Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,496
“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 ESV)
Now this was written specifically to people who are in a position of slavery or servitude or subjection to someone or to a group of people. In America we don’t have a large number of people who are slaves in the sense that they are owned by other people and that they have no choice but to work for that person or people. At least this is my understanding. I suppose in situations where people are under contracts that they have an obligation to fulfill those contracts unless they can find a way out of them, so we have some of this.
I would say that for the general populace of people in America that this might apply more in the area of working for an employer for pay with the freedom to quit such employment and to work elsewhere if the conditions are bad or not to their liking. And we have laws in America governing how employers are supposed to treat their employees, not as slaves, but as equals in the sense of humanity, in general. But I am certain that not every employer follows the laws which govern how employers are to behave.
So how can we apply these instructions to our lives and to our situations today? If we are employed someplace where we work for someone else, usually for pay, we should do what our employer asks us to do unless we are asked to do something that is sinful or that is dangerous or that exceeds our physical limitations, which would put us at health risk, unless what they are requiring is what we agreed to upon our employment. We should be faithful in service to our employer in doing our job well and as required of us.
Now the model for how we should act towards our employers, and they should act towards us, is how we are instructed in the Scriptures to treat the Lord and our fellow humans. We should do all that we do with sincere hearts and not for unjust gain, and not as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart – a heart which desires to love and obey the Lord and to serve him and to do his will and to follow him wherever he leads us in doing whatever it is he has called us to do.
But so many people today are not teaching this kind of servitude to the Lord, but they are teaching a God who serves us and who does what we want and who does everything for us and blesses us abundantly and is faithful to us, as though he is our slave and we are his masters; as though he is a genie in a bottle or a doting grandfather in the sky there to grant our every request and desire. They paint God as the one who serves us but not us as the ones who are supposed to serve and obey him, and to forsake our lives of sin.
But Jesus said that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit of God, and we follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands and in going where he sends us and doing what he wants us to do, in his power, then we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God (Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
As Bondservants of Christ Jesus
An Original Work / January 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Now this was written specifically to people who are in a position of slavery or servitude or subjection to someone or to a group of people. In America we don’t have a large number of people who are slaves in the sense that they are owned by other people and that they have no choice but to work for that person or people. At least this is my understanding. I suppose in situations where people are under contracts that they have an obligation to fulfill those contracts unless they can find a way out of them, so we have some of this.
I would say that for the general populace of people in America that this might apply more in the area of working for an employer for pay with the freedom to quit such employment and to work elsewhere if the conditions are bad or not to their liking. And we have laws in America governing how employers are supposed to treat their employees, not as slaves, but as equals in the sense of humanity, in general. But I am certain that not every employer follows the laws which govern how employers are to behave.
So how can we apply these instructions to our lives and to our situations today? If we are employed someplace where we work for someone else, usually for pay, we should do what our employer asks us to do unless we are asked to do something that is sinful or that is dangerous or that exceeds our physical limitations, which would put us at health risk, unless what they are requiring is what we agreed to upon our employment. We should be faithful in service to our employer in doing our job well and as required of us.
Now the model for how we should act towards our employers, and they should act towards us, is how we are instructed in the Scriptures to treat the Lord and our fellow humans. We should do all that we do with sincere hearts and not for unjust gain, and not as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart – a heart which desires to love and obey the Lord and to serve him and to do his will and to follow him wherever he leads us in doing whatever it is he has called us to do.
But so many people today are not teaching this kind of servitude to the Lord, but they are teaching a God who serves us and who does what we want and who does everything for us and blesses us abundantly and is faithful to us, as though he is our slave and we are his masters; as though he is a genie in a bottle or a doting grandfather in the sky there to grant our every request and desire. They paint God as the one who serves us but not us as the ones who are supposed to serve and obey him, and to forsake our lives of sin.
But Jesus said that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit of God, and we follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands and in going where he sends us and doing what he wants us to do, in his power, then we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God (Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
As Bondservants of Christ Jesus
An Original Work / January 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
