by Sewell Hall<\/p>\n
“Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men<\/em>” (I Corinthians 7:21-23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At first glance, these words may seem to have no practical value for us. But look a little closer. The chief problem with being a slave was that it put you into a position in which it was difficult to be a Christian. There are many other circumstances, however, that might make it equally difficult. Paul’s teaching would apply in principle to any such circumstance.<\/p>\n
If there is no honorable escape from the position, just make the best of it. If you are a slave, just be a better slave. “All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against<\/em>” (I Timothy 6:1). If you are married to a non-Christian, “the wife shall not leave her husband…and…the husband shall not send his wife away<\/em>” (I Corinthians 7:10-11) If one is under contract to those not Christians, the contract should be fulfilled so long as our action does not involve something wrong in itself. Under all circumstances, “We must obey God rather than man<\/em>” (Acts 5:29). But we do not have to sever the relationship.<\/p>\n
If the relationship is such that it can be honorably terminated, the Christian should take advantage of the opportunity. “If you are able to become free, then do it.” If a job hinders you from being a Christian, quit it. If a school you are attending, if the company you are keeping, if the community in which you are living, if the places you are going, if any of these hinder your Christian service, make the changes that are necessary to free yourself of the bad influence. And do it regardless of how precious the thing may be to you. Jesus said, “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell<\/em>” (Mark 9:45). We cannot afford to remain at a spiritual disadvantage if we can honorably escape it.<\/p>\n
Above all things, if you are free of entanglements or alliances that might hinder you, remain free<\/strong>. You have been bought with a price; you are Christ’s slave; He has first claim in you; do not allow yourself to be placed at any disadvantage in serving Him. Avoid any contract, any relationship, any companions, any came, any amusement, any sport, any job, and promotion – anything<\/strong> that would hinder.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Sewell Hall “Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. You were bought with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[790,1552,1515],"class_list":["post-54134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-freedom","tag-liberty","tag-slavery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3144,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-masters-under-the-old-testament-law-beat-or-kill-their-slaves\/","url_meta":{"origin":54134,"position":0},"title":"Could masters under the Old Testament law beat or kill their slaves?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I know what the Scriptures teach about how we Christians today\u00a0are to treat our fellow man and that it is a serious sin to murder, that being so, Is it true that during the Old Testament age\u00a0the slave\u00a0masters had the right to severely beat or to even kill their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3141,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-rome-a-safe-haven-for-runaway-slaves\/","url_meta":{"origin":54134,"position":1},"title":"Was Rome a safe haven for runaway slaves?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Rome at one time a safe haven for runaway slaves? Answer: Roman law in regard to slaves was quite severe. A Roman master could treat his slave as he pleased -- sell him, beat him, or put him to death. However, morality and practical matters caused most masters\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29845,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-are-slaves-to-god-then-arent-we-forced-to-obey-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":54134,"position":2},"title":"If we are slaves to God, then aren’t we forced to obey Him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: \"And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ\" (I Corinthians 7:22 NLT). Does this mean that if you were a slave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84181,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-would-a-servant-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":54134,"position":3},"title":"What Would a Servant Do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"But Jesus called them to him and said, \"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40480,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/slavery-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":54134,"position":4},"title":"Slavery in the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 6:15-23 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At times you will run into people who attempt to discredit the Bible by stating that some aspect of its teaching was immoral or at least shady. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The idea is that if it was wrong about one concept, then it can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62081,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-continuation-of-slavery\/","url_meta":{"origin":54134,"position":5},"title":"The Continuation of Slavery","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 8:28-36 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is difficult to imagine, but slavery continues in the United States \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Oh, I know that slavery officially ended with the passing of the thirteenth amendment on December 6, 1865. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yet slavery continues to this day. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps you are thinking, \u201cI\u2019m an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}