The World
Did you realize we are all born into slavery? I know living in America, we are all told that we are born free, but in reality we are slaves the moment we come into this world. Most don’t realize it and we go about our daily lives thinking we are in complete control. The reason we think that, is because the slave master doesn’t want us to know that we are slaves. He doesn’t want us to know that we are under his control. He prefers to do his work in the shadows; remaining unseen and unnamed. He has an army of slave-drivers who have the job of keeping us in line; believing the lie and stuck in the trap.
Who is this master that hides in the shadows? Who is the one that has us all fooled by the illusion clinging to a false sense of freedom. The culprit is none other than the fallen angel, Lucifer, the father of all lies and the ruler of this world. The slavery we have seen in the world: all the oppression, the violence and the murder is all by his design. In fact, all the horrible acts that we have seen in the name of dominance and control have all been due to his stranglehold on this world. While we all blindly believe that we are free, we are in fact slaves to sin and the world. We are slaves to our own desire, to our flesh, to the opinions of others, fashion, money, the media, drugs, alcohol, food and many, many other things.
We may choose to believe that the hold the world has on us doesn’t even compare to the slavery we have seen throughout history, but I would have to say this is just further proof of how badly we have been blinded. Anxiety, depression, suicide, addiction, murder, physical abuse, sexual abuse, war, hunger, pain, fear, overdoses, gangs, violence, corruption, poverty and death are all part of the devil’s slavery design for this world. They are all part of his design not God’s. I understand that even Christians can suffer from some of these things, so don’t misunderstand and think I am saying if you are depressed it is because you don’t know Christ. Rather, I am saying that these things are not from God, but from Satan. As long as Christians, live in this broken and corrupt world, we will at times suffer from the side effects of it, but understand it is all a part of the devil’s design, not our Heavenly Father’s.
Some may say that God called for His people to wage war on other nations and therefore it must be a part of His design. However, the only time we see the world in His perfect design is in the Garden of Eden, which was a time of peace and without sin. God had His people wage war against other nations, because they were pagan nations that served Satan and not Him. As God’s people took over the Promised Land, war was inevitable. Satan would not have peacefully given God’s people the land that was rightfully theirs. War was a tool of Satan; God just beat him at his own game and provided victory for His people.
Satan’s hold on this world is strong and we need to recognize the bondage he has placed on us so that we can truly understand the freedom God is offering. The people who do not choose God seem to think they are serving only themselves, but little do they know the darkness that is actually controlling them. They believe they are free so they don’t want to submit to God and serve Him. After all why would a free man ever choose to submit? If that is how you look at it then it really makes perfect sense that you would choose not to serve God even if He is all-powerful. However, that isn’t the reality of the situation.
The choice we are given isn’t freedom or subservience to God. We are only given the choice of being a slave to the world or serving God. Jesus paid the price to give us all our freedom, but yet so many of us choose to stay slaves, stuck in bondage. We choose to wear the chains, because we have been made to believe they empower us, instead of imprison us. We must understand that Satan doesn’t give us a choice at all. He holds us captive, leaving us in bondage. Satan isn’t going to give you freedom, that only comes from God. Satan holds onto us as slaves until we choose Christ and allow Him to break the chains that hold us. Make no mistake we know and have seen Satan’s version of slavery; we have seen it throughout history and has formed our idea of slavery today. As he has done with so much of God’s design He has twisted and distorted it to blind us from the truth of God’s purpose.
God
A word that I think all Christians should be familiar with is the word “doulos,” a Greek word meaning slave. Some lexicons will add bondsman or servant, but I found over and over again in my research that the most reliable definition of that word is slave. In fact, it doesn’t only mean slave, but it was the strongest form of the word slave in the ancient Greek language. Why is that important? Well, it’s important, because just about every time you see the word servant in the Bible, the actual word being translated is “doulos.” The word slave is used again and again throughout the Bible. Actually, several prominent men including: Moses, Jeremiah, and David were all called God’s slaves. Jesus referred to Himself as a slave of the Father and He even called His disciples slaves. I understand that this would seem to be a complete contradiction to what I said in my last post about us not being slaves to God, but please stick with me so I can explain it all.
