A Tale of 2 Slaves - Forgiveness and Justice

Reparations, the Corban Law, and Why the Proposed Solution Is Unbiblical

So, a little while ago I was just on the phone with my brother, and my brother is a ruling elder in the PCA, and he had an opportunity to speak with a number of other pastors that are engaged in the social justice conversation.

He was talking to them about, I'm not going to reveal the topic too much, but it was about social justice and some of the proposed solutions for it, and my brother made a very good case about opposing some of these potential solutions, and I'm going to apply it to reparations, although they weren't talking about reparations, they were talking about something else.

The point that he told me he made was that, look, I will grant every, the worst case scenario of what is potentially claimed as what's the problem, what's going on in the church or in history, I will grant the worst case scenario.

So, all of the worst stories you've heard about slavery and Jim Crow, let's just say that they're all true, and they were all rampant, so let's just grant everything. I would still oppose, and I'm going to say reparations the way they're talked about today, I would still oppose reparations for slavery if the worst case scenario of slavery as it's talked about in history was true today, and the reason I do that is because the solution itself is unbiblical, in fact, the solution itself is very similar to the Corbin Law, it actually overturns the law of God and pretends like it's keeping the law of God.

If you remember the Corbin Law, you know, the Pharisees would teach that instead of taking care of your mom and dad, you give that money to God, and it seems so holy, but God says that it, or Jesus says, Jesus is God, but Jesus says that it actually overturns the law of God that you should honor your father and mother, so you have to keep the law of God at every point, you can't break the law of God in order to try to keep the law of God, if that makes sense, so that was the problem with Corbin, and that's actually the problem with reparations as well, it actually overturns the law of God where it says that the sons shall not pay for the sins of the father, shall not die for the sins of the father, so reparations as they're talked about today overturns the law of God, that should be enough for every Christian to not support it, that should be enough, but there's more, I mean, there's absolutely more, I'm calling this video A Tale of Two Slaves, because the Bible has a lot to say about slaves and masters, and the relationships between the two, and it does not say that slavery just automatically is an evil institution, it does not say that slavery, if there's slavery going on, then there's obviously rampant sin, slavery needs to be overturned in every kind of way, in an unequivocal way, that's not what the Bible says, you know, the Bible doesn't present slavery in that way, now American slavery was fueled by man-stealing, right, and man-stealing was a penalty that was punishable by death, and so the man-stealers, who oftentimes, many of them were Africans, by the way, man-stealers should have been put to death for their crime, they weren't, and that was an injustice, of course, but the fact of owning a slave isn't necessarily automatically wrong, there's gotta be nuance in that conversation, because there is a way to own a slave, according to Scripture, that is not a sin automatically, there is a way to do that, and so that's the first thing, so we gotta read the Bible, and understanding that slavery automatically isn't automatically like the worst sin imaginable, that's like the worst sin that we can imagine in our modern context, but that's not how the Bible presents it, and the Bible has a lot to say about the master-slave relationship, I wanna read this to you from 1 Peter, so this is a tale of two slaves, okay, and I want you to hear how Peter talks about this, and I'm also gonna read something from Jesus as well, and it's talking about slavery, and again, I grant that it's not the same as Southern slavery, but there are some lessons here that apply across the board, even if you're not enslaved yourself, here's what Peter says about slavery, he says, servants, and that's the word doulos, that's slave, servants be subject to your masters with all respect, not only the good and gentle, but also to the unjust, for this is a gracious thing, when mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly, for what credit is it, if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure, but when you do good, and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing, in the sight of God, and listen now where he connects this, this is Peter, he's connecting this right to the gospel, he's saying slaves, it doesn't matter if your master is unjust, and beats you for no reason, or if he's a good master, it doesn't matter, you need to obey and be subject to your masters with all respect, and listen to where he connects this, he says, for, to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps, he committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth, when he was reviled, he did not revile in return, when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly, now I want you to think about how Peter talks to a godly, Christ honoring slave, he says, look, respect your masters even if he's an unjust man, even if he takes from you, even if he beats you without cause, you know, especially if he's a just man, and he's your slave masters, definitely respect him, but also if he's an unjust man, definitely respect him, this doesn't mean you can't try to escape if you can, if you can't avail yourself of the opportunity to free yourself, it doesn't mean you can't do that, it doesn't mean that you couldn't take him to court if there was just cause to do that, it doesn't mean that, but he says, don't revile him, don't return reviling for reviling, I'm thinking in my mind of all of the reviling that happens against white people today, I'm done with white evangelicalism, and they weren't even the ones who enslaved you, you have actually not been enslaved, but yet, according to your own standard, that there's been hatred and racism thrown your way, and you're returning it with hatred and racism, this is not the godly way, this is not the example of Christ, this is not what Peter is telling you to do, let's just grant you everything, let's just say that there's systemic injustice and all of this stuff, why are you reviling in return for reviling as you see it?

