Slaves to the King of Righteousness

Introduction

Mazevo family, there is a word from Paul that I’d like to submit to all of you this morning. Those words come from Philippians 2:12-13

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

In the first verse of Ch. 6, Paul writes a rhetorical question, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!”

Paul gives us a metaphor describing the Original Sin we had in Adam, back in Ch.5 were dead in Adam, dead in sin, but we have been raised to new life with Jesus, a life eternal.

Though Jesus lived the only perfect moral life, He is far more than just an example. We are not moralists. We are people of conviction—people who confess the truth of who Christ is. I’d like to read together the apostles’ creed. A creed that was recited by the early church, and the version that we read today was finalized in the early 4th century.

Apostles’ Creed

“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

As the catholic(universal church) these are the truths we proclaim. This is core doctrine that has remained the same throughout all of church history. Moralism says Jesus was only a good teacher or example. But if we believe the Creed, we affirm far more: that He is the Son of God, who truly died and bore the wrath of God, rose again, and reigns as King.

I bring this to you today, because I’m going to pick up again where I left off 2 weeks ago. Jesus is King. We as believers don’t just affirm that He is a King, but that He is our King, to whom we submit every aspect of our lives.

Romans 6:15-23 Is going to sound very similar to the first half of chapter 6, only this time, instead of using the metaphor, from death in Adam to eternal life in Christ, Paul will use the metaphor, from slavery to sin to slavery to Righteousness, to God, to the King of Righteousness.

“Now, the word ‘slavery’ carries different connotations for us today. Paul is using a metaphor rooted in the common practice of voluntary servitude in the ancient world—where someone offered their labor to repay debt or secure provision. This is very different from the horrors of modern chattel slavery, which Scripture condemns Exodus 21:16 ““Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.”

I offer this brief explanation before we read, just to ensure we don’t miss the point that Paul is making, and to reaffirm that we do not shy away from the issues that our modern culture may take with scripture, but we dive in. P.S. anyone desiring a more in depth or robust conversation around those popular issues in culture, please don’t be afraid to bring those to me, or someone here you’re connected with. It would serve us all well to ask more hard questions and be forced back to scripture for a deeper understand.

Paul is making an argument in what he calls, “human terms” in v.19, because he knows that everyone is familiar with this kind of slavery, as it was common. And, though he doesn’t directly reference the parable here, his point is very clearly the same point that Jesus makes in Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” It is with this historical and biblical context that we must dive deep into the word of God. Let’s read.

Romans 6:15-23

v. 15

in v. 1, Paul asks a similar rhetorical question. He asks, if we know that God’s abundant grace is Christ is more than enough to cover all sin, past, present, and future, why shouldn’t we just go on sinning if we know we’re already saved? Not only do we know that we’re saved, but we know that grace is more than sin, so why shouldn’t we go on sinning to make more grace?

Here in v. 15, we get a similar rhetorical question, though let’s be careful not to miss the difference. The first question is should we sin so that grace may about. This second rhetorical question is should we sin because grace abounds. Paul’s resounding, “BY NO MEANS,” is the obvious answer to all of us, but it’s not that simple. Why shouldn’t we go on sinning? What difference does it make if we’re already saved? I mean, we’re not monks, plus, we don’t want people to think that we’re too Christian. We’re supposed to connect with people in the world so we can minister to them, right?

Well, that’s where Paul’s metaphor comes in. Yes! We are called to be in the world, but we are also called to not be of the world. Well why not!? Because no man can serve two masters.

v.16

Paul says that it’s not about who we present ourselves to, but who we obey that shows who we truly serve. If we say that we are followers of Jesus, but we obey our flesh when it tells us to do what feels good over what brings glory to the name of God, we’re actually serving our flesh, that is, sin, which ends in death. This is where we need to denounce nominal Christianity, produced by the prosperity Gospel.

