Titus 02.01-10
06. Bondslaves (Titus 02.09-10)
Titus 02.09 “bondslaves” G1401. doulov doulos doo'-los;
from 1210;
a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary; frequently, therefore
in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency):-- bond(-man), servant.
Thayer-a slave,
bondman, man of servile condition
This next category of believers
in a healthy church that Paul writes about is not based on age but on social
standing.
Paul’s teaching here comes w/a great amount of tension,
for several reasons.
Mainly was the fact of how vast slavery was at this time,
& of course the brutality of slavery.
Ancient historians estimate that half of the Roman Empire
at this time was slaves, which they estimate was about 60,000,000!
Because of this, work was considered below the dignity of
the slave owning Roman free man. Just about everything was done by slaves,
including teaching & doctoring.
Some of these slaves were captured in war, & literally
had a higher education than their masters.
Ancient tradition regarded slaves as tools, as just
things.
Gaius, a Roman
Lawyer, wrote The Institutes of Roman Law. This was his best known work which
became the authoritative legal text during the late Roman Empire. It was the
first systematic collection & analysis of Roman law which dealt w/all
aspects of Roman law: the legal status of persons (slaves, free persons, &
citizens), property rights, contracts, & various legal actions.
(52)
Slaves are in the power of their masters, & this power is acknowledged by
the Law of Nations, for we know that among all nations alike the master has the
power of life & death over his slaves, & whatever property is acquired
by a slave is acquired by his master.
Because of this, most of the relationships between masters
& slaves were not the best, think about it, when was the last time you put a lot of
thought about where you leave your broom & if it is warm enough at night?
Paul here in Titus 02.09-10 DOES NOT address the condition of
slavery. He offers no judgment about how unfair it is. He does not start
organizing a social campaign to free the slaves. This does not mean though that
Paul or even God condones slavery.
But the purpose of the church is to equip the saints (Ephesians 04.11-16),
not social action, but instead changing hearts. Paul knew that if you can
change a heart, you could change society.
Paul’s goal WAS NOT to restructure social institutions
& injustices. 1Corinthians 07.17-24
If you look in history, it was largely the influence of
Christianity that helped bring down slavery, led by men like John Wesley,
George Whitefield, William Wilberforce & William Pitt.
If the focus of the church is to
change society, it is not being Biblical. You can free the slaves, you can feed
the poor, but if they don’t have Jesus, all you are doing is allowing a person w/a
full stomach to hell.
The Bible does not focus on
reforming & restructuring human systems, which are not the source of human
problems. The source of human problems is the heart of man.
The LORD tells us that our
hearts are wicked, evil & only the LORD truly knows a man’s heart. Jeremiah
17.09-10
If men’s sinful hearts are not
changed, than the social justice issues that many in the church are getting
involved in & with, such as Rick Warren, Tim Keller etc, will all go for
naught.
When Jesus is clearly presented,
than those who acknowledge Jesus as LORD & Saviour (Romans 10.09-12) will then be
changed by the Holy Spirit, which changes where they go for eternity!
Man’s basic problems & needs
are not social, political or even economic, but spiritual.
So Paul addresses the daily
conduct of slaves who were CHRISTians, & it didn’t matter whether their
master was a CHRISTians also or not.
Paul dealt w/this issue in his
letter to the church at Ephesus. Ephesians 06.05-06
Paul also addressed this issue
in his letter to the church at Colossae. Colossians 03.22-24
And to Timothy he wrote about
slavery as well. 1Timothy 06.01
Today, the application of Paul’s
teaching here can be applied to the employee/employer relationship.
Just as we saw earlier, living a
Godly life brings glory to God, so the primary purpose for working hard as a
slave (employee) & respecting our employer, is to glorify Christ. With that
work ethic & attitude, God can use you to possibly introduce your employer
or fellow workers to Christ.
Paul lists 05 characteristics of
Godly bondslaves (& every believer who is employed).
Paul says that bondslaves are to 1st be…submissive
Titus 02.09 “to be subject to their own masters” G5293. upotassw hupotasso hoop-ot-as'-so; from 5259 & 5021; to subordinate;
reflexively, to obey:-- be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto,
(be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self
unto.
Thayer-to
subject one’s self, to obey, to submit to one’s control; to yield to one’s
admonition or advice
The Greek word that is used here was often used by the
military to describe a soldier’s relationship to his superior officers. This
relationship is not optional, conditional but an absolute.
In the eyes of God, the duty of the CHRISTian bondslave/employee
to their bosses is the same.
The Greek word (G5293. upotassw hupotasso) used here is in passive imperative verb
tense, which basically means that this is a command that you submit yourself to
your master/boss. 1Timothy 06.01
Paul says that
bondslaves are to 2nd be…well-pleasing
Titus 02.09 “to be well-pleasing” G2101. euarestov euarestos yoo-ar'-es-tos; from 2095 & 701; fully agreeable:--
acceptable(-ted), wellpleasing.
Being “well-pleasing” in your work
towards your master/employer means that you are being acceptable, well pleasing
to God, who you are really working for.
