In 1863 Abraham Lincoln stood before the crowd on the site of the deadliest Civil War battle. In the emotion of that moment, he articulated our national value for freedom and independence in the words of The Gettysburg Address. He began, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” Thinking of the 51,000 Americans who lost their livers there he added, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” He ended with a call to “resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Our national culture places an extremely high value on freedom and independence. This value for national freedom provides a tragic contrast to our indifference toward spiritual freedom. I don’t wish to belittle the value of national freedom. Much has been given for freedom and it is right to celebrate. But even in free America, true freedom is misunderstood and rarely experienced. True freedom is clarified in two weighty ideas found in Romans 6, slavery to sin and slavery to God. Let’s go there, in pursuit of true freedom.
Slave to Sin
Romans 6:6 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Slavery has strong negative associations (racism, abuse, cruelty, injustice…). It is appropriate to be pained by the word “slavery”. It is justified to protest.
I listened to the audiobook Twelve Years a Slave. The story gave me a vivid picture of the devastation that slavery can inflict. It is a true story of Solomon Northup. It contains his memoirs of being born and raised a freeman in New York. He had a wife, two kids, an education, a job, and a house. He was free. He was also a gifted musician. He was deceived by slave traders to join them as entertainment partners, playing his violin. Entertainment was not their true plan. They drugged him, kidnapped him, and sold him into slavery. He was a freeman. He had papers to prove it. But when he tried to explain himself, he was silenced with beatings. As in many examples of slavery around the world, Solomon lost his freedom of choice, personal property and all civil rights. His name was changed, he was abused, degraded, and controlled. He saw mothers cry and plead as their children were separated from them in the slave trade. He saw them punished for their protest. He was malnourished but still required to labor at a level that was both unrealistic and unhealthy.
The memoirs of his twelve years describe things that should never be done. That is slavery. That is what it is like to be under the control of an evil master. Every bit of the tragedy of Solomon’s story is our spiritual reality when we are slaves to sin. Yeah, it is that dramatic.
Brief Profile of Slavery to Sin
Here is a brief profile of what is meant by slavery to sin in Romans 6. It is not good!
- Verse 4 The slavery discussion grows out of the reality of sin being death and freedom being newness of life in Christ.
- Verse 6 When “our old selfwas crucified” we are “no longer be enslaved to sin”.
- Verse 7 Sin is something we need to be set free from.
- Verse 12 Sin can “reign in your mortal body” and make us “obey its passions.”
- Verse 13 Slavery includes presenting our “members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness” or, in verse 19, presenting them to “impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness”.
- Verse 14 When we live in sin is has dominion over us.
- Verse 17 All of us were once slaves to sin.
- Verse 21 It produces fruit that makes us ashamed.
- Verse 21 and 23 It ends in death.
This is what is means to be “slaves to sin”. It binds us, controls us, takes us captive to evil and then it kills us.
We might think that it doesn’t include us or that maybe is it too strong of language to describe our little struggles as “slavery to sin”. That’s just the really bad sinners, right? Listen to a piece of a conversation Jesus had in John 8.
John 8:33-34
They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
Slavery to sin is a real thing and it’s really bad.
So, where is the protest? Where is the fight against it? 51,000 Americans died on the battlefield in Gettysburg. An estimated 700,000 died in the war. Further back in our history was the Revolutionary War, the one that first won our independence. That one kill 6,800 Americans in action and another 17,000 as a result of disease, 6,100 were wounded, and 20,000 were taken as prisoners of war.[i] We have paid a high price to gain independence and defend freedom nationally. But spiritually we don’t often put up a fight. In one setting we fight to the death in the other we cowardly surrender to the slavery of Satan as if there is no better option to fight for.
Where is the protest?
When injustice is exposed, we fill the streets with riots. We are outraged at the abuse. Satan is actively committing millions of counts of spiritual assault. But that’s normal. And so, somehow, we find it acceptable to be slaves to addiction, captivity, bondage, impurity, lust, violence, pride, anger, and hate. Do we really value freedom? Where is the protest?
When preachers preach about sin, often it comes across in an angry tone. It feels depressing and condemning. This is not how I wish to communicate. I feel sadness, empathy, and a bunch of urgency to expose the reality of slavery to sin and pursue freedom.
In that tone, consider these sad statistics.
Slavery to Pornography[ii]
- The porn industry’s annual revenue is more than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined. It is also more than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC.
