The passage I had such a blessing to work with in so many ways, and one of the ways he blessed me as I said, Pastor, when I'm gone, do you want me to continue? Tim said, sure, let me give you an easy passage. So he gave me a passage on slaves being obedient to their masters.
A white guy in the south talking about slavery. So it's been nice knowing you folks. It's been fascinating. So I'm going to be super politically incorrect today. Are you guys ready for that?
Are you ready for some political incorrectness? Alright. Let's pray because I need it. Father, forgive, Pastor, for giving me this passage. And also, Lord, I pray that you would bless this word today and let it transform our hearts by your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus' name, amen. I didn't totally mean that first part of the prayer, but I kind of did. So let me give you a little bit of context here.
I'm a little bit of a history geek, so I like context, so we understand. So Pastor's been in 1 Timothy. It's a letter from Paul. Who was formerly known as Saul, and he was a Jewish Pharisee. He was a religious Jewish leader. And when he heard about Christians, he felt that they were blaspheming the name of God, and he was persecuting them even when it said Stephen was martyred. Paul was there watching over the garments of those who were killing Stephen. So Paul was this guy that was killing Christians. He got some permission to go to Damascus, so he went from Jerusalem to Damascus, and on the way there he met Christ along the way miraculously. And then Paul, became a follower of Christ, so his name was changed from Saul to Paul by God, and then he became a follower of Christ, and then he started to take the message of the gospel outside of the Jewish community. Because in the very first century, Christ was crucified, dead and buried, and risen 80, 30 to 33. There are some discrepancies over those dates, but around there. And this letter is about 30 years later. And what's happened is that the early church was just Jewish people, and they often met in synagogue.
Until they got kicked out, and then they met in homes. And Paul started to take the message of the gospel, the good news, to all nations, right? Because through Abraham, all nations would be blessed, right?
The father of those who are righteous by faith. And so God worked through Paul to bring the gospel to Gentiles, they would call them, or Greeks, non-Jewish people. So he started to travel around the Roman world, around the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in what is now, today, modern-day Turkey, which is where Ephesus is at, which is where Timothy, Timothy is at when he gets this letter. Paul had just been in Roman house arrest for two years, in Rome, and had been set free, and then he went back to Macedonia. They're gonna put a map up here behind me, and you'll see there's Ephesus there on the map, now.
There we go. And there's Ephesus, and Paul is over in Greece and Athens, he's over in Macedonia, modern-day Greece, and he's writing to Timothy because there are problems in the church. And in fact, Paul had sent Timothy to several other churches, to step in and deal with problems. So the early church, the church for the formation, had wonderful power of God and incredible miracles. It also had problems, because shocker had people, right?
And so cross assembly is perfect when this building is empty. When there's nobody here, we're totally perfect, right? So the early church had problems, and one of the problems they were having is there were false teachers. There were men who were teaching with a fake authority, and they were teaching a gospel that was not in line with the word of God. And Paul had to send Timothy there to correct it, and so he wrote 1 Timothy in a way that was a dictation of what Timothy should do, and really have it right. In fact, there's an image here they'll put up of a street in Ephesus that that very street, probably Paul walked, probably Timothy walked, probably the early church walked, that you can still go there today.
So this is where this story occurs. And Paul addresses the false teachers, and he also addresses individuals in certain situations and how they are to behave. And one crowd he addresses is those that are caught in slavery. And slavery was very common in first century Rome.
In fact, of the seven and a half million inhabitants of the Roman world at the time, three million are estimated to have been slaves, 40%. Some scholars say that within the early church, one out of every two believers was a slave. Think of this as race-based slavery like you think in our American history. This is very military-based slavery where Rome would go in and conquer people and make them slaves. And also, people sold themselves as slaves, or they were sold as slaves, and slaves could get out of slavery.
