Working For A Living

I'd have you turn this morning in your Bibles to the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, where we will take up our study again. Our text will be from chapter 6, but we will begin reading in chapter 5. Our text this morning brings to a close Paul's final installment on what is to characterize a Christian life. A life worthy of the calling you have received. Paul began this section in chapter 5, verses 15 through 21 by calling saints to live a life marked by obedience to the revealed will of God in His Word and controlled by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit-filled life finds expression in many ways, the last of which Paul mentions in verse 21, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. And beginning in verse 22 and continuing through our text this morning, the Apostle Paul shows how this mutual submission is to be worked out within the God-ordained order of Christian households. After dealing with the household relationships of marriage and family, Paul moves on to address today the relationships that are involved in financing our households, keeping them afloat. So from this text this morning, we will note that God's agenda for Christian living includes working for a living. Whether slave or master, doing the will of God as slaves of Christ. Follow along as I begin reading the Word of God from chapter 5 verses 15 through 21 and then dropping down to our text. Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. And picking up at chapter 6, verse 5. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not men. Because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for what good he does, whether he is slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. Here ends the reading of God's Word. A very practical word. You might say, oh, how so? We don't do slavery anymore. But although these verses emphasize the responsibility of slaves, we see that they speak equally to slaves and masters, and we will see that they have direct application to us in our day. But first, we must approach this text with the clear understanding that Paul is speaking not to servants, not to those who are earning wages, but those who are slaves. Men, women, and children who were bought as property in the marketplace. It's been estimated that in Roman culture as many as one-third of the total population was slaves. Free men considered themselves to be above working for a living, above getting their hands dirty, if you will. And so they bought slaves to do the work. They were their living tools, if you will. And slaves not only did the menial work, the lowly work, the dirty work, they did nearly all the work, including the oversight and management of professions. Many physicians were slaves. In fact, many of them were better educated than their masters, and they could own property. They could even own other slaves, and they were allowed to save money in order to buy their freedom. Slavery was a vital part of the economic engine that drove the Roman Empire. And in large part, slaves were the ones who brought home the bacon. for the household of their master. Now there is no doubt from the history books that life was harsh and cruel for many, if not most, slaves. But not for all. Because the circumstances of a slave's life were totally in the hands of their master. And those that were more valuable to their master were less likely to be treated harshly. They were treated well. They were a good investment, if you will. But we need to know that slavery was commonplace and it was well understood by all. It was as much a part of life as traffic lights are for us. It's just the way it was. And we need to know that it was not limited only to the pagan nations. God in the Old Testament revealed and allowed Israel to impose slavery as a punishment on their enemies, as a fitting punishment for a thief who could not pay restitution. Jesus himself made frequent reference to slaves and masters in his parables about the kingdom of God as a good illustration that people could get hold of. For us, it's foreign, but for them, it was normal. It was usual. For example, in Matthew 18, he uses the punishment of slavery to illustrate God's punishment, God's judgment, against those who are unrepentant. And he says, since he, and he's referring to a servant who owed his master a debt, was not able to pay, The master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to pay the debt. The New Testament makes clear that Christians were found among the slaves and the masters of the Roman Empire. Peter addresses them in his first letter. Paul addresses them not only in Ephesus but also in Corinth and in Colossae. He also wrote letters to Timothy and Titus to tell them how to teach their slaves and their masters how to live the Christian life. And most notably, he wrote a personal letter to Philemon, a Christian brother who owned another Christian brother by the name of Onesimus. And in every instance, slavery is neither commanded or forbidden. It's simply treated as lawful. It's simply treated as the way things were. now in light of our history as a nation that has put away slavery we must not take our experience and impose it back on this text we must not be troubled that scripture does not condemn this type of slavery nor may we suppose that scripture thereby endorses any kind of slavery today we just must be content to know that at that time and at that place it was awful as Calvin notes we must remember two things as we read this kind of information in the scripture. First, that God is sovereign over all things, and that includes the enslavement of men and the governments that authorize it. And secondly, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not addressed to the kingdom of