Voluntary Slavery Series

In the early days of Israel if a man got into debt and could not repay he was not sent to prison, but

was allowed to become the slave of his creditor. But it was not to be a permanent situation. When

the 7th year came he would be liberated and be free to be his own master again, and begin to rebuild

his life. Some of these free men would soon find that their chances of making it on their own was

near impossible. They had no future as a free man, and if they liked their master and felt well treated

by them they could go back to him and volunteer to stay as his slave. The master would then take

him to the tabernacle where the priest would bore a hole in his ear lobe as a sign that he was the

slave of his master.

Here was slavery that was not the result of war, or even debt, but a voluntary slavery by choice

because it was the best option available at the time. This might seem crazy to give up your freedom

to be a slave, but it is not a lot different that what we have today. Unemployed people have the

freedom to stay at home, watch T. V. and go for walks and shop whenever they please, but this can

only last for so long. So they go around looking for a place where they can give up this freedom and

volunteer to be a slave for 8 hours a day for the sake of a paycheck. We use different terms, but the

end result is not all that different. We just get a number today instead of the hole in the ear. It is not

all that bad to be a slave to some degree for the sake of the benefits.

Paul was happy to be a slave to his Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. The first thing he says in this

letter to identify himself is that he is a servant of Jesus Christ. The word for servant is doulos, which

is the word for slaves all through the New Testament. It is one of the paradoxes of the Christian life

that the way to the top is to be a servant. There is no greater title than that of being a servant, and

that is why Paul even puts it before his office as an Apostle. He does it again in his letter to the

Philippians and his letter to Titus. The top of the totem pole is not chief, captain, kings, or President,

but servant or slave of Jesus Christ.

Jesus established this value system when he said in Matt. 20:26-27, "..whoever wants to become

great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave." Mark

10:43-45 repeats it with this added slant, "..whoever wants to become great among you must be your

servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to

be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

In the Old Testament in Isa. 52:13 God calls the coming Messiah, "My Servant." Jesus

establishes the way by which Christian status will be determined. It will not be by in heritance or by

riches or by honor or by power or by any of the methods that the world determines status. The

Christian status symbol is a towel that symbolizes the Head of the church wiping the feet of His

disciples. The Head serving the feet is the way Jesus wants us to see true greatness. The more needs

a Christian meets in others the greater the status of that Christian. That is why Paul is proud to wear

the title of slave of Jesus Christ, for his greatest joy is to sever the Head of the church by serving the

church which is his body.

Paul knew the teaching of his Lord that the servant is the greatest of all and that the servant will

be the one greatly rewarded in eternity. Jesus used this same word for slave in Matt. 25:21 where he

said, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you

in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness." If you want the best that heaven

can offer, do not seek to be a king or a noble, but strive to be a servant, for these are the people most

pleasing to the Master of all.

The final use of this word doulos is in Rev. 22:6 where we read that God, "..sent his angel to

show his servants the things that must soon take place." There is no higher honor than to be a servant