“All for Christ”
(Colossians 3:22-4:1)
Series: The All-Satisfying Christ (Colossians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
Take your Bibles and join me in Colossians, chapter 3 (page 794; YouVersion).
We are preaching our way verse-by-verse through the Book of Colossians and in recent weeks we’ve been reading about different relationships Christians have in the home and in the world.
There is an order to God’s creation and passages such as Romans 13 and Hebrews 13 teach that Christians are to subject themselves to those who have authority over them. God has ordained certain structures of authority and leadership in theme and in the world. In the family, husbands and wives, parents and children. In government, the Bible says obey those in authority over you and pray for them.
So authority structures are good and they bring peace and order to our society. It is to our good to live within godly structures of authority and to obey our leaders and authority figures.
Last Summer, my younger son Nicholas and I were taking a driving trip through Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming—mostly Wyoming. It was something he was wanting to do and I too and we just enjoyed ourselves immensely. We rented a car and drove miles and miles.
The car we rented had a little punch to it. It was nice. And it was especially nice as we were driving through Wyoming. The speed limit in much of Wyoming is 80 miles per hour. It’s fun to drive in Wyoming. And when you’re driving a car with a little punch to it and you’re driving 80 miles per hour, you discover how easy it is to drive a little faster than 80 miles per hour—even if unintentionally.
So after gassing up and one particular truck stop, we pulled out and got on the highway and there were some trucks there slowly making their way onto the highway and I pulled around them and got up to speed pretty quickly and got on the way. That was a fun car to drive! The fun ended when I saw those familiar flashing lights in my rearview mirror that caused my heart to stop a full couple seconds.
So the Highway Patrolman says, “The reason I pulled you over is because you were going_____ miles per hour. Can I ask why you were driving that fast?” So I said, “Well, I was coming out of that truck stop back there and there were a couple trucks there, and I was just trying to get some distance.” He said, “Oh, you got some distance. You got some distance.” So I said, “Yes sir.” He went back and wrote up the ticket and I took it. And I drove the speed limit for the rest of the trip.
Obeying those in authority over you. By the way, Nicholas loves telling that story. He especially loves telling people the part where the trooper said, “Oh, you got some distance!”
So we obey authority and live within godly structures of authority. God has ordained them for our good and for His glory.
But what about an authority structure that is not ordained by God? What about a relational system that is not taught in Scripture, but exists because of the fallenness of our condition?
What about, for example, first century Roman slavery? God did not ordain slavery, yet many Christians in Rome were either slaves or owned slaves. So here is a relational structure that does not have God’s approval and yet it exists as the Gospel begins to penetrate the Roman Empire. So what does God say to Christians who find themselves in this situation? Well, let’s find out.
Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
4:1Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Pray.
Here is a passage of Scripture that talks about Roman slavery. The truth is, slavery existed in 1st Century Rome and was pervasive throughout the Roman Empire. And while slavery was not something ordained by God, Paul nonetheless writes to Christians who may be slaves or may own slaves and he teaches them how to live within that authority structure.
Now that raises an immediate question for many of us. We may wonder why Paul doesn’t teach Christians to put an end to slavery right away. You know, “Stop it! It’s wrong!”
Well, for one thing, we must remember that real and lasting reformation in a society has to take place on the inside of individuals before change comes to the outside community. It is the reformation of individuals that leads to the eventual reformation of a society.
It’s for this same reason that we can never fully stop racism in our country merely by passing legislation. Nor can we fully stop poverty by simply throwing money to poor neighborhoods. We cannot fully stop crime merely by imposing stiffer penalties. True and lasting reformation and societal change comes only when individuals change and they change on the inside—one individual at a time—by the power of the Gospel. And when an increasing number of individuals change on the inside, we eventually see a societal change on the outside.
