Work, Status, and the Ultimate Master - Ephesians 6:5–9

Just focus on this one thing, one magnet at a time. Just grab them, put them in, grab them, put them in. And you're going to get distracted. I know, but while you're doing this, I need you to tell yourself, work hard, work hard. Work hard. He said, okay, daddy. And I said, all right, I'm gonna go finish dinner. So I'm making dinner, and I hear the sound of the magnet tiles crashing into the box. I'm like, oh, he's got it. He's figured it out. And then a couple minutes later, you hear him kind of jabbering, and the magnetile sounds are a little less. Um, that's more of a trickle than a, you know, loud pouring of magnet tiles into the box. And then eventually he just stops entirely. I'm like, okay, let's go coach him again. So I'm rounding the corner to talk to him, and he's on his hands and his knees, and he's doing this. Work hard. Work hard. And then he starts working again. And I'm like, oh, progress, we did it. So he actually began to work again, and maybe a minute or 2 longer, and then he got distracted again, and I had to help him again. But when we talk about work, we think about it in these ways, right? We get distracted, or we only want to work when our overseer is watching us. Or when we're kids. We only worked hard when our parents were watching us. Maybe at your job now. We have the temptation that when our boss isn't around. We only work so much. But when they are around, I look really productive, right? Xander is doing this exact same thing, this very human nature part of when dad's around, I want to police him. I want him to know that I'm working hard. I want him to see that I'm working hard. I want him to least think that I'm working hard. And whenever I'm not around, Xander thinks, I want to be happy. I don't want to do this anymore. I want to build with these magnetiles. I don't want to tear them down. Today, we're discussing work. And we're talking about a particular relationship. We're still under the same umbrella that we've been talking about, of mutual submission. This week we're talking that specific relationship and mutual submission of servants and masters. Bond servants and master slaves and masters. So when we think about this, of mutual submission, we need to be thinking about this in terms of work. How do we work for those who are in authority over us? So as we kind of go through this text, I have a few handholds for us to hold onto as we go through. And they'll be on the screen. There's three. It's Jesus gives status. We work for Jesus, and Jesus will repay. So as we kind of go through the text, and as we talk about things, I believe this is going to help frame our discussion. So if you have your Bible and you've already turned there, we're going to be in Ephesians 6 verses 5 through nine, let's read it. Bond servants. Obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart as you would Christ. Not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ. doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord, and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. Let's pray again. God, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it is written in a way that we can understand it in our language, that we can study it in such a way in our language where it shows us who you are. Lord, I like to call it your written voice. We can hear from you in your word. Or thank you for allowing us to study it and to understand it has the capacity to understand. Lord, we thank you for the word today. Lord, would you be glorified in this? Where we're going to talk a lot about bringing you glory today? Lord, I pray that you would receive all the glory today. Lord, I pray that in hearing of your word that we would be built up, that we'd be encouraged, maybe we'd be convicted, but Lord, we know that we would fall on you and that you would be the one binding us up and helping us to move along in faithfulness towards you. Lord, there's some words on this tablet here that are typed on here that have been prepared. Lord, would you take the scribbles on these pages and make them obedient to you, make them glorifying to you. Lord, let these be encouraging to your people. We love you, Jesus' name. Amen. So the 1st handhold is Jesus gives status. So Paul is addressing this instruction to bond servants and masters. This word bondservant is more commonly and traditionally translated as slave. So we're actually talking to slaves and their masters. So, uh, we're in a household instruction. So 1st century Rome. What would typical household would have been husband, wife, kids, and live in bond servants. They lived under the same house. There was a family unit together. So don't think about what we think about with American slavery where there's some horrible way of living outside where they're treated as less than or any of that are separate, but they lived in the house. They were part of a family unit. They were considered under the roof of the master. So the true audience of this passage is slaves and masters, but not just any slave, not just any master, but Christian slaves. Those who have put their faith in Jesus, who are trusting him for salvation, and are following as a disciple of Jesus, and masters who are doing the same. who have put their faith in Jesus, he is my salvation. I'm going to do it