Everyone seeks freedom.
Especially in the West, freedom is the highest virtue, and it is sought after
by all who are, or consider themselves to be, oppressed. But freedom in Christ
is not the same as political or economic freedom. In fact, some of the most
harshly oppressed people in history have had complete freedom in Christ. The
Bible tells us that, spiritually speaking, no one is free. In Romans 6, Paul
explains that we are all slaves. We are either slaves to sin or slaves to
righteousness. Those who are slaves to sin cannot free themselves from it, but
once we are freed from the penalty and power of sin through the cross, we
become a different kind of slave, and in that slavery we find complete peace
and true freedom.
Although it seems like a contradiction,
the only true freedom in Christ comes to those who are His slaves. Slavery has
come to mean degradation, hardship, and inequality. But the biblical paradigm
is the true freedom of the slave of Christ who experiences joy and peace, the
products of the only true freedom we will ever know in this life. There are 124
occurrences in the New Testament of the word doulos, which means “someone who
belongs to another” or “bondslave with no ownership rights of his own.”
Unfortunately, most modern Bible versions, as well as the King James Version,
most often translate doulos as “servant” or “bond-servant.” But a servant is
one who works for wages, and who, by virtue of his work, is owed something from
his master. The Christian, on the other hand, has nothing to offer the Lord in
payment for his forgiveness, and he is totally owned by the Master who bought
him with His shed blood on the cross. Christians are purchased by that blood
and are the possession of their Lord and Savior. We are not hired by Him; we
belong to Him (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 7:4). So “slave” is really the only
proper translation of the word doulos.
Far from being oppressed, the
slave of Christ is truly free. We have been set free from sin by the Son of God
who said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Now
the Christian can truly say, along with Paul, “Through Christ Jesus the law of
the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). We
now know the truth and that truth has set us free (John 8:32). Paradoxically,
through our bondage to Christ, we have also become sons and heirs of the Most
High God (Galatians 4:1–7). As heirs, we are partakers of that
inheritance—eternal life—which God confers on all His children. This is a
privilege beyond any earthly treasure we could ever inherit, while those in
bondage to sin inherit only spiritual death and an eternity in hell.
Why, then, do so many Christians
live as though they are still in bondage? For one thing, we often rebel against
our Master, refusing to obey Him and clinging to our old lives. We hold on to
the sins that once bound us to Satan as our master. Because our new nature
still lives in the old fleshly nature, we are still drawn to sin. Paul tells
the Ephesians to “put off” the old self with its deceit and corruption and “put
on” the new self with its righteousness. Put off lying, and put on
truthfulness. Put off stealing, and put on usefulness and work. Put off
bitterness, rage, and anger, and put on kindness, compassion, and forgiveness
(Ephesians 4:22–32). We have been set free from the bondage of sin, but we
often put the chains back on because part of us loves the old life.
Furthermore, often we don’t
realize that we have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) and that we
have been reborn as completely new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). The
Christian life is one of death to self and rising to “walk in the newness of
life” (Romans 6:4), and that new life is characterized by thoughts about Him
who saved us, not thoughts about the dead flesh that has been crucified with
Christ. When we are continually thinking about ourselves and indulging the
flesh in sins we have been freed from, we are essentially carrying around a
corpse, full of rottenness and death. The only way to bury it fully is by the
power of the Spirit who is the only source of strength. We strengthen the new
nature by continually feeding on the Word of God, and through prayer we obtain
the power we need to escape the desire to return to the old life of sin. Then
we will realize that our new status as slaves to Christ is the only true
freedom, and we will call upon His power to “not let sin reign in your mortal
body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12).
Recommended Resource: Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in
Christ by John MacArthur
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