Colossians chapter three, reading down into chapter four. This is one of these instances where we understand that while many of the chapter divisions are very good, some of them come at unfortunate times. And here, I believe the theme of chapter three is continued in the chapter four, verse one, that's all part of one collective whole. So, let's read Colossians 3, verse 22. Servants, of course, the word literally means slaves, bond servants. That's the word. Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with thy service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, Do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done. And there is no respect of persons. Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. Amen. Now, before we come to the verses in Colossians that we read from tonight, I want us to look briefly at Ephesians chapter 6. We have noted, I'm sure, in our studies in Colossians, that much of the material is similar to that which is found in Ephesians. And tonight we will see that the words to servants and masters are somewhat the same. Ephesians 6, verse 5, Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh. with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. Not with thy service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And ye masters do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him." When we look at the book of Colossians, we find that the first chapter deals with the theme of the Christian and his Christ. And there were many points that we noted under the heading of a description of the truth about Christ. In chapter two, the theme we found was the Christian and his creed. And in that chapter, you have largely a defense of the truth about Christ. Now, in the third chapter, the practical, the more practical part of the book begins and it speaks there of the Christian and his character. And we could say that here in this third chapter, there is found a demonstration of the truth. regarding Christ. You see, there must be, and there will be, to some degree at least, in the lives of the people of God, a practical demonstration of that which they profess. True Christianity is going to show up in the life. It will manifest itself. Now, in Colossians 3, it speaks of holiness in the Christian heart, of harmony in the Christian church, of honor in the Christian home, and as we shall see tonight, of honesty in the Christian workplace. Now, I want you to notice all the way along here the balance of Paul's teaching. It's not that he gives the wives a hard time and lets the husbands off. It's not that he has a lot to say to the kids and then lets the fathers and the parents off. There's balance here. When he's dealing with various relationships, there's teaching for the wives, there's teaching for the husbands. There are injunctions for children and then for the parents. And the same is true of servants and masters. Now, remember that chapter 4, verse 1 belongs with chapter 3, verses 22 to 25. It's all one section. And we learn from all that I've just said, these relationships that are dealt with, that the Christianity of the Bible is not just a creed to profess, but it is also a life to be lived. There's no use in saying that you believe certain things if it never impacts your life. If it doesn't make any difference in your day-to-day relationships and the way that you live, then what good is it? Of what possible use is a profession like that. Now, as Christians, we're taught in Colossians 3 from verse 1 that our eyes are to look toward heaven. Now, we're not in heaven yet. We're not in heaven yet. We are to live properly, however, right here on the earth. And if you look with me again at chapter 3, verse 1 and 2, It says, if ye then be risen with Christ, or you could say the sense of that is, since ye then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Now look at verse 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. mortify or kill off, put to death, therefore, your members which are upon the earth. You see, we're not in heaven yet. We're living here on the earth, but yet we are to live as those who are making preparation for heaven. We are to live as those whose eyes are toward heaven. The Lord has not received us into glory just yet, but we must live for Him here and now. Now, how are we going to do that? Well, the Word of God is given to God's people to guide their personal lives, their domestic relationships, their church life and their business life. The Word of God impacts every area of our living. The Apostle has given directions for the ideal home. Now you will notice his directions for the ideal workplace. That's what we're going to be looking at. from verse 22 of chapter 3 onwards. Now, by way of preface, let me just say the Bible commends hard work. The Bible commends hard work. Laziness is not compatible with a Christian profession. And it is a fact that the devil will always find plenty for idle hands to do. You may have heard the story of the bees who went to Barbados They started making preparations for the winter. When they found that there was no winter in Barbados, they started stinging people. Because they had nothing better to do. And you're going to find that the stings of society, a lot of times, are linked to a lack of work. A lot of the social problems that we have in the country are linked to an attitude, give me all that you can and I will can all that I get. It's true. It's very true. Idleness is certainly not compatible