Who Will I Serve?

I awoke this morning thinking about slavery. Perhaps that seems like a negative subject to think about early in the morning but bear with me. The thought came to me that we are never really free from bondage until we are bound to something else. What! Yes, you read that right. It is impossible for human beings to be completely free from bondage.

The same law that sets the slave free demands that all citizens pay income tax. The law demands that all of its drivers obey the speed limit and refrain from stealing, killing, and cheating. The penalties for each crime or different but there are punishments for breaking each rule. If a person thinks that he is completely free from the law, let him fail to pay income tax. Eventually he will wind up in trouble with the law and might actually wind up in jail. One could see the law as unfair or unreasonably binding. I think most would agree, however, that they would prefer the constraints of the law to anarchy.

It would be easy to decide that we don’t want to pay income tax and do away with such laws. It sounds good on the surface, but the government could not operate without revenue. Without taxes, the government would shut down. Then where would we be? There would be no laws to say that one couldn’t kill his neighbor or even enslave another person. While income tax might seem to be an undue burden, it is better to pay taxes and have the protection of the law than to live without it.

Many people look at the laws of God as if they are unjust burdens. Some would even say that Christians are not bound to the laws of God since we are under an era of grace. The question I would ask is, “has God’s nature changed?” We know that God’s word is forever settled in heaven and it does not change (Psalm 119:89). Thankfully, Jesus paid the penalty for every lawbreaker when he went to Calvary, but this does not mean that there are no rules for Christian living.  

Romans chapter eight talks about two contrasting laws. They are the Law of Sin and Death and The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. (Notice that the Law of the Spirit of Life does not exist apart from abiding in Jesus Christ.)The law of sin and death is the old law that says, “If I sin I will die”. None of us can escape this law. We were all born with an inherently sinful nature that drives us to do things we do not even want to do. This law enslaves us to our sinful passions. This law will drive an alcoholic to drink, though he has come to hate the alcohol. It causes people to lie, steal, cheat, and all sorts of things they are ashamed of. It is truly a law of sin and death.

The only way to escape this law is to embrace the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. This new law says that I can embrace a new life when I am born again.  I have traded a life of bondage in servitude to sin for a life of joy in the service of Christ. Some are uncomfortable with the terminology of service in a relationship with Christ; this language is absolutely Biblical. Paul referred to himself as the slave of Jesus Christ many times. Though the King James usually translates the word “doulos” as servant, its primary meaning is slave (Romans 1:1). Paul clearly understood that serving Christ meant giving us his own desires to live according to God’s word.

Jesus himself said that no one can serve two masters; a person must love one master and hate the other (Matthew 6:24). Notice that Jesus did not say a person could be free from service. The terminology here implies that we must all serve someone. We humans were not created to be free from any rule. In God’s original order we were created to serve God. Because of man’s disobedience the cruel taskmaster called sin entered the picture. Since Adam and Eve’s failure, man has constantly cried out from freedom for his sin. God provided the means to that freedom through Jesus Christ by allowing us to His services. One mistake that people make is in thinking that salvation sets one free to do as one pleases; this is simply not so. Salvation returns one to a place of rightful service under the first master and owner, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are some who see all the constraints of Christianity as too difficult. They desire to formulate a Christianity that requires nothing of its followers; it was the same in Biblical times. The earliest Christians were Jews who previously had known only the Law of Moses. This law was strict and required complete disobedience or swift judgment. It is unthinkable that some of the early Christians would chose to return to the Law of Moses after having tasted freedom in Christ, yet some of them did. Paul warned against this Galatians 4:21. It was folly to think that the old law, with its uncompromising mandate for punishment, could be better than Christ’s Law of Love.

Sometimes Christians think they can walk away from their relationship with Christ, returning to their old lifestyles with no thought of the consequences. The person who does such a thing has forgotten what his life was like before Christ set him or her free. S/he is only looking at what s/he sees as bondage under the rules of Christian living. He thinks it will be better to live without any constraints. He has not considered that returning to the world returns him to a life of servitude to sin.

Slavery is an evil word in today’s world. Subjugated peoples of the past fought long and hard to earn their rightful freedom. The problem with slavery is that we humans were not meant by God to be in bondage to any another person. The institution of slavery exploits one person for the good of another. Theoretically, masters were supposed to provide for their servants. A slave did not have to worry about paying bills, supplying his own food or clothing, or anything else. What a slave needed, the master was obligated to supply. We all know this didn’t happen. Slaves instinctively knew that they would be far better making their own way in the world; it would be better to starve than to spend a lifetime in bondage to a cruel master who did not care about his servants’ needs.

Our master, Jesus Christ, is not like the taskmasters of the past. He is a wonderful master who provides everything that we need. His laws have made provision for his servants and he keeps his promises. There are promises in his word for the supplying of needs, for the healing of sickness, for peace of mind and anything else we could possibly imagine. The Christian has the best master imaginable because Jesus Christ cares for his servants and always provides for their needs. I know some see the restraints of the Christian life as bondage. Personally, I would rather be bound to Jesus and enjoy the benefits of being his servant than be responsible for myself and be in servitude to sin.

The only real freedom is in Christ!

Blessings,

Pastor Sullivan Jones