4 Arguments for the Existence of God - Argument 1, The Kalam Argument

  Every November we take a few weeks to tackle an apologetic series, because I am convinced of 1 Peter 3:15, “… but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect …” Christians are to have an apologia, a defense of why they believe that Jesus came to be a sacrifice on behalf of humanity, through the cross, as the only way to enter into salvation. I know some Christians believe that all we need is to tell people Jesus loves them and that’s it, but too often as a pastor I have had people come to me and say things like, “how do I answer this (insert question here)?”

Jesus called us to be as innocent as doves and as wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16). He called us to make disciple and teach them to observe all of Christ’s teachings (Matthew 28:19-20). That is my job as a pastor, to equip Christians to be prepared as they go and share the Gospel (Ephesians 4:12). These apologetic series are not to apologize for being a Christian, but to provide defense for why we believe that Jesus is true.

Last year we worked through how people get a lot of their theology through short video clips online byway of places like TikTok. This year, we’re going to get a little philosophical and give you four arguments that you can use in your tool box that build upon each other for the existence of God, and eventually lead to the existence of the Christian God and salvation in Jesus.  

We’re going to start at the beginning. It used to be that everyone had a basic supernatural god-view. In 1955, 98% of people believed in God, today that has slipped to about 81% (https://news.gallup.com/poll/393737/belief-god-dips-new-low.aspx). Not too bad, but the problem is that research suggests that people are becoming less likely to believe that a god exists (https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4012827-does-god-exist-only-half-of-americans-say-a-definite-yes/). Meaning that though 81% of Americans believe their is a God, around half of all Americans are more agnostic in their views, and question if God is truly real. Do you see the difference in belief?

Understanding this, let’s look at the first philosophical argument which is called the Kalam Argument, so named because it comes out of the Islamic Medieval period and, in recent years, has been championed by a Christian apologist by the name of William Lane Craig. 

This argument has three premises and they are stated like this.

Premise 1: Everything that begins to exist has a cause.

Premise 2: The universe began to exist.

Premise 3: The universe had a cause.

Conclusion: From the argument we can conclude, the cause of the universe is in line with the biblical concept of God.

Let’s unpack these four premises.

 

First Premise: Everything that begins to exist has a cause. 

For the premise, the word “begins” is of extreme importance. In other words, everything that has come into existence, you, me, the trees, water, the rocks, stars and planets, all began to exist and have a cause as to why they exist.  If we found a watch in the desert, we wouldn’t say it just appeared there. We would instinctively understand that it came there by falling off a person. We would also understand that the watch had been made by a human, and, if pressed, that the watchmaker was made by two other humans. Like the watch, When we look a tree, we understand that the tree comes from a seed. Through observation, we know that water is needed to grow the seed, and usually that water comes from the clouds, which in turn comes from evaporation, and we enter into the circle of life. Since we can observe that all things that begin to exist do in fact have a cause, premise one is true.

The Second premise is: The universe began to exist. 

Can we all agree with that? Whether you believe in the Big Bang, or Intelligent Design, or the Creation story of Genesis 1, there is at least a consensus that the universe had a beginning. That space, time, and matter all had a point in the past where it wasn’t and then it was. However, this wasn’t always the case. Most religions, both ancient and modern, have believed that the universe is eternal. For most religious, the gods might have put things the way they are now, but they were only working from a universe that was already there. Even science before Edwin Humble discovered the background radiation that proved a universe that wasn’t eternal, believed the universe was eternal. Even the great Albert Einstein held to an eternal universe until it became so obvious that he had to abandon his position (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/einsteins-lost-theory-uncovered/). Since we can observe that the universe began to exist, premise two is true as well.

The Third premise is: The universe had a cause.

We know that everything that began to exist has an explanation as to why it is here, premise one, and we know that the universe began exists, premise two, so it must have a cause or an explanation as to how it came to be. But here’s the thing, whatever is the explanation for what caused the universe, must be distinct from it. The watch is not the human who made it. The seed is not the water that grew it. So there must be something beyond the universe that created it. 

