New Testament condemns American slavery

The OT condemns slavery, it might surprise you to know that the NT is even more clear. While the Torah showed how the forceful ownership of a human was not fitting for God’s nation, the NT shows that the same action is not fitting for God’s church.

The Romans had a practice nearly as barbaric as American slavery, and it was referred to as “man-stealing.” In 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul tells Timothy that a person cannot simultaneously claim the name of Christ while participating in the involuntary ownership of human life.

The context is important. Paul’s first letter to Timothy was written to instruct Timothy on leading the Ephesian church. The purpose of the book is found in 3:15: 

"you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth.” 

It is in this vein that chapter one, after an introduction, moves into describing the lives of people who by definition are no part of the church. Paul comments that he too used to be immoral and a false teacher (1:12-17), so he charges Timothy to be on the lookout for others that live as Paul once did, and he even gives two specific examples (v. 20). These people were at one time part of the local church, but their lives were immoral, and Paul handed them over to Satan.

In that section, Paul gives Timothy specific lists of sins that people who associate with a local church might be committing. This list, found in 1 Timothy 1:9-10 is given so that Timothy knows precisely who, absent repentance, is not to be part of the church.

He begins in verses 3-6 calling on Timothy to be aware of such people. They claim to be experts on the things of God (v. 4), yet they are away from the truth of Christ. They desire to be teachers of the Law (v. 7), yet the Law was not given for them to justify themselves by it. Ironically, by claiming to be experts in it and living the way they do, they actually oppose it.

What do these people look like? Paul describes them as “lawless and disobedient,” “ungodly and sinners,” and “unholy and profane” (v. 9). He then gives a list of sins that are committed by these people who are clearly not converted: 

“those that strike their fathers and mothers, murderers, sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (9-10a).

Interestingly, that list runs parallel to the second half of the Decalogue. Those that strike their father or mother violate the 5th commandment. Murderers violate the 6th commandment. Homosexuals violate the 7th commandment. Those that enslave men violate the 8th commandment. Those that perjure violate the 9th commandment. Also, in Greek the list of sins is alliterated, adding to the rhythm of the condemnation in this passage, and making the point with rhetorical force.

Thus Paul calls those who kidnapped people to sell them into slavery, and those who owned said persons, “ungodly and sinners…unholy and profane” (vs. 9). Their actions are “contrary to sound doctrine.” 

Mounce writes, “These people are not fit for the kingdom of God” and in Paul’s mind are “thus not participants in the process of salvation” (Mounce, in the WBC, 46:36).

There is no lexical room for the slave owner to weasel out of this condemnation either. According to BDAG, the Greek word translated “man-stealer” means “to acquire a person for use by another.” 

I read a journal article that detailed how these slave traders were well-known in the Roman world and detested by the population. They were notoriously wicked and deceptive, dressing up the slaves to make them look stronger for a higher value. When caught by the government, they were banished (Albert J. Harrill, “The Vice of Slave Dealers in Greco-Roman Society: 1 Timothy 1:10,” Journal of Biblical Literature 118/1 (1999).

If you were to read a description of their practices, some of which are too vile to describe here, you would likely think two things: 

“How depraved those man-stealers were!” and then “How in the world can people say that the Bible does not condemn American slavery?”

Christians who claim that the Bible can be used to justify the conduct of those who bought and sold kidnapped people are mistaken. This is not a grey area- Paul wrote that those who enslave others are unholy, immoral, sinful, profane, disobedient, lawless, and condemned by the law of God. 

They are the opposite of a righteous person. In short, they are unconverted and not fit for the kingdom of God. Philo wrote, “Anybody who thinks that kidnapped victims peddled for sale by slave dealers become slaves [in the OT sense] goes utterly astray from the truth.” Unfortunately, and despite Philo’s warning, church history is filled with many who have done just that.

Author Cripplegate