There are more slaves today than at any other time. We call modern slavery human trafficking. Modern slavery is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States with North Carolina among the most affected states. In 2019, 266 cases of trafficking were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, ranking North Carolina 11th among the 50 states in cases reported. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, there is now an average of 78 sex trafficking cases every year in North Carolina, and Charlotte is the #1 city.
Slavery in the Bible was not the same as Slavery outside of the Bible
According to Deuteronomy 15:12-18, every seventh year was a “Sabbath” year, and slaves were freed. But people ask, such as New Atheists: Why did God allow slavery in the first place? For example, Richard Dawkins in Outgrowing God in chapter six of “How Do We Decide What Is Good?” contends that God does not condemn slavery in the Bible: “Not surprisingly, since the Bible’s morality was of its time, slavery is not condemned there” (Richard Dawkins. Outgrowing God, Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, 126). Dawkins is wrong because slavery in the Old Testament was different from slavery in Old Testament times, antebellum or civil war slavery, and modern slavery.
Juvenal, the 2nd-century Roman Poet referred to a wealthy woman in the Roman Empire who had her slave crucified just for her own good pleasure. That kind of cruelty was not permitted in the Old Testament. Old Testament Israelite slaves were “indentured servants” or hired household employees who were paying off debt.
Slavery through kidnapping which was prevalent among nations (Luke 21:24) was punishable by death in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 24:7) and forbidden in the New Testament (1 Tim 1:9-11). This was not true for slavery outside of Israel.
Slaves could not be mistreated (Ex 21:27). Again, this was not the case outside of Israel.
Runaway slaves could not be returned to their owners (Deut 23:15-16). Slave laws outside of Israel penalized runaway slaves as well as those who harbored them. The Hammurabi Code (Babylonian legal text composed c. 1755–1750 BC.) required death for runaway slaves.
Slaves could volunteer to stay with their owners (Deut 15:16ff). The Old Testament law on slavery was to ultimately undermine slavery.
Christians have been divided over the Issue of Slavery
Among Christians, there have been different views on the issue of slavery.
One view contends that Paul supported slavery because of the Household Codes in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6. Even though Jonathan Edwards opposed the institution of slavery he owned slaves. The same was true for the other leader in the First Great Awakening, George Whitefield.
A second view contends that Paul was more concerned about the inner freedom of slaves because of what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:20-24. Paul advised slaves to basically bloom where they were planted in life.
Others believe that first-century slavery was benign because Paul praised Christian slave owner Philemon.
Still, others argue that first-century slavery was an evil institution of violence because Paul warned that slave owners who did wrong would be punished by God in Colossians 3:25-4:1.
Paul had Two Views about Slavery
His first view related to the church’s role which was to fulfill the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20. The church’s ministry is spiritual, not social. To attempt to overthrow the embedded institution of slavery in the Roman Empire would be suicide for the church. Spartacus in 70 BC, led a slave revolt against the Roman Empire, and thousands of slaves were massacred. Therefore, Paul gave the household codes in Colossians 3 which gave instructions on how to live in a pagan, corrupt culture. Paul instructed the church at Colossae as to how slaves were to behave and how slave masters were to behave. He does not try to get the church at Colossae to rid society of this social injustice.
Paul’s second view concerned individual Christians who had more liberty. Paul’s second view was that individual believers are citizens of both heaven (Phil 3:20) and earth (Acts 16:37). They have responsibilities in both countries. This is why Paul in writing to the individual believer, Philemon, who was in the church at Colossae, strongly advised him to “do more” than Paul was insinuating, in other words, free Onesimus from slavery. What the Old Testament and Paul instructed sowed the seeds that undid slavery. While the church at Colossae was not to reconstruct society through social activism but rather to focus on the Great Commission of making disciples through winning souls, baptizing them, and teaching them God’s Word. Part of making disciples and teaching to observe God’s Word would be as individual citizens they should seek to overthrow slavery by winning people to Christ as Paul had done with Philemon and then instructing them to free their slaves.
Scott Aniol writes: While the church as a church has no social responsibility outside of itself, this does not mean that Christians must refrain from involvement in cultural spheres (Scott Aniol, “Polishing Brass on a Sinking Ship: Toward a Traditional Dispensationalist Philosophy of the Church and Cultural Engagement,” The Journal of Ministry & Theology 24, no. 1, Spring 2020: 23).
According to Rolland McCune, “a church saint lives in two separate spheres, the church, and the state.” As such, individual Christians are “dual citizens who can and should engage in politics, arts, education, law enforcement, science, and other cultural activities.” However, “this is in their capacity as citizens of earth,” not as “the church” (Rolland McCune. A Systematic Theology of Biblical Christianity, Volume 1. Allen Park: Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 2009, 137).
William Wilberforce was an Example of Biblical Social Justice
William Wilberforce is an excellent example of Paul’s role as an individual believer. Wilberforce was a Biblical Social Justice Warrior in the 18th century. It was through his untiring efforts for forty years that finally abolished first slavery and then the slave trade in Great Britain. Wilberforce not only believed strongly in all the core doctrines of Scripture, but he also believed that these core doctrines must be the basis of social justice. John Piper in Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce (click to view) lists a sampling of the 66 diverse Christian and social justice endeavors Wilberforce was involved in addition to the abolition of slavery: His involvements ranged widely. He was involved with
• the British Foreign Bible Society
• the Church Missionary Society
• the Society for the Manufacturing Poor
• the Society for the Better Observance of Sunday
• He worked for the alleviation of harsh child labor conditions (like the use of small boys by chimney sweeps to climb up chimneys)
• for agricultural reform that supplied affordable food to the poor
• for prison reform and the restriction of capital punishment from cavalier use and for the prevention of cruelty to animals (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2006), 36-37.
In his A Practical View of Christianity (click to view), Wilberforce defended Christ’s death for sinners and the result of justification by faith. Christianity is a scheme “for justifying the ungodly” [Romans 4: 5], by Christ’s dying for them “when yet sinners ” [Romans 5: 6– 8], a scheme “for reconciling us to God— when enemies” [Romans 5: 10]; and for making the fruits of holiness the effects, not the cause, of our being justified and reconciled: that, in short, it opens freely the door of mercy, to the greatest and vilest of penitent sinners; that obeying the blessed impulse of the grace of God, whereby they had been awakened from the sleep of death and moved to seek for pardon (William Wilberforce, A Practical View of Christianity. Hendrickson Christian Classics, 1996. Kindle Locations 1509-1513).
Piper added: Is it not remarkable that one of the greatest politicians of Britain and one of the most persevering public warriors for social justice should elevate doctrine so highly? Perhaps this is why the impact of the church today is as weak as it is. Those who are most passionate about being practical for the public good are often the least doctrinally interested or informed. Wilberforce would say: You can’t endure in bearing fruit if you sever the root. From the beginning of his Christian life in 1785 until he died in 1833, Wilberforce lived off the “great doctrines of the gospel,” especially the doctrine of justification by faith alone based on the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ (Ibid, 75).