Being Faithful Under the Yoke

Prayer for All Members Based on Pastor Jared’s Message, January 15, 2023 1 Timothy 6:1-2
Being Faithful Under the Yoke

Introduction: In 1 Timothy 5 Paul spoke to two specific groups, widows and elders, and now in chapter 6, he addresses a third group: those who are under the yoke. This word to slaves is also instructive for us today as Christian employees.

We condemn the kind of slavery that involves kidnapping, abusing people, and forcing them into lifelong servitude, but slavery in Paul’s day had a unique historical context. In the Roman Empire there were perhaps sixty million slaves and up to a third of the Christians in Ephesus may have been slaves. Slaves during this time may have willingly entered servitude to pay off debts. They were often educated and had their own money, and most gained their freedom by the time they were thirty years old.

1. Honor Your Master (6:1)

   Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.

   Paul is writing to Christian slaves in their specific circumstance to tell them how they can be faithful in their circumstance. We should always do what we can to alleviate the suffering of others, including praying for them, but in the meantime, we can also pray for Christians who experience suffering, persecution, and hardship to be found faithful to Christ. And as all of us walk through our own hardships, we can pray that we too will be faithful and endure.

   Christian slaves are instructed to give honor to their masters:

   • For the sake of God’s name. When we are loyal, obedient, and hard-working, we are giving great testimony to the name of God and to the gospel. God has saved us and is at work in all our lives in wonderful ways.

   • For the sake of their masters’ souls. When we honor our employers, we are giving them a witness of God, caring more about their eternity than about our present circumstances.

     Lord, You are worthy! Please help us honor our employers as a testimony to Your goodness.

2. Honor Your Believing Master Even More (6:2)

   Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

   Those who have Christian masters are instructed to:

   • Work in a way that does not take advantage of their Christian masters.

   • Work extra hard so as to model the love of Christian brothers.
     Lord, thank You for Christian employers! Please help those of us who work for Christians

     to work hard both to benefit them and to give a positive testimony of the gospel.

     Conclusion: Let us all live and work to honor God’s name and testify to the truth and transformative power of the gospel. Let us be faithful to God. If slaves could be faithful, so can we.