Why were people referred to as slaves so much? Well, first you have to realize they didn’t mean slave in the same way that we think about it. In Jewish communities, being a slave wasn’t really all that bad. It may not have been the most preferred way of life for all people, but it was certainly a far cry from what we think of today. God set out a blueprint for what slavery would look like within the Jewish community (Exodus 21). The blueprint set them apart from the rest of the world. In this community, a Jew that chose to be a slave to another Jew was to be treated well. They couldn’t be abused or mistreated. They were there to do the work of their master, but they were to be taken care of as well. The master had to provide housing for the slave and his family as well as food and clothing. The slave wasn’t going to be paid for his work but his needs would be taken care of. According to some articles I read, while it wasn’t common, it wasn’t unheard of for someone to actually seek out being a slave so they didn’t have to worry about taking care of themselves. I suppose working for somebody else and being assured of food and shelter could be nice, especially if you weren’t particularly good at farming or raising livestock.
I realize that doesn’t exactly answer the question of why they were called slaves but I think it does quite a bit to show why they wouldn’t have immediately rebelled against that title. The reason that they were called slaves is because before Jesus died on the cross, offering salvation by grace, they were in fact slaves to God’s law. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13). The law was there to lead them to Christ and to justify them through faith, but Jesus’ sacrifice did away with that (Galatians 3:23-26). The term slave to God wouldn’t have been considered a negative term to them at all; actually, it was a position of honor. They understood that they were God’s people and that they had been set aside by him for a special purpose.
One interesting verse is John 15:15 where Jesus says, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what the Master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all the things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” First, for all the people that doubt that Jesus referred to his disciples as slaves, stating that He no longer does is proof that He did before this point. Second, Jesus tells them that He wouldn’t call them slaves anymore, but instead call them friends. Just think about that for a second. I think we have a tendency to read that verse and just of glance over it. After all, it is shortly before the crucifixion and so by comparison it may seem like a minor moment. However, I want you to stop and think about how big of a moment that would have been for the disciples. Here they are with a man they have followed for years. A man they know is the Messiah. He has been referring to them as slaves and here right after Jesus tells them He would soon be leaving them He calls them friends. Think about what that must have meant to them. I believe it was a significant moment in their life that they relived in their minds many times.
The Bible reiterates the point that we have been set free many times. 2nd Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” In John 8:36 we read, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12). Freedom is actually a key point of the Bible. God’s people in the Old Testament were slaves to the law and often slaves to other nations, but in the New Testament we see Jesus offer freedom from sin and the law through grace. Jesus’ blood paid the ransom to free us from bondage. It wasn’t a price paid to place us under slavery, if that had been the case then the whole world would now be slaves to Christ, since the price has already been paid for all of us. We are never held against our will, and we aren’t slaves to a debt since the debt we owed was paid in full by Jesus Christ.
One of the most compelling examples I have found for us not being bound in slavery to Christ is:
“What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights’ of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”
(Galatians 4:1-7)
Between that and Jesus telling His disciples that He no longer calls them slaves but friends, I don’t think it can be any clearer. However, I know some people will say that if we aren’t slaves, why did James and Paul refer to themselves as slaves? (James 1:1 & Romans 1:1 respectively) In fact, Paul had a lot to say on the subject of slavery He talks about it quite a bit throughout his letters. I know a lot of what Paul said has led me to deep confusion concerning this subject. It seemed to be contradictory, although, I knew that it couldn’t be. We need to understand: why Paul and James called themselves slaves?
The Goal:
Why would they have called themselves slaves after they received the freedom that is offered through Jesus’ crucifixion? Especially, since Paul said, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). How could he possibly say that and still call himself a slave of God. Well, this isn’t actually the only time that Paul speaks about slavery to God. You should be aware of Romans 6:15-23. A couple of the highlights of this section are verse 18 where Paul says, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” and verse 22 in which he says, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” In fact, even Peter said, “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves” (1 Peter 2:16). Clearly, we can’t just ignore these passages so what do they mean and how can we possibly align them with the promises of freedom that we are shown again and again?
