Slaves Masters - Employees and Employers

Well, if you would take your Bible, turn back to Ephesians chapter 6, verses 5 to 9. Now as always, I will reference a few other verses, but at the end of the message, I'm going to ask you to turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. That's really at the end of the book. We're going to look at a few verses there starting in verse 6. This will be at the end of the message. I will ask you to turn to 2 Thessalonians 3. I want us to read those verses together. That will really conclude our message. Now this morning we are transitioning from all of the teaching that we have had on marriage and the home. We spent quite a bit of time in those verses.

We had 8 messages that dealt with Christian marriage, with Christian parenting, and the home life. But in a way, we are not finished with the home. This 5 to 9 here in chapter 6 are all about slaves and masters. You've seen that already. But in Paul's day, this teaching had to do with proper behavior in the Christian home. And that is because in Paul's day, the majority of the slaves were serving in the home. Historians estimate that there were over 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire in Paul's day, and the majority of those slaves were serving in the home. So what was happening was this.

Both slaves and slave masters were coming to faith in Christ, so Paul was addressing how slaves and their owners should behave in those relationships. So that is why these verses are grouped together with these verses in the home. You might see that in some of your own study. They could be grouped that way in your copy of God's Word. But for us today, we will see that what is taught here applies more to the employee and employer relationship than the slave and master relationship in even the home. And that is because our society is much, much different. And I think you will understand this more and more as we continue in the message.

But before we go any further, we need to deal with the fact that some, if not many, can be deeply offended at what Paul is teaching here. We may be insulted that Paul does not demand that all slaves be set free. We may believe that Paul was wrong because he did not speak out against the slave system and the evils associated with slavery. We may even be surprised and offended that the New Testament does not condemn slavery like we think it should. And in our day, these can be difficult things. Some can be confused as to why the New Testament does not emphatically condemn slavery.

Some may discount and even reject the teachings of the Bible because the Bible does not directly condemn slavery. But we can see emphatically that wherever the gospel is preached and Bible Christianity flourishes, sins like slavery will be fought against and they can be done away with. So I want to briefly speak about Paul's position on slavery and the cultural position on slavery in Paul's day. And I want to speak to how we as 21st century Christians should view their cultural positions and Paul's approach.

First of all, we need to see that Paul taught on these things the way that he did through the lens of his views and his position on slavery. Paul was a student of the Old Testament Scriptures. He based his entire life on the Old Testament Scriptures. So it was natural that Paul's view and approach to these things came through the lens of the Old Testament Scriptures. Now we do not have time to cover all that the Old Testament says on the subject of slavery. But an honest study of what the Old Testament says on the subject will show you that the Old Testament permitted and even advocated certain types of non-abusive and beneficial slavery.

Of course the Old Testament condemned clearly cruel and abusive slavery. Now right here you may be thinking about something I just said. You may be thinking, "Pastor, are you saying that the Old Testament advocated something called beneficial slavery?" Yes, but let me explain with one example. In the Old Testament when someone was caught stealing, if they could not make the proper restitution they would be placed in a type of slavery or indentured servitude until restitution and payment was made. They were literally bound like a slave until full restitution was made.

Some can even make a case that some type of indentured servitude would be better for some criminals today instead of simply throwing them into the jails and the prisons that we have in our country. Now there is a lot more that we could get into here. But the point I'm making is this. In the Old Testament, the Old Testament clearly taught that certain types of slavery was permitted and even beneficial. Of course the Old Testament did not condemn slavery, did not condone slavery that was abusive and cruel. So it was from the Old Testament way of thinking that Paul writes and addresses these things.

But we also need to see how the people in the culture in Paul's day viewed slavery. Paul lived in a world that was dominated by the Roman Empire, Roman culture, and Roman thinking. And of course the Romans were greatly influenced by the Greeks, Greek thought and Greek culture. And in this society, slavery was a recognized and accepted part of society. Slaves were seen by all as a good part of an ordered society. And it is safe to say that no one in Paul's day could conceive of a society and an economy without slavery.

Scholars and historians estimate that in the first century there were some 60 million slaves throughout the entire Roman Empire and those slaves made up almost all of the working class. And that was because in the eyes of the Romans, free men did not stoop down to perform labor. Romans saw labor as beneath them, even undignified. So that meant that almost the entire Roman Empire functioned on slave labor. To get a glimpse of how slaves reviewed and treated in Roman society, we can look at what the scholars and historians tell us. William Barclay quotes Aristotle who said, and I'm quoting, "A slave was a living tool.

