We Are Slaves to the One we Obey

Articles

Larry Walker
02/16/16 - Faith

We are Slaves to the One We Obey

Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Rom. 6:16

Give in to selfishness, and you will learn that it will control you and enslave you. There is no power in men, no power on the earth that can break the bondage of a man or woman shaped by self-indulgence. We may hate ourselves for giving in, but still we will find ourselves slaves to it. We will find that the habit absolutely dominates us - because we yielded to it willingly, now it has us in its power.

What can be done, then? It is necessary for us, in order to escape this slavery, to recognize first that WE are responsible for being dominated by self. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because at some point in my past I yielded to my own selfish desires. On the other hand, if I obey God I do so because I have yielded myself to Him.

There is no release from this slavery except by redemption. When a slave is freed, it is not by his own power, it is by another who buys his freedom or breaks the bond to his master. You must surrender yourself in complete humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power – who can renew and restore spiritual life – who can recreate us spiritually by the new birth. He can “deliver us from the power of darkness, and translate us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” (Col. 1:13). Yielding to the Father through his Son Jesus will break the chains of slavery in any human life.

“But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness.” Rom 6:17,18

Note that Paul says he is talking to them like this because they are weak in the flesh. He must speak of them as slaves to get them to see how spiritually gripping and controlling sin is. He must talk about chains of bondage. He must make them see that release from this depends on Jesus Christ the Redeemer – the one who frees the captives.

This redemption is only by the blood of Christ, shed at the cross! Jesus’ blood cleanses the conscience. When we are united with him in humble, obedient faith, we are joined to his body of saved ones, predestined by God to be a holy and blameless people! (Eph. 1:3-8). Larry Walker, March 2011