Paul and James called themselves slaves to God when writing to other Christians, but James never referred to the people he was writing to like that and Paul only did it after making a very significant point. These statements separated them from the majority of believers. They were making a statement of their level of devotion to God. They weren’t just going to serve Him they were completely reliant on God. Paul gave up everything to serve Christ and James called himself a slave to Christ right before He speaks about finding joy in the struggles because they will strengthen our faith. They weren’t calling themselves slaves to God because that was the position of all believers; it was a position of honor that they held because of their complete devotion to living for Christ.
However, what are we supposed to make about them telling us to live as slaves while still telling us that we are free? How can we live as slaves while never taking on the burden of the yoke of slavery? We have been set free by Jesus. Absolutely free! God didn’t purchase us as slaves; instead He purchased our freedom from the bondage that we are in. We are free to accept Him or remain in bondage, despite the fact that He already paid the most extreme price. If we choose to accept Him then we are no longer slaves to sin, but that doesn’t automatically make us slaves to God.
Before referring to the believers in Rome as slaves Paul says, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey –whether you are slaves to sin which leads to death or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16). We need to understand what he is saying and remember who he is saying it to. He is speaking to believers, making the point that after receiving Christ we shouldn’t just keep sinning, telling them that they are slaves to whoever they obey. How can that be possible if the bondage has been broken? Even as Christians, we still feel the affects of sin in our lives. We still bare the guilt and shame, which leads us to asking for forgiveness. We still run the risk of one lie leading to another and have to witness how our sin affects the people around us. By accepting Christ we gained the freedom to choose righteousness or sin, but the simple fact that we sometimes choose sin is proof that we aren’t truly slaves to Christ. After all, if God was a slave master, it would stand to reason that His slaves would never be able to wander off and go against His commands.
Paul and Peter weren’t talking about being slaves to God because it is automatic when we choose to accept the truth; they talked about being slaves to God because it should be the ultimate goal. I know it doesn’t sound right to consider being a slave as a life goal, but that is because we are confusing God’s truth with Satan’s perverted definition of slavery. Paul points out to them what continuing in slavery would mean for them, and makes the assumption that they will make the logical choice of righteousness instead of sin.
By choosing to be slaves to God, we aren’t taking on the burden of the yoke of slavery, because Jesus tells us, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). We aren’t taking on the bondage of slavery or being held captive by chains, because our slavery isn’t forced. It isn’t the slavery we see in the world. It is a position of freedom; freedom from sin, guilt, shame, worry and death. Being a slave of God isn’t to be considered a position of shame, but rather it is held as a position of honor. Paul and James had to humble themselves to call themselves slaves to God, but they didn’t write it hanging their head. They were proud to hold that position. They were happy that they had given up everything to follow and obey Christ. “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Being a slave to Christ, isn’t a position of poverty, it is actually a position of unimaginable wealth and prosperity.
A slave of the world has no power; it is stripped away by the master that seeks control. He has no hope and joy because those things are always kept just out of reach, driving the slave to his next task. The slave is led astray by the illusion of freedom while trapped in a prison and the dream of utopia while their world is destroyed. We are also led by the delusion of power while we are forced to submit to a force, which has already been defeated. Because, when Satan is in control, when he is the master, he is always imposing his will on you. He uses negative reinforcement to drive you down the path that he wants you to be on. He uses fear and anxiety to make you see the world the way he wants you to see it. He twists reality in order to make his way seem like it is of great benefit to you. He will wear you down and force you into submission. The master of the world will place blinders over your eyes so that you don’t recognize that you are being led to slaughter.
A slave of God is shown his weakness so that God can be his strength. He has hope and joy that can not be destroyed by the actions of this world because they are not of this world. The slave of God is led to freedom by the knowledge of the truth, given paradise with the promise of heaven and offered provision by the creator of all things, who already stands victorious over death itself. God is already in control, we just have to realize it, accept it and submit to it. God doesn’t impose His will, He simply asks us submit to it, but ultimately we get to choose if we do His bidding or not. He blesses obedience, with amazing and wonderful gifts, giving us the strength and drive to move forward on His path. He calms our fears and anxiety by walking with us in the valley of the shadow of death. He doesn’t try to show you the world He wants you to see. He simply opens your eyes to the truth so you can see the beauty of what He has created. He doesn’t force you into submission, because it isn’t about Him imposing an illusion of ultimate power, but rather, it is simply about us recognizing who He really is. He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present King of the World. He is the creator of all things, the giver of all good gifts and the epitome of love. Once we recognize who He is and truly understand what it means, He doesn’t need to force us to fully submit; we will do it freely. God as your master means that your eyes are opened to the truth as you are led down the path of righteousness and ultimately to Heaven to dine with our Heavenly Father.
