Would you take God's Word this morning, please, open to the book of Ephesians chapter 6. We've been studying this letter on Sunday mornings, Paul's letter to the Ephesians, and this morning we come to chapter 6, and I want you to look at verse number 5, and we'll read a few of these verses together. Would you stand for the reading of God's Word, please? We read a few of these verses. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, and singleness of heart as unto Christ. Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as 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 you 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 thank you so much you may be seated would you pray with me father we thank you for your wonderful word and lord would you please help us now as we go to the scripture lord give us ears to hear and help us to understand your truth and may we apply it to our hearts we pray in jesus name amen Now, we've all heard the slogan that good help is hard to find. Did you ever wonder how that slogan got started? Well, it probably got started because good help is hard to find. And why is it hard to find? Well, because people are basically self-centered and self-serving. They usually don't put the interests of their employer First, or unless it somehow benefits them, employees want smaller workloads, fewer hours, more vacation, and more pay and benefits. So employers are basically everywhere complaining that good help is hard to find. But it also works the other way around. Good jobs are hard to find. And why is that so? Well, because employers are basically self-centered and self-serving. They don't really put their employees' interests first. Employers want more productivity. They want more profits. They want longer hours. They want greater control over policies and practices on the job. And so it's rare to find a job where an employer genuinely cares about his or her employees. The heart of the problem is on both sides, and that is selfishness and greed. Now, it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, if you're a believer, you know the Lord Jesus Christ, it shouldn't be this way. Paul wrote these verses that we just read to show how Christian workers and bosses should treat each other. Now you might read these verses and say, well, wait a minute. These verses are talking about slaves and masters, not employees and employers. Look at verse number five where the word servant is used. It's the Greek word doulos, which always in Greek means slave. Slavery was accepted in the Roman world. It was an accepted institution, unfortunately. It was estimated that at the time of the Apostle Paul, there were about 50 million slaves in the Roman Empire. So that's about two-thirds of the population, half to two-thirds of the population. And critics of the Bible attacked Paul because he did not condemn slavery directly. I remember years ago, I was on a PBS TV station in New York answering questions on a social issue, and they had callers call in. One of the callers called in and asked the question, why does the Bible condone slavery? And my answer to that question was the Bible does not condone slavery. The Bible never condones slavery. In fact, the Bible clearly speaks against kidnapping anyone for the purpose of making him or her a slave. For example, in Exodus 21 16, whoever steals a man and sells him and anyone found in possession of him shall be put to death. So the European and American slave trade that lasted up until the middle part of the 19th century was in clear violation of scripture, even though there have been Christians and churches that have tried to rationalize it. There's nothing unclear about Exodus 21, 16. According to the scripture, you kidnap a person, put them into slavery. If you buy that person, you were guilty of a crime that was to be punishable by capital punishment, according to God. So the Bible never condones slavery. The only slavery it condones is slavery to the Lord Jesus Christ. That kind of slavery's not bad. Slavery's not bad if you have a good master. I'm happy to be the slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, when he introduces himself in his letters, uses this word to refer to himself more than any other expression. He calls himself the doulos, the slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. But still there are some who will say, then why didn't Paul condemn slavery? Because if he had done that, it would have led to an armed revolt. Christianity would have been stamped out in its early stages by the Roman Empire. And that would have been the end of Christianity. And besides that, the gospel message doesn't change the world outwardly through revolution. It changes the world inwardly through redemption. That's the way it happens. The gospel message, by the way, would eventually destroy the evil institution of slavery. And how would it do that? It would do it from the inside out by changing the hearts of men. That's how we bring it down. Here's a quote from MacArthur. He has a wonderful word on this. He says, New Testament teaching does not focus on reforming and restructuring human systems, which are never the root cause of human problems. The issue is always the heart of man, which when wicked will corrupt the best of systems, and when righteous will improve the worst. If man's sinful hearts are not