in the way that he has called me. I'm going to live in the way that he's called me to live. So Paul is talking to them. This is how this relationship ought to work. This is how you are supposed to live under these circumstances, this context. In the 1st century, there were various levels of slavery or bond servitude. It was very common. Some suggest that actually one third of all of those that were in Rome were actually slaves, that they were actually servants. So it was very common. And actually, it's very possible that a servant or a slave was one who delivered the book to the Ephesians. If you read through Philemon, you see that is actually Onesimus, who actually potentially brings this letter to the Ephesians. So it's very common. But it's different than American slavery. And this is important for as we're thinking about this. In America, what we know, what you grew up understanding is that it was a very race based. It was a singular demographic, it was a similar race that was being kind of primarily focused on. It was cast-based. It was you're never getting above this level. You're never getting free. You're always at the bottom. You would never be a freeman. You're always treated as less thin. And they were enslaved forever. And gaining freedom was very, very scarce. In Rome, there was varying demographics. It wasn't based on one race. It was actually based on the conquering of Rome of other places. As they went along and as they conquered peoples, they would bring them in, and then they would have multiple different slaves that started with barbarians who were less educated, less capable of certain skills. So it looked like a bunch of manual labor, but as Rome progressed through and conquering more and more peoples. Actually, slaves were actually way more educated. They had way more skills, that they had more different value than just manual labor, but they also had very high positions of use in Rome. So it was very different. So people became slaves or servants in this in very different ways. There could have been by crimes that they've committed. It could have been a failure to pay a debt or by choice, or they were conquered. And slaves oftentimes were very skilled and educated. And they were actually given very responsible and prominent positions in the government and other businesses. So someone could be a CEO or a CFO of a business, but they were actually a slave. And so they were treated in accord with their value to their owner. So highly educated, highly valued, were treated very well. They were very well compensated for their work. But if they weren't very good, if they weren't very educated, and their owner or their master wasn't very kind, or his character was not very good, he would treat them very poorly, potentially. Strictly speaking, as one commentator said, the owner had the complete right to do whatever he wished. And they were treated directly connected to the character of the master. And one commentator also says this that slaves, and this matter, this matters intensely for the entire Bible, needs to be admitted by all readers that slaves had a status of moral and ontological inferiors. That even though they had high prominent places, even though that they were able to make a wage, even though they were able to enter into contracts, they were considered as not citizens. They were lesser, they were inferior. They had different statuses. So although a slave could do very well for themselves, the slave status was inferior to their masters and other free men. But look at how Paul is instructing these people. He's talking to the slaves, the servants directly. And he's also talking to the masters directly. And there's a key part right here in verse 9 where he's done with the servants, and he looks at the masters, and he says, masters, do the same to them. My same instruction I gave to the servants is the same I'm giving to you. They're not lesser than you. You're not greater than them. You are equal in the body of Christ. You are even saved by his sacrifice and now you are brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul isn't calling the masters to release this slave. He's not calling on the slaves to run away, but he's giving them instructions under the same umbrella of mutual submission in the body of Christ. That the work environment in this particular household should be great. That it should be felt with Christian and brotherly love. It should look like the love of Christ. For Paul to address slaves as equals to their masters is unheard of. They were ontologically and social inferiors. This is the same when we think about children, when we think about wives in the New Testament, that whenever it was the women who found Jesus, when the tomb opened and they were the very 1st gospel proclaimers of his resurrection, that that was actually kind of a mark against it. Why would Jesus show himself to women first? This doesn't have as much weight. So when Paul's mentioning this here, we need to have that imbalance, that in the culture as a whole, there was something different happening here. So Paul is not calling the slave up, though. He's also not calling the master down. Paul is simply referring to the 2 of them as one in Christ. They are both equally part of Christ and equally responsible to Christ. Since they are equal in Jesus. They