Since space, time, and matter are all things that are a part of the universe they too have to be separate from the thing that caused the universe to come into being. So we need something that is spaceless, existing outside of space, we need something that is timeless, existing outside of time, and we need something immaterial, which exists outside of the material world. 

But wait, we need one more thing, intelligence. There has to be a mind behind the work to create something that has natural laws that work in a coherent and observable ways. So the cause of the universe has to be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, and intelligent. 

So what fits all four?

Well the God of the Bible claims all three about himself: For spacelessness we’re told in Isaiah 57:15, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” David understood that space did not confine God when he wrote in Psalm 139: 7-10, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

For timelessness, were told of Jesus in Colossians 1:16-17, “16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The Lord says of himself in Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega … who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 

For immaterialessness, Jesus states in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Paul sums up all three of these attributes when he writes in 1st Timothy 1:17, “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

For intelligence God reveals this to Job, “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4  ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone …(38:2-6)” For four chapters God challenges Job’s intellect by seeing if Job understands the deeper things of the, at the time, unobservable world. Job’s response is, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3  ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ 5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6 therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (42:2-6)” This intelligence aspect is something we’ll get more into more next week.

Our conclusion then follows: The cause of the universe is the timeless, spaceless, immaterial, and intelligent biblical God. If premise three is true, then the conclusion is also true. That the universe exists because God made it to exist.

Just in this one argument we have already excluded the humanistic beliefs of naturalism/atheism, and religious beliefs such as Hinduism, and Buddhism.

So how would this look in a conversation? When about half of the Americans you meet do not know if God exists? Well, it might sound something like this. 

“What are you spiritual beliefs?” 

“Well I believe there’s a god, but I don’t know if he/she/or it exists."

“Well there’s this argument for God’s existence called the Kalam Argument. It comes from an Islamic scholar back in the medieval period. It has three premises: Everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began to exist, the universe had a cause.”

“Ok.”

“Would you agree that everything that begins to exist had something to cause it? Like you, you had two parents that caused you to be born. The grass had water and sunshine, the car had an engineer.”

“Yeah, I would agree with that.”

“Ok, the universe had a cause, do you believe that?”

“Yeah, I mean, science says there was the Big Bang.”

“Right, so if everything that beings to exist has a cause, and the the universe began to exist, it must have a cause too, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“So we need to find out what that cause was, but if the make up of the universe is time, space, and matter, then the thing that caused it all, has to be the opposite of that.

“What do you mean?”

“The cause of the universe has to be timeless, spaceless, and immaterial.” 

“Ok, I’m following.”

“What’s that sound like to you?”

“Kind of sounds like a god.”

“Right, so our conclusion is, that it is a god who caused the universe. And what’s interesting is that the God of the Bible claims all three. Can I show you some verses where it talks about each of these?”

“Sure.”

And that’s where we begin the conversation as we lead our conversation partner to the cross of Jesus.

At first, these arguments can seem overwhelming, but when we take our time to think through them and to put them in our own words, we can see they’re very simple: Everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began to exist, the universe had a cause. After we think through these premises, the conclusion must end with a concept of God, and when we get deeper into it, the biblical God is the only one who claims all that is needed for the creation of the universe. 

So my challenge for you this week is to take these premises and to work through the notes until you’re able to share them without the use of them. If you think that it’s too much or that you don’t have the ability, my question for you is how much are the eternal destinies of the people you care about worth to you? Can you challenge yourself for their sake? That if they were to ask, that you could give them an answer that points them to Jesus, would you be willing to make the effort to be ready for that opportunity?

Let us be a people who are going to be ready to give a defense for the reason why we believe, that we might honor Jesus, and to do so intelligently. Amen.

