Does the New Testament Support Slavery?
- H.C. Felder, DMin
- Jun 9
- 4 min read
Critics of Christianity often cite the Bible to argue that God supports slavery. They point to the New Testament in particular, claiming that Christianity supports slavery as Christianity is rooted in New Testament teachings. Slavemasters once made the same appeal to the New Testament to justify their cause. But both groups are wrong about what the Scriptures say, as becomes clear when we examine the New Testament landscape and the passages they invoke.
First Century Background
Like many black Americans, I once saw all slavery through the lens of the antebellum South. The word slavery invoked images of the movie Roots and the injustices suffered by blacks who were taken from their homeland to endure the horrors of slavery in America. However, slavery is much bigger than what blacks experienced in America.
Slavery has existed as long as people have existed. Before the modern era, Asians enslaved Asians. Blacks enslaved blacks long before the white man came to Africa. Native Americans enslaved other Native Americans long before the Europeans arrived. Europeans enslaved other Europeans long before the Atlantic slave trade.[1] Slavery existed during New Testament times, and it is important to understand the world in which the New Testament was written.
Slavery during the first century had nothing to do with race; race-based slavery has always been the exception, not the rule. In fact, the very idea of race is a recent invention that New Testament writers would not have understood. They wrote during the Roman Empire, a time when slavery was a widespread and accepted reality. By some estimates, one in five people living under the Roman Empire were slaves.[2] Once conquered by the Empire, entire people groups were destined for slavery; it was often how the Roman Empire acquired labor. It was a very different world, and we are wrong to impose our modern standards on people who lived in a world so different from ours. It was in this very different world of labor and ethics that the New Testament was written.
Scripture Examination
Those who seek to use the New Testament to support slavery often quote the Apostle Paul writing to the Galatians. Paul writes: “But what does Scripture say? ‘Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son’” (Gal. 4:30). To the Colossians, he writes, “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven” (Col. 4:1). To the church in Ephesus, he says, “because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free” (Eph. 6:8). Probably the most cited passage of all is the Book of Philemon, in which Paul tells the slave Onesimus to return to his master Philemon.
Critics use these passages to support the idea that slavery was at least accepted, if not outright encouraged, in the New Testament.
But let’s take a closer look at these passages in their context.
First[1] , none of the above texts function as a defense of slavery. In Gal. 4:30, Paul is using the story of Abraham as an allegory, as he clearly states in verse 24. This passage is comparing the law with grace; it has nothing to do with slavery.
Regarding Col. 4:1, Paul instructs masters to act justly and fairly. [2] There is nothing here to suggest that Paul is condoning the institution of slavery. Similarly, Eph. 6:8 concerns heavenly rewards. It is not making a statement about slavery, and there is nothing there to indicate that Paul is supporting slavery.
In addition to knowing the context of the individual passages, we should consider the overarching messages of the New Testament, which contains clear admonitions against slavery. In 1 Tim. 1:9-11, for example, Paul compares the sin of “slave traders” to those who kill their mothers and fathers, and even murderers. Even more remarkable, Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, “if you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Cor. 7:21). In Rev. 13:10, the Apostle John warned that anyone who leads another into captivity would himself go into captivity.
But what about Philemon? How do we address this seemingly most obvious approval of slavery? Look at verses 16 and 17, where Paul urges Philemon to receive Onesimus no longer as a slave but as a ‘brother beloved.’ These verses undermine the critics’ argument. Moreover, Paul adds, Philemon should welcome Onesimus just as though he were welcoming Paul himself. In other words, the fugitive was not returning as a slave but as an equal. One of the passages most often quoted as supporting slavery undermines the very point that critics try to make. In doing so, critics ignore the real meaning of the passage.
Closing Remarks
We are fortunate to live in a unique time in history, a time when slavery is the exception, not the rule. Except for cases such as Christians being taken into slavery by Muslims in Africa, legalized slavery has largely been abolished.[3] This is due in part to the documentation of the atrocities of the Atlantic slave trade, but also due to a new view of mankind. The death knell of slavery came from the biblical idea that man is made in the Image of God. This is a uniquely Christian idea, one that spurred the abolitionist movement of the nineteenth century, led by such men as William Wilberforce.
We have looked at the passages critics use to “prove” that the New Testament endorses slavery, and we have provided evidence that this is not the case. In fact, it was the Christian worldview that influenced much of the world, which contributed to the abolition of one of the most abhorrent institutions in the history of mankind.
Footnotes:
[1] Thomas Sowell, Black Rednecks and White Liberals, (New York: Encounter Books, 2006), 113.
[2] Mark Cartwright, “Slavery in the Roman World,” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/629/slavery-in-the-roman-world/, 12 May 2026.