should treat each other in light of that and not the culture. Verse nine, Paul says there's no partiality with God. And we know this from Galatians 3.28. We've mentioned this multiple times during Ephesians. But Paul writes in another book. He says, there is no Jew or Greek. There is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female, for all are one in Christ Jesus. There's not one greater than the other. When we think about the body of Christ, There was different roles, but not less than. The foot can't say to the hand, I have no need of you. The leg can't say to the arm, I have no need of you. This is how Jesus operated. No matter the status of the person who came to him, he knew they needed a new status in Christ. I'm reminded of Mark one, verses 40 through 4, this is Jesus is walking along. You don't have to turn them into kind of read it to you, but Jesus is walking along. And then a leper comes to Jesus and imploring Jesus says, if you will, you can make me clean. Jesus says he's moved with pity, and he stretches out his hand and touches him and says, I will. Be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean. And Jesus charged them at once. Don't tell anybody. And then he says, go to the priest and show yourself that you can make a sacrifice for your purity for your cleaning. Jesus reaches out. This person has no status. No positive status. Their status actually was negative. They actually would walk around saying, unclean, unclean. Avoid me at all cost. Don't come near danger, danger, but Jesus reaches out to the untouchable. He reaches out and he actually elevates them. He cleanses him, he heals him. Jesus cleanses the unclean. He came to the outcast of society, who's literally unclean, and he makes them clean. Jesus steps towards the brokenness of sin, the brokenness of statuses, the ailments towards the untouchables of culture or status, and he offers a new status, a new position, whether you're low or you're high. Jesus comes to you and he makes a new status in Christ. God, through the gospel of Jesus gives right status to all. All were forsaken. were lost in sin. All were depraved in sin, but in Christ, they're forgiven. In Christ, they're righteous, in Christ, they're in Christ with the same status. God takes what is broken and he fixes it. Whether that's in sickness or an inorderant desire for money or power, he takes those who are untouchable and he embraces them, either the social outcasts or the mean bosses that we don't want to talk to or share the gospel with. He takes the unclean and he cleanses them. He takes those at the bottom and the top, and he brings them all to himself in equal status. Remember that we're still under the same mutual submission umbrella that others in Christ. And Paul is not writing to unbelieving slaves and unbelieving masters, but he's saying, you are brothers and sisters in Christ. The way that you act should reflect that. Your status is not over each other, your roles may differ, but the way you treat is mutually submitting to one another in reverence of Christ. Paul wants to instruct everybody in the family of Christ, in the family unit of the house, and in the broader family of Christ, to live in mutual submission to each other, to the workers, to the slaves, to work hard, and seek your boss's success. That's good. That's pleasing to the Lord. And to masters, to the bosses, to treat and lead your employees with respect. Paul is continuing this instruction that we've been having for the past couple weeks of wives with husbands. parents with children, and now slaves and masters, although they're equal in Christ, they're separate roles. There's different contexts. They live together in the same house and how they treat each other matters. So with this new family status, there's still work to be done. There's still different work to be done. The work that you're doing, that your job is different than the work that I'm doing at my job. The way you glorify God with your boss is different than the way that I glorify God with my boss and my job. So how do we live out this context? How are we to do this? So the 2nd handhold we have is work for Jesus. We work for Jesus. When we look at this all throughout. He says, you're obeying your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart, as you would Christ. He says, you are a bondservant of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. You are rendering service with a goodwill to the Lord and not to man. We receive blessings and rewards from the Lord. Our master is the Lord. When you're working in your job. When you're working at any of this, we're not working just for man to please them, but ultimately you're working to glorify God. Now, I've kind of mentioned this. He's talking to slaves. He's talking to owners. He's talking to masters, but we do not have a one-to-one actual context of applying this. We don't live in this culture. Unless you have a built in butler. I don't know if everyone's rolling in the deep like that, having a butler who lives with them, right? Like, we don't have this worker, um, boss relationship in the household. Many of us have bosses, but our boss doesn't live in our house, right? If they, if Dr. Allen would have come into our house with Tyler and I, that'd be really strange. It's like, okay, dude, like I clocked out, like, that's