10 not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
This phrase is the punch line of verses 9 and 10. Slaves were to beautify the Word of God. They were to make God’s truth beautiful.
The Greek word for “adorn” is the word from which we get the English word “cosmetics.” A cosmetic makes a person more attractive; it arranges things so that they are in order. A woman puts makeup on her face to give it some order. Her face is either cosmos or chaos! There is beauty in symmetry. The idea here has to do with making God’s salvation beautiful. When a person fulfills the standards of verses 9 and 10, then he makes the doctrine of God our Savior attractive.
There is something very beautiful about God our Savior. The thought that God would save us from our sins should be attractive to those who do not know Christ.
PRINCIPLE:
A purpose for every Christian is to make the doctrine of God our Savior attractive.
APPLICATION:
The Christian lives his life in such a way as to draw people to “God our Savior.” The purpose of this kind of behavior among slaves was that it would make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. Neither slaves of past history nor people today who think lowly of themselves are without impact on the world.
Today’s employers appreciate those working under them who respect their authority. That respect should come from both producing good work and maintaining good attitudes. This will demonstrate that God can touch one’s very employment.
