Slavery and True Liberty
May 15th, 2008
(by John MacArthur)
The following is excerpted from the new material in John’s revised edition of The Gospel According to Jesus (Zondervan, 2008).
Understood correctly, the gospel is an invitation to slavery. When we call people to faith in Christ, we need to stress that fact in the same way Jesus did. On the one hand, the gospel is a proclamation of freedom to sin’s captives and liberty to people who are broken by the bondage of sin’s power over them. On the other hand, it is a summons to a whole different kind of slavery: “Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). As the apostle Peter wrote, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God” (1 Peter 2:16).
Both sides of the equation are vital. There is a glorious freedom in being the slaves of Christ, because “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). On the other hand, being a true follower of Christ means the end of human autonomy. And that is as it should be, because self-determination turns out to be nothing more than an illusion anyway. The only kind of liberty it offers is “free[dom] in regard to righteousness” (Romans 6:20)—and that is the very essence of bondage to sin. Its inevitable end is death and destruction. If we want true liberty from sin and all its fruits, it’s not autonomy that we need, but a different kind of bondage: complete surrender to the lordship of Christ.
In other words, everyone serves some master. No one is truly independent and self-governing. We are all enslaved in one way or the other. In the words of the apostle Paul:
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-21)
No message can rightly be called the gospel if it glosses over or denies those truths. The gospel according to Jesus calls sinners to give up their independence, deny themselves, submit to an alien will, and abandon all rights in order to be owned by and controlled by the Lord. By confessing Jesus as Lord (Kurios), we automatically confess that we are His slaves (douloi).
What does this mean in practical terms? To borrow the words of Edwin Yamauchi,
It means that we have been captured, beaten, and enslaved. We discover, however, that our captor is a Despot of love and mercy. Neither is there anything slavish or servile about our slavehood, for we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but the spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15). Nor has our reduction to slavery been a debasement or an abasement. . . . We have been elevated to serve in a heavenly court and have been invested with a higher nature.
. . . [It also] reminds us of our ransom from another master at an incredible price. It was not with the fabulous sums of all the royal estates we were bought, nor was it for handsome features or some prized skill we were purchased. But rather unlovely, without any merit, rebellious at heart, we were redeemed with the precious blood of the Master Himself.
Having thus been bought by Christ we are entirely His.
There’s no other possible way to view it.
I am on page 69 of this book!! I am loving it!!
This is truly wonderful!
I do have a question on this subject of slavery.
One year in February, I was asked to speak on Black History, as it relates to Scripture, at our church each Sunday.
I though I was doing pretty well until the last Sunday in that February.
I told a story of a time when I was in a Korean owed jewelry store getting a battery replaced for my watch. I noticed a young African American male wanting to purchase a set of gold teeth to be stylish, which in my opinion was a waste of money.
I commented in my speech that I felt that the Asian merchants always seem to set up shop in the African American communities to sell these trivial products.
After Sunday service, an Asian visitor came up to me in tears because she felt that I had generalized her race, which after thinking about it, I felt that I had done just that.
I really felt ashamed and hurt because I had hurt her. I said to myself from that day on that I and my family would never again participate in any Black History programs that take place during the worship service again.
My question to Pulpit Magazine is that is it right to have Black History programs be a part of the worship service? Does Black History have anything to do with the Church of Jesus Christ?
Thanks,
Kelvin
Kelvin,
I’m not “Pulpit Magazine,” but here is one pastor’s input. Preaching on a theme such as slavery is legitimate as long as every passage we use is properly exposited from its grammatical and historical context. My recommendation (which I’m sure will be seconded by Pulpit) is to do relentless verse-by-verse exposition of Scripture. That way you are forced to deal with all subjects as they arise, and it helps keep you from hobby horses.
You stepped in something with the comment which caused the offense, and your response is appropriate. Apply Romans 12:28 to the one offended, keep preaching the word, and let God build His church His way.
Jim
Kelvin,
> Does Black History have anything to do with the Church of Jesus Christ?
About as much as “White History”, or “Asian History”, or “Jewish History”, or any cultural group history.
One question would be if you’re going to focus on Black History, when will you focus on other histories?
The reality is that in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, circumsized nor uncircumsized, etc. Therefore what is the purpose of focusing on a particular group’s history (unless that history is traceable in and relevant for understanding Scripture)?
Jim, from one pastor to another, thanks!
I am no Pastor, nor indeed an Elder, but I totally agree with Jim.
I just read an interesting article from Ligonier Ministries about ministry and it included a word about Exposition:
http://www.ligonier.org/blog/2008/05/to-the-young-pastor.html
I also did an additional read on Tim Challies’ website, whcih further confirmed Expositions strentgh in Preaching and Study.
I hope these artciles will be helpful to lay Christians and especially for those who need to approach Scripture in personal devotion, who have no training offered.
By grace through faith in Messiah
I think that I need to make something clear on my comments on yesterday. I was not preaching a sermon when the events happend that I described. I was just asked to make comments.
I’m fully aware and capable of expository preaching.
Yesterday, I just wanted to get some thoughts on the subject from Pulpit Magazine.
Thanks,
Kelvin
Kelvin,
A good shepherd equips his sheep. Occasionally that might look like a sermon showing a biblical perspective on particular issue. If you have John Piper’s “Brother’s, We are not Professionals”, find the section in there about Racism. He suggests using the MLK weekend as an opportunity to confront racism in the church. He also suggests doing the same on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade–preach a sermon on abortion.
I think the gist is that the calendar can be our friend. We can use it to equip our people. To tie this back to the article at hand, we can use the occasional sermon like that to show our people Jesus’ lordship over every aspect of the world, and over every aspect of our lives and thinking.
Jesse
Thanks Jesse, your comments are most helpful and so is this site.
Kelvin
For anyone interested in the concept of race in the church, I’d encourage you to listen to Thabiti Anyabwile’s message at T4G. Very powerful, thought-provoking, and against-the-grain. Click here for T4G audio.
Link didn’t work. Seems like the T4G website is down. Here’s the url for when it’s back up: http://www.t4g.org/08/media.
Pastor John,
I am curious how it is, with your position on the Emergent Church, that you would choose to publish anything with Zondervan.
I am truly trying to understand this. I ewnjoy, repect, and grow through your ministry and so this is not an attack on you. I just would like to understand this.
Shane