When the church began, slavery had long been a part of life in many nations, including Israel.22 Some owners were kind;23 others were harsh (1 Peter 2:18).24 Some owners worked within the laws; 25 others were lawless.26 Paul considered unlawful slavery a horrible evil (1 Timothy 1:9-10).27 But, just as Peter and Paul accepted Roman rule, so they also tolerated slavery within the established laws.28 The Spirit chose for Christians the path of submission to earthly rulers. In the same way, He also chose for slaves to submit to their earthly masters (Colossians 3:22-24; 1 Timothy 6:1-2; Titus 2:9-10; 1 Peter 2:18-20). That explains why Paul helped a runaway slave to return to his master (Philemon 1:12), and gave these instructions to Christians:
Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him (Ephesians 6:5-9).
Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:20-22).
These truths also apply in principle to bosses and their employees, to teachers and their students, to any relationship where one person has proper authority over another. They apply whether the authority behaves well or not. 1 Peter 2:18 tells slaves to submit to masters who are good and “also to the unjust.” When Peter wrote, most slaves were powerless to change their harsh conditions. Oppressed employees, however, can and should look for ways to improve their situations.29
22. Slavery: Genesis 9:24-27; 15:13-14; 20:14-17; 1 Samuel 8:17; 1 Kings 9:21-22; Nehemiah 9:36; Proverbs 19:10; Ecclesiastes 2:7; Ezekiel 27:13; John 8:35; Acts 16:16; 1 Corinthians 7:20-21; 1 Corinthians 12:13 ; Revelation 6 :15 ; 13 :16.
23. Kind masters: Colossians 4:1; 1 Timothy 6:1; Philemon 1:10-19 cf. Psalm 106:46; 123:2; Joshua 9:26-27; Ezra 9:9
24. Harsh masters: Exodus 1:11-14; 3:7; 1 Samuel 30:11-13; Psalm 105:17-18; Ezra 9:7; Nehemiah 4:4; 9:37; Isaiah 20:4; Jeremiah 15:2,14 cf. 2 Chronicles 10:11
25. E.g. of Old Testament laws: Exodus 21:2; 23:12; Leviticus 25:39-44; Deuteronomy 23:15; 2 Chronicles 8:7-9
26. Lawless slavery in Old Testament: Genesis 37:27-28; 39:17; Deuteronomy 24:7; Nehemiah 5:5; Jeremiah 34:13-16
27. Cf. Revelation 18:3-13; Exodus 21:16; Deuteronomy 24:7
28. Christians were to obey Roman laws despite Rome’s record as a ruthless oppressor, an occupying enemy of many nations. In the same way, slavery that was then lawful was to be obeyed, despite its obvious problems. Notice that in Galatians 2:4; 4:7; 5:1; 2 Corinthians 11:20 Paul used slavery as an image of oppression, an evil to be avoided.
29. Like slaves who receive the opportunity for freedom or advancement, 1 Corinthians 7:21; Esther 2:5-6; 8:2; 10:3; Genesis 30-31,41; Proverbs 12:24; 22:29
Picture: About 18 years after Paul’s arrival in Corinth, the Emperor Vespasian sent 6000 Jewish slaves – likely including some Christians – to begin digging this canal near Corinth. (The canal, finally opened in 1883, connects the Aegean Sea and the Ionian Sea.)