They could become free men, they would call them, or they could choose to stay under bondage if they had a good master and wanted to stay there and serve. In fact, slaves could even own property. And so slavery was dominant and prominent in there. I don't have time to get into, well, does the Bible endorse slavery? No, the Bible is against slavery, and Christianity is against slavery and human trafficking. And in fact, it is evangelicals who led the modern abolitionist movement and today are still involved in those kind of movements to abolish human trafficking. But Paul is not writing to address the cultural and political issue of slavery.
He is writing to address those who are in slavery. And many of us in our culture, maybe not in this room, struggle with our identity. We live in a culture that is really struggling with identity. Philosophy used to say that we looked for truth by observing the world and inferred truth. Now what's happening is we're being told to look inside.
You heard that? I identify as. This is what I, and what's happened in culture is people are looking inside their emotions and their feelings and their mind, which are not the best thing to rely on. And we're being told in our culture, figure out who you are and then identify that and fulfill that. Well, Paul is writing to a group of slaves that have an identity as slaves, but he's also telling them there is an identity you have that is deeper than that that is more significant than that. In fact, I would say fundamentally, Christianity, the word of God teaches that we don't find our identity, we receive an identity. That we don't buy an identity or earn an identity in Christ, we receive it. And I would go so far as to say young men who are born with boy parts, a part of your identity is you're a man.
Young ladies that were born with girl parts, young ladies were born with girl parts, you were born a woman. That's an identity that God has blessed you with and put into your life. It's not one that we choose, it's one that we receive. But even more than that, as far as of Christ, there's an identity that we receive in Christ that is deeper and more meaningful and primary than any label we may have on us. So we're gonna read this passage, and I've tried to give you some context, so would you please be so gracious.
Here in North Wylie Benson, would you please stand? Take it with me, First Timothy chapter six, verse one, I'm reading out of the English standard version, and it says that all who are under a yoke as bondservants, so whenever you see that word servant in the New Testament, it's a Greek word called doulous, D-O-U-L-U-S, or O-S, and it meant slave. So servant would be more like someone who is hired, a slave is someone who is owned, and in fact, a lot of scriptures in the New Testament refer to us as followers of Christ as slaves of Christ, doulous. So Paul said, let all who are under a yoke as bondservants, doulous, regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Why was he writing that? Because there were people who were slaves who were not behaving as they should be to reflect who they were in Christ.
They were misbehaving. The believers must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers, adelphi in the Greek, brothers in Christ, rather they must serve all the better, since those who benefit by the good service are believers and beloved, teach and urge these things. Amen. You may be seated, may God has blessing through the reading of his word. The whole messianic Bible says it this way, all who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God's name and his teaching will not be reviled. Paul is saying, you have an identity as a slave, I'm telling you, you have an identity as a slave of Christ, and you should reflect that identity. And he goes on to say, those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them, because they are brothers, but should serve them better. The message says, whoever is a slave must make the best of it, giving respect to his master, so that outsiders don't blame God and our teaching for his behavior. See, this idea of a master is really politically incorrect, but the reality is, is that Paul often calls himself a doulos, a slave of Christ, and when we become followers of Christ, we become sons and daughters, but when it comes to the rights of our own life, we are slaves, we are owned by Christ, we are not our own. That's the lordship of Christ. See, we receive God's gift of salvation, we receive him as the savior, forgiver, and we submit to him as lord and master. This is the biblical view. So Paul writes to these slaves and says, hey, you're misbehaving, you have an identity that's deeper than the identity as being a slave of a person.
You and I live in a world that is lost in trying to find identity. This passage, I would infer, that God is interested in the way we live, whatever our circumstances. Married, divorced, orphaned, widowed, wealthy, poor, doctor, lawyer, contractor, whatever you may do for a living, wherever situation you may have in life, wherever your circumstances are, it's clear from this passage that God is interested in not just saving our lives, he is interested in the way we live our lives.