your job over there, and you don't come in here unless you're invited, right? But here, the boss is always there. The workers over is there. So how they treat each other matters. You can't just leave it at work. You can't just leave it till 9 o'clock tomorrow. You can't wait till 5 o'clock to clock out and to ignore them. You're there. You're there. So how you treat each other matters. And what we're going to do is we're actually just going to extrapolate this application because we don't have one to one to what it looks like for workers and bosses. I've already been hinting at that to those who are in authority, in those who are under authority. All of us are under some kind of authority. We're all under some kind of earthly master, whether you have a job, where you have a boss, whether you're at a school, where you have a dean or a president or a principal, whether you're at a sports team and you have a coach, you're a part of the United States, so we have government, we are part of a church, there's a pastoral structure, when we think about earthly masters, we ought to think about seeking and obeying, and working with respect and sincerity at all times. So, what does this mean? What does it mean with a sincere heart? Does it mean just doing what's right, even if I don't want to, or I have to really, really want to, or I'm not actually going to do the work? Is that what are we talking about here? Paul goes where he started with most of this? He starts with, Christ, let's look at Christ, as you would Christ. All, not just believers, all are under the authority of King Jesus. He sits on the heavenly throne. He is our master, whether worker or boss. We're all under his rule and reign. We've already mentioned this, that the slave is also being directed as the master. So they're equal. All are under this authority. So what is serving with respect in the sincere heart look like? I think about John 11. Jesus is walking away. He's really far away, and then a messenger comes up and says, Jesus, Lazarus is about to die. Your friend Lazarus is about to die. You need to come and help. And he takes his time. And by the time he gets there, Martha runs out and meets him, and Lazarus is already dead. And then he gets it a little bit closer, and then Mary, his Lazarus' other sister comes and kneels before him and she's weeping, and she says, Jesus, if you had been here, he wouldn't have died. And Jesus is moved in his spirit. He's moved in emotion, and he says, where is he? And as they tell him, he approaches, and that's the shortest verse. You can memorize this one. It says Jesus wept, right? Jesus wept and he comes to the tomb. And he, um, he says in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out, right? And Lazarus doesn't wait. He comes right out. Mary and Martha have received their brother back. The very next chapter, we see Jesus as sitting at a table and Mary comes with an expensive jar of perfume. She breaks it and pours it on his feet and anoints him. And she wipes his hair, wipes his feet with her hair. And the disciples are like, what are we doing? We could have sold that. We could have given that to the poor. We could have done all these really good works. What are we doing? And he says, do not talk to her like that. He says, she is that prepared me for burial. She has prepared me for what's about to happen. She has done me a great honor. Mary came with a sincere heart of service to Christ. It wasn't about the action, it wasn't about what could have been done that would have been better, monetarily, but it was from the sincere heart of worship of who Jesus was. Martha and Mary beforehand were already saying, we know you're the Lord of the Resurrection. We know that he will rise in the resurrection when you come into your kingdom. But they know who he is now because he's already raised their brother. She received her brother back and she, from a pure heart, from a sincere heart, pours out worship at his feet. Now, we, like Mary, have received someone back from the dead, but it's not our brother, it's King Jesus himself. He died to go to a place, to pay for our sins, to take the pain, to take the whips, to take all of the punishment on our behalf. But he didn't stay in the grave. He came back 3 days later. And we've received him and he's received us for salvation forever. So when we come and we work for him and we come to his feet, we pour out all the ointment, right, we pour out all the perfume. We pour out all of it in pure and sincere heart and worship to who he is. He has placed you in a context, in a job, in a family, in a city, that you would give him glory wherever you are, that you would work hard wherever you are, that he would receive praise and honor wherever you are, from a sincere heart. You're not looking at what your boss has done for you, but you're looking at what King Jesus has done for you. You're not looking at what you could do for your boss, but what you can and how you can honor Christ. So I want to kind of challenge you today. Today, take time today, this week to think back on your testimony. Remember how Christ delivered you from sin and destruction. Remember how you took you, how he took on the form of a servant and served you, to his own pain and death. Keep this in mind as you work this week. And be thankful for the work that you've