The Conscientious  Christian Employee (6:1-2)

20

Let all who are under the yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine may not be spoken against. And let those who have believers as their masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but let them serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles. (6:1-2)

Ours is a society that does not place a high value on work. According to one survey, 70 percent of American workers do not like their jobs. Of those 70 percent, 90 percent said they did not feel like getting up in the morning to go to work. The average worker is consumed with creature comforts, leisure, and materialism. He views his job as a necessary evil to finance his indulgences. That mentality is summed up in the popular bumper sticker that reads, “I Owe, I Owe, So Off to Work 1 Go.”

Unfortunately, some of those unhappy workers are Christians, who need to be reminded of their responsibilities as employees. The church today needs to rediscover a biblical theology of work.

That theology begins in Genesis 2:15: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” In the garden, before the Fall, man was assigned work. Work, therefore, is not a result of the curse, but of God’s creative design for the fulfillment of man. Work did, however, become more painful and difficult after the Fall.

For the believer, work is a sacred duty. A Christian sees everything he does in reference to his relationship to God. The Reformers stressed that point. There is no aspect of life or conduct, however apparently insignificant, which should not be directed to the glory of God. No one stressed the sacredness of all work more than Martin Luther:

Every legitimate job has intrinsic value because it is the arena in which believers live out their Christian lives. Christianity is not a hothouse religion, but one that survives and triumphs in the real world. Believers most commonly interact with that world in the work place, as they live out their faith on their jobs. They are to be a “city set on a hill” (Matt. 5:14). Christians must be concerned that their conduct on the job shows others the power of Jesus Christ to transform a life. Believers’ work performance will bring either praise or blasphemy to the name of God. All work, whether directly or indirectly, is to advance God’s Kingdom. Even those early Christians who were slaves could glorify God by faithfully fulfilling their duties.

Apparently the congregation under Timothy’s charge was struggling to sustain a biblical work ethic in the world of slavery. Paul writes this passage as a corrective for them in this vital area. To do so, he addresses two simple points: Serving a non-Christian master, and serving a Christian master. The instruction he gives is vital to any Christian employee in any social system.

SERVING A NON-CHRISTIAN MASTER

Let all who are under the yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine may not be spoken against. (6:1)

Slavery was an integral social component of the Greco-Roman world in the first century. Slaves were the employees who did the work for their wealthy masters. It was a widespread scheme of employment. In fact, the entire economic structure of the Roman Empire depended on it. To understand slavery, believers today must strip away their preconceived notions of it. Those notions are drawn largely from the racial slavery of the pre-Civil War American South, which bears only some resemblance to slavery in the first-century Roman Empire.

In the Ancient Near East, much of the seasonal field work and part-time project work was done by hired day laborers (cf. Matt. 20:1ff.). Permanently employed domestic slaves served as managers (cf. Luke 16:1ff.), cooks, artisans, and teachers, becoming a part of the household, almost like family. In many respects they resembled the indentured servants of the American colonial era.

Slaves were acquired in several different ways. Many were prisoners of war (Num. 31:7-35; Deut. 20:10-14). They could also be purchased (Ex. 21:7; Lev. 25:44-46). Some people sold themselves into slavery (Lev. 25:39ff.; Deut. 15:12-17), others were sold to pay debts (2 Kings 4:1; Neh. 5:1-8). Slaves could be received as gifts (Gen. 29:24), or inherited (Lev. 25:46). Still others were born to slaves and remained in that role.

The system was not perfect, but it was workable. Most of the abuses came from the evil hearts of men, not from the institution itself. Such abuses can be found in every system of employment, whether slavery, feudalism, communism, or capitalism.

The Old Testament never forbade slavery, but carefully guarded the rights of slaves. Jewish slaves could not be held for more than six years (Ex. 21:2), unless they voluntarily chose to remain (Ex. 21:5-6). Those who came into slavery with a wife and children could take them when they left. Those given a wife by their master, however, could not take her until her time was up. That was necessary to protect the rights of the masters. Slaves who were abused by their masters were to be set free (Ex. 21:26-27). Their religious rights, such as enjoying the Sabbath rest, were also protected (Ex. 20:10). Slaves also enjoyed civil rights. The murder of a slave brought punishment (Ex. 21:20). Foreign slaves seeking asylum in Israel were to be protected (Deut. 23:15-16). Slaves had economic rights, including the right to own other slaves (cf. 2 Sam. 9:9-10). The nation of Israel even had state slaves, similar to civil service employees (Josh. 16:10; Judg. 1:28; Ezra 8:20).

