Colossians 3:22-4:1: Working for the Lord

Colossians 3:22-4:1: Working for the Lord

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through Paul’s letter to the Colossians, and today the next passage we come to is Colossians chapter 3 verse 22 through chapter 4 verse 1. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. 1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we’re told that the one who delights in your Word is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and that has leaves that do not wither. We want to be that tree. So please, open up your Word to us this morning so that we can be rooted in your Word, nourished in your Word, and sustained by your Word. Holy Spirit, use the things taught in this passage to change us from within. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

Most of our lives is spent doing work. In all likelihood, most of us spend more time working than we do on anything else—especially if you take into account the work we do that doesn’t involve a paycheck. Yet, even if we’re just talking about the kind of work that we’d call our “jobs” and that we’re paid to do, we spend an incredible portion of our lives working—usually at least five out of every seven days. 

Yet, from what I’ve observed, most people—and even most Christians—are in sort of a fog about the meaning and significance of our work. So many of us spend so much time working and yet have almost no idea about how our work could possibly be a spiritually significant thing. Like, how could working at a car dealership or an insurance agency or a factory or a financial institution or a restaurant be spiritually significant? 

And so, for many, if not most, people, they go to work primarily so they can earn a paycheck. Maybe you’ve seen the popular bumper sticker that says, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” That encapsulates the mentality many people have toward their jobs. Now, of course, it’s important for us to pay our bills. But is receiving a paycheck really the foundational reason why we work? Many people seem to operate on that assumption. They put in their hours at work so they can pay the bills, but what they’re really looking forward to is the weekend. They’ve gotta do what they’ve gotta do Monday through Friday, but the weekend…that’s where it’s at. 

Yet, when you think about it, that’s kind of a sad way to live. I mean, are five out of seven days in our lives really just these throwaway days that are only useful because they help us enjoy the other two days? That’s kind of depressing, isn’t it? Yet, that’s the way many Christians go through their lives—viewing work as, at best, a spiritually meaningless activity. 

But what if I told you that, according to the Bible, work is actually overflowing with spiritual significance? Well, that is indeed what we find taught in many passages throughout the Bible, including today’s main passage of Colossians 3:22-4:1. In this passage, Paul addresses servants and gives them specific instructions for how to approach their work. Above all, he tells them to engage in their work as worship to the Lord. That’s the main idea of this passage. Paul tells servants to engage in their work as worship to the Lord.

And as we’ll see, Paul’s instructions are relevant not just to servants but to workers of all kinds. For us today, the most obvious connection is to employees working at their jobs. And we can also apply these verses to those whose work doesn’t involve financial compensation, such as stay-at-home moms. 

So, my hope is that our examination of this passage will help you connect worship on Sunday to work on Monday. Many times, those feel like two different worlds, but hopefully you’ll find this passage helpful in bridging that gap. My goal is that, by the end of our time together this morning, you’ll be able to walk into work tomorrow morning—or start engaging in your work wherever you do it—with an entirely different mentality. Hopefully, from now on, you’ll be able to work with a distinct sense of purpose and find wonderful fulfillment in your work as you grow in your appreciation of its spiritual significance.

So, let’s begin by looking at the first part of verse 22. Paul says, “Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters.” Now, before we go any further, let me address a question that might be bothering some of you, and that is the question of whether the Bible’s condoning slavery in this passage. The short answer is, “Absolutely not.” 

Paul originally wrote these verses during time in history when, unfortunately, slavery was pervasive. Some scholars estimate that up to half of the population of the Roman Empire lived as slaves. It’s also important to recognize that slavery in the Roman Empire was much different than the slavery that used to exist in our own country. First of all, it had nothing to do with race at all. Most of the slaves were white, not black. Not only that, slaves were often highly educated and worked as doctors, teachers, and in other professional positions. And finally, some people would actually sell themselves into slavery because they believed it would be economically or socially advantageous for them and because they knew they could probably save up enough money to purchase their freedom after 10 or 20 years of service. So, slavery in the first century was quite different than the slavery that used to be practiced in our country. 

Nevertheless, it’s still categorically wrong for one human being to own another. And interestingly, it was the Bible that eventually helped people—even in ancient times—come to understand that. The Bible teaches in Genesis 1:26 that all human beings are created in God’s image and therefore have inherent worth. Also, in 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul lists various kinds of sinners and includes “enslavers” on that list—referring to those who forcibly take people to be slaves. Paul also teaches in Philemon 1:16 that Christians slaves and masters are brothers in the Lord, implying that they have equal status in God’s eyes. It’s this understanding that also led Paul to write, in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

So, even though the New Testament didn’t tell Christians to engage in a revolutionary uprising in an attempt to overthrow the institution of slavery, it nevertheless planted seeds that would eventually result in slavery being abolished in the Roman Empire once Christians become more influential. You might compare it to planting oak tree seeds all throughout an open field. That field might not look much different the next day after you plant those seeds, or the next week, or even the next year. But eventually, that field will be radically transformed. And that’s what the Bible did to the Roman Empire through the seeds it planted. Slavery was eventually abolished in the Roman Empire through the influence of the Bible and Christianity. 