Recently, I drove through the old neighborhood of the church I previously pastored in Louisville before coming here to Henderson. It’s located in a part of town that is highly transient and there was a lot of drug and alcohol addiction. Reflecting back on those years, we went around and knocked on the doors of the neighborhood and invited folks to worship. And one time I was out visiting with a fella named John from the church and we knocked on a door and invited a young lady to the church. She said, “I’m a bartender at a strip joint.” What do you think we said?! “Well, we’d be glad to have you!” People change on the inside—one individual at a time—through the power of the Gospel.
So yes, it is often compassionate and wise to pass legislation that advances a society, and we are commanded to give to the poor, and feed the hungry, and keep the laws of the land, but let us remember that the Great Commission is not a call for societal revolution or reformation, but a call to “Make disciples,” to lead people to Christ so they can be changed from the inside out to the glory of God. That change occurs one person at a time.
So Paul addresses these Christians where they are. Whatever their position in life, he had a word for them. There were slaves in Colosse and there were slaves in the church at Colosse, so he tells these Christians how to live for Christ.
How many slaves were there in the 1st Century? Many! In Italy, some 30-40% of the population. When the Roman Senate once considered requiring slaves to wear a certain kind of clothing to identify themselves as slaves, they eventually decide against it for fear that the slaves would see just how many there were of them and rise up to overthrow the government.
Some slaves were more like bondservants, as the word is translated in my version, a bondservant was someone who was bound to his or her master for a lengthy period of time and might eventually be freed. Other slaves were not as fortunate. Treated as property, they were often subject to brutal behavior by their masters. To be sure, Roman slavery was not exactly like our country’s unfortunate history of slavery, but it was certainly wrong as it is always wrong to abuse authority, and to enslave those who are created in God’s very image.
So again, Paul simply addresses these Christians were they are without endorsing the institution itself.
[Optional]
Always remember that what Scripture records is not necessarily what God endorses. Scripture records a lot of things God does not endorse. That doesn’t mean Scripture is not God’s Word, it is. But God’s Word is a record of truth. The Bible records true history, true events, sometimes unfortunate events. And God often provides principles to regulate such unfortunate events or unfortunate relationships.
God may address a particular social structure, even regulate an undesirable relationship such as that between a servant and a master, but that by no means indicates that God approves of every social situation approved by man.
For example, when the Pharisees pressed Jesus on the issue of divorce, you may remember that Jesus replied in Matthew 19:8, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” In other words, divorce is not God’s ideal plan for your marriage. From the beginning—Genesis 1 and 2 with the first marriage of Adam and Eve—from the beginning it was not God’s plan for two to separate, but for the two to become one (Genesis 1:24).
The Bible may regulate a behavior without condoning the behavior. The Bible does not condone persecution of Christians, yet in Hebrews 10 God tells Christians how to live under persecution.
Paul addresses Christians where they are and tells them how to live within that situation.
Now we took time to deal with the reality of Roman slavery before we jump too quickly to application, because, before we can talk about what a passage means today we have to spend time understanding what it meant then.
This is not a passage primarily about the relationship of American employers to American employees. It’s a passage about Romans servants and Roman masters. It’s about a social structure that fortunately no longer exists in our current Western society.
There is no one-to-one correspondence here between slaves and employees. Though some of you may disagree! You may have a boss and feel like his slave! “Slave-Driver!!” We cannot ignore the historical reality of slavery.
But just as it would be wrong to gloss over this historical reality or skip over it, it would be equally wrong to call attention to it and then fail to find any abiding principles that apply to our culture and situation today.
And there are abiding principles that surface from this passage, principles that apply in a number of different relationship structures, including the modern American workplace.
