Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. In the Apostle Paul's day, it was common to own slaves or to be a slave. Paul gave instruction on how each was to relate to the other. And the principles he taught have great bearing on how we should relate to our employees or to our bosses. His teaching is found in Ephesians chapter 6.
Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lützer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, some see Paul as supporting slavery in his teaching. How should modern day believers interpret this?
Well, first of all, Dave, as you already mentioned, slavery was part of the economy. It was simply accepted in those days. And of course what the Apostle Paul could not do, Is to stand against slavery, expecting that to effect change, because after all, it was part of the fabric. of society and culture.
So here's what Paul does. He does tell slaves to obey their masters, but then he turns around and he says to the masters, Very clearly you had better watch how you treat those slaves, because your master is in heaven, and God is going to judge you for any unfairness, any cruelty. Paul mentions that as well.
So what he does is he lays the foundation for kindness and of course for justice. And eventually, of course, Christianity became the means by which slavery was abolished. Just go back to Wilberforce. And so we have to understand that the Bible is taking into account the culture. but at the same time pressing us to higher standards, higher understandings.
And that's why slavery today should be abhorred. But I want to mention this there are still hundreds of thousands of slaves throughout the world. That doesn't make it right. It just shows that the world is very cruel. Christianity came.
and showed us a better way.
So, even as we enter into this series of messages and I speak on these topics, let us always remember. Christianity's power to overcome the evils of this world. Yeah. Listen to me carefully. It may not be God's will for you to fulfill some of the dreams that you have vocationally for yourself.
Do you realize that some of these slaves that were working in the empire at that time, the Roman Empire, many of them may have had gifts in drama, there could have been some Shakespeare's among them, many of them could have had careers in law and great opportunities. But because of their situation, they never had a chance to be all that they could have possibly been if they had lived in our generation. They had to be content with a lifestyle into which they were born. Paul says Fulfill the will of God. From The heart.
Now there's nothing wrong with seeking your dream. My wife, for many years, had a great dream to be a nurse. That's what she wanted to be. And when our children were young, she couldn't do that. But several years ago, she went back to nurses' training for the first time.
And she has become a nurse, and now she has her dream. She works in the OR, the operating room. And she comes home and tells me all the things that are done. And I say, honey, I love you very much, but keep the conversation short. I just I just can't relate, and the very sight of blood makes me weak.
She loves it.
Now you see There are times when God allows us to be able to do what we really want to do. But if you're not there yet Look at this period of your life as that training ground when God is saying, I can fulfill you where you are.
Now, I'm going to give you a New Testament principle that will revolutionize the way in which you see your job. The New Testament would teach that it is not what you do. That should be the source of your fulfillment. But who You do it. Four.
What a revolutionary principle. Of course this isn't exactly what you want to do. Yes, this is beneath your dignity. Assuredly, your aspirations lie in another direction, but there are no opportunities, and you are confined to something that you don't like. Would you do it?
For Jesus. Do it for Jesus, and that is doing the will of God from the heart, and for that you will be generously. rewarded. You remember that story? It's a myth actually, but it is a myth that has a point.
When Jesus was on earth, the story goes that he asked some of the disciples to pick up stones, and so they all picked up stones, and then after carrying them around for several days, Christ took those stones and turned them into bread. And some people had bigger stones, that means that they had more bread than others, and they shared. And then Jesus said, I want you to pick up stones again.
So they picked up stones, and this time they all picked up bigger stones. They carried them. Day. after day. after day.
And finally, they came to a river, and Jesus said, Take your stones and throw them into the river. They looked at one another, couldn't believe it, but they took their stones and threw them in the river to the obedience of Christ and then wondered what was the purpose of it all. And Jesus, it is said, turned to them and said, Why do you wonder? For whom Do you carry? The stones.
For whom do you carry them? If Jesus wants you to carry stones and later on have them thrown into the river with no visible evidence of any purpose to it, who cares for whom do you carry them?
Some of you work in factories. Bless your heart. You need the grace of God. But I want to tell you something. Let that turn of the wheel.
be done for Jesus. And if you're shoveling dirt, let every shovel of dirt be done in the name of Jesus and for his glory. And if you're a corporate president and you run the board meeting, run the board meeting for Jesus. And if you sell insurance, sell those policies in the name of Christ and for Him. That's what the Bible says.
You do the will of God. from the heart. You work for Christ, not men. You seek the fulfillment that comes from doing something for Christ. rather than the advancement.
that all of us so naturally seek. And there's a third principle. And that is, you work for eternity. Not for time. Notice it says in verse 7, With good will render service as to the Lord and not to men.