Not only that, it was the Bible and Christianity that eventually led to the abolition of slavery in more recent centuries as well—specifically in Great Britain and the United States. Where do you think people got the idea that slavery is morally wrong? It certainly wasn’t from evolution and its concept of the survival of the fittest. No, in both Great Britain and the United States, people came to the conclusion that slavery is wrong based upon the moral teachings of the Bible. 

In fact, I challenge you to find any society in all of history that’s voluntarily released their slaves because they were convinced slavery was morally wrong apart from the influence of Christianity. I’m not aware of any society where that’s been the case—and, by the way, I even asked ChatGPT and ChatGPT isn’t aware of any either. Only Christianity has led societies to abolish slavery based upon a moral conviction that slavery is wrong. So, keep all of that in mind as we read Paul instructions to bondservants—or slaves—in these verses. 

So, in verse 22, Paul first tells bondservants to “obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,” and he then adds “not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers.” In other words, don’t just obey when your boss is looking at you or in order to obtain his or her favor. Instead, Paul says, obey “with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord”—that is, obey from the heart and ultimately out of reverence for God. 

Paul then continues in verse 23: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” So, instead of working in a lazy or sluggish manner, Paul instructs servants—or employees—to work “heartily,” with energy and enthusiasm. He then adds that they should work “as for the Lord and not for men.” In other words, imagine that Jesus himself is your boss—since he ultimately is—and then work for your earthly boss in the same manner that you’d work for Jesus. 

And as I was thinking about what exactly that would look like, I came up with eight things. So, here are eight traits that should characterize those who are working for their boss as they’d work for Jesus. And as I go through these, I encourage you to consider how well you’re exhibiting these traits in your work. The first is integrity. Do you ever bend the truth to create a better situation for yourself? Do you ever pad the numbers to make yourself look better? Do you ever misrepresent your product or service in order to increase sales? Proverbs 28:6 says, “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”

After that, the second trait is reliability. Can people count on you to be where you say you’re going to be and do what you say you’re going to do? Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:37 to let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” Then, third is productivity. Do you work in an efficient manner and get done what’s expected of you? Or, when your boss isn’t looking or simply doesn’t care, do you take excessive breaks or do things when you’re on the clock that you’re not supposed to be doing? Proverbs 10:4 states, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

A fourth trait is quality. Does your work meet—or, even better, exceed—the standards that are set for it? Do you show meticulous attention to detail and strive for excellence in all you do? Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”

Then, fifth is punctuality. Do you habitually steal time from your employer by being late? And not only is being late a form of stealing from your employer, it’s also simply unloving to others at your workplace to whatever degree that your lateness inconveniences them. You’re forcing them to adjust their plans because you can’t manage to show up on time. As James 4:17 says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

After that, number six is stewardship. Do you manage the company’s resources responsibly—as if they were your own? Do you avoid wastefulness and only spend what you need to spend in order to accomplish the work you’ve been given? 

Number seven is initiative. Do you take the initiative to do things that aren’t technically required of you to help your coworkers and contribute to the strength of your company? Do you take the initiative to improve your skills and learn new things that will help you be a better worker? In the so-called “parable of the talents” in Matthew 25, the servants who take the initiative to invest and increase the money they’ve been given are rewarded, while the servant who only buries what he’s been given is punished. 

And finally, an eighth trait is enthusiasm. Do you constantly gripe and complain about how terrible everything is, or do you have a good attitude among your coworkers? Do you engage in your work cheerfully and contribute to a positive work environment? So, hopefully these eight traits give us a helpful portrait of what it looks like to do as Paul says in our main passage and work “as for the Lord and not for men.”  