been given, that you're even able to be worrying about hours and not your salvation. Be thinking about this when you go and study this week, whenever it's late nights, and you've been working all day and you've been serving all week, and you're having to study now. And it's such a blessing to be where we are. to be able to study and not have to worry about what comes next. Remember this, the sincere heart towards Christ lives and obeys in thankful worship of who he is. Now Paul makes it very important distinction. It's not about the action of what you're doing. Since your obedience is not people pleasing obedience. We know that from a from a kind of logical standpoint. Yeah, those are different. But from the outside, they look really similar. Someone who's sincere, someone who's authentic, maybe doing lots of really great things quietly. But the person who's doing it to please you, maybe doing, maybe doing lots of good things quietly. Maybe doing lots of good things, and you would never know that they're only doing it to make you happy, and not the Lord. It says, obey from us, to your heart, not for eye service, not as people pleasers, servants, workers. That's what you're doing. You're not working in order to please your boss. You're working to please Christ. You're doing this from the will of God from the heart. When Paul says people pleasers, you can land on one of 2 conclusions or some kind of mix. We think about the term people pleasers today as somebody who is almost really worked up on how everybody around them is asking them something and they want to do anything they can to make that person happy. They say yes to everything. They're really wound up. They're the maybe the go-getters. They're the ones who look like they're really busy, but it's to the detriment of themselves. That they're always trying just to please you. You're the one. I'm bowing down at your feet, boss. I bound down your feet because I want to look good. I want to be in good graces. That's one side of the people pleaser. But the other, with it being tied to eye surface. This could be implying only when someone's watching. I'm only looking to please you when you're looking at me. Like Xander, right? He's in the living room and when daddy walks up the stairs, he's like laying on his back. He's like one magnet at a time when he knows how to pick him up, right? He's only looking to please me when I'm watching. This is more of an arrogant form of people pleasing. This is the type of that only does work when the boss isn't looking or barely works when the boss isn't. It's the one for eye service. The one who works for eye service can look really good. I'm reminded, again, of Matthew 7. 21 through 23. Jesus is instructing the masses as they've come to him. And these people come and they have these great works. verse 21. Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven. On that day, the last day, where you'll give an account for your life. On that day, will your walk before the throne of judgment, where Christ is sitting. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, did we not cast out demons in your name? Do many mighty works in your name? Now, I said this Kansas City campus once. I'm not going to ask a question here. But none of us have cast out demons in this room, right? None of us have prophesied in this type of way. of us have done these type of mighty healing works and have said, look, Jesus, look at what I can do. of us can stand and say, look at the mighty works that I've done. But these guys are saying that. And maybe they have. I don't know. It doesn't give us context. Maybe they have done these crazy things. But look at what Jesus responds. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. These people on that day who look to Jesus and say, look at all the things I've done for you, Jesus. Look at these mighty works. Look at all the incredible things that I did in your name. And she says, I never knew. They're looking to police. They're looking for eye surface. They're looking to boast. Obeying with a sincere heart is more than physical action. It's more than even right knowledge. It's a sincere heart posture of obedience towards Jesus. It is a heart of doing the will of God. It's not just actions. It's a heart that's been transformed by the gospel, that is towards Jesus, wanting to please him for who he is, not to gain something, not to earn something, but because he's worth it. A sincere heart has integrity and worship for Jesus. When no one else is watching, you're faithful to Jesus, because of who he is. You are the same at church as you are at work because he's worth it. You're hyper aware of God's placing you in a job for a season to serve him in this context and to make his name known, to be glorifying to him where you are. But undoubtedly, there will be times where you don't have a sincere heart, where you don't want to work. Should you still work? Should you still obey? Absolutely. Oftentimes obedience actually proceeds sincerity. And just as sincerity, precedes obedience. The key is the heart, just like with Bible reading or prayer. Lord, I don't want to do this, but I know I should meet you in your word this morning, right? I don't want to do this, but I'm going to get up and I'm actually going to read your word. I know I need to do this. Or at work. I