And we'll talk about why he's interested in that here in a moment. But Peter writes to the church in First Peter 1 to 14, it says, as obedient children, do not be conformed to the passion of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy. We sang about that this morning. Holy is a word that means perfect, sinless, other, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written in the Old Testament, you shall be holy, for I am what?
Holy. We are called to live a different way. That quote from First Peter, we can look back in the Old Testament, Leviticus 20 verse 26, when God says to the people of Israel, you should be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy, I am different, I am other, I am perfect, I supported you from the peoples that you should be mine. You see, as servants of Christ, our whole lives should be lived as unto the Lord, including our work. You see, sometimes I think we have this idea, and I've done it too, where we think that what I do at church and what I do for a ministry that I serve, that's ministry, that's unto the Lord. But that's not really a biblical viewpoint. The biblical viewpoint is that everything we do is unto the Lord.
Everything. Mowing your lawn, unto the Lord. How you treat your spouse and your children and your, unto the Lord, right? Vacuuming in your house, unto the Lord. Sending emails for work, unto the Lord.
Like, there's no dichotomy. You're like, I'm not special because I'm a pastor and therefore I'm serving the Lord more than somebody who's not in the ministry. Not true at all, that's not the way God looks at us.
He looks at it. Wherever you are, wherever you are in your life, as servants of Christ, our entire lives should be unto the Lord, including our work. And let me just say this. God does not endorse laziness. Scripture is filled with references that those who don't work should not what?
Eat. I'm not saying we shouldn't help those who are needy, absolutely we should. I'm also saying God has given us a part of the gift of being human is the ability to work.
And I don't mean work to death and be a workaholic, but I feel in our culture there is some laziness trickling in. Where we are starting to believe that others should do for me. No, that's not the biblical worldview. That's a socialist worldview and it's not rooted in the word of God.
It's not rooted in the word of God. God gave Adam a job to do right in the garden. You and I have abilities to work and God has given that to us. And as servants of Christ, our whole lives should live as unto the Lord, Colossians 3, 22. Bond servants, slaves, obeying everything those who are your earthly masters, not by we have eye services, people pleasers, but by sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. So maybe you have a boss that's a jerk, but God goes, yeah, but when you serve them, you serve me. Whatever you do, work heartily, Paul said, as for the Lord, not for me. That's why you can be joyful in difficult circumstances because you know you're doing this for the Lord. He's looking and watching, amen?
Not men. Knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the inheritance as your reward. There is a spiritual inheritance and that's not our salvation.
We don't earn that. That is God's blessings upon our life, both here and in the next life. You are serving, Paul says, the Lord Christ. Ephesians chapter six, bond servants, again, doula, 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, doulas of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a goodwill as to the Lord and not to man.
So I would just say this. For those of you who are employed, in work, those of you who have your own business, as followers of Christ, we should be the best workers that that company has. We should be the hardest working.
We should be the ones that produce the best. I'm not saying burn yourself out and don't pay attention to your family, but God's given us tasks to do. And if, so as we see God is interested in the entirety of our lives, right, and what we do, how we live, and as servants of Christ, if you choose to follow Christ, your whole life should be lived as unto the Lord, including at work, praise God for caffeine. If we make that a sin, I quit. I don't care about alcohol, that's fine. I just, dear Lord, don't take the caffeine. All right.
If I could just have an IV and walk around with me. Is that a dark roast? Good, good, dark roast, good. And I would argue that how we live as followers of Jesus should be rooted in our identity in Christ. Well, anyway, Galatians 2.20.
Pastor Chad would be so proud of my Greek and Hebrew. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. Right, so I know a lot of you know what crucifixion is, but some may not. Crucifixion was the way Rome killed prisoners and thieves and anybody who spoke up against Rome. And they did it in a public way so people feared Rome.
So they would put, if it was today, they'd put it right by 440. They'd put it somewhere people could see. And they'd stick you up on a wooden pole with a crossbeam and they'd nail you to it or tie you to it. They'd beat you to death.