Forgiveness, Debt, and the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Now, I challenge the idea that there's rampant racism in the church right now, I challenge that idea, but even if it were true, this kind of rhetoric, I'm done with white evangelicalism, I'm divorcing white evangelicalism, I'm sick of them, this is not acceptable for a Christian, it's not acceptable for a Christian, Peter rather says that you should respect your masters, okay, and again, this is granting the whole narrative, I don't have to do that because I can challenge that on factual grounds, but even if I do grant it, the response that we're seeing is not the Christian response, it is harmful to your soul when you return reviling for reviling, it is harmful for your soul when you do not respect the authorities that have been set over you, when you participate in marches that revile police officers and revile your government and things like that, when you participate in that kind of stuff, and it's a lot of it's inappropriate, I mean, it's not like you're opposing a president on the grounds of his policies, no, no, it's personal, it's personal, it's this idea that all these white cops have itchy trigger fingers, they're all racist, they're all doing this evil, this is not the Christian way, Peter when it talks about slaves, so this is the first slave, this is the tale of two slaves, this is the first slave, this is a Christian godly slave who respects his master even when he's unjust, doesn't talk behind his back, doesn't revile him, suffers with graciousness, endures in the sight of God, trusting the final judgment with the Lord.

Here's the other slave, this is another slave in the tale of two slaves, Peter came up to him, where do you think Peter learned this stuff, by the way, right, like we just read Peter's words, where do you think he learned that, right, here's Peter asking Jesus, he says, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him, as many as seven times, Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but 77 times, therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a kingdom, I'm sorry, to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants, when he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him 10 ,000 talents, and since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

That was actually the just thing to do, by the way, that's actually what the Bible says should happen. If you can't pay your debts, if you can't pay back what you've taken, then you should be sold, I mean, essentially, you should be enslaved until you can pay back, that was the law of God, that is the law of God, that's God's moral, righteous law, you pay back what you owe with a factor of plus some, depending on what you took, this was 10 ,000 talents, this is a lot of money, so that was the just thing, and so here's what the servant says, the slave, the slave falls on his knees and he begs him, he says, he doesn't wanna be sold, he doesn't want his family to be sold, so he begs him for mercy, he says, have patience with me, I will pay you everything, I'll make it up to you, just have patience with me.

The scripture says, out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave the debt, so not only did the master have patience with him, but he said, you know what, forget about the debt, you don't have to pay it back.

See, the Bible talks about having that right, I mean, this is a proverb, let me read this to you from Proverbs 6, I wasn't prepared to do this, let me pull it up real quick, I'm sorry, let's see here, Proverbs 6, I read this this morning, with my wife, it says, people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, that's true, like if somebody stole 20 bucks from me, but like he did it to feed his starving family, like I'd probably have pity on him, I'd probably give him the 20 bucks and I'd probably give him a little bit more, like we don't, I don't, I understand why he stole, I understand his desperation, like I don't hate that person, right, but the proverb doesn't stop there, the proverb doesn't stop there, it says, but if he's caught, he will pay sevenfold, he will give all the goods of his house, and so justice is the same, whether you're poor and you needed to provide for your family or not, if you steal and you have nothing and you were just doing it to feed your family, justice is the same, you will pay back sevenfold, but the first part of the proverb says, but look, if you get stolen from, you don't have to give that penalty, you could have mercy, just like the master here, the good master here, he had every right to pay, get every cent back from this guy, plus interest, but he said, no, I have pity for you, I have mercy on you, and then it goes on, the scripture says, but when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, pay what you owe, so his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, have patience with me and I will pay you, he refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt, when his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place, then his master summoned him and said, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me, and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had had mercy on you, in an anger, his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all his debt, so also my heavenly father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart, that last sentence should stop every social justice warrior in their tracks, every social justice warrior, every person who dares to clamor for reparations, claiming that they're owed money for something that didn't even happen to them, you should read that and tremble, you pray the Lord's prayer, you better think twice before you pray that prayer, because that prayer asks God to forgive you as you have forgiven others, and if you're holding white people's feet to the fire, trying to extract money from them from something that they didn't even do to you, what kind of forgiveness is that?