Jewish slaves in New Testament times were similarly protected. They were to be treated as equal to the eldest son in a family. So protected were they that an old Jewish saying went, “Whoever buys a Jewish slave buys himself a master.”

Gentile slaves were not always so well treated, but on the whole were better off than day laborers. Slaves had their food, clothing, and housing provided, along with a small wage and security. Subtracting the costs of food, clothing and housing from a day laborer’s wages often left him worse off than a slave. Slavery was thus a workable, if not ideal, system. As in the Old, the New Testament nowhere calls for its abolition. By the New Testament era, slavery was waning in the Roman Empire, though there was still an enormous number of slaves. For Jesus and the apostles to have called for slavery’s abolition would have been to promote unemployment and social chaos. Further, the saving message of the gospel would have been swallowed up in the call for social reform. Eventually, the influence of Christianity helped bring an end to abusive forms of slavery in the Roman Empire. (For a further discussion of slavery, see Colossians and Philemon, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1992], 152-53, 201-35.)

The phrase under the yoke need not designate an abusive relationship (cf. Matt. 11:28-30). It was a colloquial expression of submissive service under the authority of someone else. Slaves is the plural form of the familiar New Testament word doulos, which designates a person in submission to another person. It has no inherent negative connotation—in fact, it can be a noble designation, as when it describes our Lord serving the Father (Phil. 2:7), or believers serving God (1 Peter 2:16). The word, in both its noun and verb forms, is used about 150 times in the New Testament. It speaks of a believer’s slavery to his Lord (cf. Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:10; 2 Tim. 2:24; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1; Rev. 1:1), to non-Christians (1 Cor. 9:19), and to other believers (Gal. 5:13).

Two New Testament passages illustrate the meaning of doulos. In Matthew 8:9, the centurion said to Jesus, “For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” A doulos was one obligated to obey orders. Luke 17:7-10 gives us further insight into the word’s meaning:

A slave was one required to perform duties assigned to him by another who was over him in authority.

Masters is from despotes, from which our English word “despot” derives. Unlike the English word, however, the Greek term does not carry the connotation of harsh, cruel, and abusive. It merely refers to someone with absolute, unrestricted authority, and was even used of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:21; 2 Peter 2:1; Jude 4). In Greek culture and terminology, doulos and despotes went together.

Their, with the adjective idios (own), implies some form of personal bond (cf. Eph. 5:22). Clearly, these are non-Christian employers, as indicated by the qualifying remark in verse 2, “and let those who have believers as their masters.” This applies to anyone who is an authority over the believer at work. There is no spiritual bond, but there is a bond of duty.

Believers were to regard these non-Christian masters as worthy of all honor. Hēgeomai (regard) refers to an estimate based on objective criteria, not internal feelings. Believers are to have respect and a correct assessment of the authority of their employers, regardless of how they feel about them.

A correct assessment will find one’s employer worthy of all honor. Along with widows (5:3) and elders (5:17), employers are to receive honor. Here it does not include financial support, but respect and dutiful service. Even those employers who are harsh and unfair are to be honored because of their role as superiors in the work place. Peter wrote,

The reason masters are to be so honored is so that the name of God and our doctrine may not be spoken against. Believers’ attitudes and behavior in their daily relations at work affect how people perceive God and our doctrine, the latter no doubt a reference particularly to the gospel. Those who fail to honor their employers will cause God and Christian truth to be spoken against. Their employers would question what kind of a God they served, who would lead them to laziness, insubordination, or hostility. They would also question the gospel’s power to transform a life. R. C. H. Lenski writes,

Apostate Israel brought reproach on the Name of God by her insubordination and unwillingness to obey her Lord and Master. Paul writes of them in Romans 2:23-24, “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ just as it is written” (cf. Isa. 52:5).

