FREE TO BE SLAVES
TITUS 1:1
A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, were excessively mischievous. The two were always getting into trouble and their parents could be assured that if any mischief occurred in their town their two young sons were in some way involved. The parents were at their wits end as to what to do about their sons’ behavior.
The mother had heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children in the past, so she asked her husband if he thought they should send the boys to speak with the clergyman. The husband said, "We might as well. We need to do something before I really lose my temper!"
The clergyman agreed to speak with the boys, but asked to see them individually. The 8-year-old went to meet with him first. The clergyman sat the boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?"
The boy made no response, so the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer, so the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face, "WHERE IS GOD?"
At that the boy bolted from the room and ran directly home slamming himself in his closet. His older brother followed him into the closet and said, "What happened?"
The younger brother replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time. God is missing and they think we did it!"
Now that I have everybody attention.
One of the central theme of the founders of this country was freedom. It was the very reason which those brave souls traveled over here on the Mayflower, freedom to worship as they saw fit. Over the years many wars have been fought in the name of freedom. One especially that comes to mind is the civil war, which was basically fought over slavery. Was it right for one man to own another, or should all men be free. Slavery of course lost out and now every man, and women in this country is said to be free, but are they??
We live in a country the places a great deal of emphasis on freedom. But what is freedom?
In our country we have the common misconception that freedom means I can do anything I want to as long as it does not hurt somebody else. Many women would use this reasoning to kill their unborn children, “It’s my body and I am free to do whatever I want with it”.
But is that what freedom really is? Prostitution is illegal, suicide in most states is illegal, it is illegal to do drugs. What many people confuse freedom for is lawlessness!!
In our country freedom mean we have certain rights, to vote, of religion, where to live and work, those are guaranteed under the law of the land. What is not guaranteed is the right to live immorally, although with the current situation in our country and with our president, freedom from morality seems to becoming the norm.
But as we will see today, none of use our truly free. God created man, He set forth certain tasks for man to carry out, therefore God is every mans master whether they acknowledge Him as such has no bearing on the fact He is Lord and Master over all in the ultimate sense.
Men like to think of themselves as being in charge of their destination, but deep down every man knows that there are forces far greater then us at work in our lives. And if you think about it we have little control over our lives. A storm could come by and take all we have away like that (SNAP!). We are not the masters of our fate or the captains of our soul, we are not free man as much as we like to think we are, we are all in the end slaves to something.
Why all this talk of freedom and slavery, let’s take a look at our passage today. Pleas turn with me to Titus chapter one verse one.
“Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,”
Here we have the opening of Paul’s letter to Titus. Paul begins by tell Titus who the letter is from, as standard practice in ancient times. He then states what He is “a bondservant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ”. Paul boldly proclaims that He is a slave to God, not a freeman, but a bondservant to God.
The Greek word here is “DOULOS”. This word basically means to “be in bondage” a “servant” a “slave”. Paul is saying in so many words that he is a slave to God, he is in bondage to God, owned by God, bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.
My brethren so should it be true with us. We should echo the words of Paul here.
I believe because of the society we live in, a society where freedom is placed at a premium, (or shall I say perceived freedom), we don’t like to thing we are to be slave to anything. To us that word, “slave” is a dirty word. How dare anyone suggest that we should place ourselves under someone as a slave, slavery is evil. Yet so few realize that we all are a slave to something.
We fail to realize that freedom for the most part is an illusion. We all came into this world without regard for our will. No one is free to refuse to be born. Not one person here choose to be born, choose the family we were born in, no one here choose the social class we born in.
Each one of us will also leave this world whether we like it not. We can bring death on quicker if we like, but no one of us can postpone it indefinitely.
There is sign in my office that states “When I go I want to go quietly, in my sleep like my grandfather, not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car.”
You see none of us are free to decide to be born, and none of us are free to decide to stay on this earth, we will all at some time go and meet our maker.
We are not really free in that we live by numerous restrictions. The limits of nature, I cannot fly for I have not wings. The limits of circumstances and resource. The reason you do not see a Porsche in front with my name on it is because I cannot afford it. We are limited by courtesy and civil law. We are not all free to race up and down the road because that law tells us we can’t and if we do we will get caught and pay the consequences.
So you see we are not as free as we think we are. We should strive not for freedom as we think of freedom, but for, as Paul write to Titus, slavery to God, for in being slaves to God, then when will be really be free.
To understand true freedom let us look at God’s word, John 8:31-36; “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ’You will be made free’?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
We see from this passage of God’s word that God’s purpose is for us to be free. God send His Son for the very purpose of setting us free.
Where people get into trouble is there faulty understanding of what freedom means. Jesus did not die on the cross that we could live without restraint and do what ever we wanted.
Jesus sets us free from sin that we can become servants of God. Jesus’ freedom is the privilege and power to become all the God’s wants us to be. True freedom is the opportunity to fulfill our purpose which is to bring glory to God in all we do, that is freedom.
When we place our trust in Jesus Christ, when we place our faith in Him to cleans us from our sins, making Him our Lord and Saviour, we become slaves to God, and with that slavery comes true freedom, Jesus said, “IF the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”.
So what is it that we are freed from when we become slaves of God. Several things. First of all we are freed from the law. Romans 7:1-4; “Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another; to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
You see that law is what condemns us to death! The law of God is what shows us what sin us, it convicts us. The law of God is what pronounces us guilty before God. If you think you are not a sinner just look at God’s law, it will tell you other wise.