Just as a tool is an inanimate slave." Barclay also quoted the noted Roman statesman Cato. Cato said, and I'm quoting, "Old slaves should be thrown on a dump. And when a slave is ill, do not feed him anything. It is not worthy of your money. Take six slaves and throw them away because they are nothing but inefficient tools." Simply in a Roman society that Paul lived in and in a society that he ministered in, slaves and slavery was an integral part of society. Slaves had no legal rights. They were treated as commercial goods. Slaves were bought. They were sold. They were traded. They were used.

And they were discarded just like any broken tool or diseased animal. And these things were seen as normal. They were seen as necessary. They were seen as good. And we need to look at how we should view these things. Of course, we should be sickened at the thought of slavery, much less the practice of slavery. And we should be deeply offended at the thought of some kind of supposed Christian slavery like we had in our country prior to the Civil War. But we have to be careful not to impose our views and our ideas onto the people of Paul's day. What I mean is this. Slavery was deeply embedded into their society.

It simply was a normal part of their life and not seen as a great social evil. And expecting people from the first century to have had the same views that we have on things like this is really unrealistic in many ways. And Paul's approach to slavery is not what we would expect. And that is because Paul's ministry was not about attacking and correcting the sins and evils of society. Paul's ministry was about attacking and correcting the sins and evils, the evil of men's hearts. He preached the gospel which had the power to make men new.

Paul understood that when men are made new by the power of the gospel, God could and would straighten out any sin in their personal lives and any societal sin that they were involved in. I will give you a few examples to show you how Paul's way of thinking and approach was. Paul believed that if a man was a sinful, wicked husband but he came to faith in Christ, Paul believed that that man would become a godly husband and a godly father. Paul believed that if a man was a sinful, wicked Roman senator. But that senator came to faith in Christ, he believed that that man would become a godly Roman senator.

And he believed that if a man was a sinful, slave master and he came to faith in Christ, he believed that he would become a godly slave master and God would straighten all of those things out in God's time. Eventually Paul had full confidence that in every circumstance the gospel had the power to change and to make right sin and sinfulness. First in the man and second in everything that that man was associated with. But before we continue we must remember that Paul was not about changing social sins and social systems. The only system in the world that he was interested in was the church system that he loved so much.

Paul gave his life for the spiritual health and the spiritual well-being of the church. And these slaves and these slave masters were coming to faith in Christ, coming out of the culture and coming into the church. So Paul was addressing the spiritual needs in the lives of the slaves and their earthly masters in Luke Church. We must see sin, we must see men's hearts and the social evils of society like Paul. If a school teacher is changed by the power of the gospel and they live according to the truth of God's word, they can go into a school and impact boys and girls for Jesus.

All while teaching them how to read and to write, how to multiply and to divide. And that Christian school teacher can make that entire system better, less sinful, even more Christian. If a man is a city councilman, a mayor, a state senator or a representative or even the president of our United States, if that man has been changed by the power of the gospel and he lives according to the truth of God's word, that man can attack and impact the social sins and evils with the truth of God's word. And that Christian politician can even make that entire system better, less sinful and more godly.

Now in speaking more directly about the social sins and evil of slavery, go do a little study in your church history. And look at how men like George Whitfield and John Wesley were used greatly of God to impact their entire culture with the gospel. And through that God raised up men, politicians like William Wilberforce, who really almost single handedly brought slavery to an end in the British Empire.

Now that we have all of that in our mind, now that all that is in our mind and we kind of have the right mindset and the right approach in these verses, let's look at verses five to nine and what I'm calling slaves and masters, employees and employers. That's the title of the message. Slaves and masters, employees and employers. Let's read our verses again. Verse five, I'm reading from the English Standard Version. "Bond servants or slaves obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart as you would Christ.

Not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart, rending service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord whether he is a bond servant or is free. Masters or earthly masters do the same to them," that would be slaves, "and stop your threatening knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven and that there is no partiality with him." Now this will be my approach to these verses.

First we will look at the command for slaves to obey their masters and that's in verses five to eight and then we will look at the command for masters to treat their slaves well and that is in verse nine. Now you may say, "Pastor, you said that these verses can be applied to employees and employers." You might even be thinking something like this, "Why don't you just leave off the slave master language?" That's offensive. Folks, I cannot change what the Scriptures say and I'm not, but we can take the principles and examples here and imply them to employees and employers in our day.