changed, they will always find ways to oppress others regardless of whether or not there is actual slavery." And he's right. Slavery has been stamped out, but the wicked heart of man has found ways to oppress others despite that. So it has to be the heart of man that needs to change. So Paul, instead of condemning slavery, what he did was under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he did something else. He taught that how Jesus Christ changes the heart and how that now that masters and slaves are believers, it changes their relationship. And here he's gonna talk about how Christian masters and slaves in that day, their relationship, what it should be towards one another. Again, Charles Hodge, quoting from his commentary, he says this, as both sides treated one another in this Christian manner, he writes, first the evils of slavery, and then slavery itself would pass away as naturally and as healthfully as children cease to be minors. And that is so true. Now, although our text was written in Paul's day to address masters and slaves, all these principles directly apply to today to employees and employers. And it shows how that Christians under the filling of the Holy Spirit should relate to each other in the workplace. Now remember the central command in this whole section that we've been studying here in Ephesians is Ephesians 5.18. And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but what? Be filled with the Spirit. And if you're a Christian who's filled with the Spirit, it's going to change every relationship in your life. That's what this whole context is about, relationships. Because if you're filled with the Holy Spirit, what does the Bible say in Ephesians 5, 21? Go back and look at it, verse 21. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. If you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you're gonna be submitting to one another in all of your relationships. Now with that in mind, let me just give you two principles that Paul teaches us here about the relationship between employee and employer. Here's number one, the submission of a spirit-filled employee. Paul gives a straightforward command. Look in verse 5, be obedient to them that are your masters. Be obedient. This refers to one who waits for a command, then they carry out that command. It was used of a porter who waited at the door for the sound of a knock so that he could open the door immediately. And so this is a word that speaks of willing, expectant service. The word obedient is present tense in the Greek, which means continual obedience, uninterrupted obedience. Believers are not to obey when it's good for them or when it's reasonable or fair. They're to obey their employer at all times. The only exception is when they're asked to do something immoral, something sinful, something that goes against their biblical convictions. But other than that, you are to be obedient. Listen to 1 Peter 2, 18. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. And so Peter says, look, it's not just the bosses that are kind, but also even the bosses that are froward. The word froward here in the Greek, skoleos, where we get the word skoleosis, and it means crooked or perverse. And it speaks of someone who is unreasonable, someone who is unkind, someone who is ungracious. Some of you might be thinking, well, that sounds unfair. To obey a boss that's a tyrant, that is ungracious, that is unreasonable. You look at me and say, well, that's easy for you, pastor. You're the boss here, you know. I have to work on a job with people that are difficult to work with. Well, let me just tell you that I wasn't always a pastor. I had to work my way through college and seminary, and I worked all kinds of jobs for all kinds of bosses, some who were very, very kind and very decent, others who were harsh and unreasonable, some who were little tyrants, little Napoleons trying to flaunt their authority out of their own insecurity. I mean, I've worked with people like that, and I could tell by your expression, you have too. But Paul lists some reasons here why we should be obedient despite that. What are the reasons? Here's number one. Because you're really serving Christ, not your boss. You're serving Christ. You say, wait a minute, verse five says, masters according to the flesh. Yes, but your true master is in heaven. Paul makes that clear in verse number nine, when he talks about that your master also is in heaven. What you do now as a believer is now unto Christ. You're serving primarily your boss, your master, Jesus. Secondarily, you serve your earthly boss. You're primarily serving Christ. Notice the terms that Paul uses in verse five, as unto Christ. In verse number six, but as servants or slaves of Christ, you are now, if you're a Christian, you are now a slave of Christ. But then also in verse 7, as unto the Lord and not unto men. You see, when you become a child of God, when you become a Christian, you bring Christ with you to that workplace. And there's a sense now in which you sanctify that place. Because Christ is in you and you bring Christ with you. Therefore, everything you do is sacred. It's under the Lord. Sometimes I hear Christians say, well, you know, I have a secular job. And sometimes a person who's in ministry say, I used to work a secular job. But the truth of the matter is, as believers, there's no