| “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.” |
| —Romans 6:20a |
The word “slaves” has such a horrible connotation in our culture. The idea of someone being taken against his or her will and forced into a pattern of servitude behavior is appalling. The whole idea that the agrarian society of early America was based on slavery is terrible.
Throughout human history, slavery has provided the major source of human labor in virtually every civilization on earth. As despicable as it is for one tribe of people to enslave another tribe of people, when such a practice becomes pervasive over hundreds of years, it becomes understandable—though not acceptable—when this practice filtered its way down to even countless nations today.
But, as distasteful as the word “slavery” may be, it accurately describes our human condition. We are all slaves to something. In writing to the Christians at Rome, the Apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 6:20-23:
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For we Christians, who have acknowledged the gift of salvation through the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, have been set free from the bonds of sin. We have been bought with a price—the very blood of Jesus. Now we have a new master. The kind, benevolent master spoken of in Deuteronomy 15:12-18. God’s perfect love has invaded our lives. Now we belong to Him.
Let us begin this day with joy, knowing that God’s love fills us full to overflowing. His holiness is our portion because we belong to Him. Let us go forth into our needy world as instruments of His mercy, grace, and love. Let us cheerfully share with all who ask us the joy of belonging to God through His Son, Jesus.
Based on a blog originally posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2016