Philemon Series Week 5: Treading the Road that Leads to Shackles

There’s a story told about an airman by the name of MacDonald and an unnamed Scottish chaplain, who had to bail out of their plane behind German lines during World War II. The two men were captured and separated at the prison; the chaplain went to the British side, and MacDonald to the American. While in the prison camp, the Americans jimmy rigged a radio and were able to get information about the war. Everyday, MacDonald would go to the fence and share the news with the chaplain by speaking Gaelic, a language the Germans didn’t understand. One day, MacDonald shared that the German High Command had given up. A few moments later, when the chaplain couriered the news the British side of the prison, the Brits erupted in shouts of celebration. Soon after, when the German guards found out what happened, they walked away from their posts, leaving the prison unguarded. The POWs were free. But in reality, they had been freed by the news, even though it took a little longer to be freed from their shackles (story told by Ray Bakke, the Executive Director of International Urban Associates). 

It’s this kind of freedom, that brings us back to our final week in our study in the letter to Philemon, where we’ll be reading the last four verses of the letter. Over the past four weeks we’ve covered both the letter’s intent, and the implications of the letter. In our first week we saw how Paul approached the whole situation. He could have approached it by attacking Philemon and commanding him to do what Paul wanted, but instead, he saw Philemon as God saw him. As an image bearer of God, who, though is lacking in an area of his faith, had still done a lot of good for the kingdom of God. This gives us a model by which to deal with our brothers and sisters. Too often we see an area that needs to be addressed in a fellow believer’s life and we attack them on it. Instead, Paul shows us that we need to recognize the good things God has done through them. We are to see people as image bearers and to extend grace to each other.

Following that, we saw how Philemon was lacking in an area of forgiveness towards his runaway slave Onesimus, because of this, Philemon’s ability to share his faith was stifled. God used the situation of Onesimus to not only bring the slave into a saving faith, but to grow Philemon to be a better disciple. This showed us that God is calling us to restored relationships, which is a high calling of God. Even if it brings temporary discomfort, our goal should be God’s goal, of restoring broken relationships as far as it concerns our side of the situation.

From there, we dove into two weeks of addressing the issue of slavery. Where we found that God’s original design did not include slavery, and so he has worked and is working to elevate people. God does this elevation by giving us principles to live out as light to break the bondages around us. We are to seek God to break the bondages of sin that still hold onto us, as we do so, we are to point others to Jesus who is the bondage breaker, and we are to enact God’s principles into seeking how we can participate in that bondage breaking work.

All this brings us to the final four verses of Philemon, where we’ll pick up them up in verse 22. Let’s read together. 

 

22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

23 Epaphras (app-a-fra-s), my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark, Aristarchus (air-a-stark-us), Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Paul ends his letter to Philemon as he ends a lot of his letters. Paul shares his desire to visit Philemon, something he would end up never doing. Not long after this letter was sent out, Paul would be set free and then re-arrested. That second arrest would then lead to his beheading by order of the Emperor. 

Jesus had brought a self-righteous Pharisee, who had persecuted and shackled God’s people to a place of absolute humility. He had used Paul’s intellect to pen the majority of the New Testament. He had used Paul’s strengths and weaknesses as a model by which many other believers would look to. Paul’s words of, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ …(1 Corinthians 11:1)” are a call to us to see what God did through his life, and to imitate it’s ferocious desire to lay our lives down for the sake of the Gospel. 

These final words teach us a lesson of what Paul learned so well. He didn’t know what his outcome would be, he hoped it would be that he would continue on in Christ’s work, as he said to the Philippians, “21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. (1:21-24)” And in that work, he hoped that restored relationships would continue. For Paul, he didn’t want to meet Jesus without having his temporal relationships being mended. 

And so we see that very thing with the mention of Mark. A young man who Paul once rejected because of the man’s lack of endurance for the Gospel’s sake. Yet, Paul was glad to have that relationship restored. 

But though Paul desired to return to Philemon, in his mention of others, he points his friend to the greater work. Epaphras (app-a-fra-s) was a fellow prison for the Gospel. Not just because proclaiming the Gospel led to his imprisonment, but because both he and Paul chose Christ over all things. The chains were monuments to a life dedicated to the Lord. All bondage from the world had been loosened, and the result was physical chains to quell the freedom these two men had in Jesus.

