Slave: An Introduction

The Bible says that we are all slaves! Every human being, no matter who, no matter where, no matter when is a slave. Whether we are Christian or non-Christian the Bible says we are still slaves. This word is used a lot throughout the New Testament and paints an important and vivid picture of the relationship between man and the spiritual realities around him. In this new series I want to develop an understanding of our bondage in order that we might see either our precarious state apart from Christ, or the important dynamics of our relationship with him.

There are three particular ways that this concept of slavery plays out in the Scriptures. First, we are called slaves to sin. Man is born a sinner and is unable to change his position, nature, or desires. He is bound in sin and separated from God. This is his natural state, the Bible tells us.

Second, however, the Bible also paints a picture of our salvation as redemption, as freeing from slavery. Whether we view that through the lens of the Old Testament Exodus event (which I think we should), or whether we view it in terms of the first century slave market, the picture is the same. Christ comes to free us from slavery, to redeem us from captivity. Our salvation, then, is a releasing from slavery.

But, finally, it is not a boundless freedom. We are freed from slavery to sin in order that we might become slaves to God. That is the very reason for Israel’s freedom from captivity, that is the same reason for our release. Paul identifies us as slaves to righteousness, bondservatns or slaves of Christ, and the New Testament repeatedly calls Jesus our master and our King. We are slaves as Christians.

In the coming weeks we will flesh out all these realities in more detail, looking specifically at the relevant Scriptures. For the time being think, however, about your state. Think about how you identify yourself, how you identify your relationship to Jesus. Are you a slave? What would it mean for you to speak and think that way about your life? Whether you accept it or not, you are a slave. The more pressing question is who is your master.