Slave
13th July 2013
The first words of Paul's letter to the church at Rome, according to the NIV and several other translations, are:
Romans 1v1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God
Paul starts his letter by saying that he is a doulos - a slave - of Jesus Christ. Many modern translations translate doulos as "servant" but that's not what it means - it means "slave". Paul is saying that he is owned by Jesus Christ. And so is every Christian; Paul tells the Christians at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 6v19b-20a
You are not your own;
you were bought at a price.
We were once slaves to sin (Romans 6v6,16,17,20) but we've been bought out of slavery by the blood of Jesus Christ. He bought us to be His friends (John 15v15) and God's children (Romans 8v16, Galatians 3v26) but He also bought us to be His slaves.
When we become Christians / are born again / come to faith / are converted, everything changes for us. Believing the Good News changes our spiritual state. It changes how we think. It changes what we want. It changes our eternal destiny. And it even changes who we belong to.
Some Christians are more comfortable with the idea of merely being servants of Jesus Christ, as if we don't owe Him everything we have. They like the idea of worshipping Jesus when they feel like it, serving Him when it's convenient, lending Him a hand when we're in the mood to do so. But we're the property of Jesus Christ.
I'm really glad that I'm the property of Jesus Christ! I'm just disappointed that I let my Owner down by my behaviour sometimes. Frankly, I'm amazed that he wants to own me. But I'm so relieved that He does. I don't want to make the big decisions in my life - I want Him to make them. I don't want to rely on my wisdom and my strength - I want to rely on His.
And Paul says he was called by God to be an apostle. To use an old-fashioned word, it was his vocation. It's a terrible thing to be a church leader whom God has not called to the role. How can we lead God's people unless God chooses and equips us to do so? I've had the immense privilege of a Bible College education, but that doesn't make me a church leader. The call of God makes me a church leader.
And God has a role in life for every one of us, not just our leaders. There is a job, a lifestyle that God wants you to lead. If the way you earn your living is the way God wants you to earn it, then it's your vocation. It's not just a job! It's how God wants you to spend 8 hours of every working day. It's a high calling to work in the place God wants you to work.
It's disobedience to choose a job (or a house or a church or anything else) without praying about it, and asking God if He wants us to have it. And, since choosing anything that God wants us not to have moves us out of God's best for us, we're crazy if we make any significant decision without asking Him first.
I want the best life I can have. And I'm sure you do, too. And, if we trust God, we know that the best life we can have is the one He chooses for us.
I'm so glad that Paul obeyed God and became an apostle. It's hard to imagine what the world would be like if he'd refused.
And, if we're living in God's will, it's hard to imagine how bad things could get if we were to move out of it.
And if we're living outside God's will, it's hard to imagine how wonderful things could be if we were to repent and obey our Lord.
In verse 6, Paul writes:
Romans 1v6
And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
We're not just called to believe. We're called to repent. We're called to follow. We're called to obey. And we're called to belong to Jesus Christ.
Verse 7 says:
Romans 1v7
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints
If I understand the Greek here, Paul's not just saying we're called to be saints; he's saying we already are saints. He's saying that, if you're a Christian, then you're loved by God, you're called by God, and you're a saint. You've been set apart for God, holy and precious in His sight. You're a slave of very great value.