So number one, the command, "Slaves obey your masters," verses five to eight. The command, "Slaves obey your masters." Now right off we need to see that Paul is addressing slaves, not servants. These were slaves who were bound to their owners or their masters and we can't soften the language to make these things more palatable or politically correct. To me the King James softens things. The King James softens things. It says servants. The English standard is much better. It says bond servants, the New American in the legacy standard Bible translate this word properly as slaves.

And my point is this, in the Greek language that Paul wrote here, he used the word for slaves, doulos. And Thayer's defines doulos or slave as a slave, a bond man. That would be a man who was bound, a man in servile condition. So these were slaves. They were involuntary or voluntary bondage to their owners or their masters. That's why the English standard calls them earthly masters. And notice the depth and the breadth of this command. This is a present tense command, which means this was to be an ongoing uninterrupted obedience. And Paul gives no qualifications.

That means that they were to obey their masters no matter their circumstances and even no matter how they were treated. Now one detail that is interesting before we get into dividing the verses. If we pay attention to the verses, we see that Paul seems to take quite a bit of time to instruct slaves how to obey their masters. But in comparison, it seems like he doesn't say much to slave masters. Some say that this was because there were more slaves in the church than masters. Now to me right here, this is a little bit of a lesson. We need less masters and more slaves in the church. But hold on. Hold on. We only have one master.

We don't have plural masters. We only have one master and our master is the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are called, we are all called to be slaves. Now after this simple command, slaves be obedient to those who were your earthly masters. Paul then takes quite a bit of time to explain how they are to obey. He tells them what their attitude should be like, what their approach should be like, and what their total outlook should be like in all of these things. First he says they should obey respectfully. They should obey respectfully. Look at verse 5.

"Bond servants obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling." Now this fear and trembling is not the same as cowering down in fear or intimidation. This speaks of respect and honor that would have motivated them to serve, but not out of duty. Paul was calling them to serve out of honor and obedience, all with a strong sense to serve in a good and a well pleasing way. The Amplified captures this well by saying slaves, be obedient to those who were your earthly masters with respect for authority. Then second he says they should obey with sincerity. We see that in verse 5. They should obey with sincerity.

Verse 5 says, "Bond servants obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart." They were to serve their earthly masters out of honor, out of respect for who they were and their authority. And these things were to be done in a sincere heartfelt way, not in a superficial or pretentious way. And this comes out of a heart, a sincere heart. The Amplified explains this well. It says slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters with respect for authority and with a sincere heart seeking to please them. So look at how Paul calls these slaves to obey their earthly masters.

He was addressing their attitude and their approach in their service, even their approach and attitude to their master. He calls them to obey their earthly masters with honor and respect for their authority and even who they were. He calls them to be sincere in their honor and in their respect and to truly seek to please their masters and how they serve them. And notice how Paul finishes. He calls slaves to do all these things just like they would in their service to Christ. Look back at verse 5.

"Bond servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart as you would Christ." So Paul was calling them to obey their earthly masters just like they would obey their heavenly master and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. This tells us that these were Christian slaves, Christian slaves. Now hold on to all of these things because these things certainly do apply in our day and they apply to you and me. But then third, he says they should obey their masters just as they obey their Lord. We see this in verse 6 to 8. He says they should obey their masters just as they obey their Lord.

Now if you would look at verses 5 to 8 in your copy of God's Word and I want you to notice something. Notice how many times Paul references Jesus, sometimes it's the word Christ, or God. Now notice as we're reading, let's count them. "Bond servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart as you would Christ." That's the first. "Not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ." That's the second time. "Doing the will of God." That's the third time from your heart. Verse 7, "Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord." That's the fourth time, "and not to man.

Knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord." That's the fifth time whether he is a bond servant or is free. Notice, five times Paul references Christ Jesus or God in these instructions. And notice he calls them to be God pleasers, not people pleasers. Paul says, "Slaves obey your masters." Verse 6, "Not by the way of eye service as people pleasers." Here Paul was calling them to serve and to work well no matter who was watching. This term, people pleasers, or man pleasers speaks of one who does not take God into account. This is the one that simply wants to please men. We would call them people pleasers.

