We Are Slaves

(17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants (slaves, doulos) of sin,

You were. Now I know I’m about to really get deep here, so bear with me. What does the word “were” mean? Is that past tense or present tense? Past tense. You were the slaves of sin. You were the slaves of sin. Okay, Bro. Barry, if I was the slave of sin, then why does verse 16 say “to whom you yield yourselves slaves to obey his slave you are”? It’s because we are now born again, because we now have the life of God living inside of us, slavery, for us, is a choice.

If we do not choose to be a slave to righteousness, by default what are we doing? We are choosing to be a slave to sin. By default. That’s why I say we are slaves – born into it, living in it, and we’re going to die in it because we’re going be someone’s slave. Either we’re going to be a slave to sin or we going be a slave to righteousness.

Verse 17 again.

But God be thanked, that ye were the servants (slaves, doulos) of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

(18) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants (slaves, doulos) of righteousness.

Now when you think about slavery in the Bible, it has no similarities of what we have seen in this country’s history. None whatsoever.

In fact, when a person was a slave in Hebrew culture, he could only be a slave for six years and then he was made free on the 7th year.

The thing I found interesting and you can read this in Exodus 21 is a person who went into slavery with his family, when he was freed the 7th year, he and his family left the slavery. If the man went into slavery and married, then the 7th year he was freed but his wife and his children were not because they belonged to the master. So what would the husband do who was set free the 7th year? He went back to his master and said I love my wife, I love my children and I’m going to serve you because I want to be with my family. The man became a voluntary slave because of his love for his family and his master. Are you following me?

Another difference was that slaves had rights and protections under the law Moses and we also see this in Exodus 21, in verse 20. You couldn’t do anything to a slave. You couldn’t mistreat a slave. You couldn’t abuse a slave.

It was also possible for slaves to attain positions of power and honor and we see this in Genesis 24 and Genesis 41.

So to try to analogize American slavery with what we read in scripture – it cannot be done. But so often, because we hear the word slave, automatically we bring into the reading of scripture what we know rather than what the book says.

Now turn with me to first Corinthians 6. A slave has to obey the master. He or she has no choice. In the Church, we think that when it comes to what Jesus says, what the Bible says, we have a choice. No we don’t.

First Corinthian 6. We’re going to read verses 19 and 20.

(19)“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?