“All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. These are the things you are to teach and insist on” (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NIV).
Slavery was an accepted way of life within the ancient Roman Empire and Christians served as both slaves and masters during that time. But instead of mounting a direct assault upon this practice through the pages of the Scriptures, God elected to use a subtle, but highly effective means of eradicating this practice.
First, the New Testament Scriptures directed Christian slaves to work for their owners just as if they were working for Christ. Slaves who were serious about following this directive would always give their best effort- even when their owners weren’t watching (see Ephesians 6:5).
Slave owners were then commanded to treat slaves in a God-honoring manner. For instance. owners were not permitted to threaten their slaves (Ephesians 6:9). They were also instructed to interact righteously and equitably with slaves: “Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” (Colossians 4:1).
These instructions, along with Jesus’ teaching to “…treat people the same way you want them to treat you” (Matthew 7:12 NASB) meant that all Christians had an obligation to treat others with respect and dignity. Over time, these principles slowly began to undermine the “slave and owner” mentality and helped influence a move away from the master/slave model of working relationships.
In addition, we should also consider a situation that might have faced a Christian master with a Christian slave during that time. If a master and slave both attended the same church, there was a chance that a slave might hold a position of spiritual authority over his master. The possibility that a master might look to his slave for spiritual guidance would also help undermine support for the practice of slavery.
So instead of furthering the idea of master/slave working relationships, the New Testament teaching on this subject actually had the opposite effect. The Biblical concept that slaves and masters were equal in God’s sight laid the groundwork that helped eliminate the once common practice of slavery and continues to do so today.