[To see an organizational outline of these lessons, click here]

 

POSITION AND SOCIAL STATUS MAKES NO DIFFERENCE.

In Acts 26:22 Paul tells us that with God's help he witnessed both to _____________ and  ________________. Can you name three people who you could call GREAT?-- (an athlete? a president? a wealthy person? a doctor? etc.)   Can you think of someone who you would consider SMALL?-- (a poor man? someone without a job? someone who very few people care about?)  When we speak of a person who is small, we are not talking about a person who is not very tall.  We are not talking about someone who is short in stature.  A small person, as the word is used in Acts 26:22, refers to a person who is not famous, not well-known, and who does not have a prominent position in society.  A political leader (a king, an emperor) would be considered a great person; a slave would be considered a small person.  Paul wanted to speak the Word of God to both SMALL and GREAT.

Who were some of the GREAT and famous men who Paul witnessed to (see Acts 9:15; 24:24; 25:12-13; 26:19; 27:1; etc.)?   Paul not only witnessed to great men but he witnessed to  A______    M______ (Acts 22:15)!    In what way should a believer be GREAT (Luke 1:15)? _________________________________________

In New Testament times (in the days of the Roman Empire), the lowest position of all was that of a slave. But even slaves are invited to be members in God^'s called-out assembly! Even slaves can enjoy all the rights and privileges of being members in the body of Christ. Here are three passages that teach us that IN CHRIST there is no differeence between a person who is a SLAVE and a person who is FREE:

This verse (1 Cor. 12:13--being baptized or placed into the body of Christ) is illustrated below:

In the body of Christ (the Church) there is perfect equality and oneness. There is no difference!

In Ephesians 6:5-8 and Colossians 3:22-25 Paul writes to Christian slaves (the word "servants" in these passages means "slaves"). Paul wanted these saved slaves to realize that they were slaves of ___________________ (see Eph. 6:6 and Col. 3:24).

In Ephesians 6:9 and Colossians 4:1 Paul writes to Christian masters (these were free men who had slaves under them). Paul wanted these saved masters to realize that they also had a ___________________ in _______________ that they were under (Eph. 6:9; Col. 4:1).

Below we have MASTER MARK and SLAVE SAMUEL:

Slave Samuel is a believing slave and therefore he is able to say: "I am a slave of Master Mark, but I am also a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ, for I S______________ the Lord Christ (Col. 3:24)."

Master Mark is a believing master and therefore he is able to say: "Slave Samuel is under me and he must give an account to me, but I am under my MASTER in heaven and I must give an account to Him."

In Christ, it does not make any difference whether a man is a slave or whether he is free. We are all equal as believers in Him.  All believers must someday stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10) to receive a reward or to suffer loss of reward (1 Corinthians 3:14-15). This is the reason why Ephesians 6:8 says, "Knowing that whatever good thing   _______    _______ doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be _________ (a slave) or ___________."

The word "LORD" means "MASTER" and this means that whenever we read the words, "THE LORD JESUS CHRIST," we should remind ourselves that HE is our MASTER and because He is our MASTER we should be (see Titus 2:9) O_________________ to HIM and we should P_______________ Him well in  _______ things.

Therefore, every person who belongs to the LORD Jesus Christ is His slave. He is our MASTER! Every believer is a slave of Jesus Christ!!

[In the following verses, the word "servant" means "slave."]

1. Romans 1:1--Paul was a slave of ____________________________
    
2. Colossians 4:12--Epaphras was a slave of ___________________
    
3. James 1:1--James was a slave of __________________________
    
4. 2 Peter 1:1--Peter was a slave of __________________________
    
5. Jude 1--Jude was a slave of ________________________________
    
6. I am a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ because I belong to Him!  (If this is true of you, sign your name: ______________________________ )

Is it possible to be free and to also be a slave at the same time (read Romans 6:18 and compare 1 Peter 2:16)? ________ Is it possible for an unsaved man to be free and to also be a slave at the same time (read Romans 6:20)? ______________

Please MATCH:

Read 1 Corinthians 7:22 carefully. According to this verse, the slave who is saved must realize that he is free. See John 8:36: "If the Son, therefore, shall make you __________, ye shall be ________ indeed."  The free man who is saved must realize that he is a slave.  He is free because he belongs to Christ (1 Corinthians 7:22).

In what way is every believer free? In what way is every believer a slave?   If a master realizes that he is a slave to Christ, how will that help him to be a better master to the slaves that are under him? If a slave realizes that he is a slave of Christ, how will this help him to be a better slave to his master?

Read 1 Timothy 6:2 and answer TRUE or FALSE:

In Paul's brief letter to Philemon we learn about a runaway slave named ___________________ (v. 10). This slave ran right into the Apostle Paul in Rome.  They met in prison.  This slave came to know the Lord in a wonderful way. He became a saved slave!   His master’s name was ___________________ (v. 1),  the same man that Paul wrote this letter to. Was Philemon a saved master (verses 1,5-7)? _________ Not only did Paul send this letter to Philemon, but he also sent Onesimus back to his master.

