SLAVES OF GOD
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Seventeen)
Recommended reading - Romans 6:16-23.
Slavery was a common practice in the Roman world during
Paul's time. Historians estimate that 40 - 60% of the population of the
Roman empire were slaves. Paul was able to use the illustration of slavery
to get the point of a truth across, concerning grace. Paul begins an
illustration in Romans 6:16-23, by using the practice of slavery.
The illustration shows that the prior thought, as noted in verse 15,
is a contradiction to the gospel. Paul knows that Christians struggle with
sin, so he is dealing with, and concerned about, our attitude toward sin.
I. We are slaves.
· We must start
with the knowledge that once we are baptized into Christ, we are dead to
sin.
· When we start
this study in Romans 6:16, there is something that is difficult
for many to understand fully. To Americans, freedom is everything. Our
forefathers fought for freedom.
· We need to
understand that, when we talk in the realm of Spirituality, there is no
such thing as total freedom. You are either a slave of sin and Satan, or
a slave of God the author of righteousness. We need to face this fact.
· Our natural
inheritance is slavery under sin. If there was no gospel, we would have
no choice but to be slaves to sin. The gospel has given us a choice as
to which of the two will be our master. Paul makes it clear in Romans
7:14, he was sold as a slave to sin.
II. Sin is our master by inheritance.
· Spiritually, we
are all born as slaves to sin. During the time of Paul, many of the Jews
lost sight to this fact. In John 8:32, Jesus was telling the Jews
that they were under sin, and that they could be freed once they knew
the truth.
· Jesus explains
what he meant by using the word truth in verse 36. When Christ
used the word truth, He was talking about Himself.
· The Jews felt
insulted because the were not slaves at the time, and they felt no need
to be made free as was covered in verse 33. Jesus tells them in verse
34, that whomever commits sin is a slave.
III. You cannot serve two masters.
· Jesus tells His
followers in Matthew 6:24, you cannot serve two masters. You
cannot serve God and sin. You have to choose your master.
· You are not
concerned for materialistic items, if you seek God. When you seek the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all will be supplied to you.
· Before the
Gospel came, there was only one master and that was sin. Once the gospel
came there were two masters, from which we now have the freedom to
choose. Paul is saying in Romans 6:16, if you choose sin as your
master, you will sin until sin takes you to the grave. If you choose God
and righteousness as your master, then you say good-bye to sin. We look
at the two masters; one of sin unto death, and the other of obedience
unto righteousness.
· Paul used the
word obedience in the comment he made. Obedience is an important aspect
of what we do as slaves to Christ. Paul did not use the word faith; to
Paul faith is obedience to the truth.
· Paul started
this letter to the Romans by saying that he was a servant. The original
Greek word should be translated as slave. Paul said he is a slave of
Jesus Christ. Paul tells immediately the Roman Christians whom he had
chosen as his master. He left no doubt who his master was. Once Paul
made that decision, he had to do what Christ told him to do. Paul was
separated unto the gospel of God.
· To Paul faith
is obedience, and the fundamental definition of faith is obedience.
Notice Romans 6:17, Paul states we are slaves to sin; we did not
have a choice.
· The Roman
Christians obeyed the gospel and many had said their good-bye to slavery
to sin. That is also true of us today. In Romans 10, Paul uses
the term obedience in a negative manner. He is dealing with the Jews and
stating that he is concerned for them because they are lost. The reason
they were lost was that they had not obeyed the gospel. We see this
point in Romans 10:16. Paul quotes Isaiah in this passage to
defend himself. The quotation does not use the word obey, it uses the
word believe.
IV. To Paul the words believe and obey are synonymous.
· To obey the
gospel is to surrender ourselves and our will to the truth, as it is in
Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ we have died.
· Obeying the
gospel is to say, "God, I accept the death of Christ as my
death." Obeying the gospel is to say, "now Lord I am Your
slave, use me and do with me as You want". It is the total
surrender of yourself to Jesus Christ. You may say, "I don't want
to be a slave".
· Do not fool
yourself. If you reject Christ, you are a slave of Satan and sin. You
are a slave to one or the other. Your choice is to whom you are a slave.
· You may bluff
yourself into believing you are free. If you feel you are free, you need
to prove it. Live for one day without sinning in thought, word, and
deed. Jesus makes it very plain in John 15:5, that you can do
nothing without Him.
V. Slaves to righteousness.
· Paul says in Romans
6:17-18, to thank God. We have been set free from sin and are now
slaves of righteousness.
· There is a
difference between the two types of slavery. Under sin we have no
choice, we do what sin tells us to do. Under Christ, God never uses
compulsion. The slavery of God is a slavery of a loving master. Notice
in verse 17, we obey from the heart.
· God does not
force us. God says to us, "my dear child sin will hurt you, and if
it hurts you, it hurts me because I love you". God does not want
compulsive obedience or obedience because we are afraid. He wants
obedience from the heart. Sin brings pain and God knows that.
· God desires
that we change our mind and heart from sinning, and from the pain that
sin delivers into our lives. We need to obey the gospel from the heart,
and not worry about what we are going to eat and drink. God will take
care of us.
VI. Our eternal security is sure, when we are in Jesus
Christ.
· Romans 6,
ends with the security that we have in Christ. Romans 6:19, Paul
says in the part of this verse that, he is speaking in a manner that was
not his custom. He was speaking in the fashion of the storytellers who
were common in that day. Paul was not using illustration to entertain
them as many in that day and many today use. Paul was using that manner
of speaking because, they were having a hard time understanding the
truth he was expounding.
· Paul went on to
say that both forms of slavery are developed. The more you turn your
back on Christ, sin develops. Sin hooks you, and once it does, you then
have all kinds of problems.
· If you reject
the gospel now, you may not have the same opportunity later. Sin can get
a hold on you until you may reach the point of no return. Never play
with the gospel and postpone your acceptance. Satan continually tries to
get you to delay. He does this in particular with the youth, trying to
get them to put off accepting Christ, until they are older.
VII. Delaying the acceptance of Christ is a serious deception.
· There is a
development of sin, and if you allow sin to continue to develop in you,
it will get stronger and stronger. The hold on you will become so strong
until you reach the point, like King Saul did, that you cannot turn
back. You are finished and it is over.
· Paul says the
end result of sin is death in Romans 6:23. In Verse 20, we
see that we are incapable of doing genuine righteousness. The sinful man
can do many right things but never with the right motive. Only the
Christian can produce righteousness without self in it, because he has
received the gift of God's unconditional love.
· Romans
6:22-23, say that the two types of slavery have development. When we
are slaves of sin, that is developed. When we accept Christ and His
righteousness, that is developed.
· A new Christian
will grow. Paul and Peter talk about being a babe in Christ. The
direction and the development must be toward righteousness.
Each type of slavery bears has fruit. Paul explains
righteous fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Paul explains that
fruit as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
and temperance. In Romans 6:22, Paul puts all that in one word -
Holiness, or sanctification. The end of that is the gift of everlasting
life. Each slavery has a development, fruit, and an end result. The wages
of sin is death. Paul does not use the term wages for eternal life because
eternal life is a gift. The end of righteousness is everlasting life.
Righteousness is produced in you, but never as a contribution towards
eternal life. We are slaves; the question is, will we be a slave to sin or
a slave to Jesus Christ. When we are a slave to sin there will be eternal
death. When we are a slave to Christ, the end is everlasting life. |
Slaves of God 