The mention of Mark, Aristarchus (air-a-stark-us), Demas and Luke show that Paul didn’t do the work of God in isolation. He worked alongside others, who cared for him. Two of which would write their own Gospels and add to the Scripture of the New Testament. It shows us that Paul valued them, and mentored them in Christ. Something we are also called to do. We are to pour what Christ has done for us into our own Marks and Lukes. Preparing the next generation of believers to walk the way of freedom not caring if it leads into the shackles of the world.

Why? Because we are satisfied with the grace of Jesus. There is nothing greater in this world than knowing we are in the presence of God, because of our Savior. We have done nothing to earn it, nothing to point to ourselves and say, “I did it.” We are only saved by the grace of God, and so understand that we hold no judgment over others, but we are servants of that grace, that we might be graceful, as we point others to the Saving Jesus. Then we will come to the same conclusion of Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)”

The letter to Philemon is a final moment in the life of Paul that shows us what really matters in life. Philemon stands at the cross roads of forgiveness and bitterness. Paul has chosen the path of forgiveness; so much so, that he would take on the burden of Onesimus if it meant that Philemon would walk the road with him. Paul proclaimed this when we wrote to the Romans, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. (9:3)” Of course he couldn’t, we’re all responsible for our own choice to accept Jesus as Savior or not. Yet, in Paul we see a model of Christ, who did lay down his life for others to pay the penalty of sin. 

And knowing that consequences of sin, Paul desired that others might not face it, and so would willingly give up his own life. This example is the example that we are all called to. To lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel. To forfeit ourselves for the sake of others. As Jesus stated, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)”

We are called to lay down our lives, that we may have many brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a call that brings temporary hardship, and eternal rewards. Not rewards of silver and gold, but rewards of God’s image bearers being snatched from an eternity away from God. And eternity of self-destruction in sin and death.

Paul’s final words, are a call to us as we close his final letter, to no longer be in the bondage of sin, and to seek forgiveness for both ourselves and the people around us. That we might walk in the way of our Savior, a path well treaded by the likes of Paul before us. God is calling us to shine with his forgiveness to the world. A forgiveness that was shown on the cross, and bought by the blood of God himself. The task wasn’t easy for him, and it won’t be for us, but the result is worth it. Jesus knew it, Paul knew it, and countless others who followed it knew it as well. As Polycarp, a second generation disciple of Jesus was heard saying when commanded to deny Jesus, “Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?” Let us show ourselves to be found in the long line of faithful believers that have gone before us.

My challenge for you this week, is to go before God in prayer with this one dangerous request, to be a faithful disciple to the end as Paul was. To lay down your will in every possible way, that Christ’s freedom would so break every tether that is on you, that it would lead you into cold shackles of imprisonment if need be. And that people would see your example, glorify our Father in heaven, and seek to walk the same path that you have tread. 

Let us be imitators of Paul, who imitated Christ so well for us. That we might bring glory to our Savior. Amen.

Philemon Series Week 4: Slavery Part 2: Working Against Bondage

  Four weeks ago we began to walk through Paul’s letter to Philemon. In that letter Paul calls on his brother in Christ to receive back his runaway slave, Onesimus, as a fellow brother in Christ. By receiving Onesimus as a brother in Christ, God’s intention is to correct a deficiency in the faith of Philemon and restore a broken relationship.

The vehicle by which this all occurs is through slavery. Slavery is an issue that gets brought up a lot when dealing with people that question, is God really good? “If God is good,” the question goes, “then why didn’t he command slavery to be done away with?” Philemon gives us an opportunity to deal with the issue of slavery, because we should always deal with hard issues, so that we might have a deeper understanding of how God works. 

So last week we began to work through God’s approach to slavery. In it we discovered there things: First, slavery wasn’t a part of God’s original design and comes about because of a curse through sin. Second God is pro-freedom and works within a sinful society to elevate slaves towards greater dignity and freedom, because at the time, slavery was a social need to deal with things like debt. Finally, God gives us principles to live by, which, if we follow them, should return us back to God’s original design. 