man and its practices. Paul is not writing social theory here for the empire of Rome. It's addressed to the saints of God, both slave and free, who have become citizens of the kingdom of heaven. And yet, it calls on them to live as such citizens of the kingdom of heaven, among the kingdom of man, and to obey the civil magistrate in all things, as long as God does not forbid it. So in that time, slavery played an essential role in providing the household finances. This is how families worked for a living, gaining from other people's labor. And this relationship was established, it was lawful, and it would continue. However, the character of this relationship was to change when one or more of the parties became a Christian. And that is what Paul is addressing. He's addressing the economic environment of a household and informing them how they are to live in that relationship as Christians. Today, we no longer live with this kind of slavery. Some would say that our leashes are longer and our penalties more drawn out. But we still need to be working for a living. In fact, as we read the law of God this morning, we're reminded that six days we shall labor and do all our work. And if we are laboring, making a living, working for a living, we're glad to come to the Lord's house on the Lord's day and have a day of rest. And in this economy within which we work, we no longer buy and sell people. We buy and sell knowledge and labor and leave the people free. And most of us in this congregation are employees. We sell our labor and we sell our knowledge to an employer for a wage or a salary or benefits. And some of us are employers. We sell goods and services that we pay our employees to produce. Many of us find ourselves in the middle. We're an employee, and we respond to a boss, an employer, but we also have to deal with other employees that serve below us, almost the parallel of a slave who owns a slave. I mean, not slaves, but just understand the relationship. And finally, there's the self-employed among us. You need to know that you're both the slave and the master. And unless you're both, you're not going to succeed. And we must not forget those who make contribution to the finances of the household who give their labor and give their knowledge for the sake of the family without a paycheck. Those who keep the home are part of this economic responsibility that we have in this world. Now, whether your work is physically demanding or mentally demanding or both, we are all involved with working for a living. even those who are physically or mentally limited from competing well in the marketplace that we have today, there's still work to be done as much as you can. And sometimes that work is just working through a jungle of paper and people to get the provision God has set for you with our government to help support you. Sometimes it takes the work to ask the deacons of the church for help. It's work. and even the financially independent who no longer need to work for the maintenance of their own household, continue to need to pay for the labor and the knowledge of other people. They're always involved. In this life, you will never be disengaged from working for a living. Unbelievers and Christians alike are all involved. But the character of this work is to be different for you and for me than it is for an unbeliever. Because although the working relationships remain, they are necessarily changed by the fact that one or other of the party, if not both, have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. And they now relate to each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord. And when this is the case, as it was for the slaves and masters in Ephesus, the business transacted becomes the Lord's business. He says to the slaves in verse 7, Serve as if you were serving the Lord, not men. Now in order to serve the Lord, in order to do the Lord's business, we need to know what the Lord wants us to do. We need to know His will. And working for a living necessarily involves a Christian in doing the will of God. In the ancient world, men and women were, and in some places of the world today are, born into circumstances from which they will never emerge. Some were born to slaves, grew up as slaves, and died as slaves, and left behind children who were slaves. And at the other extreme, there were those who were born wealthy, who inherited wealth, grew up to inherit, and then pass on to their children that wealth. A dynasty, if you will. But that was more normal. People were born and died, often in the same state. But in that circumstance, the will of God for each of them, whether they were a slave or a master, is that they would be content in the situation which God in His infinite wisdom had placed them. You see, even as Christians, in Christ there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither slave nor free, there's neither male nor female. And even though Paul just said in verse 21 that we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, even though Christian slaves and Christian masters enjoyed equal footing at the throne of grace because of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are still to relate to one another in this life, in this commercial relationship in a way that's pleasing to God. And God does not call for a reversal of roles. And God does not call for the abolishment of the relationship. God's will, the overriding will, is that you would be content in the station that He has given you in life. Now this is very clearly expressed by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7, verse 17, and thereafter he says, Each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you. In other words, be content. Although if you can gain your freedom, do so. Now Paul's not saying if you can run away, do so. He's not saying if you can lead a revolt, do so. He's saying that if you can, by lawful means, buy your freedom, do so. But apart from that, be content where you are. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's free man. And he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price. Do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man as responsible to God should remain in the situation God called him to. Now, in one sense, this call for contentment should be easier for us to accept and to apply than it was for the slaves and the masters in Ephesus. As difficult as your work may be here, it is nothing compared to the life of a slave. Don't even begin to imagine that it is. And as uncooperative and unproductive as your employees may be, you do not bear the weight of deciding whether they live or die. Today, it should be easier for us to be content. But I fear that it's more difficult for us at times to understand and apply this text to ourselves because our situation is not as unchangeable as theirs was. Their lot in life was fairly stable. Ours is very fluid. Our state in life can and often does change as we pursue the American dream of bootstrap capitalism, pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, getting ahead, climbing the ladder, creative, with talent, with hard work, making a change for ourselves and for our family. But by the very virtue of that flexibility in our lifestyle, we have trouble being content. And that's because contentment is more difficult when we keep our eyes on our possibilities, our opportunities or we keep our eyes on what we've lost because we made a mad decision than in keeping our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ who has placed us where we are and who meets our needs today. Don't worry about tomorrow, Jesus said. There's enough trouble for today. We're called to be content. And even though our particular circumstances are different from that of the Ephesians, it is the same God who has placed each of us in the economy of this world in this nation, in this state, in this city in our job or in our company or in our household. It's the same sovereign God who's placed you where you are. And like the slaves and masters of old we are to be content with His will for us today and trust that He will lead us into tomorrow. Even as we make and pursue our plans we are to do so with full confidence in the Lord our God who directs our steps. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, and they're new every morning. Are you content today with where the Lord has you today? Do you believe that He is sovereign over your circumstance? Lord, help our unbelief. Now, having established the big picture of contentment where you are, Paul moves on and goes further to reveal the will of God for slaves and masters, for employees and employers today, in fulfilling their roles, their determined roles, as Christians. And Paul spells this out specifically for Christian slaves in verses 5 through 7. And that seems to be the emphasis of this text, but Paul does not restrict it to the slaves. With simplicity and great tact, Paul applies these specifics to Christian masters as well when in verse 9 he says, Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. More literally, Masters, do the same things for them. Do not threaten them. He's not telling masters to obey their slaves. And he's not telling slaves to rule over their masters. He has not nullified the relationship. He just has said that in the working of your distinct roles, you are to work in the same way as Christians. And so what are the same things that Paul refers to? Paul sums things up in verse 6 when he tells slaves to obey their earthly masters, not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but, or rather, doing the will of God from your heart. From the inside out, not because of what's happening from the outside in. And likewise, we should understand that masters are to rule over their slaves. Not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but rather doing the will of God from your hearts. The way of the world is to obey and to rule in order to have the favor of others. Doing only what you want to, what you must do, and no more in order to get what you want. Doing just enough to get by and only when someone's watching. Looking busy, even when you're not. Being respectful to others only when you have to. Paying just enough to satisfy a worker's most desperate need. And paying under the table when you think the tax man won't notice. That's the way of the world. Your colleagues in this world will support and encourage you saying things like, well, everybody does it. And you have to do it in order to survive. But Christians, you are no longer of this world. Even though you live in it and will remain in it until Christ returns, you're no longer of this world. By the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, you have been given new hearts so that instead of looking out for number one, you are not only called to, but you are made able to look out for the needs of others. Even when that need, that other, is your boss. And even when that other is your worker. With your new heart, you can act toward him or her doing the will of God from that heart. And how does this look? Paul mentions three characteristics in verses 5 to 7 for doing the will of God from the heart. He says it is done with respect and fear. It's done with sincerity of heart and it's done wholeheartedly. When we are content with where the Lord has placed us today and we are looking out for the needs of others with whom He has placed us, each and every one made in the image of God, we can act toward them with a careful regard for the real nature of our task. That is to