Then, after giving instructions about the manner of our work, Paul tells us what should be the motivation for our work. In verse 24, he says to work in this way, “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.” Keep in mind that Paul’s specifically addressing slaves in this passage. And under Roman law, slaves weren’t eligible to inherit anything. Yet Paul says that their real Master, Jesus, will make sure that their diligent work will one day be rewarded with an inheritance. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that our hard work earns us a place in heaven. Indeed, the whole point of an inheritance is that it’s not given as earned wages but simply by virtue of a family relationship. An inheritance is received, not earned. So, this heavenly inheritance isn’t a “reward” in the sense that it’s earned but simply in the sense that it’s given to those who are faithful in their vocational calling. And we understand from elsewhere in the Bible that the only way someone can live faithfully—whether it be in their vocation or in any other aspect of life—is by God’s grace. So, ultimately, God’s rewarding the vocational faithfulness in a Christian’s life that he himself has enabled that Christian to exhibit. Therefore, the “reward” isn’t a payment that’s owed but rather a gift that’s given to those who are faithful. 

Then, in the second part of verse 24, Paul gives another motivation for us to be faithful in our work. He says, “You are serving the Lord Christ.” This is where we get the idea that work should be done as worship. When we’re diligent in our work, we’re serving not just our boss but Jesus himself. And that should be something brings us inexpressible delight—especially as we consider all that Jesus has done for us. 

The Bible teaches that when we were helplessly enslaved by our sin and hopelessly condemned in our sin, Jesus came to our rescue. He left the glories of heaven and became one of us—a real flesh-and-blood human being. He did this so he could live a perfectly righteous life in our place and eventually die on a cross in our place, as the atoning sacrifice for our sin. You see, God’s justice requires that sin be punished. Yet Jesus endured that punishment as our substitute in his death on the cross. He was then raised from the dead with the result that everyone who puts their trust in him receives forgiveness of their sins, adoption into God’s family, and the hope of eternal life. 

So, as we consider the way Jesus has served us, it should make us ever so eager to serve him. Therefore, when we read what Paul says here in verse 24—“You are serving the Lord Christ”—we should be eager to do that and to engage in our work as worship. No matter what our job is, we should approach it with a mentality of serving and worshiping Jesus through the work we do. It’s in this way that work becomes very much a sacred thing. 

Unfortunately, as I alluded to earlier, a lot of Christians have a relatively low view of work. Yet the Bible has a very high view of work, as we can see in our main passage. And there are also many other places in the Bible that teach a high view of work as well. First of all, the Bible tells us that God himself is worker. The very first chapter of the Bible records God working for six days in order to create this world. He then gave the first humans—Adam and Eve—the task of working by cultivating the garden in which he placed them. 

Not only that, he told them to take dominion over the entire world. He said to them in Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” So, God’s intention for Adam and Eve was to produce offspring and teach their offspring to work so they could one day “subdue” the whole earth. That involves doing essentially what God did in creation—taking the chaos and turning it into order. And that includes every kind of advancement we could name—from advancements related to technology to advancements related to human civilization in general. And those advancements, of course, wouldn’t happen automatically but rather through very deliberate and focused work. So, what you have in this verse is God’s command for us to work toward what we might call “human flourishing.”

Not only that, this verse occurs right after two verses that emphasize the fact that God created us in his image. That’s no accident. The implication is that work is a foundational way in which we image God. We’ve already seen how God’s a worker. So, a key way in which we image him and reflect his glory is by being workers ourselves. 

And keep in mind that all of this is before the Fall recorded in Genesis 3—when humanity rebelled against God. Work wasn’t a result of the Fall but rather preceded the Fall. Right in the middle of the perfect paradise of the Garden of Eden when everything was the way God intended it to be, there was…work! Work is a good gift from our good Creator.

In addition, fast forwarding to the New Testament, let’s remember that Jesus lived most of his life as a carpenter. He labored as a carpenter for around 20 years before he began this 3-year stint in “full-time vocational ministry.” That means he spent over six times as many years working as a carpenter as he did engaging in public preaching and teaching. For the majority of his days on this earth, Jesus came home in the evening with sawdust on his clothes, mortar on his hands, and sweat all over. What a great confirmation of the intrinsic dignity of work!

And finally, the Bible teaches that work is something that will characterize our eternal existence. Contrary to popular belief, the new creation—sometimes referred to as “heaven”—isn’t going to be a place of disembodied spirits sitting around in the clouds and playing harps all day. Instead, the biblical picture of the new creation is of a place that includes…you guessed it…work. Speaking of the inhabitants of this new creation, Isaiah 65:21-22 tells us, 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 

So, when you consider how highly work is spoken of throughout the Bible, it shouldn’t come as any surprise when Paul presents work in our main passage in such a lofty way and as something we should do as service to Jesus himself. 

And as we seek to engage in our work as service to Jesus, it’s helpful to remember two things about our work. The first is the earthly impact of our work. Although our work is ultimately a form of service to Jesus, it’s most directly a form of service to other people. We serve Jesus by serving others. Our work is a way for us to love our neighbor and contribute to the common good and to human flourishing. 