With that refresher in our mind, we can now turn to the passages from Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy which deal with slavery. And as we delve into these passages, we must remember one more thing we talked about last week: God works within the human capacity. So as we read, we’ll be seeing two things at work: God’s elevation of slaves to greater dignity and freedom, and God’s working within a sinful people. This is illustrated by Jesus in Matthew 19. When asked about divorce, Jesus brings the questioners back to God’s original design of lifetime union under God. To this the questioners respond in verse 7, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?(19:7)” And it’s here that we get an insight into how God deals with sinful humanity, “He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. (19:8)” This is profound because it teaches that God acted in certain ways, not because of his original design, but because of the hardness of hearts, the sinfulness, of humanity, which Jesus equated to his current audience as well. 

With that in mind, we can read from Exodus 21, where we’ll read only the verses pertaining to slaves. 

1 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

7 “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. 9 If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights. 11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money …

16 “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death …

20 “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. 21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money …

26 “When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth …

32 “If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.”

To our modern ears, ears that are steeped in hundreds of years of Christian morality, the chattel slavery of the 1600-1800s, and the continued social ills that it caused, the biblical words that God first used in dealing with the institution of slavery seems immoral. But again, we must remember that God is dealing with people that have no qualms about slavery.

Putting this into perspective, in the ancient Near Eastern the laws were things like this, “If A. breaks the contract and leaves B.’s house and declares thus: ‘I am not a slave-woman and my sons are not slaves,’ B. shall put out the eyes of A. and her children and sell them. (https://core.ac.uk/reader/217424590, pg. 1667)"

Another law concerning runaway slaves was, “The mayor and five elders shall swear the oath of the gods … If they swear and afterwards he discovers his slave …they are thieves: their hands are cut off; they shall give 6000 (shekels of copper to the Palace). (https://core.ac.uk/reader/217424590, pg. 1673)”

Even into the era of the Greco-Roman world, we can see the station of slaves did not improve. In Ancient Greece, Aristotle defended slavery by asserting that slaves were fated to be slaves by their character … (https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/teachings-about-slavery-in-the-bible-and-by-the-early-church-fathers/)

Scholar Mark Cartwright in his article on “Slavery in the Roman World,” wrote, “Slaves were the lowest class of society and even freed criminals had more rights. Slaves had no rights at all in fact and certainly no legal status or individuality. They could not create relations or families, nor could they own property. To all intents and purposes they were merely the property of a particular owner, just like any other piece of property - a building, a chair or a vase - the only difference was that they could speak. (https://www.ancient.eu/article/629/slavery-in-the-roman-world/)"

Speaking about runaway slaves, Laurie Venters writes, “The punishment of Roman slaves was not concerned with rectifying wrongs but re-establishing domination. (https://studenttheses.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item:2659945/view)"

So though we might hear words that make us go, “why such harsh treatment?” The first hearers would have responded with, “why such leniency?” In God’s first words on the subject, he has restricted what can be brought into and excluded from the contract. If a slave came in with things, he leaves with them. If he is given things, he can make a free choice to keep or reject them.

A daughter sold for the purpose of marriage for a son, she was to be treated as a daughter to the master and receive all benefits from that position. If she doesn’t meet the desire for that purpose, she is to be redeemed and not resold. On top of that, if another wife is taken, she cannot be diminished in her standing.

If a slave is stolen and sold, the man who is found in possession of the stolen person, shall be killed. Notice it wasn’t simply the thief, but the one in possession of the stolen person, who is also killed.

If a slave is struck, and is killed, there should be retribution for that murder. Here we might say, “Why should he even strike the person?” To that God adds verse, 26, in which he seeks to deter striking altogether by stating that if a salve suffers life altering damage by the strike, they are to be set free. In this way, God is giving pause to the master’s hand, to think through what he is actually doing. Why strike in the first place if there is a chance he could lose the slave altogether.