Paul said that we are to be
living sacrifices for Christ. Romans 12.01-02
Later on in his letter Paul says
that serving Christ is acceptable to God & approved by men. Romans 14.17-18
As a
follower of Jesus in the workplace, our purpose & motivation to work hard
to do what is pleasing to the LORD. Ephesians 05.10
3rd Paul says that bondslaves are to not to be…argumenative
Titus 02.09 “argumentative,” G483. antilegw antilego an-til'-eg-o; from 473 & 3004; to dispute,
refuse:-- answer again, contradict, deny, gainsay(-er), speak against.
G473. anti
anti an-tee'; a primary particle;
opposite, i.e. instead or because of (rarely in addition to):-- for, in the
room of. Often used in composition to denote contrast, requital, substitution,
correspondence, etc.
G3004.
legw lego leg'-o; a
primary verb; properly, to “lay” forth, i.e. (figuratively) relate (in words [usually
of systematic or set discourse; whereas 2036 & 5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech
respectively; while 4483 is properly, to break silence merely, & 2980 means an extended
or random harangue]); by implication, to mean:-- ask, bid, boast, call,
describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on), shew, speak, tell, utter.
Thayer-to speak
against, gainsay, contradict
Paul says that a CHRISTian bondslave/employee
should be respectful in such a way that he is not argumentative.
This is the same word that Paul
uses in Titus
01.09 in telling Titus to refute those who “contradict” sound doctrine.
In Romans 10.21, this same word is
translated as “obstinate”.
This word does not imply at all
about standing up for our convictions, but instead standing up only for our own
self-interest & desires.
Sadly, there are some CHRISTians
employees, whether on the job or just in life are known to be argumentative.
4th Paul says that bondslaves are to be…honest
Titus 02.10 “pilfering” G3557.
nosfizomai nosphizomai nos-fid'-zom-ahee;
middle voice from nosfi nosphi (apart or clandestinely); to sequestrate for
oneself, i.e. embezzle:-- keep back, purloin.
Thayer-to
embezzle, withdraw covertly & appropriate to one’s own use
Paul says that a CHRISTian bondslave/employee
is not to put aside money for themselves that does not belong to them. They are
not to embezzle money. Today this would include inflating time sheets &
expense reports, even taking office supplies home for personal use.
Gehazi, the servant of Elisha was
guilty of this after Elisha healed Naaman & refused any payment. Gehazi
went after Naaman, lied & took the payment. His penalty was the same
disease that Naaman was healed of, leprosy (2Kings 05.01-27).
Ananias & Sapphira are a
good example of this, as they tried to “embezzle” money that belonged to the
church. After selling some property, they gave only a portion of what they
made, but claimed that it was all the money. Peter told them that they were not
obligated to give anything to the church, but by giving less than they claimed,
they were not only guilty of lying to men, but also to God (Acts 05.01-04).
5th Paul says that bondslaves are to be…loyal
Titus 02.10 “but showing all good faith”
Titus 02.10 “but” G235.
alla alla al-lah';
neuter plural of 243; properly, other things, i.e. (adverbially) contrariwise
(in many relations):-- &, but (even), howbeit, indeed, nay, nevertheless,
no, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet.
This word in the original is used
for great contrasts. So Paul is saying that a CHRISTian bondslave/employee is not to be unfaithful by embezzling money, but
instead be a faithful bondslave/employee.
Titus 02.10 “showing” G1731.
endeiknumi endeiknumi en-dike'-noo-mee;
from 1722
& 1166; to indicate (by word or act):-- do, show (forth).
Thayer-to show,
demonstrate, prove, whether by arguments or by acts
The CHRISTian bondslave/employee is to leave no doubt about
his loyalty.
Titus 02.10 “good” G18.
agayov agathos ag-ath-os';
a primary word; “good” (in any sense, often as noun):-- benefit, good(-s,
things), well. Compare 2570.
Thayer-the
fidelity due from a servant to his master
Titus 02.10 “faith” G4102.
pistiv pistis pis'-tis;
from 3982;
persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the
truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ
for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the
system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:-- assurance, belief, believe, faith,
fidelity.
Thayer-fidelity,
faithfulness. i.e. the character of one who can be relied on
The result of how a CHRISTian
bondslave/employee acts is that they glorify & honor God.
Titus 02.10 “…so that they will adorn the
doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”
Titus 02.10 “they will adorn” G2885. kosmew kosmeo kos-meh'-o; from 2889; to put in proper order, i.e. decorate (literally or
figuratively); specially, to snuff (a wick):-- adorn, garnish, trim.
Thayer-designating
the act by which the honor is gained in all things
From this Greek word used for
adorn, which is kosmew (kosmeo kos-meh'-o)
we get the word “cosmetics”. As you know, cosmetics are the large amount of
substances that are used to make (usually) women more physically attractive.
Paul was not speaking of outward
beauty here though. What he was saying to Titus is that what makes a church
attractive & influential in the world is not by programs, great worship,
campaigns, smoke machines, pastors coming in on zip lines but the righteousness
& integrity of the people.
The people of God are to adorn
themselves w/“…the
doctrine (right teaching) of God our Savior…” Titus 02.10
He is our Saviour, & desires
to be the Saviour of those who are lost.
Ephesians 04.14; 1Timothy 04.06; 1Timothy 06.03;
2Timothy 04.03;
Titus 01.09
We have seen that Paul commanded
Titus by telling him that the teaching is to be sound doctrine. He then gave a
description of how the people (older men, older women, young women, young men
description & bondservants) in the church are to act.
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