such distinction in the Bible as secular and sacred. Everything is sacred because we take Christ with us everywhere we go. Everything we do is an act of worship unto God. Every place we go is a place of service for Christ. And so all of you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ. So you're not just a nurse, you're a Christian nurse, you're a servant of God. You're not just a police officer, you're a Christian police officer, you're a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. You're not just a doctor, you're a Christian doctor and you're serving the Lord Jesus Christ. You bring Christ with you into that place of employment and you are his ambassador, you represent him. I remember one time when I was working through college, again, I had to work at a number of places. I worked at a dock unloading trucks. I worked in a warehouse driving a forklift, filling orders. I worked in an engineering factory. That was a third shift job where I worked from 11 o'clock to 7 in the morning. I was going to school. I had an 8 o'clock class, by the way. And I still look at the notes that I had back then where I'm writing and then there's a line down the page where I fell asleep in class, you know, after a long night at work. And I remember I worked at one place in a warehouse where there was a shift of men that when I first went to work there, they were a bit resentful of this new guy coming in and they wanted to kind of protect their livelihood, you know. But by and by, they got to know me, and I would read my Bible at break time. They knew that I was studying for ministry. Some of them would come by, and they would say, hey, would you pray for me about this? And I'd say, of course, sure I would. And I'll never forget that when it was time for me to finally move on, the foreman on that shift came to me one day, and he said, look, we want to hear you preach. And he said, all the men are gonna get here an hour early for work, if you'll come an hour early, we would like for you to preach to us. So I said, sure, I'll do that. So we got to work an hour early that day, and they're at the certain room that they had reserved, all the men on that shift were there waiting there, and the foreman got up and he said, we should probably start off this service with a song, let's all sing Amazing Grace. It's the worst Amazing Grace I ever heard in my life. I mean, they did their best, and then they said, okay, now Jerry's going to preach. And I preached the gospel to all those guys. And when it was done, the foreman got up and said, you know what? I think we should take an offering. And I said, amen, you should take an offering. And I walked away that day with a stack of $1 bills. It wasn't a big offering, it was a high stack, but they were all $1 bills. And anyway, I'll never forget that, but it's a reminder that wherever you go, you go where God has placed you. Wherever the job is, you represent Jesus Christ, and you're to represent Him well. And you remember that Christ is your boss. That's what Paul's telling us here. And here's the second reason why you obey. Doing a good job is the will of God. And Paul will use several expressions to indicate that God desires for workers to do a good job. He said to work with fear and trembling. Look at verse number five. With fear and trembling and singleness of heart. Fear and trembling doesn't mean that you have fear and trembling with the people you work with or your boss. No fear and trembling in reference to God because you don't want to do anything that will displease your boss, the Lord Jesus. And so that's what it's talking about. You're an ambassador again. You represent him. You don't want to do anything that would misrepresent your Lord to be sloppy or to be lazy in the way that you do your job. We need to remember the example of Daniel in the Old Testament. Daniel worked for a pagan evil tyrant, a man by the name of King Nebuchadnezzar. At one point, King Nebuchadnezzar decided he wanted to wipe out all the wise men in his kingdom because they couldn't give him an answer on something. And so he wanted to wipe out that whole branch of the government. This was doge on steroids, you might say. He was gonna get rid of all of them. He wanted to kill them. And Daniel happened to be one of those government workers who was gonna get laid off, but it was actually Daniel's excellence, the way he did his job, that saved his life and the life of those other men, because when he made an appeal, the king was willing to listen to Daniel, because why? Because the Bible says the king recognized in Daniel an excellent spirit, and that is a reference to the way he did his work. He did it with excellence, and so King Nebuchadnezzar was willing to listen to Daniel because of that. And eventually, it was Daniel's testimony that led King Nebuchadnezzar to be saved. I think that Nebuchadnezzar converted. If you read Daniel chapter four, he came to believe in the one true God, the God of Israel, as his God, and he put away all the false gods and began to worship the one true God. That should be the goal of every worker, to lead co-workers and your boss to Christ, if they're not already saved. But then he says in verse five, in singleness of heart, you work in singleness of heart, which has the idea of wholehearted dedication, giving it your full attention, giving your energy