But the blood of Jesus Christ as freed us from the law. We are no longer under it’s penalty. The judgement which the law pronounced upon us is removed by the Lord Jesus Christ as soon as we place our faith in Him. Praise God!
We also have freedom from sin when we become slaves to God. Again in the book of Romans, this time chapter 6:22
“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”
Also in Romans same chapter verse 6-7; “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.”
In Christ we freed from the bondage of sin to become as Paul, that is slaves of God!! What is it to be freed from sin. I means that we are free from it’s guilt.
We have all done things in the past that have brought guilt to us. We need to realize that we do not have to live in that guilt. If we have gone to God and ask forgiveness, He as forgiven us! He as freed us from that guilt.
Let us stop living in the bondage of the guilt of sin and live in the freedom of Christ. We are a new creation in Christ, we have as the passage in Rom. 6:6 tells us, “crucified the old man with Christ” that one who committed that sin is no longer alive!
We are freed from the penalty of sin. What is the penalty of sin? Romans 6:23; “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The penalty of sin is eternal separation from God, or to put it in not so nice terms HELL.
Each one of us is deserving of hell because of our sin. And the only way to free from the grip that the gates of hell has on us is through faith in Christ. You can try it another way if you would like, but God’s way is the only way. Slavery to God bring about freedom from the penalty of sin.
Roman’s 8:1-2; “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Oh what blessed freedom there is in Christ! The is no CONDEMNATION in the those who are in Christ Jesus. NO CONDEMNATION! WE are free from it when we become slaves to God. Freed from sin freed from eternal death.
Slave of God means that we will have eternal life. No longer under the bondage of death. When we have Christ as our Saviour when we are slaves to God there is no need to fear death. Its terror is gone for the Christian. Death is not the end but the beginning of a new live, a live in the presence of God.
Can you imagine seeing the glory of God? I will tell you can’t! But in heaven we will see it. I personally look forward to the day when I will behold the glory of God. Death has no grip on the Christian.
Listen to Hebrews 2:14-15; “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
The bondage of death as been broken be the one who as conquered death our Lord Jesus Christ!
So we see that true freedom is found in Christ, true freedom is found in being slaves to God. Through Christ we are as the title of this sermon states, “Free to be Slaves”. And I for one praise God that He has called be to be His bondsman, His servant, His slave.
Earlier in the sermon we saw that none of us are really free. You see each on of us serve a master. Bob Dylan once wrote a song “Who are going to Serve” Some of the lyric to that song are as follows;
“You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls. Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed. But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody, It may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
Mr. Dylan makes a very good point, we all serve somebody. No matter what our position in life, no matter where we live, what we eat, how much we have, we will serve somebody. Be it the devil or the Lord Jesus.
Every man has a master, and whether they realize it or not it is either God or Satan. You see we are all slaves, some are slaves to Satan, some are slaves to God. There is no middle ground!
Jesus stated in Matthew 6:24; "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
God also tells us in 1 John 3:8; “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
Just two sides folks, Gods or the devils. Two masters that’s it.
Let me ask you who is your master? Sure we all like to Jesus Christ. We all like to say that Jesus is my Lord. But how do we tell if Jesus really is out master or Lord. How do we really tell if we are as Paul and slaves to God.
Jesus asked this question in Luke 6:46; "But why do you call Me ’Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?”
Let me repeat that; "But why do you call Me ’Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” How can we claim to have Jesus as our Lord if we do not do the things which He says?
How can we say yes I am a servant of God, yes I am a slave of God, yet not spent time in the Word? How we claim to be a slave of God yet not pray? How can we claim to be a slave of God yet not the gospel of Jesus Christ with others?
How can we say “LORD, LORD” and not do what He says?
The answer is we can’t!
In order for us to be slaves of God, we must obey God. There must be obedience in our lives, if there is not, then we really need to examine whose side we really are one.
So in closing I call on you to examine your life, look at what you do. Can you say that you are a slave to God. You may remember from the outline last week the key phrase in Titus is “good works”. What good works do you have that show that you are indeed a servant, a slave of God.
Who is really your master? Do you claim to serve God but go about doing your own thing.
I would like every eye closed and every head bowed for a minute. I want to ask each one of you are you really free? Are you living in the freedom that is in Christ?
Perhaps you think you are free only to be controlled by maybe drugs, alcohol, maybe it is pornography? Or lust.
Examine your live. Are you really free?
I am here to tell you that Jesus wants to set you free. Free from the bondage of whatever the enemy is using.
I ask you to trust in Him today. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin, to set you free from it’s bondage. Ask Jesus into your life. Trust in Him as your Lord and Saviour, trust in His blood to make you pure. Will you just pray that prayer right now. If you have asked Jesus into your life today I need to talk with you. If you have prayed to Him this morning, please speak with me before you leave.
Those of you who claim to be servants of God, what kind of servant are you? The Bible points out two different types of servants, unprofitable one and profitable ones. Which are you? Would you make a commitment with me know to serve God as you should. Serve Him that this church may be a healthy church, that through that our homes would be godly, that we would be able to make a permanent impact in our society. Would make that commitment with me in prayer this morning.
Someone once said, “Choose your Master carefully, because you will spend eternity with them”
LET US PRAY