He emphasizes it again. Students, don't write that term paper for your prof. Write it. for Christ. And then verse 8: Knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord.
Whether slave, or free. And then Paul goes on to exhort the masters to take good care of their slaves. Whatever you do, whether bond or free, you will receive back. From the Lord. That's the important thing.
You are not looking at this from the standpoint of time, but from the standpoint of eternity.
Now, I want you to use your imaginations, pretend that you are in a long house. The east end of the house is on fire and the flames are coming in your direction and soon will be at the west side of the house. But you are there, and the fire is raging, but you continue to paper the walls, and you're hanging pictures, and you're putting in furniture, and you're. Asking the man to come in and lay rugs, and somebody says, The house is burning at the other end. Say, well, it doesn't matter, we've got things to do, so let's just go ahead and do it.
That is exactly the way life is. That's why we should not attach so much to the things of this world, becoming absorbed. And we are having our whole identity connected with our vocations, as if to say, This, what we are doing, is going to last forever. It won't. It's going to be gone.
The Bible says that it is going to burn with fervent heat, and it will be gone forever. The house. is burning. But here's the good news. If we serve Christ.
If we are hanging those pictures for Him and installing the rugs for His glory, even when the house burns, what we have done for Christ will last forever, and we will receive His approval throughout all. of eternity. Do you remember when Elizabeth Elliott was here a few years ago? She said that she spent two long years doing language study. for an obscure language.
in South America. Hoping that someday the Bible would be translated into that language. And you know that that is a process that takes so much time. She had to prepare a dictionary, she had to prepare documents to break down that language.
so that it could be understood and translated. All of her work was in one suitcase, and in those days there were no Xerox machines. You didn't back it up on a computer. And the suitcase was stolen. And it was gone.
And they prayed that they might be able to find the suitcase, and they never did. People said to her, Weren't you angry at God that He would let you go through two long years worth of work? and then have it come to nothing. And she said, it never even entered my mind to be angry with him because she said, What I did for God. It's not lost.
The suitcase is lost, but the work isn't. Because she said every morning as I would do my translation and do the language analysis, she said, This was my offering of service to God. And that offering of sacrifice. The willing hands and the willing mind to be able to understand that language as best she possibly could. All of that isn't lost.
It was the offering. that she made to him. during those Two years. You tomorrow morning. are making an offering to Jesus.
You're not working for men, you're working for Christ, you're not working for advancement, you're working for fulfillment and you're not working for time. You're working for eternity. That is your offering. That is your gift. And you see that will never be lost.
Even if you should be treated unjustly. That goes on forever. It's a reward. Do you see how a theory of work like this gives divine significance? To everything?
My daughter was in the nursery this morning. And I thought about this on the way down here, helping in the nursery, that With a theory like this, changing diapers is a divine work. It's a divine work. You need to remind yourself of that. Once in a while.
That means doing dishes is a divine work. Done for Christ. And there is no such thing as a task that is too lowly as Jesus who washed the disciples' feet. Illustrated. It is done.
For Jesus. I feel sorry for you if you're working for yourself. Peter worked for himself, and when he fished for himself, he was out all night and caught nothing. And whenever he fished in obedience to Jesus, His nets. We're full.
Do you realize why you may be so frustrated at work? Nothing seems to be working out. All the relationships seems to be strained and harsh. Have you ever thought that the reason might be is that you are actually working for yourself and you are not working for Christ? Have you ever committed your vocation to Him so fully that you recognize that the responsibility and the burden no longer rests with me?
It is His? It'll change the way in which you view your work tomorrow. What a travesty. That many people would think that their Christianity is confined to one day a week not understanding that in the Bible, of the forty great men and women in the Bible whom we admire, Seventy-five percent never had a religious job. Whether it's Abraham or Daniel or Joseph, none of them had religious jobs.
They simply represented God where they were in their quote secular vocations. You. Are God's representative wherever You are. Jesus gave an illustration when he was here on earth about a man who did not bring God into his vocation. He did not understand these principles or try to apply them.
Jesus said that he was a rich man and he said to himself, You know, my crops are doing so well, I'm going to tear down these barns and I'm going to build greater ones because I've got more grain than I can possibly handle. And then. I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. And then Jesus said, That night the man died.
And it was all gone. What was this man's problem? First of all, he confused his soul with his body. When he said, Soul, thou hast much good stored up for many years, he should have said, My body does. His soul was shriveled, his soul was dead, because God was not in it.
Next. He confused himself with God. Five times he uses the word I, I will say to my soul, thou hast. much goods. I will build barns.
Nobody can say that. Because you don't know when. your life will be cut off. And finally, he confused time for eternity. That night he died.
