,

00:56:20.679 --> 00:56:23.460
we can see people come to know Christ. We can

00:56:23.460 --> 00:56:27.440
see people saved for all eternity by nothing

00:56:27.440 --> 00:56:30.789
but a faithful witness. So you may not be able

00:56:30.789 --> 00:56:32.750
to get up here and preach or teach a sermon or

00:56:32.750 --> 00:56:35.010
whatever, work with children, whatever. You can

00:56:35.010 --> 00:56:38.889
adorn the gospel tomorrow in the sphere of influence

00:56:38.889 --> 00:56:42.829
that God puts you in. God is able to use any

00:56:42.829 --> 00:56:45.250
one of us to draw others to himself and save

00:56:45.250 --> 00:56:48.090
them for all eternity. All we have to do is stay

00:56:48.090 --> 00:56:52.150
acutely aware of who our true boss is. Amen?

00:56:53.349 --> 00:56:57.739
Let's bow our heads. Father, thank you for our

00:56:57.739 --> 00:56:59.820
time and the word this morning, Lord, so much

00:56:59.820 --> 00:57:03.500
for us to chew on. And God, I know that many

00:57:03.500 --> 00:57:05.519
in the body are probably processing through this

00:57:05.519 --> 00:57:08.039
issue of slavery and how hard that is in our

00:57:08.039 --> 00:57:11.099
world today to look at it and understand how

00:57:11.099 --> 00:57:15.239
morally wicked slavery was in the experience

00:57:15.239 --> 00:57:18.400
that we have been taught and how wickedness continues.

00:57:19.210 --> 00:57:21.010
to spread all over the world, Lord, but help

00:57:21.010 --> 00:57:24.030
us to have eyes to see exactly how you have been

00:57:24.030 --> 00:57:26.469
gracious to your people in the midst of this

00:57:26.469 --> 00:57:29.670
fallen world. And Lord, will you challenge us

00:57:29.670 --> 00:57:33.150
even today as we think about the week ahead of

00:57:33.150 --> 00:57:35.610
us, even going to work tomorrow, will you challenge

00:57:35.610 --> 00:57:39.050
us to think rightly about being ambassadors in

00:57:39.050 --> 00:57:41.829
the workplace, that we would be that setting

00:57:41.829 --> 00:57:45.280
that... that shows you off as the precious stone.

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May we be the city on the hill. May we be salty

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employees, Lord, that just flavor life in the

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office. Whatever it is, Lord, would you do that

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work in us? Challenge us, convict us, Lord, and

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just cause us to grow closer to you as we continue

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to spread the gospel. Lord, thanks again for

00:58:03.880 --> 00:58:06.280
today. We love you. We praise you in Jesus' name.

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And everyone said, amen.