Forgive as You Have Been Forgiven

And like I said in my last video, we had a little fun with that video, right, but it's really a serious topic, I'll have fun with some things, I'll make some jokes, I'll crack some jokes, we'll do the Thabiti two-step, but this is a serious matter, you're teaching people to not forgive, to require payment in order to garner your forgiveness, I understand why pagans do that, pagans don't know any better, but Christians, I'm talking to you, I'm talking to you, you dare pray the Lord's prayer and you don't forgive in your own heart, people that didn't even do anything to you, shame on you, shame on you.

Verse 35, so also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart, I'm not talking about just the just ones, I'm talking about the unjust ones, the unjust brothers, you need to forgive them too, you need to forgive them too, and you can't require a cash payment in order to get that forgiveness, to bury the hatchet, especially in the church.

You see this servant, this slave, he was a wicked slave, Peter was talking to slaves that he was imploring to be righteous, to forgive, to respect, again this is not saying that you can't talk about justice, but we gotta talk about real careful justice, and if you don't get it, you need to trust God with the final judgment, I'm gonna tell you something, I wanna tell you something, this is from 1 Corinthians chapter 6, this is brother Paul, this is brother Paul, I want you to hear this in the context of reparations, and I want you to hear this in the context of reconciliation in the church, and I'm talking man, I'm talking to everybody, but man, my fellow minorities, this is who I really worry about, I really do worry about this, this is why I do my videos, you know I do it for the whole church of course, but I see people, I've said this before on my YouTube channel, but I have a lot of empathy for homosexuals for example, because I can't imagine, I know the struggles I have against my own sins, but all of my sins, they're still taboo, nobody's walking around saying that it's okay to lust after people, no one's walking around saying it's okay to be greedy, the sins that I struggle against, everyone agrees that you should struggle against those sins, those are sins, and it's hard enough to fight against sins that everybody agrees with, but I feel bad for homosexuals sometimes, because we've got these wimpy Christians that are saying like no, no, it's okay, your sin is okay before God, He made you that way, can you imagine how difficult it is to stay fighting against your sin when there are credible Christians out there, credible Christians that are telling you that you shouldn't war against it, that it's okay, I feel bad for them, and in the same way I feel bad for minorities who their envy and their covetousness and their greed and their anger and their unforgiveness is encouraged by credible sounding Christians, can you imagine how hard it is to stay fighting against your own unforgiving heart, because all of us have had unforgiving hearts at times, but there is a class of people where that unforgiving heart is cultivated, is cultivated and encouraged, and the flames of that fire are fanned by credible Christians who have big platforms telling you that you gotta pay me in order to get reconciliation, that's not what Paul says, wanna know what Paul says, here's what Paul says, chapter 6 he says, when one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints, or do you not know that the saints will judge the world, and if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases, reparations is a trivial case compared to what Christ did for you, do you not know that we are to judge angels, how much more than matters pertaining to this life, so if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standard in the church, why do you lay them before Kamala Harris, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Beto, I say this to your shame, can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between brothers, but brother goes to the law against brother, and that before unbelievers, to have a lawsuit at all with one another, I want you to hear this, stop for a second, I want you to hear this, feel the weight of this, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you, why not rather suffer wrong, why not rather be defrauded, but you yourselves wrong and defraud, even your own brothers, if you think you are owed reparations, I can take you to the scripture and show you why you are not, but even if you believe that you are, you do not accept the scriptures where it says the sons don't pay for the sins of the father, even if you do, don't believe that, why not rather be defrauded, instead of chopping the church into pieces, all for the sake of your narrative and your ideology, how dare you, and if I seem passionate, I am, because for a cash payment, you're willing to chop the church into bits, shame on you, shame on you, look this is no small thing, this is no small thing, if you can't find it in your heart to forgive and to reconcile with your brothers and sisters in Christ without a cash payment, I don't understand how you could possibly know the Lord, I don't understand how you could possibly know the Lord, and I'm not the only one, Paul does too, he doesn't understand that, he can't understand, because here's what he says, you yourselves wrong and defraud even your own brothers, when you take money from white people for something they didn't do, you're defrauding them, and then the very next sentence, I want you to feel the weight of this too, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, this is a serious thing man, this is a serious thing, we can have fun with videos, we can do the Thabiti 2 step, we can talk about how that's ridiculous and how that tweet thread was completely preposterous, we could do that, but at the end of the day this is a serious, serious issue, because the flames of covetousness and envy and greed and unforgiveness, they're being fanned by so many of our leaders, and they're putting the people that they claim to be all about and loving and helping, they're putting them in danger, even if you've been defrauded, but even if you had, you are required to forgive.