- Pornography use increases the marital infidelity rate by more than 300%.
- Eleven is the average age that a child is first exposed to porn, and 94% of children will see porn by the age of 14.
Slavery to Substances[iii]
- About 38% of adults in 2017 battled an illicit drug use disorder.1
- Drug abuse and addiction cost American society more than $740 billion annually in lost workplace productivity, healthcare expenses, and crime-related costs.2
Slavery to Technology[iv]
(Tech is not inherently sinful. But it has power to captivate us so strongly that we need technology addiction rehab centers. When we are addicted at that level we are not seeking first his kingdom and righteousness. Tech has made slaver easier than ever.)
- Americans spend an average of 5 hours per day browsing the internet.
- People touch their phones an average of 2,617 times per day.
Slavery to Domestic Violence[v]
- On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.
- On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.
- 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence (e.g. beating, burning, strangling) by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
- 1 in 5 women in the United States has been raped.
Read the crime statistics for Alaska[vi]. Our communities are sick and enslaved.
I am not sure if we should trust statistics about lying. But statisticians believe that 90% of dating site users lie on their profiles.[vii] Most sin, you just can’t get stats on. But how common is slavery to pride and love of self, jealousy, covetousness, unforgiveness, depression, anger, fear, or harsh, unloving, abusive speech?
Let’s call it what it is, slavery. Have you notice it is hard to stop sinning? The slaves want to get out, but they are captive. They keep going back to the evil even though a part of them hates it. We don’t just need help; we need a savior because sin is slavery.
There is a heavenly emancipation proclamation in effect today. Satan holds slaves but he has no authority to keep them if they choose freedom. Just imagine, after all the sacrifice to secure freedom in our country, if we gained independence and still chose to stay under British authority, or if the slaves were freed and still chose to remain on the plantation.
Where is the protest? It is felt in the words of Paul when he exclaims “by no means” (Romans 6:2 & 15). It is seen in our decision to put sin to death, to experience the miracle of grace that breaks the chains that are too strong for us. “By no means” should we let sin continue to hold us as slaves when Christ has set us free.
As the fireworks blast in the celebration of Independence Day, don’t suppress your awareness of your inner captivity. We are not as free as we boast. Resolve to live free.
Sin is slavery but we can’t end there. We want to know true freedom. True freedom is not what many American Christians think it is. That is why we need to understand slavery to God.
Slaves to God
This is where is gets weird. As offensive as slavery is in general, it’s even more difficult to think of slavery to God. The negative association of slavery are so not like God. Let’s not be so quick to push back. There is something important here.
Brief Profile of Slavery to God
Here is a brief profile of what of what is meant by slavery to God in Romans 6.
Verse 4 Slavery to sin is described as newness of life and living to God (verse 10).
Verse 13 Slavery to God involves presenting our “members to God as instruments for righteousness”.
Verse 16 Slavery to God involves obedience.
Verse 20 Slavery to God is a choice to submit to new rules (the law of liberty).
Verses18-19 Slavery to God is righteousness that leads to sanctification.
Verse 22 Slavery to God results in eternal life.
Doulos
Slavery to God is a clear teaching of Scripture and a stronger reality than our Bible translations might suggest. There is one Greek word for used for slave in the New Testament, doulos. It is used 126 times. Most English translations prefer to translate doulos as servant. But there are six other words for servant. When a writer wanted to indicate “servant”, they didn’t need to use the word doulos. They could use one of the other six words for “servant”. John MacArthur argues that “this word doulos in the Greek should never be translated anything but slave, never.”[viii] It is as if the translators are hesitant to use the word.
Here are some familiar passages about servants that actually use the word doulos and might be better translated as slave.
Matthew 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant [slave].’”
John 15:20 (Matthew 10:24-25) ‘A servant [slave] is not greater than his master.’
Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants[slave]; we have only done what was our duty.’”
Revelation 1:1 (22:6)The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants [slave] the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Revelation 22:3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants [slave] will worship him.
Philippians 2:7 …But emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant [slave], being born in the likeness of men.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve [be enslaved] two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Acts 2:18 “…even on my male servants [slaves] and female servants [slaves] in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
Acts 16:17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants [slaves] of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
In the first verses of Romans, James, Jude, Philippians, Titus, and Revelation the writers identify themselves as slaves (doulos) of God.