Finally, even if the slave is killed by an animal, there should be compensation for their life. We might not like that slavery existed, but God worked in a world that didn’t care two licks about slaves, by seeking to elevate the enslaved in a world of sinners.

Now, we need to jump over to Deuteronomy which is a restatement of the law found throughout Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, hence why it’s called Deuteronomy, which basically means second law. 

In Deuteronomy 15:12-14, we get an additional law about the length of slavery, which reads, “12 If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress.”

A Hebrew slave may only be a slave for six years. Thereby giving a definitive end to the contract by which the slave entered in. 

Verses 16-17 of the same chapter deal with the slave desiring to stay with his master, and gives a way to solidify that contract.

In Deuteronomy 23:15, we are given an alternative to the Near Eastern law of runaway slaves, which reads, “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.” That is a monumental stance on runaway slaves, which flies in the face of what the surrounding people believed, and would speak to the future issue with Philemon.  

Finally in the book of Deuteronomy, we go to Deuteronomy 24:7, “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” This statement entirely outlaws the stealing of slaves from within the nation of Israel themselves, which is taking the broad theft of people from Exodus 21:16, and here adding to it, the selling of the person.

But it doesn’t stop there. There are a few chapters in Leviticus that we need to look at as well. 

Leviticus 19:20-22 reads, “20 If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.”

This one might sound strange, but the purpose is to deal with an ambiguous situation. A woman slave could not give consent to sexual activity. So instead of carrying capital punishment as the law stated (Deuteronomy 22), she was consider guiltless. Since the woman slave was technically property, by social standards the man couldn’t be charged with a crime, but God wanted to show that this was still wrong, so the man had to give an offering to recognize his sin for sexual activity outside of God’s ordained marriage. Rather than being strange, in fact this dealt with the situation as charitable as could be.

Two other passages from Leviticus, chapters 22 and 25 have some interesting information. In speaking within the Levitical priesthood, God states this in Leviticus 22:10-11, “10 A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing, 11 but if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food.” Understand that the Hebrews were allowed to buy slaves from outside the nation of Israel, which is told to us in Leviticus 25:44-46, and these slaves could become generational slaves. However notice something that happens to such slaves. In the context, God says this about the holy things, “Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. (22:3)” So no one who is not a Levite may touch the holy things, yet God puts in a stipulation that any slave bought from outside the Hebrew nations may eat of the holy food. So a true Israelite cannot touch anything holy, but a Levite slave can ingest holy food. That’s an elevation of the foreign slave.

In addition to this elevation, Leviticus 25:6-7 reads, “6 The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, 7 and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.” God provides a promise that when the people let the land rest for its sabbath year, he will provide food for everyone under a household, which includes any slaves. This lets us know that God is not only mindful of the slave, but also of giving them equal rest, as he did with the weekly Sabbath. 

In some of the final covenantal words of God to the people of Israel, God tells them this in Deuteronomy 28:58, “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, 59 then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.” 

A part of those afflictions is verse 68, “And the Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

If the Israelites do not hold to the restraint of what God has said, then they will end up as slaves themselves. In other words, God is telling the Israelites that if they are not mindful of what God has done for them, bringing them out of the slavery of Egypt and giving them his commands, then they will end up like the very slaves they treat poorly. Spoiler, this eventually does happen.

Knowing all of this, we can now look towards the New Covenant of God where the language of slaves takes on a new tone. Jesus states in Mark 10:44, “… whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” In Matthew 20:27, Jesus states, “… and whoever would be first among you must be your slave …” This elevates the position of slave as a servant of servants; which every Christian, especially those in leadership, should strive towards. 

In John 8:34 we’re told, “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.’” Here we learn that there is a deeper slavery than that of physical bondage. Spiritual bondage is something that all of humanity is in, and therefore needs to be dealt with first, which in turn will lead to a release from physical bondage. 

