Servants of Righteousness

Augustine: “It’s not me!”

His numerous written works, the most important of which are Confessions (c. 400) and The City of God (c. 413–426), shaped the practice of biblical exegesis and helped lay the foundation for much of Christian thought.

Augustine is remarkable for what he did and extraordinary for what he wrote. If none of his written works had survived, he would still have been a figure to be reckoned with, but his stature would have been more nearly that of some of his contemporaries. However, more than five million words of his writings survive, virtually all displaying the strength and sharpness of his mind (and some limitations of range and learning) and some possessing the rare power to attract and hold the attention of readers in both his day and ours.

But in his early years Augustine lived a very indulgent and promiscuous life.

As I shared last Sunday, not long after his conversion, Augustine was walking to the market one day, when a former “female companion” spotted him. Delighted to see him again, she called out, “Augustine! It’s me. It’s me!” Remembering who she was and type of companionship she used to provide, and the transformation of his heart accomplished ny God’s grace, Augustine stopped in his tracks, called back to her,”It’s NOT me; it’s NOT me!” And then fled her presence as quickly as he could.

Augustine’s response is a good model of what happens in our hearts when we put our faith in Jesus. Who we once were is no longer. As Paul put it 2 Corinthians 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

We are no longer slaves to sin, but remade to be servants of righteousness

That’s a riduculous idea! (6:15)

Similar to verse 1, but a different question. The Point: It’s riciculous to think that, united to Christ and alive to God, a believer could possibly live in sin.

Both questions (1 and 15) echo the mindset of some who want to take advantage of God's grace to continue in sin. "God will forgive me anyway, so what's the problem with sin?" But this misses the mark of grace and God's purpose for our lives. The purpose of grace is to redeem us from slavery, and set us free from the power of sin and death, so that we can live a holy and righteous life in relationship with God through Jesus.

You should know better (6:16)

So Paul used an analogy they could easily understand to explain an exchange that takes place in the life of a believer: slavery. Slaves “offer themselves” up to a master. “Offer up” means to make one’s self available. In other words, slaves are bound to obedience. They must do as the master commands.

"Slaves" used six times in the passage. Each use is from the Greek δοῦλος. Refers to someone who is the property of another. A servant/slave (doulos) is someone who the property of another and obeys the commands of his or her master.

For example, in Matthew 8:9, the centurion claims that he says to his servant (doulos), “Do this,” and he does it.

Matthew 8:9 CSB

For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Paul often refered to himself as the servant (doulos) of Jesus Christ (Gal 1:10). The idea that he is a slave to Christ carries the sense of belonging to him—Christ has bought him, and owns him.

The point Paul is making is, that we choose to either offer ourselves up as slaves to sin or to God. One path leads to death. The other leads to eternal life.

There is a great exchange (6:17-18)

what we used to be (slaves to sin)

what we chose (a heart change)

the consequences (set free from sin)

what we became (slaves to righteousness)

Offering ourselves to the law is a life of slavery to sin. Offering ourselves to God is a slavery of sorts, but rather than a yoke of slavery placed on our backs by the law and the sin nature (flesh), it is a chosen servitude to grace. It is an obedience that leads to life rather than death. It is an obedience that leads to righteousness. I'm reminded of Jesus's own words in Matthew 11:29-30

Matthew 11:29–30 CSB

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

There is a great transformation (6:19-20)

Paul explained why he used the slavery analogy: because of their weak flesh. In other words, there is a natural limit to what we can spiritually perceive. Like a good teacher, Paul presented a down-to-earth analogy of a heavenly idea: Sanctification.

Sanctification is the process of holiness (Romans 8:29) “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Michaelangelo: sculpting)

The fruit of Christ’s atoning work (1 Cor 1:30) “It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (2 Thessalonians 2:13 “…from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

a moral goal to be pursued (Heb 12:14) “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.”

An outward conduct (1 Timothy 2:15 “… continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.”

The 4th century preacher and scholar, Origen, described sanctification this way: “Once your feet ran to the temples of demons; now they run to the church of God. Once they ran to spill blood; now they run to set it free. Once your hands were stretched out to steal what belonged to others; now they are stretched out for you to be generous with what is your own. Once your eyes looked at women or at something which was not yours with lust in them; but now they look at the poor, the weak and the helpless with pity in them. Your ears used to delight in hearing empty talk or in attacking good people; now they have turned to hearing the Word of God, to the exposition of the law and to the learning of the knowledge of wisdom. Your tongue, which was accustomed to bad language, cursing and swearing has now turned to praising the Lord at all times; it produces healthy and honest speech, in order to give grace to the hearers and speak the truth to its neighbor.”

This is all very exciting. As we offer ourselves up to Jesus as servants of righteousness, we are becoming more and more like Him!

There is a great benefit (6:21-23)

Compare the outcomes:

slaves to sin (death)

slaves to God (sanctification and eternal life)

Galatians 5:19–25 CSB

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Today, people either ignore or are ignorant of the yoke of slavery that is on their backs. We might say it is a double yoke: the yoke of sin and the yoke of legalism. Especially in Western culture, where we are taught that we can "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps," there is an inherent conscious struggle to rise up on our own feet, to exert personal strength to achieve, to advance. What we fail to see is that, at our best, and though we can achieve great success by the world's standard, we are too spiritually weak to rise up from the ashes of sin. No amount of self-effort can save ourselves. No depth of strict adherence to rules and regulations can spare us or rescue us from the yoke placed on our backs by sin. We are deceived to believe that the outcome of personal discipline will be great reward. Surely, there is temporal, worldly reward; but there is no eternal reward in that effort. There is no enduring self-improvement. Only the grace of God can break the yoke and set us free. Only living in that grace can we experience eternal fruit and the kind of self-improvement (sanctification) that advances us toward God's end for us: to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus.

Paul's words in verse 23 are halting: "For the wages of sin is death ..." This is in contrast to what we can not earn but what is freely given to those who repent and believe: "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Application

Salvation, besides much more, is a great exchange: a change of allegiances. I once offered myself as a slave to sin; now I offer myself as a slave to to God and His righteousness.

Obedience and holiness are expected, and are the only path to sanctification: being made holy. And that is also a imperative, that we should be holy as God is holy. (1 Peter 1:16

1 Peter 1:16 CSB

for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

Our obedience is specifically focused on the the teachings of Christ Jesus, that have been passed down for ages, from generation to generation. We don't make things up as we go; and we don't decide what is to be obeyed and what is not. God has set the standard and the curriculum. Our obedience, though following the teachings handed down to us, is an obedience of the heart, not a rote or mechanical adherence to rules.

Let’s get practical (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Hebrews 12:1–2 CSB

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

There are things to lay aside

There is a race to run

There is a prize we pursue: Jesus