And it was all over. I can't help but think that I am speaking to a man. Who is here today? Who's so absorbed in his job, it's his life, and someday it's all going to be gone and his soul will be required. And he discovered that though he provided so much for his body, And so much for his identity to be somebody.
in eternity. It's all gone. And he will be there without Christ. What an awful thing. Begin by receiving the free gift of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And once you belong to Him, You give your vocation to him and you say, if these principles worked for slaves in the first century, Surely. They can work for employees. In the 20th. Let's pray. Our father.
We are reminded of the little poem that says, Only one life 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ. will last. Today, we want to give you thanks for every person who is here and his or her vocation. And we have such a rich congregation.
In terms of variety, in terms of ability, we just marvel at the people. that you bring to Moody Church. We pray that each one today might be uplifted and know that you have called them in a mighty way. to represent you. Make us faithful in doing that.
And then, for those who have never believed on Christ, have never accepted him as Savior, today even may they. Say, Lord Jesus, be mine. Be mine. that I might serve you. and not myself.
Before I close this prayer, if you need to talk to God, If you need to take your hands off your life, off your vocation, and give it to God. Would you do that? at this moment. Thank you, Father, for hearing us. In Jesus' name.
Oh man. Yeah. My friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. One of the things I've discovered in life is that life is hard. and it seems to be hard for everyone.
We are all struggling with something. But I want to introduce you to a story that is very remarkable because it's a story of abuse. but it's also the story of God's wondrous grace. Many years ago my wife and I met a woman by the name of Dory. She gave her story.
After I listened to her I told her that her story should be written up. It's a story, yes, of being rejected by her mother, being hated by her mother. She and her sister being taken to an orphanage and abandoned, It's a story that really resonates with a lot of people in a hurting world. We're making it available to you for a gift of any amount. The title of the book is Dory the Girl Nobody Loved.
I sure hope that you have a pen or pencil with you, because I'm going to be giving you some contact info. and even as I do that I am absolutely sure in my heart. that this transforming story is going to impact many people. You may not think you need it, but you know someone who does. Here's what you do.
Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-888. 218. 9337. Right now Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-1.
ninety three thirty seven It's time again for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Coping with great loss is very hard. and it gets harder when you face two possible reasons for the loss, reasons which cannot both be true. Marilyn from Pennsylvania writes I'm struggling with the concept of God's sovereignty. I always thought that God had planned A, B, or C depending on how I decided to act or choose in a situation.
But in a sermon I heard you explain sovereignty as God knowing all things, being in charge of all things, and having the power over all things, regardless of me. But I'm confused. Several years ago my grandson Joshua died at the age of three and a half. we prayed for his healing after numerous surgeries on his lungs, heart, and brain. Our healing began when we accepted that God, in His infinite wisdom and sovereignty, chose to take Him home.
But my minister said to me that he believes that this happened not due to God's sovereign will, which I can accept, but that the devil interfered and has stolen Joshua without God's hand in it. He does say, though, that God will use this for his purpose at some point. To me, though, the difference is critical and not just superficial. Please help. Marilyn, you're absolutely right.
The difference is critical. It is not superficial. I hate to say this over the radio because I don't know your minister, but I do believe that he is wrong. I don't believe that it was a case of Satan stealing your grandson. I believe it is correct to say that God took him home.
On one level, of course, there's a sense in which Satan is involved in these things because he's involved in sin. He's no doubt involved in sickness. But you have an illustration from the book of Job. Was Job's trial from God or the devil? On the one hand, it was from the Devil.
I mean, He did the dirty work. He's the one that caused the windstorm. He's the one who gave Job boils. But nonetheless, because the devil is under God's control and direction and can only do what God allows him to. Job clearly understood that this trial came to him from God, and Job said, the Lord gave.
And the Lord took away. Blessed be the name of the Lord, not the devil. And Job here is your model. You have to say it is the Lord who took your grandson. It is not cancer, it is not disease.
That might have been the secondary cause, but the ultimate cause was the will of God. I'm so interested to notice that in your question you say that you accepted. the will of God, and it was easier for you to accept when you believed that God took him for a reason. Thanks, Marilyn. I'm so glad that even though sorrow is deep.
and it is lasting. I thank God it doesn't last forever. Hang on to that. God is in control. and some day you'll see your grandson again.
Thank you, doctor Lutzer, for your compassionate answer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer dot com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer. Or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running2Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614.
Running to win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. In our series on commitment to Christ, we're finding how to apply that commitment to every area of life. In our day, millions of babies are aborted every year. This tragic loss of life calls us to commit ourselves to the cause of pro-life.
Next time, what being pro-life means and how we should see ourselves in this cause. Plan to join us. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