conduct ourselves in such a way that they, whether they be a believer or an unbeliever, that they will see in us the fruit of this new heart. That they will see in us the love of Christ, our Lord and our Savior. By the grace of God, we will pursue our task with sincerity of heart, with single-minded purpose, if you will. We should not be double-minded in our business transactions as we work for a living. We should not be serving ourselves and pretending to be serving someone else. That's the way of the world. We will seek to work or rule without hypocrisy, without cunning, without conceit, without deceit. And we'll do all that we can to work with others with integrity and truth and uprightness above board. And in a strength that is not our own, the Spirit of God moves us toward wholehearted fulfillment of our duties toward other people, even in the marketplace. The rules don't get cast off as we work for a living. Resentment is put away, rebellion is ruled out, and reluctance to fulfill our calling is overcome by the love of God in our hearts that's been shown us in Christ Jesus. We are called to do this will of God from the heart, no matter how it's received, no matter how the other responds, whether they appreciate it or not. Peter addresses this in his first letter, chapter 2 beginning in verse 18. He says to slaves, he says, submit to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, not only to those who treat you well, not only to those who pay you what you do, but also to those who are harsh. No matter how they respond, you're a Christian. You have a new heart. You serve him with full respect. We might add to this what Paul tells the Colossian masters in chapter 4, verse 1 of that letter. He says, masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair. No qualifiers. It doesn't say provide your good slaves with what's right and fair. Provide your good workers with what's right and fair. Provide your slaves with what is right and fair. Even if they don't appreciate it. There's not much in life more demanding than working for a living. Six days you shall labor. Now, in America, we like to squeeze that into five and have a day off. Six days you shall labor. And we know how we are as employees, and we know how we are as employers. We know how easy it is to resent our boss, how easy it is to despise our workers. The will of God for us here in this text is not easy. In fact, it is more than difficult. It is impossible in our own strength. We are familiar with the words of Jesus when he says, From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And indeed, in this text to us today, much is demanded. In the area of life where we are prone to throw off all restraint in order to get the best deal and to get ahead, much is demanded. But this isn't all about law. This isn't all about doing. If we consider the words of Jesus in reverse, We're reminded of the direction that Paul is going to take us. Much will be demanded from everyone who has been given much. We've been given much. And Paul draws us to it in what comes after. What God demands of His people, He always provides for them. And what's the provision that God has made for us to be working for a living in a way that is pleasing to Him? we're reminded of his provision when Paul tells us to do the will of God as slaves of Christ. As slaves of Christ. When Paul tells slaves in verse 5 to obey earthly masters just as you would obey Christ. Or in verse 6, like slaves of Christ. Or in verse 7, as if you were living or serving the Lord. He is not suggesting to them some kind of mind game. He's not telling them to pretend that they're working for the Lord instead of their earthly master. He's not calling them to delude themselves and tell themselves that everything is all right when it's not. He's reminding the slaves and through them, their masters, and through them to all of us today in our work, that in working for a living in the way called for here, we are actually, really, and right now serving the Lord. we're not simply acting like slaves of Christ. We are the slaves of Christ. Paul says this very clearly when he wrote to the Colossians. He said to the slaves, It is the Lord Christ you are serving. It is the Lord Christ you're serving. This is no myth. This isn't a pleasant platitude. This is the truth. See, the provision that Christ leads us to is a provision that we find in our own Heidelberg Catechism, Question and Answer 1, which teaches us about our only comfort in life and in death. And it says that I'm not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. I belong to Him. He is fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood. And he set me free from the tyranny of the devil. This, brothers and sisters, is the language of slavery. This is not the language of good friends, although Christ is our friend. This is the language of slavery. You've been bought. You are not your own. He's purchased you with his blood. You are his. You are redeemed by his precious blood. the Lamb who came into this world to live the life that you're to live, to die the life that you deserve, to be raised on the third day for you, to be ascended to the right hand of God for you, that He might send His Spirit and enable you to want to serve Him as His slave, to be a member of His household where He is the faithful master and gives you all that you need his ways are easy his burden is light the master of all men came to live and to die as a slave that's what Philippians says as a slave in order to purchase you and you are his see behind all this demands that God has for his people there's the gospel the good news what Christ has done for you who believe in Him. Through faith in Christ you have been set free from sin and become slaves of righteousness, Paul