Slavery

Slavery, as we all know, is a bad thing. Everything from working day in and day out ("slaving away") to being kidnapped and owned is a bad thing. We all agree. And yet ...

Paul liked to refer to himself as a "bondslave." The word is doulos. He addressed epistles to Rome, Philippi, and Titus with the descriptive term for himself. Further, in his epistle to the church at Corinth he referred to himself as hupēretēs (1 Cor 4:1). I know ... doesn't much to you and me, but in Paul's day the term was literally an "under-rower" referring to the lowest level of oarsman on a the standard Roman war galley, the trireme. It was the oarsmen on the bottom level -- the lowest of slaves. Due to our modern sensibilities, most translations aim for "servant," but "slave" is the real intent here.

Was Paul being unreasonable? Not when you consider the other facts of the case. Jesus is constantly referred to as "Lord." He is called "the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Tim 6:15). The name is written on His thigh in Revelation (Rev 19:16). "Lord" requires submission. Beyond that, Scripture says, "You were bought with a price" (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23). Peter refers to God as "the Master who bought them" (2 Peter 2:1). We all know we've "been redeemed." What does that mean? It means that Christ paid the price for us, literally "bought us up" (Gal 3:13). If you are a believer, you are bought and paid for, purchased by the Lord of lords.

"I don't like slavery" is a fairly universal response, especially for us. Slavery, in human terms, is bad. However, it's not the same thing in God's terms. Scripture is clear; we're all slaves. Some are slaves to sin and some to righteousness. Some are slaves to the god of this world and some to Jesus. But we're all slaves. We are not our own. The sooner we figure that out, the sooner we can get on with serving the Master who bought us.