To be a slave is to be controlled by someone or something. When we speak of slavery, most Americans think back to a time in our history when people owned people. Usually, it was a white master, and the slave was black. We all know that one person owning another is wrong. We have many laws that protect people from these types of situations. A different kind of slavery is found in addictions. People try certain drugs or alcohol, and soon, it controls them. However, there is a slavery that plagues all of us, and most are not even aware of it. We, before our salvation, were slaves to sin. We followed its course because this slavery is about doing whatever feels good to us. The great deceiver, Satan, promises freedom. Freedom to do as we choose, but it always leads to destruction.
Romans 6:16 tells us to think. We must understand that whoever we obey, we are a slave to it. We are born with a sinful nature. Romans 3:23 teaches us that we have all sinned. In verse 17, Paul reminds us that we were servants to sin, but in verse 18, we are made free from the bondage of sin. We, as Christians, should be servants to Jesus Christ. He is our Lord, and we are to serve in a way that pleases Him. We will often be tempted, but we do not have to give in. In I Corinthians 10:13, we understand that we will be tempted, but God will always make a way for us to escape. We will not be tempted above what we can withstand. The power to overcome being a slave to sin is within every Christian, but it is up to us to utilize the power of the Holy Spirit to help us not to sin. We can make excuses and justify our actions to ourselves, but what the Righteous Judge says is all that matters. The only excuse we can give when it comes to sinning is that we chose to satisfy the flesh and not the spirit.
Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
Romans 6:17-18 “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
I Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
We are all servants to something or someone. It may be that we are self-serving individuals. In that case, you are a servant to sin, which makes you a servant to Satan. The other option is to be a servant to Jesus. In this case, everything about you wants to please Him. You desire to do what honors Him. You love the things He loves. You want to show your gratitude for your salvation by serving Him. There is no middle ground. In Romans 6:16, we are servants to whoever we obey.
When I think about what Jesus did for me to free me from slavery to sin, I cannot help but rejoice. With Him, I am able to overcome anything Satan sends my way. I can live without condemnation. No more a slave to the passions of the flesh or the frivolity of this world. My allegiance to Him allows me to rise above the temptations of this world to a higher plane where I can see things with an eternal perspective. I am a child of God, and I am free from the penalty and power of sin. I am no longer a slave to sin.