For Philemon, there was still a spiritual point of bondage, which God was dealing with through the physical problem of slavery. Making the question, who was really in bondage? 

Paul would write to the Romans in Romans 6:16-18, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

We’re going to be slaves, either to our own sin or to the work of Christ. Sin’s slavery results in continued physical bondage and leads into eternal death, whereas slavery to Christ leads to spiritual freedom with the implications of physical freedom as well.

This is why when God’s principles are put into practice we get passages like Ephesians 6:5-9 which reads, “5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 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.”

There is an uplifting because of Christ of both the slave to work for Christ where they find themselves and for the master to be kind towards the slave as to Christ. 

It’s when biblical principles are put into practice that we get statements like this from an early church father John Chrysostom (kris-tis-tum), “If you have any care for your slaves, do not employ them in serving your own needs; rather, when you have purchase them, then teach them trades so they can support themselves, then set them free. https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/teachings-about-slavery-in-the-bible-and-by-the-early-church-fathers/#_edn14)”

Scholar Bruce Strom, reflecting on the early Church’s view on slavery writes, “But the Apostolic Constitutions do not regard slavery as a natural condition, the freeing of slaves is encouraged, and when a slave owner free his slaves, this was seen as a type of forgiveness of sins. (https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/teachings-about-slavery-in-the-bible-and-by-the-early-church-fathers/#_edn14)"

But it is here that we must stop and be truthful about the history of the Church. When the Church became a political force within the world in the 300s A.D., it failed to hold to biblical principles and slavery continued. That continuation led to the chattel slavery of the 16-1800s. People used and misused Scripture to condone slavery, and slavery where people are stolen from their land and sold to outsiders. This type of slavery was outlawed in Israel, and yet we, the Christianized West allowed for it to happen. Any results of that deplorable sin, is heaped upon us as a society now, as it is among other western nations. 

We can thank God for people like Angelina Grimké who called on Christians to stand against slavery when she wrote, “It is because I feel a deep and tender interest in your

present and eternal welfare that I am willing thus publicly to address you … To all of you then, known or unknown, relatives or strangers (for you are all one in Christ,) I would speak. I have felt for you at this time, when unwelcome light is pouring in upon the world on the subject of slavery; light which even Christians would exclude … You can do much in every way: four things I will name. 1st. You can read on this subject. 2d. You can pray over this subject. 3d. You can speak on this subject. 4th. You can act on this subject. (https://americainclass.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Grimke_Appeal-to-the-Christian-Women-of-the-South-excerpts.pdf)”

But let us not kid ourselves, it took far too long to react slavery within the wester world, and even now, we too easily overlook the slave trade that is happening through the stealing of people today. 

There are issues around us that we must stand up against that have plagued the Church and have marred the image of Christ to the world. The sex trafficking that occurs throughout the world. The exploration of immigrants. The legal murdering of babies through abortion. The injustices of our justice system. The rampant drug use and homelessness. The sexualization of children and the embrace of sexual and demonic media. 

There is so many things that when we look back at the sins of our past, the past looks at us and would see an even worse society than that which condoned slavery for too long.

As believers today, we must understand God’s desire to move people out of bondage, and we must work, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to address each of those places of bondage. For the world is still shackled in slavery, both physically and spiritually, yet Jesus tells his people, “14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)”

God is calling us to walk in his holy light, to speak up for the defenseless, to buck the bondage that is all around us. That begins with ourselves. We need to have God’s light work in us and destroy the points of bondage that we keep allowing to hold us hostage. Then we need to seek God to see where he would have us work alongside of him.

My challenge for you this week is to first seek God to bring freedom in any places of bondage you have. Second, to seek God in one of these four areas: sex trafficking, exploitation of immigrants, abortion, or drug use. Seek to know where God would have you work against the bondage. And to put Angelina Grimké’s call into action: Read on the subject, pray on the subject, speak on the subject, and act on the subject.

Let us not be passive in the bondage of other people, both spiritually and physically. Instead let us be the people of God who work in our Father’s heart of freedom. Amen.