some thoughts i was having about the gospel in regards to what is written about the church & authority. paul writes about authority, and slavery in the following verses: romans 13: 1-7 -- seems to be saying be subject to government & pay taxes 1 corinthians 7: 21-24 -- seems to be saying remain as a slave if you were called as a slave 2 corinthians 10: 8-9 -- paul mentions his own authority ephesians 6: 5-9 -- tells bonservants to obey their masters and masters to do good to them colossians 3:22, 4:1 -- almost the same thing as in ephesians 1 timothy 5:17, 6:1-2 -- says to give elders who rule well honor, & bondservants to give honor to masters titus 2:9-10, 3:1-2 -- again says be obedient to maters, and then also be obedient to government and peter writes about authority: 1 peter 2:13-14, 2:18-19, 5:2-4 -- seems to say be obedient to government & servants to their masters, also a word to the shepherds of the flock of God 2 peter 2: 10 -- mentions condemnation for those who despise authority and jude writes about authority: jude 1:8 -- similar to 2 peter mentioning corrupt men that reject authority and in the book of hebrews it mentions something too: hebrews 13:7 -- talks about those that rule over others then also in the accounts: matthew 20: 25-28 -- mentions measure of authority in the context of certain verses it seems like it is almost pointing to a type of authority within the church: 2 corinthians 10: 8-9 1 timothy 5: 17 hebrews 13: 7 1 peter 5: 2-4 matthew 20: 25-28 what does all this mean? do these verses that talk about authority within the church have any relation to the verses that talk about authority outside the church? i.e. slaves & masters, and submission to world government? do the verses about slavery have any relevance at all today since slavery was outlawed?
Interestingly Jesus said that he came to preach God's Kingdom and he was no part of this world. So we are to follow Jesus' example and be no part of this world and seek first God's Kingdom. Then what were Peter and Paul talking about? They were pointing out that as Christians we have better things to do than worry about this system of things and it's governments. Thus as Christians we should be minimizing any friction between us and this system of things, so we should be paying our taxes and obeying their laws as long as they don't conflict with God's laws. As for slavery, Christians are to be slaves of God and the Christ. And if we find ourselves slaves to a fellow human, we are not to be overly concerned about it but try to find ways to commend ourselves to our master and thus honor God. In fact, although many of us consider ourselves "free" and do not want to think of ourselves as slaves, we are actually wage "slaves". We pay more in taxes then the surfs did to their lords in the middle ages. As Christians we have a job to do and that job does not include being over concerned about our station in life but continue to commend ourselves to God.
Whenever I think on the subject, I look at the examples given by Daniel the prophet and Jesus. Daniel obeyed and worked hard for his boss who happened to be a king. He did everything asked of him but eat meat sacrificed to idols which displeased his God. Doing such things caused him to get into trouble but he feared God more than he feared man. Likewise, Jesus paid his taxes and was not a direct enemy to the state. Although you could say that he was since he was free from the inside. Even so, he was not a violent revolutionary such as Barnabas. Likewise, Christians are to listen to the governing bodies until it conflicts with God's laws. At which point, all Christians are to decide, like Jesus and Daniel, who they fear more.
