Bible Study: What about slavery, Paul?
1 Timothy 6:1-2
Click here to read the passage, 1 Timothy 6:1-2.
Click here to read the notes and questions for 1 Timothy 5:17-25.
We’re studying only two verses this time, and it’s going to take you a lot more time to read my notes than Scripture this week. 😃
But these are important verses because the way the Bible discusses slavery is a stumbling block to many non-believers in the 21st Century. Many non-believers point to how the Bible addresses slavery as a reason to reject Christianity and Jesus. They argue that either the Bible doesn’t attack slavery harshly enough or that Paul even endorses slavery.
It’s important for us to have answers for those objections to Christianity and to God’s Word.
What About Slavery, Paul?
Main Idea: Although slavery is a product of sin, slaves should live for the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel.
Here are the four different ways that slavery has been practiced in the history of the world:
Hebrew Servanthood: This servanthood was designed to provide for poorer Israelites and their families. Leviticus 25:35–43 describes a system of servanthood in Israel whereby someone could sell himself into “slavery” in order to escape poverty. Such an individual was to be treated not as a slave but as a hired servant, a worker. The individual would basically enter into a contractual agreement with an employer, working until he could establish himself as a free and full citizen again.
Roman Slavery: Some scholars estimate that more than one-third of the people in the Roman Empire were slaves. That’s about 50 million or 60 million individuals! Some slaves were simply employees who did a variety of different kinds of work: teachers, craftsmen, managers, cooks and even government officials. Many slaves owned slaves themselves. It’s also important to recognize that Roman slavery was not fundamentally based on ethnicity or skin color but on economic and social status. In order to gain Roman citizenship and thus enter into Roman society, many people would sell themselves into slavery. In many cases slavery was beneficial for poorer individuals, providing security and stability for slaves in a variety of different venues. There were also opportunities beyond slavery, for many slaves were released by the time they were 30 years of age, as they had become capable of providing for themselves at that point.
Indentured Servitude: This form of slavery was more common in colonial America, as many could not afford to come to the new country on their own. They would contract themselves out as indentured servants and agree to work in certain households in apprentice-type roles until they could earn enough money to pay off their debt. Historians estimate that more than one-half to two-thirds of European white immigrants who came to America came as indentured servants. This picture of slavery is much closer to Hebrew servanthood than anything else.
African Slave Trade: This form of slavery was promoted across the 18th and 19th centuries, as millions of Africans were traded and sold across Europe. They were transported in cruel, grueling conditions that would leave many of them dead before arriving at their destination. Upon being sold into slavery, these slaves were subjected to harsh working conditions as well as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and torture. This is not the kind of slavery Paul was addressing in 1 Timothy 6.
Pastor David Platt writes in Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus:
“When Paul addresses Timothy in verses 1–2, he is writing to the pastor of a church where there is likely tension between slaves and masters. … While some slaves had unbelieving and sometimes cruel masters, this passage will be confusing to you if the only picture of slavery you have is the African slave trade. Some of the slaves the apostle was addressing were likely sitting in the church amid Christian brothers and sisters who loved them, cared for them, and were commanded to provide for them as fellow members of the body of Christ. Though Paul was not ignorant of the evils of slavery in his day, he was by no means condoning the mistreatment of slaves.”
The instructions in the Old Testament and in 1 Timothy that speak of slaves are addressing specific circumstances surrounding slavery at a specific time. When we understand this context, we see that biblical instructions concerning slavery do not imply biblical approval of slavery.
More from Platt:
“Slavery is not God’s ultimate design. It is a product of sin. When Paul addressed slavery, he was not endorsing it; he was helping shepherd people who were trapped in a sin-tainted economic and social system that produced the need for slavery.
“Consider how Scripture deals similarly with other issues. Was divorce a part of God’s original creation? No, absolutely not. Divorce is clearly a result of sin entering the world. Yet Scripture addresses divorce by giving us guidelines and regulations for this less-than-ideal reality (Deuteronomy 24:1–4; Matthew 19:3–9).
“We see something similar with slavery. Even though slavery was a product of sin, God addressed it at different times and in different ways throughout Scripture.”
We need to be reminded that the first-century Roman slavery of the New Testament period was not based on ethnicity or skin color like the African slave trade. The New Testament vehemently opposes any form of ethnic or racial superiority. From Genesis 1:27 forward, the Bible tells us that God created all people with equal dignity and value.
Look at Galatians 3:28: “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
In other words, even though we have differences, we all have equal dignity before God, and as believers we have an equal position in Christ.
How the Bible was Misused to Support Slavery
Some slaveholders in the U.S. South used edited versions of the Bible to justify slavery and control enslaved people. One notable example is the “Slave Bible,” officially titled “Parts of the Holy Bible, Selected for the Use of the Negro Slaves in the British West-India Islands.” This Bible was created in the early 19th century and omitted large portions of Scripture that could inspire hope, freedom or rebellion among enslaved people.
For example, passages such as the story of the Exodus, where Moses leads the Israelites out of slavery, and Galatians 3:28, which states that all are equal in Christ, were removed. However, texts that seemed to support submission, such as Ephesians 6:5 (“Slaves, obey your earthly masters”) were retained.
In South Africa, during the era of colonialism and apartheid, the Bible was also selectively interpreted and used to justify systems of oppression, including slavery and racial segregation. Some Christian leaders and institutions taught that apartheid and slavery were part of a divine order, using specific biblical passages to support their claims.
For example, the story of the “curse of Ham” (Genesis 9:18-27) was misinterpreted to suggest that African people were destined to be subjugated.
Slavery Today
Many Americans don’t understand that slavery still exists — and today we often call it “human trafficking.”
As of 2021, an estimated 50 million people worldwide were part of the human trafficking and slavery industries. That includes buying, selling, trading and exploiting people for forced labor or for sex. One source said that human trafficking is the second-largest industry in the world today — and the fastest growing, up from 40 million in 2016.
Of course, women and children remain disproportionately vulnerable to these forms of exploitation. Notably, more than half of all forced labor and a quarter of all forced marriages occur in upper-middle-income or high-income countries.
Questions
Have you heard anyone criticize the Bible for what it says about slavery? What concerns have you had when you read what the Bible says about slavery especially in light of how some Christians have used the Bible to justify the practice?
What is Paul’s main motivation in instructing slaves according to verse 1, and why is this crucial for this important and sensitive issue?
How was the American slave trade different from the slavery in Old Testament Israel or in New Testament Rome?
What is the difference between regulating a less-than-ideal situation, such as slavery or divorce, and condoning it?
How do the various forms of slavery violate the principle that all people have equal dignity before God?
How does our understanding of slavery help us appreciate what Jesus did for us? How does it help us understand our proper response?