A roofer does that by keeping people from getting wet, a worker in an automobile factory does that by giving people access to better transportation, a pharmacy tech does that by helping people get the medications they need, a garbageman does that by taking away people’s garbage, an attorney does that by making sure people have fair representation. So, hopefully this helps you see how your work isn’t just about earning a paycheck or achieving various forms of self-advancement. It’s a way of serving and loving other people, which is a key way we serve and love Jesus himself. 

And second, I’d encourage you to consider not just the earthly impact of your work but also the spiritual impact of your work. One of the most powerful ways we can make a spiritual impact on those around us is by being exceptionally good workers—workers who demonstrate the eight traits I listed earlier of integrity, reliability, productivity, quality, punctuality, stewardship, initiative, and enthusiasm. Because when we engage in our work in this way, it gives us a wonderful platform for telling people about Jesus. 

Unfortunately—to be candid with you—I fear that some Christians might be doing more harm than good when they try to talk to their coworkers about Jesus, for the simple reason that they approach their work in such a sloppy and undisciplined manner that it ends up reflecting poorly on their professed Christian faith. If you want to be an effective gospel witness in your workplace, the very first step is to engage in your work in a way that earns people’s respect. 

In Titus 2:9-10, Paul writes, 9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. Think about that. Does the way you engage in your work “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior”? Just like a necklace might “adorn” a woman’s neck and thereby draw attention to her beauty, our lives—and specifically our work ethic—should adorn the gospel we proclaim and draw people’s attention to how wonderful the gospel is. 

So, if you want to be a good gospel witness, do good work. When I was an undergraduate student at Liberty University, one thing they repeatedly told us was that, “if it’s Christian, it ought to be better.” “If it’s Christian, it ought to be better.” Christian plumbers should be better plumbers, Christian architects should be better architects, Christian accountants should be better accountants, and on and on we could go.

The famed twentieth century author Dorothy Sayers once wrote that “The Church’s approach to [a] carpenter is usually confined to exhorting him not to be drunk and disorderly in his leisure hours, and to come to church on Sundays. What the Church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables.” Along these same lines, Tim Keller writes, “As a Christian how can you work in the most Christ-pleasing way? The answer is, just do your job really, really well.”

So, that’s how we can make a spiritual impact and give ourselves a platform for an effective gospel witness through the work we do. And that’s ultimately how we can approach our work—as Paul says in our main passage—with the mentality of serving Christ.

Paul then issues a warning in verse 25: “For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” Jesus is a boss who’s quite capable not only of rewarding us for good work but also of taking disciplinary action against us for bad work. 

And finally, as we cross over into the next chapter, Paul gives a simple and direct word of instruction to masters as well. He says in verse 1, “Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” In the Roman Empire, masters were legally permitted to mistreat their slaves in all sorts of terrible ways, even to the point of killing them without any legal consequence. Yet Paul tells them to treat their slaves “justly and fairly,” which was radically countercultural in that society. 

Today, this means that employers should pay their employees fairly and demonstrate concern for their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their families. And employers should do this, Paul says, with the understanding that they also “have a Master in heaven.” Both employee and employer will have to answer to God one day for their conduct in the workplace.

So, regardless of what kind of work you do, let me encourage you this morning to view your vocation as a calling from God. Sometimes, people conceive of a calling as something only pastors and cross-cultural missionaries receive. Yet I believe there’s biblical warrant to view every vocation as a calling from God. This means laying asphalt is just as noble of a calling as being a pastor when you do it as worship to God. Martin Luther once said that, “The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but all works are measured before God by faith alone.” This means that you can glorify God just as much through “ordinary” work as you can through church work when you engage in your work as an expression of your faith in God.

Dorothy Sayers, whom I quoted earlier, communicates this even more pointedly when she observes, “The Apostles [in Acts 6] complained rightly when they said it was not meant they should leave the word of God and serve tables; their vocation was to preach the word. But the person whose vocation it is to prepare the meals beautifully might with equal justice protest: It is not meant for us to leave the service of our tables to preach the word….The only Christian work is good work well done. Let the Church see to it that the workers are Christian people and do their work well, as to God: then all the work will be Christian work….” So, again, whatever you do for work, approach your vocation as a calling from God—and, in that way, bloom where you’re planted.

And never forget that we work for Jesus because he’s worked for us. In other words, everything we do for Jesus in our vocation should be an expression of gratitude for what he’s already done for us in rescuing us from our sins. In fact, the greatest way we worship Jesus isn’t by working for him but by resting in him—and in the work he’s accomplished on our behalf.