really don't want to go into work today, but I will go and bring you praise in how I work. I'm gonna work hard. I don't want to, but I'm going to, because you're worth it. I mentioned this about the word. I mention this about other things. Working at a job like discount tire or working at a job where you're filthy. You never come home and just say, I'm not, I wait till tomorrow. That's perfectly fine, but you do come home often and say, I wish I didn't have to. I wish I didn't have to take a shower. I wish I didn't have to clean off, but I'm going to, right? We know that we need to. We know that it's for not only our blessing, but to honor the Lord. Paul says that your work, you should obey like you would Christ. So when we think about this relationship with Christ. And we think about how we're working. thinking about a few things. While you are working, don't look to do the bare minimum. Don't look to only work while the boss is looking. That doesn't fly with the one who never sleeps and knows all. You can't just take come in on Sunday and look like you're acting the part, living the part. And then whenever you get home, you're just phoning it in. You're living differently. The boss is always watching. The master's always watching, right? Under someone's authority, if you're in work, school, sports, or church, we should be respectful in front of, and behind the one in authorities back. We don't sing praises to Jesus this morning, and then as soon as we step out of our job or out of the church on a Sunday, we don't start bashing Jesus. That doesn't fly. He has ears everywhere, right? He's always watching. He's the god who never sleeps. He's the God who knows all. He knows your heart. So we're respectful in front of and behind the authorities in charge. For the boss, if you're a Boston here, if you have somebody who you're leading or you're guiding, don't look to take advantage of your workers to their detriment, but lead in a way that honors Christ. We know that in Philippians 2, 5 through 7 that Jesus took on the form of a servant, that he came to serve others. So those who are in authority, we're serving the ones underneath us. We're not just saying, okay, you're the boss. But how can you serve those who are working under you? How can you be like Christ to those who were under you? Lastly, last handhold? Jesus will repay. Let's start in verse six. We going to read again on the 2nd part. We're rendering service, we're doing the will of God from the heart. We're with a goodwill as to the Lord, and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. Worker, you are looking to serve and work as to bring honor and praise to Jesus' name by working for the success of your boss. Bosses, you're looking to lead and manage as to bring honor and praise to Jesus' name by taking care of your workers and leading them well. Both are rendering or bringing out or forming good service from a heart of worship towards God, doing the will of God. That's how God told us to work. Now these are particular contexts, right here, a worker and a boss, right? Like a wife who submits willingly to her husband and the husband who lovingly leads by laying down his life. They are equal, but there are roles. Someone is leading somebody is following. Somebody is making the decisions in the workplace and someone are following the decisions. But we know all work is for one purpose. All of life is for one purpose. Bring God glory. Bring God glory. 1 Corinthians 1031. We see this. He says, so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Now, Paul is talking specifically in that text about food sacrifice to idols. So is this applied today? He's saying, whatever you do. You're doing all that you can do for the glory of God, whether you are working for somebody, if you're leading somebody, if you're sacrificing time to help, Lord, we are glorifying God in all that we do. The work required from workers and bosses depends on the job. If you're a student, your job is to learn as much as you can, work hard to understand and apply. Look to grow in wisdom and understanding in the courses. Be honest in study and in your work. You're not learning if you're using AI to do the work for you, to do the study for you. There's not a test at the end of life where God says, hey, fill all these answers out rightly. And if you answer them rightly, you're going to show up in heaven. That's not what it is. We're not preparing for a test. We're living a life. We're learning the virtues, we're learning the difficulties. We're learning dependence on Christ at all times. You can't just use AI to get into heaven. You can't use AI to get the right grade to actually earn it and obey God and to be glorifying to him. Be honest in your study, then your work. Be a light of Christian integrity at all times and do all for the glory of God. If you're a citizen, all of us are citizens of some country, right? Pay your taxes, vote in elections. Be in the community, obey the law, respect authority, and be a light of Christian integrity, and stand firm on the truth of God's word. Do all for the glory of God. For the worker. Maybe you're in finance. Crunch those numbers to the glory of God, right? Maybe you're an insurance. Sell product and care for your customers to the glory of God. Maybe you work at Chick-fil-A. It comes pre-blessed, but