And they'll let you starve to death or suffocate to death. And Paul says, that's what happened to Christ, of course we know that. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Right, a whole new identity. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. See, identity is how we answer the question, who am I? Boy, is our culture lost in that question.
Who am I? Right? When Barnard Research Group asked Americans back in the mid-2015 or so, what rank is central to their personal identity, they said number one was their family. Number two was being an American. Number two was being number three was their religious faith, so they asked people of all kinds of beliefs. Number four was their ethnic group. Number five was their career. Number six was the state they lived in.
Number seven was their city and town. There's all kinds of ways of answering who am I. But who we are in Christ is an identity we receive. Tim Keller said, not one we achieve.
It's really important, I want you to listen to that for a second. People say that Christianity is the same as all religion. They're all the same, they're not the same.
And the major difference is this, and I'm being simplistic, the major difference is this. The teaching of the scripture is that you are not right with God by something you do. Every other religion in the world has a list of things you do, whether it's Islam or Buddhism or whether it's Mormonism, whatever it might be, you do certain things. And if you do enough of those things, you may be right with the God that you're serving. Christianity goes the other way and says no, it's been done. God has done it for you and you receive that gift of forgiveness. You receive that identity in Christ. You don't buy it, you don't earn it. Because Christianity teaches, the Bible teaches, you and I are no good.
Right? Like the song, you're no good, you're no good, you're no good, baby, you're no good. That's what the Bible teaches. It teaches, not that whole song, but it teaches, it doesn't matter how many good things I do, I'm still a sinner, I've still missed the mark of God, and therefore I'm imperfect, and God is perfect, so therefore we can't commune with God, so Christ paid the price so that we could be right with God. It is a gift of grace, God's riches at Christ's expense.
Say that with me. God's riches at Christ's expense. That's how you spell grace.
Okay? So the identity we have in Christ is one we receive, not one we achieve. Galatians 3, 27, for as many as you who are baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Romans 13, 12, the night is far gone, the day is at hand, so then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, don't you love the realness of the Bible, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. When we become followers of Christ, we don't become followers because we're good enough. We become followers of Christ because he's good enough, because he loves us, and he makes us good enough through justification by paying the price for our sins. It's like he took our punishment for us. And when we follow Christ, the blood of Christ is counted against our sin, and we are perfectly free and forgiven before God.
Right? But then we must also follow him, and hopefully our behavior will begin to reflect and look like him more and more. Not so that he'll love us more, but because he already loves us. Our identity in Christ is not one of many identities.
It is paramount, it is first, it is primal, it is at the core, it supersedes all of us. All other identities. What about my past? What about that abortion? What about those things I've done? What about the people who rejected me? What about the mistakes I've made?
Yeah? In God's eyes. It is primal. Paul is saying to the slaves, you're acting like slaves of people. You should be acting like a slave of Christ. Because the biblical worldview is not that there are multiple options between where you are with God. You're either with God or against him. So you're either a slave of sin and selfishness and your own desires, or you're a slave of Christ. That's the biblical worldview.
Do loss of Christ. So, who we are in Christ is an identity we receive, not one we achieve. And our identity in Christ is paramount, it supersedes all other identities. Right? We are citizens of heaven before we are citizens anywhere else. Galatians 3.27, I've already read this, for as many of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew, he's writing to the church, nor Greek.
Right? Or Gentile. There's not a slave, nor free. There's no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ, then you're Abraham's offspring. Abraham, the one who is the father of those who are righteous by faith, by trust, not by works.
Heirs according to promise. Colossians 3.11, here, the body of Christ, there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all our first identity as far as a Christ. Is in Christ. We are not our own, right? Even our own bodies are to be unto the Lord. Can he pay for us with a price? God cares about the way we live.
He's interested in the way we live, whatever our circumstances. And as servants of Christ, our whole lives should be lived as unto the Lord, including our work. And how we live as far as a Christ is rooted in our identity in Christ. And identity is how we answer the question, who am I? Who we are in Christ is an identity we receive, not one we achieve.
