Are you a slave?

The answer, no matter who or where you are, is yes

We seem to prize liberty above most anything else here in the West and particularly here in the U.S. People on all points of the political spectrum work diligently to protect their freedoms – some championing Constitutionally-protected liberties, for example, while others fight for more recently fashioned “liberties” (abortion springs to mind). America has been a beacon of liberty for people from all over the globe who wish to live in (relatively more) freedom. And that’s good. I think we’d all agree that ideally all humans should be able to live in free societies.

That’s why we find the concept of slavery so abhorrent. We know our country’s own history of this and are thankful the U.S. abolished it following the Civil War. In many other countries, however, slavery is a part of everyday life. According to the World Population Review, millions of individuals are enslaved today in places like India, China, North Korea, Nigeria, Iran, and Indonesia, to name a few. Sadly, those are just a few examples. British researchers in 2020 stated that slavery is not a crime in almost half the world’s countries.

Moral people’s objection to slavery may be the reason the English Bible sometimes softened the translation of the Greek word doulos. John MacArthur, in The Gospel According to Jesus, notes “doulos” was the primary word used to describe “the lowest abject bond slave… someone lacking personal freedom and personal rights whose very existence is defined by his service to another.” Scholar Edwin Yamauchi says the word describes the sort of utter slavery in which human autonomy is set aside and an “alien will” takes precedence. Toning down that word to “servant” (or conflating it with “employee”) clouds our understanding of many New Testament passages.

Matthew 6:24 is an example. As MacArthur points out, many versions have Jesus saying, “No one can serve two masters.” But a person with two jobs does “serve” two masters; the idea of service in general does not exclude other service being possible. Serving someone is not the same as belonging to someone. The correct and literal translation of what Jesus said is “No one can be a slave to two masters,” which makes more sense and also places the statement in the correct cultural context.

Jesus’ first-century audience was considerably more familiar with slavery than we are. The Romans were no strangers to the practice, and mistreatment was common. According to author and biblical culturalist Kristi McLelland, during Jesus’ time approximately 1/3 of the entire Roman population were slaves. So Jesus was teaching that we cannot be a slave to money and also be a slave to God, using vivid imagery that his audience would have understood.

Wait - slave to God?

This imagery of slaves and slavery runs throughout the New Testament. “You were bought with a price” the Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:20. If you were bought with a price, that makes you a… ?

Hold on. We sing “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me!” We sing “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Freedom reigns in this place!” We sing of how we are “no longer slaves.”

We do like to sing about the freedom Jesus bought for us, don’t we? Because it’s glorious.

But it’s freedom from something – something ugly and destructive. Sin, and the pain and death it brings. And the Bible teaches us that there is a cost for that freedom. Jesus even told us we must count that cost, although it’s a price we gladly pay for the privilege and joy of receiving His abundant gifts of repentance, faith, salvation, and transformation. None of which we could choose of our own accord.

That cost? We exchange slavery to sin and death for slavery to God.

Oh, that does not sound right, especially to our Western ears. Neither, perhaps, does Romans 6:16-22:

Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then having from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life.

Every human who ever lived or will live is a slave. We may think we’re in control, but we’re not. We are utterly enslaved to something. Actually, every human who ever lived or will live is a slave to one of two things. And we all start out enslaved to the one – sin, with its shame, sorrow, and death.

But God…

But God made a way for us to be transformed through His Son. The Lord bestows wonderful gifts in that moment of transformation: Eyes to see we need repentance, a heart to embrace faith, salvation itself as our chains drop off, and the beginning of a lifelong journey of sanctification as the Holy Spirit – our Creator God – takes up residence within us. It is impossible to grasp the greatness of these gifts.  

As Bob Dylan sang in the 70s, you’re gonna have to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, he said. And he was spot on. But it might be more accurate to say you’ll keep serving somebody, because you already are serving somebody. And if it’s the wrong slavemaster, know that you can serve Someone Else. He will demand total obedience and He will give you things to do (read Ephesians 2:10). But His burden is easy and His yoke is light. After all, in that transformation He grants, you also are adopted into His family, and become His beloved child.

But make no mistake. If you do not see yourself as “enslaved to God” as Romans describes, or think God just chuckles and shakes His head when you blatantly ignore Him or His word – you are wrong. God is a holy God who hates sin because sin hurts us, his beloved children. Every sin, big or small, mars us – we who are God’s image-bearers. That’s part of why He sent His Son to pay the price for all sin, including the ones you and I will do tomorrow (and the next day). That sanctification process won’t be complete till the next life, after all. But we should never make this mistake of thinking we are free to do whatever we want – that salvation was just a prayer at an altar or a “decision” we made that doesn’t affect anything else, the free “get out of hell” card and a life otherwise free of thoughts or actions to serve our Living God. That life keeps us on the wrong side of slavery, serving the wrong master. And – there is no “free” pass out of hell. It costs something. In other words, if you’re not enslaved to God, what makes you think you’re saved by God?

