From Slavery into Slavery

Introduction: The Concept (1)

Throughout the chapter Paul addresses the reality of two realities. He illustrates it with life and death first. These two realities are mutually exclusive. You can not be in both of them at the same time. You can either be alive and not dead, or dead and not alive, but you can not be not alive and not dead or alive and dead.

He connects this with our spiritual life. Every man and woman is either dead in sin or dead to sin, and only those who are dead to sin, are alive…alive unto God. We are all apart of one of these realities, and subsequently we must behave as such. If you are dead in sins, you will behave as such. And if you are dead to sin, you will behave as such, and must behave as such.

The concept of the reality of two realities can be introduced to us in two verse. Rom 6:1-2.

The explanation of this is given Rom 6:3-7.

Lastly, the logical conclusion is seen in Rom 6:8-10.

Understood this way, you can really see the flow behind Pauls argument. What Arguement? The notion that one should sin so grace would increase. The truth that one can not, simultaneously, be a part of both of these opposite realites.

Verses 1-10 then, are the instruction from Paul. Next we see the Command in Rom 6:11-14.

The Command (2)

Likewise reckon, in regards to the instruction of verse 1-10, take that into account, believe it and act on it. Consider yourself to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do not let sin reign in your bodies then, because you no longer are being ruled over by sin. Do not surrender your members to sin anymore as dead men do, instead surrender your members to God as someone who is alive, behave as someone who is alive because you are alive.

Sin will not and does not have control over us any more. Sin tries to compel us, Sin in us- pressures us to obey its lusts, but because you have been justified by grace through faith, the Law which is the strength of Sin, can no longer condemn us. And because we are no longer condemned, Sin in us, can no longer be invigorated at the Law. We are dead to sin, and we are free from the condemnation of the Law into the Liberty and life and union of Jesus Christ.

The Consequences (3)

The dialogue shifts now, as Paul anticipates the next arguement from his critics. Rom 6:15.

Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? In other words, if we are free from the law, then does that mean, we are free to do whatever we wish? Paul immediately corrects any misunderstanding from what he has just said in regards to what we are under.

This liberty from the condemnation of the law, into the liberty of grace, Paul knew his critics would twist to fit their anti-nomianist desires. Having already made his point using a very ultimate reality, he will now make the same point using an illustration most common in that world, that being Slavery.

Slavery was extremely prevelent in the Roman Empire, and truly, amongst every major culture and empire for thousands of years. But for the Romans, Brittanica estimates that roughly 30% of the entire population of the empire was slaves. There are also estimates that say that 40% of Italy were slaves which scholars say would have been somehwere between 10-18 million people.

Paul uses slavery as an illustration to teach us the consequences of the reality of which we find ourselves in. The slave does the will of his master, against his own will. An alien will is in control of him and he must obey this will. Similarily, someone who is dead, can not change this reality, they can only be dead. Someone who is alive, can not be dead simultaneously.

The notion then, that because one is not under the condemnation of the law should and can sin freely without charge only demonstrates who’s slave they are. Rom 6:16. We are either slaves of Sin, or Slaves of Righteousness. Notice as well, that there are consequences to whom you belong too. Sin unto death or Obedience unto rightousness. In other words, Sin which leads to death, or Obedience which leads to rightousness.

The end result of sin is always death, destruction, despair. The end result of obedience to God is always, righteousness, life eternal, peace. Jam 1:15. John 3:36. You can not obey God, and reject his Gospel. So this obedience is a belief and commitment to obey all the God has commanded us.

Your master is manifested then, on whom you serve. Is your life characterized by obedience to God and his commandments, or is characterized by willful and unrepentant sinning? As Chrisitians, because our innerman is alive and yet we are still in this carcass of flesh, we still will experience the pressures of sin, and sometimes we yield ourselves unto sin. But this does not have to be so. That is what Paul has been reinforcing all along. That if you are immersed in Christ you have died to sin, sin no longer reigns in you, you are alive, not unto sin but alive unto God. Yield your members unto God as those that are alive from the dead. Who’s the those? Its you, its all who believe. Dont let sin reign over you, because it no longer has reigns over you. Dont let sin pretend like its your slave master because you have been delivered and freed from that master, and now you are under a new master! Rom 6:17.

Notice, who it is that we turn our gratitude too in regards for our salvation. God is the one who we thank for our salvation. God is the one who delivered us from the slavery of our sin. Paul specifically uses the past tense word were for a reason. Because all who have been born again, were slaves of sin, but now are no longer. Col 1:13 says “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”. Yes we all were formely slaves of sin. 1 Cor 6:11 reminds us of who we were before our adoption as sons and daughters, it reads “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God”

FIX------------------------------Additionally, I’d like to point out that it is the obedience from the heart, which is indicating a heartfelt belief, to the doctrine which was delivered you, that marks the life of someone no longer a servant of sin. Every person who is confronted with the truth of God must obey and believe from the heart its validity. This is demonstrated outwardly in a changed life. This is accomplished inwardly by a supernatural work of God. So then, the Christians life is characterized by belief and obedience to the truths of God. John 8:31 says “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” We will never know or comprehend of all Gods Truths, but the Christian’s life is one who is seeking to know and obey all that he does know.

As a result, the Christian formely was a slave of sin, and now becomes a slave of righteousness. Rom 6:18. How is this possible you might ask? Well, examine your own life. Who do you seek to please? Who do you desire to obey? Who is your master then? When you obey, its no longer grevious. Thats not to say its not hard at times, but its like David said in Ps 119:92 - Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. And again in verse 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Lastly like Paul says in Rom 7:22 - For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.