In our identity in Christ is paramount, it supersedes all our identities, and that identity in Christ is immutable, which is a fancy word for it's unchangeable. It does not change with time or circumstances. Doesn't change with how much income you make. It doesn't change with your popularity or unpopularity.
It doesn't change with your marital status. It doesn't change with the comings and goings of our culture. Our culture and politics. Deuteronomy 31 six, God says to Joshua about to lead the people of Israel in the promised land, he says, be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them.
Right? Fear is something we're really facing in our culture, talking about the enemy. For it is the Lord your God that goes with you, and then he says this to Joshua, he will not leave you or forsake you. People die and leave us. God says, I don't leave you. That identity in him is absolutely unchangeable. It's immutable. It does not change with your past, your present, your future, or circumstances. It is secure in Christ.
Romans 8 38, Paul dealing with this issue of our security in Christ said, for I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation. Right? Donald Trump being convicted, even that. Who's gonna be president next? Even that. What's gonna happen with the economy? Even then.
Inflation, mortgage, interest rates, what's happening with our young people, what's happening with our school systems, even all of that. Nothing will be as separate from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Our place is secure. So don't be insecure. Don't be afraid. Be secure. Yes. The world is going to hell in a hand basket.
I get it. But the reality is our identity in Christ is not based upon what's happening in our culture. The name of Christ and what he did on the cross and who he is. It is immutable.
It doesn't change with time or circumstances. And how we live testifies to the authenticity of the gospel. It's what Paul was trying to say to those slaves.
Hey, you're acting like jerks. And you're making the name of Christ look bad. Jesus said that how we treat one another is so important it's how people will know that you are his disciples. At the last supper he said in John 13, 34, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you, right, gave his life up for us. You also are to love one another but by this, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have loved one another. How we live testifies to the authenticity of the gospel. James 1 26, if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this personal religion is worthless, religion is pure and undefiable for God the father is this to visit orphans and widows and reflection, people who can't pay us back and to keep oneself unstained from the world. How we live matters to God.
It matters to him. John Lennox said we are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works. That is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, right, not saved by them, for them, which God prepared before him that we should walk in them. How we live with others directly impacts how they receive the gospel. People do not have a hard time with Jesus. They have a hard time with Christians being jerks. You're an employee, you want to tell people about Jesus, you should do that.
But before you do that, you make sure you are the absolutely best employee in that place. Jesus said this about our genuineness in Matthew 5 13 sermon of the mount, you are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. What in the world is he talking about? You ever had salt go bad?
I haven't. They didn't have pebbles and they didn't have sidewalks so they'd take it if it was not salted anymore and throw it on muddy spots if we put a trample on. Jesus says that's what you are like when you pretend to be a father of Christ but in your behavior you say otherwise. You're worthless. Salt changes whatever it touches. It preserves, it restores, it adds flavor, it's a vital mineral for life. Jesus said in the culture, we're the salt. So if we are the salt of the earth, our lives should reflect the fact that our identity is in Christ, not somewhere else. Matthew 5 16 just goes on to say, in the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven. John Lennox asked this question I think is apropos to us today, is all of my life under the authority of Christ?
All of it. Young couples, old couples, living together, shacking up, saying you're following Jesus, I believe you love the Lord. Shacking up's a sin so don't do it.
Meet me out in the lobby, get a marriage license, I'll get you married today. Is my money under the authority of Christ? Oh, don't talk about money, Pastor Chris. My time, my career, my attitude, the way I drive. I'm glad my wife isn't looking at me right now because my driving is definitely not under the authority of Christ, let alone the authority of the speed limit.
Eight miles? That's a good day for me. See, the biblical perspective is that we are all just crucified servants of Christ. God is interested in the way we live, whatever our circumstances. I don't know about you.