work for the glory of God, right? You're serving. You're saying it's my pleasure. Is it actually? Are you actually learning to love the Lord in your work? From this rendering, God rewards good things, whether free or slave, from our true heart, from a sincere heart, that maybe doesn't want to do the work, but once to honor Christ. Lord, I want to honor you today. I exhausted, though. Lord, I want to honor you today, but I don't know how much longer I can do this, but I'm going to bring you praise. Lord, I'm really mad at this person. I want to treat them in a threatening way. But I'm not going to because I want to honor you. A heart that's set towards God. In your context, as you bring God glory at work, school in the city, there are good things promised to us in heaven. Now, the boss and the worker are both incentivized to live in a manner worthy of the calling that they've received, a life that honors Christ. And Paul hits on 2 different issues here. He hits on with the worker, potentially with eye service. The workers there are only doing the bare minimum. Or they're only working to please their master. They're not actually pleasing the Lord from a pure heart. And with the boss, there's threatening. We don't know what kind of threats these masters were doing, but we could imagine in the culture it could be anything. Slaves were property, right? They could be treated in accordance with the slave master's desires. But Paul reminds the boss, your boss is the same as his. Those who are in management or those who are leading others, your boss is the same as those you're leading. Those who are working and you have a boss that maybe is difficult. Their master is the same as yours. The one that you're praying to for deliverance is the one that they are praying to for deliverance as well. Those matters that treat, um, we need to be treating Christian brethren appropriately. Those who are treating the Christian brethren appropriately are rewarded. Maybe this whole time you've been thinking, Dalton, you don't know my boss. You don't know my job. I can't work for that guy. I can't honor God in this job. That job is awful. What should I do? Know this. The God who gives rewards for those who do well. also deals punishment for those who reject his command, who also do not lead well, who lead counter to his command. 2 Corinthians 5.10 says this, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. There's a reason why Paul uses the phrase fear and trembling. Yes, our God has the keys to heaven, and he has opened it up for us to walk in freely by his grace, but he also holds the keys to judgment, and we should be understanding that the way that we live, not as people pleasers, not as eye pleasers, not as those just for eye service, but we want to honor the Lord. That he is worth it, that he is God, that he is sovereign. All will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for how they lived, how they worked their jobs, how they treated their employees, and they count for everything. Know that all will receive what is due to them for the way that they live their life. So when you go into work tomorrow, which is Labor Day or Tuesday, and you feel temptation to be a people pleaser or an eye service worker, remember that your boss may not be watching, but Christ is always there. You are honoring him in the quiet moments when no one's watching. Remember the price that he paid, that he cared, that he took informing you in your mother's womb. The care that he gives you in this life in the judgment that he could hold in the next. When you're wronged while under authority. When you're wronged at your job, maybe it's an employee. Maybe it's a boss. Maybe it's a customer. And you are tempted to retaliate. Hold this close. Romans 1219. Paul says, beloved, never avenge yourself, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Your job is not to deal out wrath and judgment. Your deal is to be giving him glory. His job is to be the one on the throne. Your job is to be the one serving, right? All belong to Jesus, and all will be repaid for how they live their life. While you're able to on this earth, work and lead to bring God the most glory in all things. But maybe you're sitting here, and I just talked about a judgment seat. Got a little heavy there. But maybe you're thinking, everyone's going to go before Jesus and give an account for their life. What am I going to say? Maybe there's believers in here of like, wow. what am I gonna say to this guy? Maybe there's unbelievers in here. I don't, how am I going to respond? Revelation 20, 11 through 15 describes this scene in which all people, whether you're dead or you're alive. They're brought up and they're walked before Jesus' throne. And all of them are told, the book of your life is opened, and Jesus says, tell me about your life. How did you live your life? And everyone comes before the victorious king who's on the throne to give an account. The questions we could be asking, how can I justify my actions? How can I justify my sin? The thing that I kept secret, does he know about that? The thing that nobody knows, does he actually know about that? The book of your life is in front of him and he's reading it. How can I justify my missteps? I could never make up for all the sin that I've committed. All will pass before the judgment