One commentator said that Paul was telling them not to curry favor with men. That's good. So Paul was calling them to be God pleasers and not man pleasers. And he was calling them to serve well no matter who was watching them. And notice he calls them to see that these things are the will of God. And this is important. Paul says, "Slaves obey your masters." And look at verse 6, "Not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart." Now this can be difficult. I'll be honest with you.

Think about what this verse says, "Doing the will of God from the heart." So my question is this. Is Paul saying that as slaves they were in the will of God and doing the will of God in their service, in their bondage? And look, this can be difficult for us to accept. But Paul was saying that providentially God had allowed these individuals to be in slavery. Whether they were Christian or not, God had providentially allowed them to be in these positions in life. So as Christians who were in slavery, God allowed these things according to His good will. Romans 8, 28, certainly applies to their circumstance.

Paul says, we know the verse, "We know that for those who love God, all things, all things, all things even include slavery. All things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose." So Paul was telling them that serving as he has been commanded them to serve was actually doing the will of God even in those circumstances. And notice, he also calls them to see that their service was not unto man but unto God. We see this in verse 7. Paul says, "Slaves obey your master." Verse 7, "Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man." But here, this is really a continuation of what he's just told them.

Because they were in the will of God, Paul calls them to serve their masters with good will. This means that they were to serve, not out of obligation or out of resentment, but willingly and joyfully, just as they would serve in serving their Lord. So Paul calls them to cheerfully serve their masters just as they would serve God. And then notice, he calls them to see that their service will be seen and rewarded. We see this in verse 8. Their service will be seen and rewarded.

Paul says, "Slaves obey your masters." Verse 8, "Knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord whether he is a bondservant or a free man." Here Paul is calling them to see that whether they were slaves or free, God will reward the work that he has been calling them to do. Paul was showing them that no matter the type of work God sees and God rewards service rendered unto God just as he is instructed. So Paul was encouraging them by explaining that even their work done in slavery will be rewarded, even if their master does not treat them as they should be treated.

So Paul is calling them to serve and to obey their earthly masters. Just as they would their heavenly Lord. They were to see their service as doing the will of God and doing that service out of good will. And they were to be encouraged because they would certainly be rewarded for their service. And again, hold on to these things. These things do apply to us. Now at this point we need to see how these things relate to an employee, an employer, and those relationships. And this may be surprising for some of you. First of all, we need to and we must understand these things in light of the providence of God.

Now the providence of God is the biblical understanding that God is always involved in every aspect of his creation. His involvement is in such, his involvement is such that he keeps all his creation in existence even maintaining every aspect of his creation. He that is God cooperates with all that he created in every way directing those things to cause them to do just as he wills them to do. And he directs all things according to the fulfillment of his purposes and his glory. And my point is this, God allowed or ordained that those in Paul's day be slaves or slave masters.

And although most, all of those things were sinful and evil, what we would call unchristian, God did not ordain that evil or sin. And the providence of God for you may not be slavery and earthly master, and an earthly master, God ordained that you be born in a different time and a different place. Just think about it. You could have been born a slave in Paul's day. You could have been born a slave owner in Paul's day. And you could have been born in North Korea in our day. But your position in life, the opportunities you have in life all come from God. The job you have, the employer you have, all that comes from God.

Now yes we have freedom, we have a will. God created us as volitional creatures, which means we are not robots. So you certainly have many choices in all of these things in life. But more specifically, you have the job that you have, you have the responsibilities you have in that job, and the employer that you have, all according to God's providence. Of course you could change jobs, you could even get a better job or a worse job, but that would be according to God's providence as well. But then second, all authority has been given by God.

Romans 13.1 tells us that all authority is given by God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. So that means that all the kings, the queens, the dictators and presidents and senators, all throughout history have been instituted by God. Their authority was given to them by God, yes, even those who were cruel. But it does not stop there with leaders of nations. That means that the authority of your employer or boss, that has been given by God. Romans 13.1 says that all authority is given by and instituted by God. And Romans 13.1 says that we are to be subject or submissive to that governed authority.

So if you work at a hot dog stand for a man who owns the hot dog stand, his authority has been instituted by God and you are to be submissive to that authority. And look, it doesn't matter if you work at a hot dog stand or if you work for a Fortune 500 company, we must understand that that authority has been instituted by God and you are to be submissive to that authority. Well, you might say, "Pastor, my boss is mean. My employer is mean, hateful and demanding. I don't even think that my boss is a Christian. I think he's even pagan. Does that mean I should submit to his authority?" Yes.