Being a slave of God isn’t about force. It isn’t about God taking away our freedom. Actually, being a slave to God leads to the ultimate freedom. By fully submitting and relying on God for all of our needs, we are freed of all worry and fear. We aren’t giving up our hope and happiness. Instead, we are ensuring that we receive them abundantly from our Heavenly Father who wants us to have both. It isn’t at all the slavery that we see in the world. We choose to be a slave to God when we choose to completely devote our lives to God. It isn’t even about giving up on our dreams, but recognizing our dreams pale in comparison to the wonder of God. We have to recognize that we can’t even imagine the amazing things that He can make possible, fathom the wonders that He will show us, and our best life will never come close to the glorious life that God will provide for us.
The quality of a slave’s life is decided by the master. Satan doesn’t have your best interest in mind, but the quality of life that God promises is one of abundance. We have to realize that being a slave to God is not about bondage, but rather about true freedom. By accepting God’s gift of grace we were freed of the chains that held us captive to sin. We were suddenly shown a new choice, a choice to obey God and follow His plan for our lives. We were adopted as Children to the royal family and made heirs to His kingdom. However, like any child, we have the choice to listen to our Father or ignore Him. Following God leads to blessings and holiness, ignoring Him leads to shame and regret. A point that Paul understood, which is why he asked the church in Rome to offer themselves to God as slaves. “I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness” (Romans 6:19).
Paul isn’t calling them to a life of misery and servitude. He is calling them to a better life. He is calling them to dedicate their lives to God because it is in their best interest. He understands they still have the choice to sin and that because of grace their sins will still be forgiven. However, he is saying you have already seen the affects that sin will have on your life so why would you ever want to choose that. Instead, make the decision now to remove that choice from your mind by offering yourselves as a slave to God; a slave to righteousness, because you know that choice will lead to holiness and eternal life.
However, here is the greatest part of the whole thing. Jesus told his disciples that He would no longer call them slaves, but friends. Even if we choose to wholly dedicate our lives to God and to live the life of God’s slave. We are still called friends by Jesus and we are still God’s children. We don’t have to give up the blessings that God provides and we aren’t asked to walk around in rags, while we complete the tasks He gives us. God tells us to seek first His kingdom and all of our needs will be provided for. How much do you think God will provide for a life that is fully submitted to Him and fully reliant on Him? Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” and Job 22:21 says, “Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you.” Over and over again when we hear about God’s provision, blessings and answered prayers they are listed in conjunction with our obedience, submission and being in His will. I think the best way to ensure that is to fully dedicate ourselves to Him and live the life of God’s slave. It isn’t about giving up your freewill, but rather about aligning your desires with the desires of God.
The call to follow Jesus is not the call of slavery. It is simply the call to follow, listen and accept the truth. Living the life of God’s slave isn’t the requirement to gain access to Heaven. Jesus paid for your freedom, not your slavery; that choice is left up to you. However, I have to ask, if Paul and James, being the men of God they were, chose to be slaves to God and managed to accomplish all that they accomplished for God’s kingdom, then don’t you think we should at least consider it? It won’t be easy and honestly I know I will have to offer myself as a slave to God every single day. I often find it hard to set aside my own selfish desires to follow the desires of God, but I don’t want to sin and I certainly don’t want to feel the burden of sin in my life. I recognize that my own desires and my way of doing things have led me to disaster and heartache, while God’s plan has always led to restoration, joy and inner peace. So why shouldn’t I choose to submit fully? Why wouldn’t I choose to rely on Him for everything? Why wouldn’t I want to obey Him and do whatever job He gives me? The problem clearly isn’t that I don’t see following Him as being in my best interest, but rather, because I am still held captive by Satan’s lie of what being a slave really means.
Are you ready to shed Satan’s lie and offer yourself as a slave to God? You won’t be giving up your freedom, but rather giving up on the sin we know destroys us.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
