In a Fallen World, Part 1

The church of the first century had to grapple with a harsh and unjust world, where believers often suffered under the oppressive authority of cruel and unjust people.

Nowhere was this truer than in the case of slaves and their masters, some of whom were crooked and cruel.

Yet Peter teaches slaves to submit both to kind and cruel masters (1 Peter 2:18).

And St. Paul admonished slaves not to allow their lack of liberty to ruin their walk with the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:21). He also sent the fugitive slave, Onesimus back to his earthly master, Philemon (Philemon 10).

Such admonitions and actions are not an endorsement of slavery. On the contrary, they are the only healthy response living in an unjust world.

Paul commands Philemon to receive Onesimus back no longer as a slave, but as a brother -- as if he were Paul himself (Philemon 15-17).

And Paul encourages slaves to seek their freedom (1 Corinthians 7:21-23).

The seeds of the destruction of slavery are here in the New Testament, not in a radical and violent way, but by winning individuals to Christ through the gospel.