Welcome back, my friends. When I say the word “slave”, what images or thoughts come to your mind?
Maybe you think about the old Southern plantation owners who worked their slaves in the cotton fields and punished them by whipping, shackling, beating, branding, and imprisonment. The slave owners denied their slaves the opportunity to learn to read and write in an attempt to subdue any hope leading to escape or rebellion.
Or maybe the word “slave” brought to mind the Israelites, who were slaves to the Egyptians. The Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy making their lives bitter and forcing them to mix mortar, make bricks, and do all the work in the fields. Ruthless in all their demands, the Egyptians appointed brutal slave drivers over the Israelites. These slave drivers beat them with whips, wore them down with crushing labor, and forced them to build the cities as supply centers for the king.
Slave versus servant
The Webster\’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines the word slave as:
n.) A person who is held in bondage to another; one who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who is held as personal property; one who has no freedom of action, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another.
Let’s understand the word “slave” used by the Apostles and others in the Bible:
The Greek word for slave is Doulos and can mean slave, bondman or servant and is a metaphor for one who gives himself up to another\’s will and is devoted to another with disregard of one\’s own interests. Another way to look at it is this individual’s service is used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among men.
The Hebrew word for slave is “ebed\” but the English Bible renders it \”servant\” where the word is used figuratively, pious men being \”servants of the Lord\” (Isaiah 20:3), and courtiers \”servants of the king\” (Jeremiah 37:2); and in passages which refer to Hebrew bondmen, whose condition is far above that of slavery (Exodus 21: 2-7). Where real slaves are referred to, the English versions generally use \”bondman\” for \”\’ebed.\”
On one hand, the word “slave” may conjure feelings of fear, anger, hate, and hopelessness, however now you are learning of an alternative meaning. Some of the Apostle Paul\’s letters (Romans 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Titus 1:1) begin by referring to himself as a slave of Christ Jesus.
James (James 1:1) and Jude (Jude 1:1), half-brothers of Jesus, both refer to themselves as Christ\’s slaves, and the Apostle Peter called himself a \”slave and apostle of Jesus Christ\” (2 Peter 1:1). Mary said of herself “I am the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38) after the angel of the Lord told her she would become pregnant with God’s Son, Jesus.
Even Jesus Christ was a servant to God, His Father, as wonderfully described by the Prophet Isaiah:
But the Lord was pleased with this humble servant who suffered such pain. Even after giving himself as an offering for sin, he will see his descendants and enjoy a long life. He will succeed in doing what the Lord wanted. After his suffering he will see the light, and he will be satisfied with what he experienced.
The Lord says, “My servant, who always does what is right, will make his people right with me; he will take away their sins. For this reason, I will treat him as one of my great people. I will give him the rewards of one who wins in battle, and he will share them with his powerful ones. I will do this because he gave his life for the people. He was considered a criminal, but the truth is he carried away the sins of many. Now he will stand before me and speak for those who have sinned.” (Isaiah 53:10-12) ERV
I don’t know about you, but I see a great disconnect when comparing what it is like to be a slave and a servant. One is of deep despair and hopelessness, and the other is filled with joy and hope.
Many prominent men of the Old Testament were referred to as servants. God spoke of Abraham as His servant (Genesis 26:24; Numbers 12:7). Joshua is called the servant of the Lord (Joshua 24:29), as are David (2 Samuel 7:5) and Isaiah (Isaiah 20:3). In all of these instances, the term servant carries the idea of humble nobility. Being God’s servant is an honorable position.
If you’ll remember in my series last month “Jesus My Lord” we found out that God’s Word tells us; “You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears. 1 Corinthians 7:23 (TLB)
The Apostle Paul goes on to tell us, “And now you are free from your old master, sin; and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.” Romans 6:18 (TLB)
Being a Servant to Your Lord
As Christians we now belong to Jesus and have become slaves of His righteousness. The Cross became our “Emancipation Proclamation” breaking the bonds of slavery from Satan who was our old Southern plantation owner or our Egyptian King.
The first thing we need to do is begin by understanding what it means to be a bondman/bondwoman, manservant/maidservant or just plain slave to your Lord Jesus Christ.
We’ll need to do some research in God’s Word to enlighten our understanding. Let’s begin in the Book of Exodus and the 20th Chapter. Here we find God giving Moses the Ten Commandments, “The Law” for the people of Israel to follow. In Chapter 21, in the first verse, God tells Moses “These are the laws you are to set before them.” Remarkably the first law God shares with Moses is the “Law concerning Slaves.” God goes on to instruct Moses.
