In 1 Timothy, Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians, God’s word addresses slaves and masters. Non-Christians are quick to point out, “We know that slavery is wrong, so why doesn’t the New Testament state explicitly for slaves to be set free?” This is not an easy question, but it is a question that has been asked before and has been answered effectively over the years.
First, we need to be reminded that slavery was never God’s original intention for mankind, but it came about through human sin and exploitation. Just because the Bible reports a state of affairs does not mean that it is God’s prescribed will for mankind. In the book of Genesis, Hagar was a slave to Abraham and Sarah, and she was treated harshly by Sarah. Joseph’s brothers sold him to slave traders, who in turn sold him to Potiphars’ house in Egypt. In Exodus, the Israelites were oppressed by the Egyptians and made to work as slaves for 400 years. The state and existence of slavery is a result of human sin and exploitation, not something given as an ideal by God. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, many people became slaves from the result of wars, or the need to pay off family debts. In Leviticus 25:47-55, a person could be redeemed out of slavery, and if not, then he and his children would be released in the year of jubilee. Among the Israelites, God gave conditions so that family units would remain intact should someone end up in slavery for a period of time.
Secondly, although it was similar in some ways, we need to remember that the kind of slavery talked about in the New Testament was vastly different than the race-based slave trade of the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s in which people were viewed as sub-human and were traded as property-without any regard to human dignity. (This difference does not excuse the sin and violence of slavery throughout U.S. history., especially among those who used the Bible to perpetuate slavery and justify violence against slaves.) In the Greco-Roman period it is estimated that the Roman Empire had roughly between 50 million and 60 million people living as slaves. Some of it was brutal- a Roman who owned a slave could have that slave put to death, and many slaves were sentenced to die as gladiators in the Coliseum. However by the time of the New Testament, the practices of the Roman Empire had begun to improve slave conditions. People sold themselves into slavery for a kind of security-food, clothing, and housing- in exchange for their services. Some people used this avenue as a way to gain Roman citizenship, since slaves were usually freed around the age of thirty. Slaves were often more educated than their masters, with some serving as tutors, artisans, writers, and other occupations.
This Roman context is the environment in which the New Testament talks about slavery. In Ephesus and Colosse, roughly 25-30% of the population would have been slaves, and that proportion would likely have carried over into the church. In that context, the Scriptures command slaves to obey their masters and to work unto the Lord, and the masters are commanded to treat their slaves fairly. Following these commands was a strong witness to non-Christians. Both slaves and free people worshiped in the same congregation and prayed for one another. The book of Galatians records that “in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The cross is the great equalizer of humanity. All people need salvation, and that salvation is only possible through Christ. Every person is made in the image of God and every Christian is equal before God in Christ. So why didn’t Paul tell the slave holders in Galatia, Colosse, or Ephesus to set their slaves free?
First, with that many slaves in the Roman Empire, setting slaves free would have caused more chaos, violence in the local community and economy. Second, setting slaves free in those cities would have caused immediate discord in local churches. Third, the Christian faith is one that begins with heart-transformation which is followed by social reform, not the other way around. Jesus witnessed the oppression and mistreatment of Jews by the Romans, yet he did not preach to overturn existing societal structures. The New Testament lays the moral framework for the abolition of slavery later on, when William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect would continue preaching the gospel and work in British Parliament over 20 years in order to abolish the transatlantic slave trade. Consider these seminal passages in the New Testament which bolster the argument against slavery in general, later in history:
Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. (Here Paul encourages those who are slaves to seek their freedom if they can do so.)
1 Corinthians 7:20-22
For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. (Here Paul urges Philemon to free Onesimus, a fugitive slave who likely robbed Philemon and later became a Christian.)
Philemon 15–16
Today, when millions of people are living in modern-day slavery around the world than at any point in history, we as Christians can continue to proclaim the gospel and work for more just laws and working conditions, through ministries such as International Justice Mission. But more than that, we as Christ followers are called and commanded to love our neighbor and treat every person with dignity and respect. We are called to do so no matter if that person is of a different race, ethnicity, an immigrant, a foreigner, or is from a similar cultural background. As our hearts are transformed by Christ, may our actions reflect the love of Christ and magnify the gospel, which frees people from sin and bondage. The church is an outpost of the kingdom of heaven, where there will be people from every tribe, nation, and tongue.
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone
Ephesians 2:18–20