A Slave For Christ Part 3
(Inspired by the book: “A Better Freedom” by Michael Card)
Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:10; Romans 16:23;
Introduction:
In my message last week I shared with you information about slavery in the Old Testament. This week we will begin our examination of slavery in the New Testament (NT). I will spend the remainder of this series focused on the NT examples of slavery and how it impacts what we read in the Scriptures and how it changes some of our interpretation of what we read. While the social institution of slavery is found in all cultures in the NT there were varying legal traditions depending on the culture as to how the slaves were treated. Although slavery existed in most societies from as far back as records have been found, there have been only five genuine slave-societies; two of them were Greece and Rome. The Greeks and Romans, apparently independently, transformed slavery into something new and wholly original in world history. Basically they developed an institutionalized system of large-scale employment of slave labor in both the countryside and the cities. This is something we will need to remember and consider as it directly impacts some of what we read in the NT letters. Before I go any further, I want to make this statement as some have questioned why Paul did not address slavery more fully in his writings. No NT writer commented on the origin of slavery as an institution or sought to justify human beings owning other human beings. Augustine, however, claimed that the institution of slavery was part of the punishment for Adam’s sin. Here is what Augustine, a bishop who lived in the 4th century in the Roman Africa Province, said about slavery in De civitate Dei:
“The first cause of servitude, therefore, is sin, by which man was placed under man in a condition of bondage: a condition which can come about only by the judgment of God, in Whom there is no injustice.” He went on to day that “By nature then, in the condition in which God first created man, no man is slave either of another man or of sin. But it is also true that servitude itself is ordained as a punishment by that law which enjoins the preservation of the order of nature and forbids its disruption. For if nothing had been done in violation of that law, there would have been no need for the discipline of servitude as a punishment. The apostle therefore admonishes servants to be obedient to their maters, and to serve them loyally and with a good will, so that, if they cannot be freed by their masters, they can at least make their own slavery to some extent free (Eph. 6:5).”
While I can understand Augustine’s point that slavery came about because of sin, I do not think that it justifies the slavery in the natural sense. When Adam and Eve sinned, yes they became slaves to sin. All who were born after them (or through them) were born into sin and had a sin nature. This is the same as if a freed man became a slave and was given a wife that belonged to the master. The children born to that man would be born into slavery not ever knowing what it would be like to be free. Because of Adam’s and Eve’s sin, we were born with a sin nature – or slaves to sin, but we have already been purchased back by the blood of Christ. This is why we do not have to live in sin because we are no longer slaves to it, we have been freed. I will go deeper into this later in the series. But let me get back on track.
Although we are told of several ways in the Old Testament as to how someone became a slave, in the NT there isn’t any mention of how persons became slaves. We do know however that slavery was present and we have references to some of the actual slaves. Prior to the 1st century A.D., the chief means by which persons were enslaved were they were captured in war or kidnapped by pirates. Stealing persons and selling them into slavery had been practiced in the ancient Near East for many centuries. First Timothy 1:10 records the following: “And immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.” The term translated as “kidnapper” in this verse actually means “slave trader” and appears in a traditional list of vices indicating that knowledge of this practice could be assumed in the late 1st century A.D. even though the establishment of law and order in the empire had greatly reduced it by the middle of the 1st century B.C. After the great wars stopped, the primary source for slaves came through breeding which included the slaves mentioned in the NT.
As I mentioned last week about slavery in the Old Testament, during the NT times there were large numbers of people who sold themselves into slavery for various reasons; above all to enter a life that was easier and more secure than existing as a poor freeborn person; to obtain special jobs; and to climb socially. For example, Romans 16:23 records the following: “Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.” Most historians believe that Erastus, who is mentioned in this verse as the “city treasurer” of Corinth, had actually sold himself to the city in order to secure this responsible position. Such special slaves were usually held in municipal slavery until the age of forty, at which time as freedmen and Roman citizens they often pursued political careers. Let’s examine more closely slavery in Rome as it had direct influence on what we read in the New Testament.
I. Slavery In Rome
As I mentioned previously, the economy of Rome was heavily dependent upon slave labor. Some historians believe it was totally dependent upon slave labor. Whenever the Romans captured a territory through many of its wars, they took the captives and made them slaves. These captives were sold into slavery to other Romans as the only justifiable way to treat them. According to the book placing a captive into slavery was deemed “the most just means since it was considered more humane to enslave captives rather than to execute them.” Of course no one asked the captives their opinion on this matter. The book states that this rationale (slavery versus execution) gave shape to the Roman mindset towards slavery for centuries. This was a similar mindset in America and is actually still held by some. There were many slave owners who believed in their hearts that they were doing their slaves a favor by owning them as they could not take care of themselves. Likewise, as late as the 1960s many whites held the perspective that blacks were incapable of making quality decisions and therefore felt justified in their treatment of blacks as a “lower class race” in intelligence, skill, and the ability to learn more than just the basics of life. Even today it is not a myth that a black person must prove their worth while a white person’s worth is granted to them by default in some societies. My point to this is that this mentality is handed down from generation to generation until some brave soul stands up and says “enough”. This next generation is our hope. Even though we file complaints about the younger generation coming up now, this is probably one of the things that they will change and actually get right – that everyone is equal. They are our hope. But let me get back to Rome.