We were formerly slaves of sin and now we are slaves of righteousness. Rom 6:19. The reason Paul uses this illustration of slavery is as an accomodation. Because it is difficult to put into words and to convey spiritual truths such as this, Paul acknowledges that this illustration is used to convey the spiritual truth. I believe this is important to remember because it takes into account that 1. His readers may have difficulty accepting this and understanding it 2. That this an illustration to be used to understand a spiritual truth.

1) Again, I believe thats important because it recognizes the difficulty the romans would have had accepting the notion that they are to be enslaved to God, just as we would this same difficulty. This is in fact why many english bibles translate the word Dulos as servant and not slave! Servant has an entirely different word in the greek, but the idea of slavery is repulsive to the West and so the word is softened in some translations. But the Romans wouldve arguably had a harder time accepting it.

2) On the flip side however, this is an accomodation to our finite minds. What do I mean? Well, you can very well go too far with the illustration and come to the conclusion that God and Jesus Christ are some cruel slave master, the kind we all think of when we say the word Slave Master, which could not be any further from the truth. Yes, Jesus claims to be and is our Lord and Master, commonly used through out the New testament are the greek words Kurios and Despotes to describe Jesus. But we must not forget that he said in Mat 11:29-30. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. That we are to Love one another, just as He has loved us John 15:12. That He loved us, even until the very end. John 13:1. Or lastly, that we love, because he first loved us 1 John 4:19.

We must be balanced and see and believe both, Jesus Christ, is both our Slave Master, and we must obey him because we have no other choice being purchased by him and redeemed by him, and yet being so good and kind, and compassionate and merciful, that purchasing us cost him his own life. Yes, he purchased us, but at his expense. The debt we owed to God for all of our crimes, he bore and paid for, that he might bring us unto God and remove all of our sins. He is a most worthy Master to own. Rightly said, the hymn composer penned this classic down

“Living For Jesus” which reads -- Living for Jesus Who died in my place, Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace; Such love constrains me to answer His call, Follow His leading and give Him my all. O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee, For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me; I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne; My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

In the Latter part of the verse, the dynamic changes from Our Position to Our Practice. We’ve seen this outline before in the beginning of the chapter, and here we see it again, demonstrating the importane of Doctrine as a precursor for change.

Rom 6:19. Interestingly, he contrasts our former natures behavior to completly yield and give in to sin with our new natures duty and ability to completly yield and give in to righteousness. In other words, All people who are unregenerate, only produce sin and yield to sin. They may do “moral” deeds but even these deeds because done with an incorrect understanding do not bring God glory and thus are selfish ultimately and sin. So then, their life is filled with only Uncleaness and Iniquity. Uncleaness can be understood as inward impurity. Its a ceremonial uncleaness, a defilement. This is an inward impurity. Iniquity can be understood as the opposite, its translated in other places as Lawlessness. These are external sins, Drunkness, Murder, Adultery. The natural man is filled with both internal and external sins, which as the texts says, leads to more iniquity. His sin only leads to greater amounts of sin. Like a disease, it slowy destroys the body and as James says when its matured, leads to death.

Paul contrasts this nature of obedience to sin, with how we are to behave in accord with our new master. We are now, to yield ourselves in the same way as in the past, but unto righteousness which leads to holiness or sanctification. There is no middle ground in our sanctification. We are either yielding our members unto uncleaness and iniquity or we are surrendering our members to righteousness which leads to holiness. The late Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “As you go on living this righteous life, and practicing it with all your might and energy, and all your time … you will find that the process that went on before, in which you went on from bad to worse and became viler and viler, is entirely reversed. You will become cleaner and cleaner, and purer and purer, and holier and holier, and more and more conformed unto the image of the Son of God”

Macarthur put it this way “No one stands still morally and spiritually. Just as unbelievers progress from sinfulness to greater sinfulness, a believer who is not growing in righteousness, though never falling back altogether out of righteousness, will slip further and further back into sin”

This is exceptionally true. Certainly when I have been living for the Lord, there comes a time when I become tired, and decide, I think I’m going to slow down the gears a bit. The voice in my head tells me “You’ve earned it, you deserve just a bit of rest. Why not just take a break for a short while. This is when you metaphorically undo a notch or two from your belt, and relax. It is here that my greatest failures take place. What a critical and important truth to understand, that there is no neutrality in this world, it is either for God or its against him. Every action I take is a moment of yielding my members unto sin, or yielding my members unto God. God tells us then that we are yield our members as slaves of righteousness which leads to holiness. Because it is possible for us to do this now, as Paul said “We are made free from sin and became the servants of righteousness”, we are commanded to yield ourselves.

Closing

Next week we’ll continue to see the consequences of the position we now are in, the blessings of being a slave of God. Remember then this, that all that we are, is because of Jesus Christ. He has rescued us from the tyranny of sin that rules over us. He had translated or transported us out of the power of darkness into his kingdom of Light. Positionally we are his slaves, simulataneously we are his brothers and sisters. We once obeyed our old master sin. This no longer is true if you belong to him. This in essece means that you never ever have to commit another sin in your life, because sin can no longer force you too. Your new Master actually, wills that you dont sin. He doesn’t just will it, but he helps us to perform it. He helps us to never be enthralled by sin again. He promises to deliver emergency aid when we ask for it. He promises us to never allow the temptation to be greater than what we can handle. Not in our strength but his. So as our Master, he commands us to surrender our members, our eyes, our tounge, our will, to his and to live righteously. Our freedom is not as the critics wanted to think, a freedom to do whatever we please, but to do whatever God pleases. When God commanded Pharaoh to let his people go, do you suppose the intention was that they would just do whatever they wanted when they were let go haha? “God Forbid” No it was do as he pleased, it was as its written that ”they may serve me in the wilderness”. This is also true of believers. We have been made free from sin, to become servants of Our God. And He is certainly worthy of our service. Lets Pray.