However, the Bible is not just about trust and doctrines. In most church's modern day doctrinal statements, the Bible is called the "authoritative rule of faith and Practice." That is to say, not only do we learn from the Bible what to believe, but we also learn how to behave.

The church I preached in last week was the congregation connected with the Uganda Christian University in Mukono. I had just finished the seminar for pastors who met at the Anglican Conference center, pastors from both Anglican and Pentecostal churches. For one of the sessions, a member of our ICP team gave a lesson on Christian marriage, basically reminding the delegates that having a good marriage is a fine asset for pastors - they will win the respect of their church members, and also provide a good example which will help produce many other good marriages in the church. The teacher included a lot of Scripture as the lesson went on, and there followed a good time of questions and answers. At the close of the seminar, evaluations were handed in, and in this case, a couple of people made a comment like this, "It would have been better if the subject of marriage could have been taught by someone from Uganda, rather than a westerner because we look at marriage differently than people from the West." The implication was that marriage is not something that is determined by one's understanding of the Bible, but by one's culture. However, it seems obvious to me that if that is true, then we have to be honest, and not say that the Bible is our guide for living, but rather that any practice is equal to any other practice as long as it's ok with the society around. Interestingly, we later learned that in many African countries, polygamy is accepted, even by Christians in the church.

Another example is that of homosexuality. Back in Uganda, the Anglican Church has separated itself from the American Anglican (Episcopalian) church because of its acceptance and ordination of a gay bishop here in the States. The American church didn't think this would possibly happen because of the financial support provided to the Uganda church. But in this case, the church has remained true to the Bible, even though it meant loss of revenue.

On the plane home, I picked up a copy of the International Herald Tribune. I was immediately attracted to an article concerning the overturning of a decision made earlier in Sweden concerning Pastor Ake Green. A lower court had decided that he was guilty of inciting hatred on grounds of sexual orientation under legislation passed in 2002. Pastor Green, 63, had made a comment that homosexuality was "a cancerous tumor on the body of society." Thankfully, the appellate court reversed the lower court's decision, and defended "the Bible's categorical condemnation of homosexual relations as a sin even if such views were alien to most citizens." We say "amen" to that, because we also hold to the understanding that the Bible is our rule of practice - in its pages we learn how to live.

So the point is, Christianity is not only a "believe" religion, but also a "do" religion. We are taught what to believe, and we are taught how to behave.

With this in mind, let's go to our text, Colossians 3:22-24, and identify its three part instruction.

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism."

These instructions are part of what is called "haustafel," or "household duties." In earlier verses, there are instructions for husbands and wives, children and parents, and following these verses for slaves, Paul will also have something to say to the masters.

Some may want to pass right by these verses because they're addressed to a group of people no longer with us - slaves. However, although the application may vary, the principles remain the same. In our day, the word "slaves" has been replaced by "workers," or "employees," although some of the latter may at times feel they are the former! The point is that in the world, there is Biblical guidance for how we conduct ourselves in relation to those we work with and for.

The three guiding principles for our behavior in the work world are:

Reverence - "sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord"

Responsibility - "working for the Lord"

Reward - "you will receive an inheritance from the Lord"

I. The first, "reverence," means that we both fear the Lord, and seek to bring honor to His name in everything we do. We are not so concerned about our own name as we are about His.

At times this may even require refusing to do something asked by our employer because we know that it would be displeasing to the Lord. Your boss may want you to lie to a customer, or "cook the books," or inflate a bill, or falsify the inventory, or accept payment "under the table." Out of reverence to God you say, "I'm sorry, I'm not able to do that."

Deuteronomy 10:20 may seem to contradict our common belief that we should not "swear" - "Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name." And yet in the New Testament we have James nearly quoting from Jesus when he writes, "Do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your 'Yes' be yes, and your 'No,' no, or you will be condemned." (James 5:12)

How can we reconcile these two statements? Simply by recognizing the difference between the Old Testament and the New. In the Old we have the duty, in the New the ability. The duty remains the same, that is, we are called upon to reverence the name - promises made are to be kept so as not to bring discredit to the Name of the Lord. In the New Testament we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to let our "yes" be yes and our "no" be no.

II. The second principle has to do with our awareness that we are "responsible" not merely to man, but to God.

In the work world, it's generally true that "workers don't do what the boss expects, they do what he inspects." This is why when you call a customer service department, you often hear the words, "this call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes." That means the conversation is being taped and the boss is able to listen in to the conversation.

The Christian is aware that the "Boss" is always listening in on the conversation, God is hearing and seeing all we do and say. As the children's song puts it, "There's a Father up above who is looking down in love, so be careful little hands what you do."

The men of our church have been learning the meaning of "Integrity." Someone has said that integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching. In fact, we understand that He is always watching, and so we do our work in such a way that demonstrates that we understand that some day we must give account. This is stated by both Jesus and Paul,

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." (Matthew 12:36)

"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Romans 14:12)

III. For those who fear the Lord, and do everything responsibly with an eye to please Him, there will be a reward.

What is the reward? "An inheritance from the Lord." While often there are blessings received during our present life in the world, as someone has said, for God's employees, "the retirement benefits are out of this world." I know you want it now, but the truth about inheritances is that you have to wait for them - they will come at a later time. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the other side of the coin, "Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong." (v. 25)

Let's not fool ourselves, there's enough self-love in all of us to desire payment at the end of the week, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that we want to receive the very best payment, and that is not something that can be measured in dollars and cents, or in houses and lands. The best rewards cannot be taken to the bank, but stored in heaven. Eternal life in the presence of God is what is offered as payment, and whatever else we may secure for ourselves, this is the most important.

One thing that is noticed in this three-part instruction for practical living in the world, Reverence, Responsibility, and Reward, is that what they all have in common is "the Lord."

Romans 14:8 states this very clearly, "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."

Today, In view of the fact that Jesus Christ our Lord gave His life for you, I am asking that you will give your life to Him. Will you make, or renew your commitment to live for the Lord? Psalms 22:25 says, "From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows."

1. What is the diference between believe and beliefs?

2. What may be the value of regularly repeating the "Apostles' Creed"?

3. What is meant by the statement, "The Bible is the authoritative rule of faith and Practice."

4. To what extend should the Bible supercede culture?

5. Why do we believe that Christians should be able to promote Biblical values even though they are not widely accepted in the culture at large?

6. What Biblical instructions does the word "haustafel" refer to?

7. Why are we willing to claim that instructions for a particular group in the first century are also valid for us today?

8. Why is it important for us to honor the Lord's name in our everyday lives, and what are some of the ways this is done?

9. How can we reconcile the two statements, "take your oaths in his name" (Deuteronomy 10:20) and "Do not swear" (James 5:12)?

10. Is it frightening to realize that everything we do and say is being heard and seen by the "judge of all the earth" (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 96:13)?

11. Do we have the right to expect God's blessings to be showered upon us during this life, or only in the life to come? (Isaiah 64:6; I Corinthians 2:9)

12. In what ways may it be said that "Many people accept the good in exchange for the best"?

13. How often should our vow to live for the Lord be renewed?