If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve only six years and be freed in the seventh year, and need pay nothing to regain his freedom.
If he sold himself as a slave before he married, then if he married afterwards, only he shall be freed; but if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife shall be freed with him at the same time.
But if his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they have sons or daughters, the wife and children shall still belong to the master, and he shall go out by himself free. Exodus 21:2-4 (TLB)
There are a number of interesting points we need to take a look at:
- The person is selling himself into slavery; he’s not being sold into slavery by someone else. The reason for this practice was usually debt owed to someone.
- Slavery to another human was not meant to be permanent. It was to last only six years.
- If the person was single after six years he could leave single. If he was married before he could leave with his wife.
- But, if he married and had children while being a slave, after six years he couldn’t leave with them. They belonged to his master who bought him when he was single.
- The freed slave had two options. He could walk away leaving his wife and children behind, or he could do what is instructed in verse 5-6
But if the slave declares that he loves his master, his wife, and his children and does not want to be set free, then his master shall take him to the place of worship. There he is to make him stand against the door or the doorpost and put a hole through his ear. Then he will be his slave for life.” Exodus 21:5-6 (GNT)
Here we are beginning to get to the true meaning of becoming a bondservant. If the freed slave chooses by his own freewill to remain a slave and not go free, his master will bring him before the place of worship and he will publicly (for all to see) have his ear pierced as a mark that he will be a slave forever to his new master.
The man decided to become a slave/bondservant/servant for life because he loved his master. Listen to the similarity in what Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:13;
It is the same with you. You heard the true message, the Good News about the way God saves you. When you heard that Good News, you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he promised. (ERV)
The Mark of the Holy Spirit
Like the slave who was marked for life with a hole in his ear, by declaring your faith in Jesus Christ and becoming a Christian, God has placed a special mark on you because of your decision. God has placed that mark inside of you, and that mark is God’s Holy Spirit.
The closer you learn to live your life through Jesus the special mark that God placed inside of you will show through you for all to see, as if you had a hole in your ear.
Understand Your True Priorities
Let’s apply what we’ve learned about becoming a slave to the husbands reading this and that includes me. I’m talking to the husbands who have given their lives to their new master, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a key step in Living Your Life through Jesus. Notice the priority in which the slave declares his loyalties after he makes his decision.
- I love my master!
- I love my wife!
- I love my children!
- I’ll love working as a slave forever.
All too often we men and yes women (you can exchange the word wife for husband) get our priorities mixed up. We get them reversed and list them in the order that the worldly influences on us would have us list them.
- I love my work, toys, hobbies, money and all the things this world has to offer!
- I love my wife/husband!
- I love my children!
- Oh yea, I love my master (Jesus Christ)!
Does that sound like you? You’re not alone and this has become all too common in the life of many Christians. The world we live in, which we already know is run by Satan, wouldn’t want you to list your priorities any other way. Here lies the simple problem; you’re continuing to hang onto your old master Satan. It’s time to ask yourself why?
Listen to what the Apostle Paul said to the Romans;
“Surely you know that you become the slaves of whatever you give yourselves to. Anything or anyone you follow will be your master. You can follow sin, or you can obey God. Following sin brings spiritual death, but obeying God makes you right with him. In the past you were slaves to sin—sin controlled you. But thank God, you fully obeyed what you were taught. You were made free from sin, and now you are slaves to what is right.” Romans 6:16-18 (ERV)
Whose Slave Are You?
Understand there is no way you can serve and please God if Satan is still your master. Satan will whisper in your ear that now that you’re saved and guaranteed a place in heaven you can do anything you want. Why? Because God has already forgiven you and He won’t take that forgiveness back.
Why would Satan do that? Well he’s already lost you as one of his children so you won’t be joining him in hell for all eternity like he wanted. That being the case he will now along with his evil minions work 24/7 to destroy your reputation and testimony as a Christian.
Why should that be important to you? Listen to what the Word of God tells us we are to do as Christians.
Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends! 2 Corinthians 5:20 (GNT)
How can you be God’s ambassador on this earth if you’re viewed no differently than the unsaved of this world? If you don’t start walking in the opposite direction as the rest of the unsaved world what good are you to God?
It’s Satan desire that you just blend in and not make waves with the rest of the lost in the world, even now that you’re saved. Is that really how you want to serve God after all He’s done for you?
Join me next month as I continue to explore what it truly means to be a Slave for Christ. This is the foundation for taking the Next Step – Living Your Life Through Jesus.
Until next month, my friend, may His mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