So with that in mind, let’s look at these verses now through the lens of the Gospel, remembering that Jesus Himself came not to be served (as though he were a Roman Master) but Jesus came to serve (as though He were a Roman bondservant), and gave His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He gave His life to purchase your freedom. As Paul says in Philippians 2:7-8, “He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus Christ was the perfect bondservant so that you could be free to serve Him as your Master. So here’s what I wrote in my notes at the top:
** Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him. Here’s how:
Cheerfully Obey those in Authority Over You (22-23)
Verse 22:
22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh (according to this present, earthly world structure), not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
Cheerfully obey those in authority over you. Specifically 3 Ways to Obey:
Consistently
Verse 22, obey in “all things.” Christian workers will obey in all things, consistently. Now of course, if our boss asks us to do something illegal or unethical, that we will not do and we will humbly say with Peter in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than man.” Otherwise, we will obey in “all things” consistently.
I like the phrase in verse 22, “not with eye-service, as men-pleasers.” Eye-service may be translated, “Only while the boss is looking.” Work hard only when your employer is in the room.
The late Ray Stedman, pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in California, tells about a missionary to Africa that had shared with him about his being responsible for getting the nationals to do certain Jobs. Stedman said that the missionary:
discovered that they were all rather lazy and would only perform while he was actually watching them. When he left they would stop work and do nothing until he returned. This man had a glass eye, and one day when his eye was irritating him he took it out and put it on a stump. When he returned he found that everybody was still working because the “eye,” as they thought, was watching them all the while he was away…this man thought he had found a great way to free himself, until one day he returned to discover that one of the workers had sneaked around from behind and put his hat over the eye, and everyone was lounging around, enjoying themselves. That is eye-service!
Cheerfully obey those in authority over you. Obey Consistently, and obey Respectfully:
Respectfully
Verse 22, “in sincerity of heart, fearing God.”
Do you respect your supervisor so that you work hard whether or not he or she is watching you. That’s why Paul mentions, “fearing God.” The implication is that Christians will work harder than non-Christians because Christians fear God, serve God, and know that God is watching them!
Verse 23:
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
Cheerfully obey those in authority over you. Obey Consistently, Respectfully, and
Whole-Heartedly
Christians are to work harder on the job than anyone else because they love God, fear God, and serve God. They understand that their Christian influence and Christian witness is on display before others.
We are all everyday missionaries; everyday evangelists. We are using our jobs as the platforms from which we display the Gospel and share the Gospel.
[Optional]
FF Bruce:
The slave-and-master relationship might persist in the home and business life; within the church it was swallowed up in the new relationship. Thus, a Christian slave might be recognized as an elder in the church by reason of his spiritual stature, and receive due deference from his Christian master. But the Christian slave would not presume on this new relationship or make it an excuse for serving his master less assiduously; on the contrary, he would serve him the more faithfully because of this new relationship. And if a Christian slave had an unbelieving master, he would serve him the more faithfully now because the reputation of Christ and Christianity was bound up with the quality of his service.
Christians ought to be the hardest workers on the job because they love God, fear God, and serve God. This takes us to the second main application.
Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him. You can cheerfully obey those in authority over you and, secondly, you:
Remember Who is Your True “Boss” (23-4:1)
Who is your true employer? It’s not the one who signs your paycheck. Your true employer, your true boss is the Lord.
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
“as to the Lord.” Your true boss is the Lord. Last part of verse 24:
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
“you serve the Lord Christ.” Same teaching at the end of verse 1 in chapter 4:
4:1Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Your ultimate boss, your ultimate Master, is in heaven. His eye is always on you. He sees everything you do. That’s a warning and an encouragement to both those in authority and under authority.
To those in authority (those who have authority over others), Paul says in verse 1 of chapter 4, “Give what is just and fair, knowing that you have a Master in heaven.” He is watching you. And it’s also an encouragement to those under authority. Remember you are ultimately serving under the authority of your heavenly boss and He sees everything you do and He will reward you for everything you do.
Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him. You can cheerfully obey those in authority over you and, secondly, Remember who is your true “boss,” thirdly:
Work for Your Ultimate “Payday” (24-25)
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Two statements there worth noting about your ultimate “Payday” at the day of judgment:
“you will receive the reward of the inheritance”
“but he who does wrong will be repaid”
God sees all and so if you are a Christian and you are not doing as you should—while your salvation is not at risk (and thank God for that!), but while your salvation is not at risk, your reward is at risk—insofar as we will enter into the final state with some regret for loss of reward. Things that could have been had we obeyed.
But if we cheerfully obey those in authority over us and we remember that the Lord is our ultimate “boss,” and we serve Him, we will—verse 24— “receive the reward of the inheritance.”
Imagine a Roman slave hearing that verse. Under Roman Law a slave inherited nothing. There was no inheritance for a Roman slave. But those Roman slaves who were Christians had an inheritance! And so do we if we are “in Christ.” Christians have an inheritance in heaven as Peter says in 1 Peter 1:4, “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
So Jesus is your true boss and He sees your work and He will reward you.
That means wherever you live and wherever you work, Jesus knows that, and it’s going to be okay, and you are serving Him. Wherever you are, Jesus is there. It’s okay. You serve Him and He sees and He will reward.
The old joke in ministry is, “I know the Lord called me here, but sometimes I wonder if He forgot!” He doesn’t. He knows where you are. He has called you to do your job where He has placed you. You just be faithful.
He may lead you to another job or another place, but He will guide you. You just be faithful and remember that you work for Him.
You may feel under appreciated, underpaid, you may be tempted to do as little as possible because you don’t make enough money as far as you’re concerned. Well, the eye of the Lord is watching you and you work for Him!
Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him.
And here is no mundane job if Jesus is your Master.
How would Jesus do your job? How would He pump gas? Take a food order? How would He talk to the other employees? How would He talk during breaks?
Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him.
Your work is VALUABLE to the Lord! Your work matters. That’s why He is going to give you a reward. Your job has dignity no matter what you do because you are working ultimately for Him.
You job has dignity whether you are a sanitation worker, a wood worker, farmer, plumber, banker, telemarketer. Whether you do IT, sales, coal mines, machinist, school teacher, full-time soccer mom and diaper-changer. Remember Jesus was a carpenter! Your work is valuable to the Lord and you work ultimately for Him.
Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him.
All of this is possible because of our freedom in Christ. Imagine Christian bondservants approaching Paul and they are like, “We’re saved and we are now free so we don’t have to do what our master says, right?” Paul might respond,”Actually your freedom in Christ motivates you to want to be the best servant you can be.” Because you have found completion in Christ, purpose in Christ, meaning, and identity in Christ, you want to serve cheerfully.
Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him.
But that doesn’t mean you are to be a slave to your job! It would be wrong to take away from this message simply the notion of “work harder, or do better, or perform better.”
Remember: we find our completion in Him. Christ alone quenches our soul’s desire. If we try to find ultimate satisfaction, purpose, meaning, and identity outside of Christ we will be slaves to whatever it is we hope will bring ultimate satisfaction, purpose, meaning, and identity.
You can be a Christian and be a slave to so many things, not always things that are bad. The bad things are easy enough to call out, things like alcohol, drugs, and pornography—and many are slaves to these things.
But you can be a slave to a not-so-bad thing, or a relatively neutral thing—like your job. Do you know how many Christians seek meaning, purpose, approval and identity in their work? Everything is bound up in their performance.
That’s why it is always sad to me when I hear about some talented actor, singer, comedian, or recently a world-class chef who took his life. If you’re a talented musician or performer of some kind and your identity is all wrapped up in what you do, what happens when the work stops coming in, or the tunes don’t sell, or you write fiction and people stop buying your books, or someone else is selected to be the star chef? Is it possible to be a slave to one’s work and not even realize it?
And the same kinds of questions can be asked of you. Do you find your sense of ultimate satisfaction, meaning, purpose, and identity—be honest!—how much of what you do or think or value every day is about your job? Do you seek validation in your performance?