to this job at hand. But then also in verse number six, not with eye service as men pleasers, the word eye service literally, ophthalmos is the Greek word, you know, where it means literally eye, Dule is the verb there. It's a verb form of the noun dulas, which means really slavery. I, slavery. And it has the idea of someone who just works when the master's looking. When the boss is looking, you work hard. But when the boss isn't looking, you don't. And then also, as men pleasers, describes work done without dedication, only a sense of to impress and attract when there's attention. It's like the old saying, you know, people don't do what you expect, they do what you inspect. But that should not be true with a Christian. Because we should do what we do again unto the Lord, knowing that he's the one who's watching. Regardless of whether your earthly employer is watching, we know that we have our master in heaven who is always watching. There's a confidential survey that I read about that reveals that the average American worker goofs off for seven hours a week. That really gives them a four-day work week. The same survey reveals that one half of all American workers admit to chronic malingering that is calling in sick when they're not and that only one out of every four give their best effort at work. Listen, friends, as Christians, we need to be different. We have to be different. And this is what Paul is calling Christians to do, to be different. I heard about a man named Fred who was a clerk at a retail store, and he was rude to customers, he was lazy, and his employer was gonna fire him, but he worried about Fred's family. And one day, a customer came in, and Fred wasn't there, and the customer said, what happened to Fred? And the boss said, well, Fred got a new job. And they said, oh, are you gonna try to replace Fred? He said, well, no, Fred left no vacancy. He didn't need to be replaced. He did such a poor job that he wasn't missed. You should really understand the value of who you are as a worker and where you work by that one test. If you were gone, would they miss you? And we need to be workers that do the job in such a manner that when we leave, they say, boy, we really miss that person. We really miss the way they did their job. But also again in verse six, but as servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. Again, this is the will of God. God wants you to do it from the heart. Again, that has the idea of with enthusiasm. But why? Because it's pleasing to the Lord. It's well pleasing to God. I remember one time I was visiting over in London and Abby, my daughter, had taken a position over there at Westminster Chapel. We went to visit over there. The people over there were saying, wow, we just love Abby. And one man said, do you think any of her siblings would like to come and work for us? Because if they work half as hard as Abby, it'd be worth it. And of course, I was very pleased with that. But I want to tell you something, that's nothing compared to the way God in heaven is pleased when he sees his children doing a good job on their place of employment, and they're doing it for the glory of God. That indeed glorifies the Lord. So the reason you're to be obedient is because you are really serving Christ, not your boss, doing a good job as the will of God. But here's another reason Paul gives, you'll be rewarded by the Lord. Look at verse number eight. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Every worker must realize that your real reward doesn't come from your earthly boss. It'll come one day from your master in heaven. And Paul knew that slaves in Rome were not rewarded justly. Sometimes they were treated as a tool or as an animal rather than as a person. They were not treated with human dignity. And likewise today, some employees are sometimes not treated with dignity, they're not treated justly, they're not rewarded correctly according to the work that they do. But let me tell you something, dear friend, God knows and God rewards. No good thing that you do in the name of Christ will go unrewarded. The Bible says, shall receive, that's future indicative. This points to the future. You say, when? In heaven. You say, preacher, are you telling me that the work that I do at my job right here will be rewarded in heaven one day? Yes, if you do it under the Lord. That's exactly what Paul is saying. All of your rewards don't come here. Like you're serving the Lord, you can get those rewards one day in the future when you stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 2.24 is a parallel passage. You might not be getting your due right now. But you will one day when you appear before the Lord Jesus Christ. So don't let the inequities you see on the job now make you bitter or half-hearted. Remember the heroes in the book of Hebrews chapter 11, their great faith. They were men and women who died without receiving their due reward. But the Bible says they were looking heavenly. They had an eternal focus. They were looking for the heavenly reward. The Bible says they were seeking a better country. That is a heavenly one. So they were motivated by the future reward that they would have one day in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why Moses was willing to leave the riches and the power of Pharaoh's court and be harshly treated because he was looking for the reward, the future reward of knowing Christ. One day God's gonna pay you with eternal wages. So just remember that. You do it under the Lord. But now, Let's go to the other side of this. There's the submission of a spirit-filled employee, but then secondly, there's the sensitivity of a spirit-filled employer. Look at verse number nine, because now Paul turns to the bosses. Look at verse nine. 