What are You a Slave to?

“When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire to conform to God’s will].  So what benefit did you get at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? [None!] For the outcome of those things is death! But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing] slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made holy and set apart for God’s purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal life.” (Romans 6:20-22, AMP)

“But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.” (Exodus 21: 5-6, ESV)

I say the word “slavery” and what do you think? 

Do you think modern-day slavery? Do you think of vulnerable people that are snatched, stolen and taken to toil in terrible conditions and lifestyles? 

Do you think of America in the 1800’s? When African people were sold off to work in fields and treated as less than even animals?

Do you think of Israel in captivity to Egypt? Forced to build pyramids and cities through back-breaking labor? 

Would you be surprised that after Israel left Egypt– after the Red Sea, wandering in the wilderness, and everything else– there were Biblical guidelines in place in regards to holding slaves and the treatment of slaves? Today, some people– in an effort to disprove and turn down their noses at the Bible– don’t know much about the ins and outs of those guidelines, yet they point to scripture and accuse it of not only condoning slavery, but creating the framework for it.

Which couldn’t be further from the truth and actually reveals the lack of Biblical knowledge of the individual. 

In reality, Biblical slavery in Jewish law was mutually agreed to. In situations where someone had to work off a debt, was in extreme poverty, or needing to atone for a theft, could agree to terms of servitude with someone in the position to help. Among a few different things, slaves were only obligated to work for six years and be free on the seventh year. Additionally, that slave was to end his servitude and leave with exactly what he entered the contract with.

But if a slave decided that he loved his master and enjoyed working for him, at the end of those six years, he could decide to stay on as a servant in his master’s household. In order to show his commitment to continue serving, that man was brought to the doorpost of the master’s house and his ear was to be pierced as a mark that this man has committed his life to serving that household.

While the idea of slavery on a whole strikes us today as demeaning, slavery under the Old Testament law was addressed as a necessity of the time. You have to remember, in that day, the idea of slave ownership was commonly accepted by most cultures, and their treatment of those slaves was certainly undignified. By contrast, the Jewish approach to slave ownership was respectful and moral, effectively undermining the negative connotation of slavery for the time. 

But where is the gospel in this?

Paul addresses the idea that anyone that commits their lives to Christ and follows Him becomes a slave to Christ several times in the New Testament. That idea may be controversial to us, but when we look at the sentiment through the lens of what Jewish slavery was, it becomes less contentious. 

Paul writes in his letter to the Romans that you can be a slave to righteousness or a slave to your sin. There is no third option; and refusing to submit your life to Christ and conform to His will automatically makes you a slave to your depravity and sin. The difference is, being slave to sin will only lead to eternal death as there is no salvation or grace for the bondservant without Christ.

But for those who have willingly turned to God, committed their lives to Him, and been set free from sin, they have now become a slave to God’s will. The wages for that commitment is eternal life and sanctification. 

But there is no “trial period” or “temporary commitment” to being a servant of the Lord. Christians don’t test out God’s grace for six years before making a decision to take it or leave it in the seventh. For those that yield to the beckoning of the Lord, there is a commitment of your life to the serving of and conforming to the will of God. 

We don’t answer that call because of an obligation or a debt– as that debt has already been paid for the slave to righteousness. We answer it because the Master has shown us His love, His goodness, and His graciousness. We answer it because we love Him and want to be with Him for the rest of our days.

And by that commitment, we are set apart. Not by a physical mark or a ceremonial piercing. Indeed, that piercing was already taken by Jesus on the cross. Instead, we are marked by the Holy Spirit that dwells within us from the moment of salvation. And that servitude we enter into is one that offers us provision, hope, and unconditional love from God.

Even Paul called himself a slave to Christ– a bondservant of the Lord. Likewise, we should not shrink away from that title. It doesn’t insult our intelligence, our worthiness, or our ability to live fully. In fact, it offers us a freedom to live within the purpose God has for us and to become more like Him. It offers us all the spiritual freedoms of a son and daughter of the King of Heaven.