Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. Titus 2:9-10
Today we look at a text that many non-believers will claim supports the idea of Western cultural slavery. And at first glance in the English translation, it might seem that way. But to understand the Bible , we need to understand the cultural context and look at the original Greek language. With a little research, the skeptic claims are easily debunked. After all , historically speaking, The BIble was used as the foundation to end slavery by Abraham Lincoln. What was the difference? Context is key, many who quote the Bible , have no true understanding of The Bible
So as we look at our controversial word, the original Greek “Doulos” which is translated in English several ways as slave, servant, and bondservant. So which English translation is correct? Well if we understand the cultural context, they are all technically correct, but the question is do we understand the Greco-Roman concept of a slave? Most people don’t , they use their Western cultural idea of slave, which is not the context of the Bible. We when try to apply our 21rst century ideas to the context of the BIble, that’s when error begins
As we look at different commentaries, Elliots commentary begins “The accurate translation here is bond servants” If we look at alot of our reliable English translations such as ESV, NASB, and NKJV , they all translate to Bond Servants/Slaves also. I would argue this is the best translation in our English language also, why? Because Bond Servant gives us the best context and understanding of what is being conveyed here.
What is a Bond Servant? Bond Servants are almost what we consider employee/employers relationships today. Bond Servants often voluntarily committed themselves as servants to a master in exchange for housing and food. This is not the same concept as we would think of a slave in Western culture. It’s not someone held against their will to a ruler, its more of a employee/employer relationship
So what is the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit trying to teach us? That in all things we should be obedient to authority. Just as we are obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ , we should also be obedient and subject to our employer, or government, or families ect. We should have a “servant-like” mentality as a Christian. We should be willing to serve and glorify our God. We should work honestly and hard working, not living immoral or any behavior that is disgraceful to our Lord , because in everything we do , we do it for the glory of God
Now when come to remaining loyal to our employers or government, I understand there are limitations. If our governing bodies are corrupted and wicked, then we obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29) But primarily our goal is to “strive to live in peace with everyone” (Hebrews 12:14) Be the salt and light of Christ , (Matthew 5) be the hands and feet of Christ in everything we do, all Glory to God! Amen!
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