This was a recurring issue needing to be confronted by Paul, so he repeats these instructions in his letter to Titus: “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect” (Titus 2:9-10). The connection of godly living to evangelism is evident from verse 11-14:

Christians have a divinely commanded responsibility to live out their faith in the work place. Having a proper attitude of submission and respect, and performing quality work, are necessary prerequisites to proclaiming a believable gospel.

SERVING A CHRISTIAN MASTER

And let those who have believers as their masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but let them serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles. (6:2)

The temptation for those with Christian masters was to expect special privileges because of their equality in Christ. It was certainly not uncommon for a mature believer to be employed by an immature one, or even for an elder of the church to work for one who was not in church leadership. This could lead to conflict if the employee did not follow God’s design for them in the work place. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” That verse, however, does not eliminate racial, social, or sexual distinctions. Jews and Greeks, slaves and free men, and men and women retain their distinctiveness despite their spiritual equality. The same is true for slaves and masters. That verse provides no license for those who have believers as their masters to fail to honor them. Those who are leaders in the church are to be followed by all in the church (Heb. 13:17), but that does not carry over to the work place.

Christians who work for other Christians must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren. Kataphroneō (be disrespectful) literally means “to think down.” Believers are not to undervalue the authority of their Christian employers by treating them as equals on the job. A submissive working attitude and behavior must be maintained. Because the believing employers are brethren does not justify presumption, or assuming special privileges. Nor may they presume on their spiritual relationship with their employer by being insubordinate, or giving less than an honest day’s work.

Those with Christian employers should serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Those with unbelieving masters are to do their very best in serving them. How much more should those with believing masters serve them? In that case, those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved, brothers in Christ. Believers are to “do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10). The phrase believers and beloved aptly describes Christians. They are believers in God, and beloved by Him.

Two other passages in the Pauline writings deal with Christian employees:

From those passages we can summarize several principles of conduct for believers on the job. (For a complete exposition of these passages, see Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1986], and Colossians and Philemon, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1992].)

First, believers are to serve their employers obediently (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22). They must dutifully, submissively respond to their employer’s orders.

Second, believers are to serve their employers completely (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22). They are to carry out whatever tasks are assigned them, unless so doing would violate God’s law (cf. Acts 5:29).

Third, believers are to serve their employers respectfully (Eph. 6:5). They must honor those God has placed in authority over them.

Fourth, believers are to serve their employers eagerly, in “sincerity” of heart (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22). They should serve voluntarily, not grudgingly.

Fifth, believers are to serve their employers excellently, “as to Christ” (Eph. 6:5; cf. Col. 3:23). They must do their jobs to the best of their ability.

Sixth, believers are to serve their employers diligently, “not by way of eyeservice” (Eph. 6:6; cf. Col. 3:22). They must not put on a show for the boss by working hard only when he is watching.

Seventh, believers are to serve their employers humbly, not “as men-pleasers” (Eph. 6:6; cf. Col. 3:23). They are not to show off to ingratiate themselves with others.

Eighth, believers are to serve their employers spiritually, “doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6). As already noted, all work is sacred and performed ultimately for the glory of God.

Finally, believers are to serve their employers eschatologically, “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance…For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality” (Col. 3:24-25). Believers’ eternal rewards will be affected by their job performance.

Paul closes by exhorting Timothy to teach and preach these principles (cf. 4:11). The present-tense verbs indicate that was to be Timothy’s constant practice, reflecting that these principles are foundational to Christian living and evangelism, and that they are not widely practiced. In the arena of the work place, as in all of life, believers must seek to glorify their Lord (1 Cor. 10:31).

Christians’ social and economic status as slaves, masters, freemen, employers, or employees has no eternal relevance. All such roles pass away with the world, so we focus on what is eternal, not on the social system or our place in it. Paul writes,

It is not the church’s role to undermine the foundations of social order by fostering rebellion. Rather, believers are to be compliant and obedient on their jobs, and thus to give witness that the grace of Jesus Christ has transformed their lives.