Do you define success by how many accounts you get, how many sales you close, or whether the boss invites you to go on vacation? Whether you made, “Employee of the Year?” Do you find yourself always comparing your performance with the performance of others, thinking, “If I can just do a little more, then I’ll be happy,”—and I don’t mean just money, I mean seeking purpose, meaning, value as a person, and sense of identity. Are you a slave to something other than Christ? What really DRIVES you?
You can be a hard worker, and you can be driven—in fact, this passage is actually calling for a good, hard, work ethic—yes, be the best you can be, by what really DRIVES you? Put another way: For whom are you really doing all of this? For what reason?
The wonderful thing about being a slave of Christ, is that we are actually free. Our identity is not bound up in our job, but bound up in Christ. Remember Colossians 3:4, “Christ…our life!” Lasting peace, joy, purpose, and meaning are found exclusively in Him. In a word, we are “complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).”
Listen: When we come to Christ, we lose our independence to gain new freedom. With Christ as our Master, we lose our independence, our self-serving striving, which makes us slaves to so many things. Yet, what a wonderful irony! When we come to Christ we lose our independence to gain new freedom.
As slaves, we are free over the things that once held us captive. Because we are now identified in Christ, we are freed from our identity crisis. Because we are secure as His child, we are free from insecure thoughts; free from insecurity. Because we are now accepted by Christ and approved by Christ, we are free from trying to gain the approval and acceptance of so many others, free from trying to gain the acceptance or approval of a friend, or a parent, or an employer.
See, this is what I believe many Christians may fail to see in this passage. What with so much craziness in our country today with respect to so-called “prosperity preaching,” and “if you can dream it, you can do it,” you know all that nonsense. It makes hardly any sense at all to the majority of Christians living outside of America. Our Christian brothers and sisters who live in the small fishing villages of Brazil, or Christians huddled secretly in impoverished house churches in Laos, can only shake their heads in wonder at the empty concept of “Name it, claim it, dream it, be prosperous.” Their dreams for the kinds of things we enjoy in our country are—only dreams, “pipe dreams” we might say.
I mean look: Here is a passage where Paul is writing to Roman slaves. So think about that for a moment. The likelihood of their ever becoming a non-slave in their lifetime for many of them was slim to none. If they could look into the future, and there were a TV around somehow and they could watch and listen to a modern-day smiling televangelist tell them about “pursuing their dreams,” they’d be like, “What planet is that guy living on?!”
The reality is these Christian slaves are likely going to be Christian slaves all their lives. Paul doesn’t say to them, “Just have faith and send in your money and I’ll give you a prayer cloth and you’ll get out of this situation.” No. Paul is teaching that there is something far greater than getting out of earthly servitude. He doesn’t locate their identity in escape from slavery. He doesn’t attempt to locate their identity in some faraway dream of a better day or a better life where they can have all kinds of money and the best of material goods. Why?
Because, listen: There is something of far greater value than all of that. If you are a Christian, you’re greatest dream is already realized in Jesus Christ. To be forgiven of all sin. To have life—eternal life—so when your body stops, your soul does not go to hell, but to heaven FOREVER. To have an inheritance there. To have acceptance, approval, identity, value, purpose, meaning. Your greatest dream is already realized in Christ.
It’s not what we do that gives us a sense of value. We may have very important jobs, but those jobs do not define us. It’s not what we do that gives us our value. It’s who we are. We are Christians. We belong to Christ. Remember verse 12? Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved…” Who are you? Elect, chosen of God, holy, beloved.
See it’s not even so much who you are, but whose you are. You belong to Him. Listen to me: Rest in your identity in Christ. Rest in your identity as God’s child. You have value, purpose, meaning, identity, salvation, forgiveness, security, and an inheritance!
Stand for prayer.
Because Christ gave His all for you, you can give your all for Him.
Spiritually, we are bondservants, slaves, to sin…
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