Six Clarifications
Not every aspect of slavery fits with slavery to God. This language seems to make Paul squirms when he says “I am speaking in human terms” (v. 19). Knowing that it is not a perfect description, here are six, clarifications.
- God is not the receiver dependent on the slave. He is the giver that the slave depends on.
Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Earthly slave masters are takers. They demand free labor from the slaves. God is a giver. His slaves are the receivers. We are dependent on him. He is not dependent on us to perform slave labor.
This is why Romans 6 ends with the words “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 23). This is slavery to Gog. He is the giver. The gift is eternal life. It is given freely.
2. The character of God is incompatible with the cruelty of the slave master.
To correctly understand God as our master there are some slave master stereotypes that we must disregard. Disregard any ideas of abuse, injustice, prejudice, cruelty, coercion, force, chains, and low social status.
God’s character is summarized as “love” (1 John 4:8). His character doesn’t change as the master over slaves
3. The supremacy of God possesses the authority of the slave master.
Just as we must disregard some stereotypes of a slave master, there are some aspects that we should not throw out. He is still master, he owns us, he bought us at a price, we have no personal property, we are not autonomous, we live to pleasing the master, and we are available for service.
Galatians 1:10 If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant[doulos] of Christ.
4. Slavery to God is a result of desire not coercion.
Romans 6:17 confirms that this slavery is not a result of force when it says that though we “were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart”. We don’t have to obey, we want to.
John puts it powerfully when he says, “He is not a tyrant that we can’t leave. He is a treasure that we won’t leave.”[ix]
The verse that says, “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21) ends with this incredible invitation, “Enter into the joy of your master.” Slavery to God enters into the joy of the master.
5. Slaves of God are also his friend and children.
Here are two verses that you might use to protest the slavery talk. We are entering now into a couple of apparent contradictions.
John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Galatians 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Whatever a slave of God is, or isn’t, it is also a friend and a child.
6. Slavery to God is true freedom.
Here is another apparent contradiction. If we are slaves to God then why are there so many wonderful Biblical statements about God giving freedom (take time to read Galatians 5:1; John 8:32; 36; 2 Corinthians 3:17)? Why did Jesus say that he didn’t come to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45)? How can Paul say that in God “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free(Galatians 3:28)?
The answer is that slavery to God is freedom. It is not one or the other. Check out 1 Peter 2:16. “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servantsof God.” Did you catch that? Living “as people who are free” is further defined as being “slaves[doulos] to God.”
Freedom in Dependence
American’s have believed the myth that freedom is independence. But true freedom happens in dependence upon God, not “independence” but “in dependence”.
We don’t really want independence. We want selective independence. We celebrate independence while at the same time pushing to raise the age of adulthood. It has become normal to live entirely dependent on mom and dad into our 30’s and still pride ourself on being an independent American. To live truly independent would be a terribly difficult life. It would take us back to the stone age as we tried to live without depending on the benefit of the produce or discoveries of anyone else. For the baby, freedom is being 100% dependent on a mom who loves them. Independence would be death. Freedom is not independence from God. We are not free from him we are free in him.
Maybe you need to be restored because you have exhausted yourself by trying to be an independent person. You are depending on yourself only. This is not freedom. God is calling you into a relationship of dependence, slavery to him and freedom in him. We can do all things through Christ (Philippians 3:13). We can do nothing without him (John 15:5). Depend on God for your life, your energy, your joy, your peace, your ability. Enter into the joy of your master.
[i] www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/american-revolution-faqs
[ii] www.conquerseries.com/15-mind-blowing-statistics-about-pornography-and-the-church/
[iii] www.americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics
[iv] online.king.edu/news/cell-phone-addiction/#:~:text=Cell%20Phone%20Addiction%3A%20The%20Statistics%20of%20Gadget%20Dependency,…%206%20Online%20Education%20at%20King%20University.%20
[v] National Coalition Against Domestic Violence https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/domestic_violence-2020080709350855.pdf?1596828650457
[vi] dps.alaska.gov/getmedia/711689b9-fe2f-4d89-b232-fc8e2262a37e/Crime-in-Alaska-2019
[vii] www.mentalfloss.com/article/30609/60-people-cant-go-10-minutes-without-lying
[viii] John MacAuther sermon, Slaves for Christ, www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/80-321/~/about n
[ix] Ask John Piper episode 1432, www.desiringgod.org/interviews/would-god-be-just-as-glorified-if-we-were-his-slaves