In the Roman society, slaves were despised as a class because manual labor in Rome was universally looked down upon. Imagine living in a society where everyone owned slaves and never had to do any manual labor. If you want an image of the privilege few, consider Rome. If you need one close to home, consider the lifestyle of some of the rich and famous. The laws that apply to us do not necessarily apply to them and it has nothing to do with race. What is interesting is that according to the book the “goal of the value system of upper class Roman society was not to have a respected profession, but to have no profession at all; to live a life of organized leisure.” Can you imagine this lifestyle? It is sort of like living in the Hamptons according to what we see on our television. What is so interesting is that jobs we hold in high regard today, such as doctors, lawyers, artists and even sports figures were given to slaves in the first century.
According to historians, slaves were viewed with suspicion. The book mentions Cato the Elder who wrote “He who has a slave has an enemy.” I could not disagree with him if the slave was a captive sold into slavery versus one who sold themselves into slavery. In Rome, to call someone a slave was regarded as a serious insult. Even with all of this, in Rome historians note that it was better to be a slave of a rich man than a pauper who was owned by no one. If you ever saw the movie “Ben Hur” you will get a very good picture of slavery in Rome. The movie also shows how a slave can rise in power depending on their owner. In Rome there was a phrase that said “A poor free man must yield way in the marketplace to a rich man’s slave.” It mattered back then whose slave you were. If you were the slave of a rich man, then you had some status because of who owned you. The same is true today. Consider the fact that your new owner is Jesus Christ – the Son of God. Who better to be owned by than the God who created everything versus the one who was created? When we accepted Christ and “sold ourselves into slavery to Him” we became slaves of the greatest, most powerful owner around. There was only one other owner and he does not compare when you consider all of the benefits. So we can proudly walk down the street in the power and authority of the one who owns us. So let me get back to the Romans.
As you may have figured out by now, the Romans were a very proud group of people. To this point the very posture of a slave was detested by Romans as they did not believe in kneeling (unless it was before the king). They did not kneel during any of their religious service as this was associated with the shame of slavery. According to the book, to fall on your knees was not a sign of worship but rather humiliation. The image of Jesus on His knees washing the disciples’ feet would have been totally offensive to the Romans. If some of us were asked to get on our knees and wash someone else’s feet we would resist unless everyone was doing it and someone was going to wash ours. The mentality of the Romans is very present in the United States.
Roman slaves left virtually no voice in Rome’s history. They existed and they were gone. The only direct records we have of slaves’ words are a few inscriptions left by slaves on the tombs of their masters. The hopelessness of the life of the majority of Roman slaves can hardly be imagined, especially for the woman. Many of the women were sexually abused and up to half of the female slaves died before the age of thirty. During Roman times runaway slaves could be mutilated and have their eyes put out or ears cut off. Many were put to death as they were in America. When a runaway slave was caught they were at the complete mercy of their master. The majority of Roman slaves never purchased their freedom and died as slaves. Although some tried to paint a nicer picture that being a slave gave them the opportunity for upward mobility, this was not the case. There were many individuals who killed themselves versus becoming a Roman slave and I think that says it all.
My last point about slavery in Rome is an observation made by the author of the book. The institution of slavery coexisted in the midst of an evolving legal system that zealously protected the freedoms of the few (the “citizens”) while at the same time legalizing the brutalization of the slave class (sound familiar?) This was something we talked about last week during bible study that even though someone was born into slavery, they could still witness how their masters lived and desire to be free. As the author points out, this is an important piece of the puzzle if we want to begin to understand and re-imagine the helpless, hopeless condition of a slave in the New Testament world. A slave, who had absolutely no rights, performed his or her menial, often humiliating tasks in the presence of men and women who reveled in a measure of freedom that had been unknown before the Roman Empire. Absolute, demeaning submission lived out alongside total freedom. This was the life situation of most of the slaves we will eventually meet in this series.
I wanted to offer up this brief background of slavery in Rome because it impacts everything we read in the New Testament. When we begin to look at Jesus’ examples from a slave’s viewpoint, we will begin to see the stories, parables and teachings of Christ very differently. Next week, we will begin searching the Scripture for key teachings by Jesus referencing slavery. I will follow that with the situation Paul found himself in as it relates to slavery. When all is said and done I will close out with the Scriptural references giving us direction about our slavery.
Have a very blessed week this week.