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. And Paul is saying the principle is the same. Remember, you have a master in heaven who's watching you. If you're an employer or a boss, someone who's in authority, you remember, as a believer, you have a master who's watching you. He's watching everything you do. Again, Paul wrote to the Colossians, the same principle, Colossians 4.1. Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven. So you do what's right to those who serve, to those who work, knowing that you have a master in heaven who is watching everything. And based on this, he has really four responsibilities. There's four responsibilities of a boss, of an employer. Here's number one. He will seek his employees' welfare. Again, in verse nine, do the same things unto them. If an employer expects workers to do their best, then he must do their best. If employers wants his servants to work hard or his workers to work hard, then he has to work hard. He has to also do it with fear and trembling before the Lord. He too must meet his responsibilities with singleness of heart. In other words, everything that Paul said about the worker also applies to the boss. It applies to the employer. They should work as if Christ was their boss. Also, they should work as if Christ was their employee. How would you treat Christ if he worked for you? Jesus said, and as much as you've done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. And so, now one of the greatest examples in the Bible, I think, of a kind, godly boss is the story of Boaz in the book of Ruth. You really should read that sometime. The Bible shows that he was kind. He was generous. He treated his workers with respect, with love. He greeted them with this expression, the Lord be with you. And they replied, the Lord bless thee. He was sensitive to the needs of his workers. He was generous. His relationship was one of mutual honor and respect. I mean, he really glorified God in the way that he was an employer. Anyone who's a Christian employer ought to read about Boaz. It's unfortunate when an employee says, you know, my boss is supposed to be a Christian, but you really couldn't tell by the way they act. That should never be said of someone who's a believer. So he will seek his employee's welfare, but secondly, he will not be abusive and make threats. Look again in verse nine, forbearing, threatening. Roman masters were abusive to their slaves. They had absolute power. They even had the ability to kill a slave if they wanted to. Some were cruel, some were heartless. The Roman statesman Cato said, old slaves should be thrown on a dump. And when a slave is ill, do not feed him anything. It is not worth your money. Take six slaves and throw them away because they're nothing but ineffective tools. That was the attitude of some in that day. How reprehensible that is. And Paul here is saying, you know, that should never be. In fact, you should never even threaten a servant, threaten a worker. An employer should never use threats or abusive conduct. He should never be inconsiderate. He should realize that whatever authority he or she has, it's a God-given authority. And you need to be careful how you use that authority. He doesn't need to abuse it like he's some little tyrant. Again, you know, know that you have a master in heaven. Again, Colossians 4.1, refer to that verse. Master has given your service that which is just and equal, knowing that you have a master in heaven. In other words, share the results of the labor. And here's the point, don't use negative reinforcement, fear and intimidation on those who work, but rather use positive reinforcement. Share the benefits of the labor. Don't just hoard it all for yourself. Share it with others. Use positive motivation. Some bosses work their employees to death and give them very little. No raise, no generous bonus for working extra, working hard, and that ought not to be. An employer will seek his employee's welfare. He will not be abusive and make threats, but also he will be submitted to the Lord. Look again in verse number nine, where it says, knowing that your master is also in heaven. And again, this is the principle of mutual submission. Remember what I said, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, one of the results is gonna be you're gonna be submitted one to another. And wives will be submitted to their husbands. Husbands will love their wives as Christ loved the church. Children would obey their parents. Parents will not provoke their children to wrath, but they'll bring them up and then nurture and admonition of the Lord. That's the principle of mutual submission. And here, The boss or the employer will be submitted to not only the Lord, but also his employees, because he submitted to Christ. He'll treat them well. That's the point. But then here's the last one. Not only will he seek his employees' welfare, not be abusive, be submitted to the Lord, but