James 2:18 “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Matthew 7:16–17 “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

You can do nothing to add to your salvation. You can do nothing to become saved. All of the work was done on the cross, when Jesus redeemed His Church, His Bride. He then invited you and I to be grafted into this family, by belief in Him and Him crucified. That said, we still have a responsibility to respond to the yearnings of His Holy Spirit inside of us. We will never be more saved, we will never be more justified than we were the day we gave our lives to Jesus, but every day from that point forward we will be made more like Jesus by His Spirit working in us. We will be sanctified every single day. See, the Lord isn’t into cosmetic surgery. He’s not looking to put you to sleep, then wake you up when He’s done. Our God is a Master Cultivator. He Grows things.

“The growth of true virtue is from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the soul; it is not a mere change in outward behavior but a transformation from within.” -Johnathan Edwards

v.17-18

Do you remember the title we gave to our Exodus study?

Slaves in Egypt to Service at Sinai

God liberated Israel from actual slavery doing hard labor under the rule of Pharoah, to Mt. Sinai, not to do whatever felt right to their flesh(though they would), but God’s intention was to rescue them from forced slavery and bondage from an oppressive force that hated them, and invite them to serve Yahweh, who loves them, was merciful to them, rescues them, and redeems them. When we say that the Old Testament was a shadow of the things in the New Testament. Remember? God grows things, and He is eternal. He’s in no rush, but desires to grow things slowly and bring about true transformation.

Paul thanks God here, that the same thing He did through Moses in Exodus, He’s done in completion for us in Jesus.

v.19

There are two natures at play. There is the old man, who was dead to sin. Your flesh, who seeks it’s own selfish desires, who seeks to be it’s own God. Then there’s the new man. Born again to new life in Jesus. Now, once you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you now have a one way ticket to eternal life with the Father, but that old man is still with you, kicking and screaming the whole way.

Galatians 5:17 “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

On this one way journey of sanctification we want to present our members, every single part of our body, to righteousness. We must feed the new man and starve the old.

Feed the new man:

Scripture, Prayer, Sabbath, Church, Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship

All of these things and more are laid out before us like a Thanksgiving dinner. We just get to pile our plates high and feast, and when we’re done, there’s dessert. We are all spiritually nourished in different ways. There are aspects of feasting spiritually that we really enjoy, and others that we feel are tough and lack flavor. Well, I’m going to tell you all the same thing I tell my 2 and 3 year olds. Try it again. You may like it this time. Try it again, this time it has ketchup. Trying something for the 5th time when you already know you don’t like it might sound like a waste of time, but I promise you, every aspect of this life of worship was made for you, and the Lord has something to teach you in it. Don’t miss out on what God has prepared for you.

Starve the old man:

Safeguards, Accountability, Fasting, Anything we do that denies our flesh

Not asceticism. While we know that when we read Jesus’ words, pick up your cross and follow me, there will indeed be ways that we suffer as Christ suffered, asceticism is where some groups of Christians in the past have imposed manufactured suffering upon themselves. That’s not what we’re talking about here, and I want to make sure we draw a hard line in the sand there. We are talking about the voice in your head that desires to do the things you know you ought not do. They may not even be explicitly wrong. There are some people in this room who can’t keep snacks around the house because they won’t be able to resist. Some of us have to set limits on our phones so we don’t get too distracted. Some of us can’t watch an R-Rated movie because we don’t like what we see. Other can’t watch an R-Rated movie because they like too much of what they see. Some of us can’t have soda, or alcohol, or facebook, or instagram, or a whole host of other seemingly innocent things in our lives because they tempt us. That is what we mean when we say deny your flesh. And as that old man starves, the temptation will get stronger, but so will you. And the safeguards you need to put in place in your life will become even more evident.

v.20

Conclusion

So, whose are you?

Are you a slave to the bondage of sin? Or have you given your life to the service of the King of Righteousness?

Don’t let your flesh tell you what you need. Submit all of your members to Jesus, and let Him give you exactly what you need.

Isaiah 55:1–3 ““Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”

Wherever you find yourself right now, just remember where you started. See how the Lord is not in a hurry, but He’s growing something in you. And as we devote every member to Him, just remember, there is one member that He wants more than any other, and that’s your heart.