Maybe you've never received that new identity in Christ. Is following Jesus easy? No. Will it make my life easier? Probably not. Will it bring peace? Yes. Will it bring purpose? Yes. Will it allow me to rest at night knowing that when I die I'll go to heaven?
Yes. No, my sins are forgiven, yes. But when we receive His forgiveness as Savior, we also submit to Him as Master. And that means He's going to tell you to do some things that you don't want to do.
Or to give up some things you don't want to give up. But He's a good Master and He knows what's best for us. He's a good Father. He knows what's best for His children.
And what you'll find is what you thought was gold that you were hanging on to is just garbage. He has better things for you. Young lady, that guy doesn't follow Jesus. You need to break up with him. Young man, she's not following Jesus.
You need to break up with her. Men, women, struggling with things like pornography, you need to get out of that. It's not what God wants you to be in. You can go to Celebrate Recovery or Cross Curve.
We'll help you with that. Whatever years of your life are not under the authority of Christ, we're here as brothers and sisters to help each other walk that out. Is your identity secure in Christ? Jesus said those who have the identity in Christ are like someone who built a house on rock. And when a storm came, the house stood because it was on rock. But those who have an identity elsewhere are like someone who built this house on rock. They built a house on the sand. And we live in North Carolina. You know what happens when a house is out in the sand? They fall in the ocean all the time.
Because their foundation isn't secure. It changes. Christ is the only thing that never changes. Yesterday, today, forever, He's the same. When you follow Him, so is your place in Him. So, if you're going to follow Jesus, it's the whole way. He doesn't take you part way. Everything. He takes over. Greg Laurie said when Jesus comes in, He throws all your junk out of your house that you thought was great. And He brings you brand new stuff that was better.
Your whole life. How do you do that? You just talk to Him. Call it prayer. You just say, Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know that I've messed up.
And I've fallen short. I'm not holy. Would you come and forgive me of my sin? And would you be the master, the leader of my life? Come and take over. Fill me with your spirit that I may be empowered to be the man and woman of God you call me to be. Take me to heaven with me when I die. Just simple prayer. Those aren't magic words. If that's you today, you need to make that decision for yourself.
Nobody can make it for you. Nobody stands before God for somebody else. There's no grandchildren in the kingdom of God. We're all just children. We just stand before God.
If that's you, you need to make that decision. You need to tell somebody about it, and next week you need to get baptized. If you're in a situation where you say, Chris, I've got some things in my life that are not under the authority of Christ, and I know it, we have elders in a prayer room out there.
We have it at all of our campuses. You can go talk to them. They're trustworthy people. Let them pray with you today. Please stand with me. The worship team's gonna come.
We're gonna lead out in this song. Is all my life under the authority of Christ? Is all my life under the authority of Christ? Is all my life under the authority of Christ? Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all.
Above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. Let the angels cry. Holy, all creation cries. You're holy.
You are lifted high. Holy, holy forever. Hear your people.
Hear your people sing. You are holy to the kingdom king. Holy, you will always be holy. Holy forever. And you will always be holy.
Holy forever. If you've accepted Jesus, you're a child of the king. You're a doulos, a slave of Christ.
Don't let anything in this world cause you to fear, because who you are in Christ does not change with whatever circumstances you are in. I don't care what your past is. Jesus' name is above every name, we just sang it, and that includes your past. Amen?
That includes your past. If you've made that decision today, next week I want you to get water baptized, okay? Not because that'll get you saved, because it's the public way we tell the world that I am following Jesus. Would you lift your hands and receive this blessing from the Lord? Father, I thank you for cross assembly. May we walk in the identity you've given us. May our behavior reflect it in every way we live. Father, I pray on this church's behalf that out of and according to the glorious riches of Christ Jesus, that you would strengthen them with power through your spirit and their inner beings, that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith. And I pray that each one of them, being rooted and established in love, would have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and that they would know this love that surpasses knowledge that they may be filled to the measure of all the fullness that is in you. In Jesus' name, everybody said, amen. Love you guys. You guys have a great week.