with a Christian profession. In fact, the Bible tells us that if any provide not for his own, he's worse than an infidel. He has denied the faith. I'd love to pin that up on some of these government agencies, that text. If any would not work, neither should he eat. That's a biblical principle. That's what the scripture teaches. So young people that are here, learn to work. Learn to work. Don't look to have a free ride through life. They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. There is, if you look hard enough. And there's a lot of people in our society who live just like that. Now, the Bible talks about hard work. And by the way, let me scotch this nonsense that work only started as a result of sin. That is not true. That is not true. Adam was a worker before he fell. You know how I know that? Because the Bible tells me. Genesis chapter 2 verse 15. And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Adam was a worker before he ever sinned. Now then, when he sinned, he began to earn his bread with the sweat of his brow. Sweat is one of those things that results from sin. So if you're having trouble with it tonight, you know what to blame. There was no sweat before there was sin, but there was work. Oh yes, there was work. And by the way, when we go to heaven, we're not going to be sitting about, lying about on clouds, like Cleopatra on her couch with people dropping grapes into her mouth. That's not going to be happening. You know what the Bible says? We need to stick with what Scripture actually says. The Bible says, Revelation 22 verse 3, the last part of the verse, and His servants shall serve Him." Service. We're going to be serving the Lord for all eternity. But, of course, not mixed with sin. What blessed service that will be. There is no question that the Bible commends hard work. In Proverbs chapter 10 and verse number 4, It says, he becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. I remember a man telling me that he got to be the second in charge of a multinational company, but it wasn't because he went through life on a free ride. When he was a youngster in his mid-teens, he had two jobs. And he started out selling shoelaces for one of those jobs. He ended up being second to the CEO of a big company. Because he was a worker. Worked hard. And hard work has its rewards, or at least it ought to. I could really get into a sermon tonight on the taxation system and all the rest of it, but I'll resist the temptation. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Listen to this. This is all very good. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 11. And that ye study to be quiet. Some of us have to do that. We have to actually study to be quiet. Make it something that we meditate upon. And to do your own business. And to work. It's not a dirty word, it's in the Bible. To work with your own hands as we commanded you. That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without. And that ye may have lack of nothing. See that? work. Now to get to Colossians chapter 3 it's been suggested that Paul's teaching regarding slaves and masters may have had some connection with the particular circumstances in Colossae. I'm not opposed to that view because I happen to know that Philemon and Onesimus were both from Colossae and if you were to read chapter 4 verse 9 of Colossians, you would see that Onesimus is mentioned. He says, with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. But what he doesn't tell you there is that Onesimus was a slave. He was the slave of Philemon. Now go over to the book of Philemon. It's only one chapter, so if you go to Philemon chapter 2, you're in the wrong Bible. There's only one chapter, right? The Epistle of Paul to Philemon, right after Titus and just before Hebrews, if you need any help. Alright, Philemon, verse 1, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow labourer. Now look at verse number 10. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds. Now to Just get right to the heart of this thing. Onesimus was the slave of Philemon. And it seems anyway, from what is written in Philemon, that he stole from his master and he ran away. He ran away to the city of Rome. But showing you the providence of God, while he was there, he encountered the apostle Paul. Paul preached to him. Paul witnessed to him. And Onesimus got saved. That's what he means, I have begotten him in my bond. He was his spiritual father. And now he writes to Philemon and he says, now, look, I'm sending him back to you. But when I send him back to you, I don't want you to be receiving him merely as a servant. Look at that Philemon verse 16. By the way, there's a little hint here that Paul didn't believe in slavery, didn't approve of it. We'll get to that in a moment. Not now as a servant, that means a bond slave, but above a servant, a brother beloved. especially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written it with mine own hand. I will repay it." And in that instance, Paul is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that's exactly what the Lord Jesus has said concerning us. Father, if he is wronged, If he has wronged thee, if he owes thee aught, put it on my account. That's what the Lord Jesus has done. He has taken our sins and our sorrows and made them his very own. But let me just say this. One of those who delivered the letter to the Colossians when Paul wrote that epistle was in fact the runaway slave Onesimus who had been