says. Therefore, the Apostle Peter says, live as free men. Live as slaves of God. Same thing. To be free from sin and death is to be a slave to our God. Paul concludes his address to both slaves and masters with a final motivator to live as slaves of Christ. We find in verse 8 and the last half of verse 9. Slaves are to work for a living, doing the will of God from the heart, because you know, he says in verse 8, that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. And masters, you are to work for a living, doing the will of God from the heart, since you know, verse 9, that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. Paul moves here from what Christ has done, purchasing us as his slaves, to what Christ will do on the last day, when he sets all accounts straight, all matters right. And that's to motivate us. To know that if we are in a relationship where we are called to act in this way and to live this way from the heart for the sake of the other and they don't appreciate it, they don't account it, they don't weigh it up as adequate, don't worry. The righteous judge is coming and he will set it all straight. It will be right. Now I need to take an aside here and I wish I didn't have to do it, But that's when we hear this language of rewards in heaven, which is what is being taught here. We must understand it rightly. For we live in a time when the gospel is being distorted. And the fact that we've been made right with Christ once for all is being blurred to somehow include that on the last day the good things that we've done will somehow count for right standing with God. Because, yes, we are going to be rewarded. We need to keep what Christ has done for us once and for all forever separate from what Christ will do through us and that which he will acknowledge on the last day. And to summarize, I don't think anywhere better than in Belgian Confession, Article 24. And I want to read to you just a few lines. It's important for you to hear this properly when you hear about the rewards that we will have in heaven for every good that we do. works proceeding from the good root of faith, in other words, the works of the saints, proceeding from the good root of faith are good and acceptable to God since they are all sanctified by His grace. Just from that, all of these things that are good and acceptable are good because God has made them good and acceptable, not because we have. They do not count toward our justification, it says. They do not count to make us right with God. They do not count to have God look at us in a good way. Only Christ's works count for that. And His works were complete and perfect and sufficient for all of His people. And it goes on, And so then we do good works, but not for merit, not for points. For what would we merit? Rather, we are indebted to God for the good works we do, and not He to us, since it is He who works in us both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Yet we do not wish to deny that God rewards good works. It's right here in our text. God does reward good works. We do not deny that. But it is by grace that He crowns His gifts. It's all of God, people. Please don't be confused to think that your good works will measure up at the bar of God's justice. All of our good works are tainted with sin. All of them don't reach the mark. But God blesses His work in us on the last day. Back to the text and then closing. Christian slaves or today Christian employee be warned from this text. Do not cheat your master, your employer as if he owed you a living. treat Him as you would treat the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. That's what Paul's calling us to do. But also be encouraged because no matter how unworthy of your obedience or how ungrateful or cruel your master, your employer, remember that the Lord will reward whatever good you do when He returns on the last day. All accounts will be set straight. He'll not miss anything. He'll see it all. And he'll work it all. And Christian masters, Christian employers, be warned. Do not look upon your slaves or your employees as if they had been born. For your sake, treat them as you would treat the Lord Jesus Christ himself. But also be encouraged, no matter how ungrateful they are for your provision, how spiteful or lazy your servants may be, Remember that the Lord is both His Master and your Master, and He will settle the books fairly on the last day. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, and square the books. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we've been reminded today that You are mindful of our condition. You are mindful that we are but dust. You are mindful that even though we have been raised to the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Our Lord, we remain in this world, pilgrims in a foreign land, living under the authority of men. And Lord, as long as you have us remain in this world, you have determined that we would work. That we will work for our provision. Though it bring thorns and thistles, it's what you call us to do. And Lord, we are grateful that you have not left us to ourselves in this regard, that you have left us your word and you have revealed in your word how we are to navigate these waters, how we are to do our business, how we are to work for a living and provide for our households as Christians. You've made clear the distinction between how we are to live from that way that the world lives. You've demanded much of us. And Lord, we thank you that you have provided all that we need in the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that he has bought us with his blood that we are his that he's our master and that we are his slaves help us Lord to obey as serving the Lord for indeed we are in Christ's name we pray Amen