However, Paul gave no qualifications for those slaves that he instructed. He said they were to obey their masters with no exceptions given. And the same goes for us today. But of course, we do not submit to any authority that calls us to contradict God's word. I think that goes without saying. So understanding that you were in the job that you have according to the providence of God and understanding that you were to be submissive to the authority that is over you in your employment, we must ask a question. How are we supposed to act as a Christian in our job? How? Well, Paul tells us in the verses that we've just studied.

You know, sometimes I will kind of take a little liberty with the Scripture. Of course, I'm using the amplified at times. Some say that's a lot of liberty. But notice how I take the amplified and I change a couple of words and you'll see the application. Paul is saying, "Employees, be obedient to those who are your earthly employers." How?

"With respect for authority and with a sincere heart seeking to please them as service to Christ, not in the way of I service working only when someone is watching you and only to please men, but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from your heart, rendering service with good will as to the Lord and not only to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord whether he is slave or free, employee or employer." But before I move on, I've got to ask a couple of questions here, more direct and personal. How are you doing in your submission to your boss or your employer? How?

How are you doing in the work that is assigned to you? Now look, church, look, Christian. One of the greatest ways you can ruin your Christian witness is to be a lousy employee. And on the other side, one of the greatest ways you can prove your Christian witness is to be a great employee. I heard this story, this testimony. I think it will be helpful here. I heard a pastor say that he got a phone call one day from an administrator at a hospital. He called and he introduced himself and he said, "Pastor, let me explain why I'm calling you. I have one or two employees under me that come out of your church and they are the best employees I have.

They work hard. They're models. I wish I had five more just like them and I have a position that I need to fill and I was wondering if you have somebody in your church that might fill it." See? But turn that around. What if that administrator in that hospital had four or five that came out of that church and they were horrible employees? He wouldn't call that pastor seeking help nor would he even visit that church probably. And look, Christians should be the most respectful to their boss and their employer. They should be the hardest working, the most respectful, the most dependable, the best employee, the best worker there is.

And if you are not, you are in sin. Oh, pastor, you don't understand. My job is hard. No excuse. You don't understand, pastor. My boss is a slave driver. No he's not. Not according to what these brothers and sisters were living under. If you are not fleshing these things out in the job place Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, overtime on the holidays when you're called to work, if you are not, you are in sin. And if you struggle here, you might be on the verge of sin. You might be tiptoeing into sin.

And no matter where you are there, you need to repent of these things, allow this teaching to form you, and you need to roll up your sleeves and be a good Christian at work. Your boss might say, "I noticed you've been coming in a lot earlier these days and you just smiled." Your boss might say, "You know, I noticed over the past year, you've worked a little longer, a little above and beyond compared to the others and you just smiled." Or your boss might say, "You know, you are not like the normal employee. Why?" And you smile and you open your mouth and you tell them why.

So the command, "Slaves obey your masters, employees obey your employers." And then number two, the command, "Masters treat your slaves well." We see this in verse 9. The command, "Masters treat your slaves well." Now I have already pointed out that Paul spends most of his efforts addressing the Christian slaves. And it is safe to say that the church did not have as many slave owners. And that is because in that day the church did not consist of many people of a high position socially. But there were some Christian slave owners who were coming to faith in Christ, otherwise Paul would not have addressed them.

He would not have addressed them as he did. And look at how Paul treats the slave owners. Look at the beginning of verse 9 and look at it slowly. Paul says, "Masters do the same." In the original this literally reads, "Do the same things to them." Do you see what Paul is calling these earthly masters to do? Do you catch it? One scholar says, "The golden rule is extended to the most controversial of all relationships within society of that day." And he goes on to say, "Masters are to treat their slaves as they themselves expect to be treated." And this is not what we expect here.

We would expect Paul to command these slave owners to free their slaves. We would expect Paul to call them sinful and evil as slave owners. But remember, Paul was not about changing evil world systems. He was about the gospel and God's Word changing the evil of men's hearts. Paul knew that the power of the gospel and God's Word working in these slave owners and in their lives, that would be sufficient to change any sin or any injustice in those relationships. Now here's where I have to say, here's where I have to say, "Time out." Church, this is a great lesson for us today.