reconciled to his master Philemon. So that's interesting. But also I have to say, this epistle was written against a background of extensive slavery in the Roman Empire. It is reckoned that there were somewhere in the region of perhaps over 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire. That was roughly over a half of the population. And slaves among the Romans were considered sub-human. A slave was not a person, he was a tool or a commodity. And so the master-slave relationship was not usually a happy one. And thus, there was much friction. And in fact, in the Christian church, there was potential for tremendous trouble. Because there were always, in normal circumstances, lots of causes for grievances. in relationships between slaves and masters. In that cultural setting, a church was established. Now Paul, I don't believe, went into Colossae preaching against slavery. But nevertheless, as the gospel was preached through Epaphras in Colossae, through Paul in other places, both slaves and masters were converted. And we know, for example, from Colossians 4 verse 1, that he's talking to Christian masters, for he says, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven. You have a master in heaven. So, he's writing to Christian slave owners. And so, when you look at this situation, slaves converted, masters converted, the potential for great tension in the church existed. So, it was a sensitive problem to deal with. And the Apostle Paul brought into this situation some revolutionary teaching. And what was that? You go back to Galatians chapter 3 verse 28, and this statement right here would be anathema to the Romans. In fact, it would be anathema to most of those that Paul would preach to. Listen to it. There is neither Jew nor Greek. The Jews wouldn't have liked that. So they didn't even have any dealings with the Samaritans. There's neither Jew nor Greek, Galatians 3.28. There is neither bond nor free. You see that? There is neither male nor female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. So, masters and slaves, these so-called sub-human creatures, you're equal with your masters as far as God is concerned. Now, let me say this. Paul did not write the epistles that he wrote to fight slavery. And there are people who have remarked upon that. And believe it or not, there are people in the day in which we live who still believe that slavery is right and it's scriptural and we should have it. Paul did not set out here to fight slavery, but let me say this, neither did he sanction it. And Paul was not in the social reform movement, but he set out to change lives and attitudes through the gospel. And if you read secular history, you will find that such gospel preaching resulted in the overthrow of the Roman Empire, just as the gospel preaching of later generations and centuries through revival preachers resulted in the abolition of slavery and child labor. Some of the great social welfare movements followed hard in the train of revival preaching. And I'm thinking of the preaching of Wesleyan Whitfield in England. William Wilberforce and the efforts that he made to stop not only slavery, but child labor. You see, there was a day when some of you kids that are here would have been sweeping out chimneys. You'd have been made to do it. Crawl up in those little holes up inside of brick chimneys and sweep them out. You didn't get very much of anything for it. Child labor. It was a form of slavery. That stopped as the gospel progressed. And so what are we saying here? Paul dealt with the situation as he found it and his teaching was definitely new to the people of the Roman Empire. This business of slaves having respect for their masters and masters having respect for their slaves. Paul's teaching is given against a background of ancient world culture. But here's the thing. The message is still valid and vital for our own situation. You replace the word servants with employees and the word masters with employers and you have a recipe for good relations in the workplace. If every employee were to take these words to heart, if every employer were to take these words to heart, what a different place a lot of factories and offices and workplaces would be. A place of work should most certainly be a place of harmony between Christian employers and Christian employees. Now, I know that's a rare combination, perhaps, in our own day. But where it does exist, what the teaching of Scripture here is should be carried out in that situation. There is general teaching here about employers and employees, and I want us to think about these things, as the Lord would help us. First of all, Let us notice in verse 22 of chapter 3, the dedication of the Christian employee. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. The dedication of a Christian worker. Do you know that a Christian ought to seek to be the very best worker in his place of employment. He ought to be the best, whether it be in the office, on the shop floor, behind the counter, in the store, in the warehouse, in the factory, or wherever. He ought to have, she ought to have a good testimony as an honest and hard-working employee. We're taught here that he ought to be conscientious. Not a shirker, but a worker. Notice the word I-service. Not with I-service. You know what I-service is? It's only doing your work when the boss is watching you. That's I-service. I have worked in what we're pleased to call secular employment. I had a whole variety of different employments before coming into the best one of all, the ministry. And I know what it's like for guys to shirk, to mess about, to go off and sleep off a hangover from the night before up in the bales at the back of the factory or whatever. That kind of thing goes on. And worse things than that. And a lot of those guys, always was sickened but at the same time amused by the way that they would behave. You didn't have to hear somebody say the boss is coming, you just had to look at them. See how industrious they were and how busy they were. You knew the boss was coming. Because that's the only time they ever really got the finger out was when somebody was coming. And it's a sad thing, you know, when some need a foreman or somebody who's a boss to stand over them. in order for work to get done. You know, there's an amusing anecdote about this. There was an actual factory. I think this is a true story. There was a factory suggestion box for the employees for improving working conditions. I kid you not, this was one of the suggestions. I quote, the foreman should no longer wear rubber heels on his shoes. You know why? Because they wanted to hear him approaching. They wanted to know when he was coming. That was in a factory suggestion box for improving working conditions. See, boy, that's amazing, isn't it? The people who have a brass neck like that. Let me tell you something. As a Christian, as a worker, you should not need to be watched. Because you should be remembering that God is always watching. Remember what Hagar said, Thou God seest me at all times. Think of Psalm 139. A great psalm of the omnipresence and the omniscience of God. God is everywhere present and God knows all things. Look at Psalm 139. Verse 1, O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest. my down-sitting and mine up-rising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways." God knows everything about us. There's another verse that says, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. And what Paul is teaching us in Colossians 3 is that we must work with a single eye to God's glory. Notice the phrase there, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. Isn't it interesting that Paul is talking here about what you may well call menial tasks? Some of the things that servants had to do for their masters was really very, very menial, sometimes even degrading. Paul said, even when you're doing that, you're to think of it as service to the Lord. You're not doing it unto men. That's why I say, to the Christian, all things are sacred and nothing is secular. You know, we have this idea that there are those in full-time service and then there's all the rest. And those that are in full-time service are serving the Lord and they do what they do as unto the Lord. But everybody else just gets on with life and it's nothing really to do with your walk with God. How wrong that is! Our whole lives are worshipped. We're not just worshipping when we come to church. Our whole lives are worshipped. Fearing God in your workplace, in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, He says, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. Look at verse 17. of the same chapter. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." The ungodly person says, ah, that'll do. That'll do fine. Don't need to worry about it. The boss will never see that. That'll do. In the railways in Great Britain, they used to talk about the guy brushing the dirt till it went away. That's right. You know how that goes. Do a real way job with it. Just keep brushing it till it goes away. Eventually it will, you know, the wind will blow it away. But that's no way to clean up. The ungodly attitude is, that will do fine. But it's not the attitude of the Christian. The Christian's not satisfied or shouldn't be with shoddy work. The Christian should be conscientious. That's why I believe that things that the church puts out, whether it be tracts, magazines or whatever, should be quality. You know what it's like to get some old thing in your mailbox, badly photocopied, and it's not even straight on the page. You feel like throwing it in the trash, and that's what you do, and that's what it deserves. Even when you're folding a leaflet, you ought to fold it exactly so that it looks right. That's right. Conscientious. You know, there was a servant maid once, and she was asked how she knew she was now a Christian. She says, because I sweep under the mats now. That's a good answer. I sweep under the mats now. You see, as a believer, conscientious, dedicated, not only that, but consecrated, and that's really the heart of this. It's not just that you do a good job, because a lot of ungodly people, let's face it, do that as well. There are some really good, unsaved workers. who could show up, a lot of the people of God. But the thing that they don't have is consecration. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Look at this. As to the Lord. Verse 23. As to the Lord. That's consecration. Or if you look at the next verse. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. You mean standing behind the sink with dishes and serving the Lord Christ? That's absolutely right. Absolutely. Driving that truck or that van and serving the Lord Christ? Absolutely. Working in that office or doing whatever it is that you do, doing it as unto the Lord. And that ties in, of course, with Ephesians chapter 6, verses 5 through 7. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ. Not that I serve as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. But I thought doing the will of God was just a preacher. I thought that doing the will of God was just a missionary. No, no, no, no. No. In one sense, yes. Hopefully the preacher and the missionary are doing the will of God, but they're not the only people doing the will of God from the heart With goodwill doing service as to the Lord and not to men Consecrated service a Young man once he was just a It was just a store assistant working behind the counter His boss was away, and a traveling salesman came to the store. And he said to the young man that he wanted him to do a certain transaction, but it was a shady thing. It was dishonest. And the young man was a Christian, and he said, Sir, I can't do that. The salesman said, It's all right, son. The master's not in. And the young boy pointed heavenward, and he says, My master is always in. My master is always in. What a good statement that was. Do your work as consecrated service to the Lord. There was a man many years ago called Samuel Chadwick, who said that he wrote his letters as if he were writing to God. And so he was careful to have no blots or mistakes. You say, oh, that's taken it a bit far. I mean, that's that's that's going over the top. Not according to Colossians 3 and verse 23. Whatsoever you do, includes writing a letter. Do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. See, the attitude so often of people is, well, I'm employed by this person or this firm, and so any kind of service will do them. After all, such a big operation anyway. It really doesn't matter. Yes, but it does matter. It does matter. It matters to the Lord. It matters very much to the Lord. Because our Master is not just the foreman, or the boss, or the superior. Our Master is the Lord. Look at chapter 4, verse 1. And this is true for the servant as much as the master. True for the employee as much as the employer. Knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. When I was a little boy, my grandfather lived with us. And he was very fond of playing his old gramophone. Now, some of you probably don't even know what a gramophone is. But, I mean, this predates just about everything that you know today by way of an entertainment center or whatever. I mean, DVD players, CD players, forget about it. The gramophone, that was the old thing that you played, these old 78 records, the ones that, you know, if you dropped them, they smashed to pieces. Well, my grandfather had a whole bunch of those things. And they had a whole bunch of old records. Some of them were great. And on those old records, I think they were RCA records, there was a picture of a dog with a gramophone. I see how old some of you are. You're smiling. But you know what it said on there? His master's voice. His master's voice. See, the dog's sitting with a gramophone. They can hear his master's voice from the gramophone. his master's voice. What about our master's voice? Do we hear that even as we go about our daily work? I know this is a republic. I come from a monarchy. Years ago, again, I don't say it anymore, but when I was a young boy, letters used to have on them, when they were from the government, OHMS. A lot of people used to make different other references out of that, but I'll tell you what it meant, those letters on the envelope. On her majesty's service, or if the king was on the throne, on his majesty's service. Because the government was supposed to be serving the king. But you know that should describe the Christian at his work. On his master's service, that ought to be. The way it is. Everything to the Christian should be sacred. Even our leisure time consecrated to the Lord. We thank God for health and strength to do whatever hobby it is that we do. And if you like to go fishing and sit by the river, you can thank God for the opportunity to do it. For the health and strength, for the fresh air, for the sunshine or whatever. And use that in order to be a better believer, a better Christian. A Christian should be consecrated, a Christian worker should also be conscientious and a Christian worker should be committed. Look at verses 23 and 24. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. Think about your work in this way. Would I do it in this fashion if I were doing it directly for the Lord Jesus Christ? Think about it. You know, I really believe that would change the work practices of Christians if they could realize that everything we do is to be an offering to the Lord. I have to do my best for Jesus at work or some of you children at school. You know, the idea, well, as long as I get a pass mark, that's not right. Now, if you're doing your best, and you get just the pass mark. Well, that's fine, because you've done what you could. You've done your best and you just, you know, you didn't get A pluses all the time. You just got there and no more. That's fine, if you're doing your best. But if the attitude is, I could get an A plus, but a C plus will do, that's wrong. It's wrong. It's wrong before God. We need to be committed to doing our best for the Lord. This is what the Bible teaches. I told you this is very practical. Look at Ephesians 6, verses 7 and 8, with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men. Notice again, he's not talking to preachers. He's not talking to missionaries. He's not even talking to people who we loosely call full-time Christian workers. He's talking about servants. We say employees. The same, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free, whether you're a slave or or a master. Now, remember that in Ecclesiastes chapter 9 in the Old Testament, and verse number 10, the Lord says something about this. What a motto for Christian living! Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. I pray the Lord to deliver me in my ministry from laziness. From ever, ever having the attitude, that'll do. That sermon will do. That message will do those people. What kind of an attitude would that be? You'd be very disappointed in that, wouldn't you? If you thought that your minister had that kind of attitude, and by God's grace I pray that I never ever have that attitude. Nah, that will do. That'll be fine. That'll fly. No. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. committed to doing your best. About 200 years ago, the editors of a famous newspaper in Britain called The Times, still printed today. They were very embarrassed by the errors in their paper. People were telling them all the time, every copy produced has typographical errors and we're tired of it. So the bosses went to the compositors and the printing staff and they said, right, From now on, the first copy of every paper that comes out in the morning off the press is going to be sent to the King. You know, it's a historical fact that there was an immediate improvement. Immediate. Immediately. You know why? Because they were prompted by a greater motivation. The thought of the King examining their workmanship. The King. But we're talking there about an earthly king. Here, we're talking about a heavenly king. We're talking about the king of kings. He sees our work. He sees all that we do. And the Bible says in verse 24 of Colossians 3, For ye serve the Lord Christ. Any work that you do will be seen by God. It is recognized. It is recognized. Any work that you do will be acknowledged by God. It will be rewarded. And of course, the converse is also true. Verse 25 says that, But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons. Dishonesty, shoddy workmanship, it's all seen by God. And as an employee, you're paid to work and to do a good job to the best of your ability. This is part of practical Christian living. You know, I think of Joseph in the Old Testament and how the Bible tells us in Genesis 39 that the Lord was with him. But that's not all it tells us. It says in verse three of Genesis 39, And his master saw that the Lord was with him. His master saw that the Lord was with him. and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. Let me give you a little practical point. Do you think that whoever your employer is is going to want to listen to whatever you have to say about the things of God if you don't do a good day's work for him? It's not going to happen. Because he's not going to believe that your Christianity is worth anything because it doesn't make you do good work. Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had, he put into his hand. Some employees, I know that this is a mark of the ungodly anyway, they think I can do a shoddy job, I can skive off, as we used to say back home, skive off work a little bit, just, you know, go AWOL for a few minutes. They'll never notice. Because, Here's the reason. My employer doesn't treat me right. My employer doesn't pay me the right wages. He doesn't pay me enough anyway, so it won't matter if I just, you know, take a few of these pencils or a few of these things from work. I have the right to steal these things from the firm or the boss because, after all, he doesn't pay me the right wage anyway. That's the reasoning, and that's an ungodly reasoning, and it's not your affair. The Bible teaches us that we are to be scrupulously honest in our dealings, in all that we do. In Ephesians 4 verse 28, for example, we read these words, Let him that stole, steal no more. That's a mark of a Christian. Let him that stole, steal no more. But rather, let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. There's so much about this in the New Testament, far more than maybe we would have realized to start with. Again, let me refer you to 1 Timothy chapter 6. Look at the first two verses. You see the motivation? The motivation is that the name of God and the teaching of God's Word be not blasphemed and brought into disrepute. Isn't that a sad thing? when a worldling has cause to say, I would never get a Christian to work for me because they don't work right. Or I wouldn't get a Christian to do that job for me because he's dishonest. That is so grievous. They that have believing masters, he goes on, let them not despise them because they are brethren. You know, the idea, well, I'm a Christian, my boss is a Christian, so he's going to give me a few breaks here and there that he won't give to the ungodly. That's not right. No. They that have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather do them service because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. And look at this, I'm on biblical ground tonight. These things teach and exhort. That's what I'm doing tonight. I'm teaching and exhorting these things. You say you're preaching works righteousness. No, I am not preaching works righteousness. No one is saved by being a good employee. No one will get to heaven by treating their boss correctly. But I have grave doubts about those and the destiny of those who don't treat the boss right, who don't do a decent day's work for a decent day's pay. Because it would make me question what their experience really is of the grace of God. Has it made a change in your life? By the way, we're told that we are to give the proper service, even toward those that are not the best of employers. 