A demanding slavery

Jesus Himself said many “hard things” to those purporting to seek freedom from sin but unwilling to submit to His yoke. He went so far as to discourage such “prospects.” Read John 6:26-66. People who had just witnessed the feeding of 5,000 (plus women and children) were demanding another sign from Him. They were more interested in seeing more miracles than listening and following Him. Perhaps due to this, He spoke in veiled terms that confused and frustrated them, the end result being verse 66: “As a result of this many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore.” Not very seeker sensitive of Him.

Likewise He minced no words when individuals attempted to approach Him on their terms rather than His:

And as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but first permit me to say farewell to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” — Luke 9:57-62

He was perhaps even more stern when addressing large crowds following Him. As Luke 14:25-35 records, Jesus warned the people that to follow Him they’d have to “hate” their families and their own lives, give up all their possessions, and count the cost of discipleship. What’s more, if those discipleship conditions are not kept, as the ESV Study Bible notes, the “disciples” themselves become worthless, good for nothing but to be discarded. That’s pretty harsh.

Far from making it easy for them to respond positively, He set the cost of discipleship as high as possible—and encouraged them to do a careful inventory before declaring their willingness to follow. Only those willing to carefully assess the cost and invest all they had in His kingdom were worthy to enter. This speaks of something far more than mere abandonment of one’s material possessions; it is an absolute, unconditional surrender. His disciples were permitted to retain no privileges and make no demands. They were to safeguard no cherished sins; treasure no earthly possessions; and cling to no secret self-indulgences. Their commitment to Him must be without reservation. — John MacArthur

It is good for us to meditate on the demanding nature of discipleship and its imagery of slavery. We need to understand Jesus is our Lord and Master.

A slavery like no other

But in His infinite mercy and grace, in that transformative moment when He makes us His own beloved children, we enter a slavery like no other.

You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would abide, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. — John 15:14-16

“You are My friends if you do what I command you,” Jesus says. Now, a friend who says you are his friend if you do everything he says – well, that would be kind of weird. A better analogy of this most special friendship is that of a king’s most trusted confidante – which in some cultures was indeed a slave, but was also the person who knew the king better than anyone else (including his wife – or wives!).

I particularly like the way my friend Vince Gunn put it: “Jesus grants the gift of friendship to His servants. This does not diminish His authority over them or the requirement of their submission to Him, but it does grant the wondrous intimacy in relationship with Jesus that a mere household slave would never dream of having with their master.”

Jesus is still our Master but He also calls us sons and daughters of God.

For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. — Romans 8:14-17

Not only does Jesus call us friend, but He announces our adoption by God the Father as His beloved children, with intimate access to Him. So the gospel is both an invitation to slavery (to God) and an invitation to liberty (from so much – sin, shame, fear, bondage, death, destruction). This slavery is the opposite of debasing. It elevates us to a heavenly court and invests us with a higher nature, as one scholar puts it. It indwells us with the very Spirit of the Creator God.

The parable of the serving master in Luke 12:35-38 depicts a self-sacrificing master who turns the tables and humbles himself to wait upon his slaves, serving them. The picture foreshadows Christ’s washing His disciples’ feet, demonstrating love and humility for us to replicate.

This is what slavery to God is – serving a Master who graciously transformed us into beloved children and heirs with Him. Notably, He chose us before the foundation of the world, giving us unimaginable privileges of access to our King and the opportunity to do His good work.

Note that obeying Him doesn’t make you His friend – it’s proof you are His friend.

The critical importance of examining ourselves

We like being beloved children and heirs; maybe not so much having to obey a Master. Some go so far as to teach that one can enjoy being His child while not obeying His commands. You may have heard the term “carnal Christian,” or discussions about becoming a believer and then later, down the line somewhere, choosing to “make Him Lord of your life.”

There is no biblical support for these ideas, and Jesus was quite clear on this. (See The supreme importance of authentic faith.) Also note He was saying “You are my friends if you do what I command You.” If we are not doing what He says, we are not His friends. It is also clear this does not mean that if we sin we are not His friends, because everyone sins (even the Apostle Paul – see Romans 7:14-25). But we must manifest the desire to obey, and be genuinely seeking to do so.

Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who heard and did not do accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the river burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.” — Luke 6:46-40

Note what He says about the man who hears His words but does not act on them (i.e., obey) – “the ruin of that house was great.” As the ESV Study Bible notes, confession apart from obedience is worthless. Our “confession of Christ” is no confession if we do not obey His word. This is sobering. It is critical we examine our own hearts to see which of these two men we are.

Follow the Leader

Of course, the Bible gives us abundant instruction on how to follow this Leader who died for us and loves us more than we can imagine (read 1 Peter 2 for just one example of a chapter brimming with practical teaching). In addition to the many “boots on the ground” instructions, we are told over and over again what genuine faith looks like, and it often revolves around the fruit we bear. (We’ll dive deeper into fruit bearing soon.)

It seems good to end for now with this magnificent passage about the example Christ Himself left for us:

Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. — Philippians 2:5-11