So many in the church have gone the way of social justice in believing that the church is to try to straighten out the social injustices of the world. And that is an easy trap for some to fall into. And we cannot fall into that trap. We do not see that in the Scripture. In fact, the social gospel is a disastrous enemy of the true gospel we find in the Bible. But of course, as Christians, we should not condone any sin. We should be offended at any sin, in any evil, any injustice in the world. But our job is to preach the gospel and God's Word, and we are to depend on the power of the gospel and God's Word to change men's hearts and lives.

And in reality, this is what the social justice folks miss. There are many injustices in this world that God will never straighten out. In His providence, He allows and even ordains these things, although He is not guilty of sin and evil, and God even calls some of His people to live under those injustices. Again, if you're going to be waving the flag of social injustice in the social justice gospel, just go to North Korea and try that. It doesn't work. What was Paul calling these slaves to do? Live godly lives in their circumstances. But notice two things that Paul does address in these earthly masters. This is rather short.

First he commands them to stop their threatening. In the original, this term has the idea of releasing or loosening. The idea here is that the slave owners were to back off of their authority. The picture here is that the slave owner backs off of using his power and his authority with the slaves. And then second, he calls them to see their common master, who is the Lord Jesus. He says Christ knows them both, and He shows no partiality between the slave owner and the slave. So Paul calls these earthly slave masters to obey all of these things. So Paul really does not cheat anyone in the circumstances.

It appears that he's addressing the slaves more, but actually he's not. Paul calls these earthly masters to treat their slaves the way he has commanded their slaves to treat them. And he calls them to back off of their authority and to relate to their slaves knowing that they all have one master, and he shows no partiality. Now at this point we need to see how these things relate to the employee-employer relationship, specifically the boss, the employer. And my question for you is this. If you are an employer, if you are a boss in any way, how do you treat those who work for you? How do you treat those who are under you?

Yes, they're even under your authority that God has given you. You should treat them the way you want to be treated. You should treat them the way Paul explains verses 5 to 8. Specifically, Paul is calling you not to lord over your employer's employees. He is calling you not to be heavy-handed with your words, with your demeanor, with your attitude, with the way that you treat your employees. And look, Christian, one of the greatest ways you can ruin your Christian witness is to be a lousy boss. I'm telling you, one of the greatest ways you can ruin your Christian witness is to be a lousy, unchristian employer.

You might say, "Well, pastor, business is business and church is church." No it's not. But on the other side, one of the greatest ways you can prove your Christian witness is to be a great boss and a great employer. And look, folks, Christians should be the best bosses, the best employers. They should be the nicest, the kindest, the most Christian, all while expecting their employees to work and to work hard. So the command, "Masters, treat your slaves well. Employers, treat your employees well." Now as I close, I want to make two broad and much-needed statements.

And then I want us to look at the New Testament standard, which is really the biblical standard. That's where we'll turn to 2 Thessalonians 3. But first, work is of God. Work is of God. God invented work before the fall. Do not make the mistake to believe. Do not make the mistake in believing that work came after the fall. God instituted work before the fall and He still expects us to work. And then number 2, laziness, laziness, slothfulness, refusing to work is unchristian. Those things are sinful. The book of Proverbs is loaded with teaching telling us that laziness and refusing to work is sinful. It is ungodly.

And then number 3, the New Testament standard for work, which is the biblical standard. Now here is where I want you to turn to 2 Thessalonians 3. 3. 2 Thessalonians 3. To be honest with you, this is a sermon for another day. But let's read these verses. Remember the context. This is the church in Thessalonica. Paul is writing back to Christians in the church and he's dealing with true Christian behavior and bad Christian behavior. And there was this problem in the church where some were not working.

Verse 6, Paul says, "Now we commanded you brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you receive from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us." Notice what he's saying. Imitate us, Paul and his commandments, because we were not idle when we were with you. What is he saying? We worked. Imitate us. Stay away from a brother who is idle and who is not following the tradition that we laid out for you.

Notice verse 8, "Nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate." And what Paul was doing here was this, refusing to be compensated for his ministry work. And he worked so as to be an example to them. And then verse 10, "For even when we were with you, we would give you this command, if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." So the biblical standard is this, work. If you will not work, you may not eat.

So church, work is of God, laziness is not. So let's be the best employees, the best employers we can be. And if we know this teaching, if we let it be absorbed into our minds, if we live by this teaching, in our employee and our employer relationships, God will enable us to have a good witness and to do these things and bring him glory. So let's pray, let's commit these things to the Lord, and then we'll sing a song of worship and praise and thank him for how he is instructing us. Let's pray.