1 Peter 2, verse 18. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. The froward means the crooked or perverse. So, if you have a perverse employer, it doesn't matter. You're serving the Lord Christ. And 1 Peter 4, reading from verse 14, If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, haply are ye, for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. A committed employee serving the Lord. Isn't that what it says here in the text? Verse 24 again, just to repeat those words. For ye serve the Lord Christ. Do you think about that when you get up in the morning if you go to a place of employment? Today I'm going to this place to serve the Lord Christ. I'm going to serve the Lord in what I'm doing. If I do a job, I'm going to do it to the best of my ability, by the grace of God, with the Lord's help, so that somebody coming behind me and examining that work will say, that was done by that guy who's a Christian. That was done by that fellow who professes to love the Lord. Look at it. Hopefully he's not going to say, look at it, because how bad it is. But look how good a job they have done. That person really believes. what they profess. See, that's what this is all about. This is what this is all about. If we love the Lord Jesus Christ, then that is going to impact our everyday living. What good is it just to be a great Christian in church? To be at your best here, that's good. But to be at your best at home, to be at your best out there in society, to be at your best in the workplace, to be at your best, even in your leisure time. Anybody that knows me knows I'm not a golfer. But I like golf. I enjoy getting out there, especially with a Christian. I don't enjoy people swearing over their three-foot missed putt, you know, I don't enjoy that. But what kind of a testimony is it when you say to a guy, what did you get on that hole? He says, four. And you were watching him as he played every stroke of a six. That's not too good, is it? You say, well, that's only sport. Oh, but wait a minute. The Lord even looks at that. The Lord knows about that. Every single thing that we do, you serve the Lord Christ. You say, on a golf course, you serve the Lord Christ. That's right. If it's part of your leisure time, if that's what you happen to do, maybe you do something else. You serve the Lord Christ every moment of every day. That's my view of worship. The view of some people is that worship is only when you're in four walls in church. But that's not the biblical view of worship. It certainly is not the view of the Apostle Paul where worship is concerned. Paul's view of worship is that it impacts every single relationship in my life and everything that I do. Every day. You must say as a believer, Lord, help me to serve the Lord Christ. Why should I serve the Lord Christ? Do I need to answer the question? Why should we think upon everything that we do as service for Christ? Because all that the Lord Jesus did when he was on this earth and indeed all that the Lord Jesus does right now in heaven is for the benefit of his people. and for the glory of His Father. And surely, if He has done what He has done for us, we ought not to count any task, however menial or insignificant it might be, to be service for Him. I just want to close with a testimony from our youth camp. On the Friday night, we always have a time for testimonies. And those that were there will remember this, I'm sure. There was a young girl there who stood up to give a testimony. And I thought it was a very good testimony because she wasn't talking about how she got saved or anything like that. She was just talking about the fact that when she came to camp, she thought that camp was going to be all fun. And the idea was, what are the staff of camp going to do for me? I'm here to have a great time. I'm here to have a big time. I'm going to enjoy everything. And she said, lo and behold, I find that our cabin has to clean the toilets. in the bathroom. I have to do all of these messy things. She said, I'm an only child. If you're an only child, forgive this. She said, I'm an only child and I'm used with a lot of stuff being done for me and I never have to do these things. And she said, when I first knew that we were going to have to do this, I thought, what is this? And she said, I was angry. But she said, then the Lord taught me that everything I do, is for the service of Christ. And she said, so I just want to stand here and tell you tonight. Thank you for allowing me to serve you. Because after all, the Lord Jesus Christ took the basin of water and the towel and he washed the disciples feet. And that was a menial task. He was willing to do it. So why should I not be willing to clean the bathrooms after you guys? I thought that was a great testimony. Because that's exactly the spirit that's crystallized here by Paul in these verses. He's really saying, all that you do, and that's verse 23, whatsoever, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ. You say, what about the employers? Well, I have to leave them till next time and they'll get their turn. in the will of the Lord. May God help us with this practical teaching to put it into practice by His grace as His people. Let's all pray.