Read verse 16. Even though Onesimus was still a slave, he was now much more than a slave. What was he? ______________________

When Philemon finally read this letter that Paul sent and when he saw his runaway slave who was now a saved slave, what do you think he might have said to Onesimus?  He may have said something like this:

Note:  Christ did not come to abolish slavery; He came to do His saving work in the hearts of all who would believe in Him.  Slavery was a terrible institution primarily because of the sinfulness of man.  It was terrible for sinful men to capture human beings (from Africa, for example) and make them slaves.  It was terrible for sinful men to treat other humans as less than human.  It was terrible for sinful slave owners to abuse and mistreat their slaves. At the same time we recognize that some slave owners treated their slaves very well and some slaves loved their owners.  Some slaves loved their masters so much that they did not even want their freedom (see Exodus 21:5 for one example of this).  The Lord Jesus did not come to abolish slavery.   Instead He told believing slaves and believing masters how they should live for His glory (Ephesians 6:5-9).  Later as Christianity spread throughout the Roman empire, slavery was eventually abolished.
 

EDUCATION MAKES NO DIFFERENCE.

Christ invites ALL to become members of His Church regardless of how much EDUCATION or SCHOOLING they have had. If the gospel message went only to intelligent, well educated people who have been trained in the best schools, then thousands of people would never have the opportunity to be saved. Many people have never gone to COLLEGE, but they have COME TO CHRIST.  Countless numbers of people have gone to SCHOOLS and COLLEGES and UNIVERSITIES, but they have never COME TO CHRIST.  They never got saved. Paul was ready (ready, willing and eager) to preach the gospel "both to the GREEKS (people well educated in philosophy and art and science) and BARBARIANS (foreign people who were often uneducated); BOTH to the ________ (those who have above average intelligence and education) and to the _____________ (unschooled people who are considered "foolish" by those who are educated)" (Romans 1:14). How many years of schooling have you had? _________________ Do you consider yourself well-educated?  Do you consider yourself wise or unwise?

The Apostle Peter and the Apostle John were members of the church, but they had never been to a school. What was their previous occupation (Matthew 4:18-22)? _______________________ Did they need to attend school to learn how to do this? _______ [The only school they ever came near was a school of fish!]  They probably learned their fishing skills from their fathers or from other fishermen.  The unsaved Jews considered Peter and John to be uneducated:

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were _____________________ (UNEDUCATED; they never had gone to the Jewish schools) and __________________ (they had never been trained by expert teachers and thus they were not educated)" (ACTS 4:13)  

But Peter and John really had the best education and the best training and the best schooling possible because "THEY HAD ________     _______     ___________" (Acts 4:13) who was the greatest and wisest Teacher of all! What books in the Bible did the UNEDUCATED PETER give us?

1.
2.

What books in the Bible did the UNEDUCATED JOHN give us?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5. (See Revelation  1:1)

To the world they were UNLEARNED AND IGNORANT FISHERMEN; to Christ they were BELOVED DISCIPLES!!
 

THE EDUCATION OF MOSES

Moses was a well-educated man: "And Moses was ____________________ in ______ the _________________ of the Egyptians" (Acts 7:22). How old was Moses when he graduated from the "University of Egypt" (Acts 7:23)? _________________  Did this education prepare Moses to deliver the children of Israel (read Acts 7:23-34)? _______ How many more years of training did he need (Acts 7:30)? _____________________________
 

Even the Lord Jesus was considered uneducated: "How knoweth this man letters, having never __________________ (by this they meant that He never went to any school)" (John 7:15). Where did the Lord get His training and education from, according to John 7:16? (Circle the correct answer.)

Luke and the Apostle Paul were also members of the church. Both of these men were very well educated in the eyes of the world. Luke is called "the ______________    _________________ (doctor)" (Colossians 4:14) and he must have been well-trained in medicine (even as doctors today are well-trained).  Also a very large portion of the New Testament was written by Dr. Luke (even more material than Paul wrote). Can you name his two books? 1.___________________________ 2. ______________

Paul was trained by one of the greatest and most famous teachers of his day. Here is what Paul himself said, "I am verily a man which am a JEW, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of ____________________ and ____________ according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers" (Acts 22:3).

We learn about this teacher in Acts 5:34: "Then stood there up one in the council, a __________________, named ______________________, doctor (TEACHER) of the law." Paul was this man’s disciple!  Paul sat at the feet of this teacher who was respected and honored by all the Jews.

But for the believer in Christ, there is a "greater than Gamaliel" at whose feet we may learn. Read Luke 10:39: "Mary...sat at ____________     ________ and ___________     _______     __________." There is no greater teacher than the Master!! Are you His student and His disciple?

Education makes no difference, but once we become a member of the Church, God expects us to be well trained and well-educated in HOW TO LIVE. Where can we find instruction on how to live right, act right, talk right and think right (2 Timothy 3:15-17)? _________________________________ It is very easy to be instructed in unrighteousness by watching certain television shows, reading certain books and magazines, looking at the wrong things on the computer, etc., but the BIBLE gives us instruction in _______________________ (2 Timothy 3:16).

Go to the Next Lesson--Lesson 14