he will not play favorites. Again, look at verse nine. Neither is there respect of persons with him. Or that is, there's no partiality with God, therefore, you should not play favorites. In other words, treat your employees fairly across the board. Paul warned Timothy to observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. One of the fastest ways for a leader to divide his followers and to lose their confidence is to play favorites. And Paul says, don't do that. Don't do that. Be fair, be just to all, and be impartial. So in summary, the Spirit-filled workplace will have employees and employers that are submitted one to another. We see the submission of a Spirit-filled employee. He will obey because you're really serving Christ, not the boss, because doing a good job is the will of God. because you'll be rewarded by the Lord, then there's the sensitivity of a spirit-filled employer. He will seek his employees' welfare. He will not be abusive. He'll be submitted to the Lord. He will not play favorites. But again, really, we can summarize all of this up in a more simple way. We can just put it under one general principle, and that's simply this. At the workplace, whether you're an employer or an employee, do what you do as unto the Lord. Just do what you do as unto the Lord, as an act of worship to the Lord, knowing that Christ is your master. That's really the broad principle here that Paul's giving here to these Ephesians, and he's applying it to us as well. When I was visiting in London, I had the opportunity, actually on several occasions, to visit St. Paul's Cathedral there in London. It's an amazing building, and many famous people have worshipped there. There's a famous story that took place when the cathedral was being built about Sir Christopher Wren, who was in charge of the whole building, the architect and the builder of this building, this cathedral. And on one occasion, he wanted to take a tour and see what was going on on the work site. And he came upon one man and he asked him, what are you doing? And the man kind of with a sigh said, well, you know, I'm just cutting this stone to the size and shape that I was told. Then he went to another man, he said, hey, what are you doing? And he kind of said with a sense of apathy, oh, I'm just working to pay the bills, you know, just to put food on the table. And then he went to another worker and he asked him, he said, hey, what are you doing? And the third man kind of paused and then he stood up and he said with great enthusiasm, I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a cathedral for the glory of God. And you know what? That's it. That's the right perspective. You do what you do for the glory of God, no matter where God has put you. You're his representative there. You're his servant there. You are his ambassador and you do what you do. You do it with excellence and you do it for the glory of God. That's the whole point. Let's bow for prayer together. Father, thank you for this word that you've given to us today. Help us, Lord, through your spirit to apply it. Lord, help us to be Spirit-filled. That's really where it all starts for all of us. As we've been studying this section of Ephesians and comparing our relationships in life, Lord, we have to ask, am I walking in the Spirit in these relationships? As a wife, as a husband, as a child, as a father or mother, am I Spirit-controlled, Spirit-led, Spirit-filled? On my job, As an employee, am I Spirit-filled? And do I do my work in a way that honors Christ? As an employer, am I treating my employees as if they were Christ? Am I doing what is just and right before God? Father, in order to be able to do all these things, we have to walk in the Spirit. We have to be filled with the Spirit. So, Lord, help us. Help us, Lord, to walk in the Spirit. Help us, Lord, every day. to yield ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit, to be your ambassador wherever you send us. And with heads bowed and eyes closed, friend, let me just tell you, this all starts with knowing Jesus as your Savior. You can't do any of this unless you're first a believer and you're certain that you've repented of your sin. You've put your faith in Christ and Christ alone. In front of you, haven't done that. I'm inviting you right now. In fact, I'm pleading with you. Don't let this service go by or end without you taking care of that. You can reach out in faith and say, Lord Jesus, save me. Save me. I want to be a Christian. I want to be a child of God. I want to have my sins forgiven. So Lord Jesus, I come to you today and I ask you to save me. In front of you, pray that and you mean it in your heart. You reach out in faith. The Bible says he will not turn you away. Him that comes to me, I want no eyes cast out. Are you coming with true repentance? Are you coming recognizing the Lordship of Christ who died on the cross for you, who took all of your sins upon himself and died to pay your sin debt and is offering eternal life as a gift paid for by his precious blood? Friend, if you reach out to him in faith, he will save you. Father, please use your word. We know it never returns void. We know it'll always accomplish your purpose, and I pray that it'll accomplish your purpose today in the hearts of these who are before me. Save souls, sanctify your people, and we pray in Jesus' holy name, amen.