seat, either guilty or forgiven. The passage goes on and says this, that if anyone's name is not found in the book of life, he's thrown into judgment, into the lake of fire. All those who aim to be good enough or hide long enough in their sin will be found guilty. You cannot hide your sin on this day before Jesus. You may think it is hidden, but Christ sees all. How can you get your name in that book? How can you get your name? replaced from saying guilty to forgiven. Romans 10, 9. Man, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, from your heart that God raised him from the grave, you will be saved. All those who put their faith for salvation for that day in Jesus are saved. No longer are we working for our own salvation. No longer are we working to please those who are around us, to not show any of the cracks, to not show any of the imperfections, but as we're working for him, from a pure heart, one that's been forgiven, one that's been settled, an account, a debt, that has been settled in Christ, in heaven forever. We work for him. All those who have called out to Jesus and put their faith in him belong to him and are forgiven of their sin. Everyone on that day will give an answer. Your answer will either be, everything you read is true. I'm guilty. Or as the old hymn says, or him or whatever. Jesus paid it all. I'm gonna stand before the throne. You're going to read the book of my life and you're going to see every ugly part of it. The only answer I have to say, Jesus paid it all. And my failures at work, and my failures in my family, and my failures in my life, Jesus paid it all. Is that the answer you'll give on that day? And if it's not, you can confess him, Lord, today. You can call out to him for salvation today. He is good and kind and pleasing. He is good and kind towards us. Remember and work from a worshipful heart towards Jesus and bring him glory. A few take home questions just to kind of add onto the end tier, and then we're done. How can you honor Jesus with your work this week? Think honestly, man, maybe work's been really tough. Maybe your boss is really difficult. Maybe there's something that you just really don't want to do. How can you honor him this week? Maybe it's not just grit and bearing it, but maybe it's having a conversation. Maybe it's keeping your mouth shut. Maybe it's open. Maybe it's getting up an hour early. So you can be prepared to have that conversation. Or maybe just to be ready for the day. What is cultivating a heart of worship at work look like? Are there sins at work that need to be repented of? Are there things and ways we work that we need to put away? Are there relationships that have been hurt or broken that we need to mend? Things we need to ask for forgiveness for? I said this earlier, maybe it's getting up early and spending time with Jesus before work. Maybe there's memory cards that you carry along you alongside you at work. Man, at my job, it's so difficult. I can't think of the Lord much. I'm just always, I have to be on, but maybe it's having a memory card, a memory verse, an accountability partner that you're working alongside with. Man, we're in this together. We're a body of Christ working together to give the most glory to God at all times. How can we use... I mean, not even a 3rd one there. How could your church family help you this week? How can your life group help you this week? How can one of your pastors, one of your friends help you this week? Honor the Lord, in your family, in your work, in your life. We would love to help. But let's pray. God, you are good and you are gracious to us. Lord, all will pass before that throne. All will give an account on that life. And Lord, I thank you so much that my answer is that you paid it all. Lord, everyone will pay that price if you don't pay it for them. Would I pray that for any of those in here that are unsure? that are maybe living in sin, that are discouraged because of their sin. Lord, would your word this week be an encouragement to them? And maybe a conviction to them. Lord, you're worth far more than a casual Christianity. You're worth far more than casual workmanship. You've made as your masterpiece, or let us work to give you a masterpiece of worship in our life. Lord, we need your Holy Spirit to do this. Lord, I ask that you would bring your Holy Spirit in a mighty way into our lives, into our our kids' life, into our, our boss's life. Lord, would you be working mightily in our own life that we would look to give you the most glory? The most praise. Lord, let us be an ambassador of Christian integrity and Christ-like love. Or would you use as an open our mouths to share your gospel? What fills up with ways to adore you, fill us up with ways to share you. Let it be like a kid on Christmas morning who got a great gift and wants to tell everyone about it. Lord, you're way better than that gift. Or let us be bold in our gospel sharing, let us be bold in our prayers. God, I just thank you. I'm so encouraged by your people today. I'm so encouraged by the work that you've been doing, or thank you for my church family. Thank you for Jesus, who is united as all, regardless of background or job or family status. God, you receive all the glory today. As we sing another song, God, would you receive this praise? We love you. Jesus' name. Amen.

Ephesians 6:5