Coty Pinckney [The July 31 sermon spoke of the paradox of true freedom resulting from slavery to God. The following is edited and shortened from a sermon on that topic preached March 3, 2019, as part of a series entitled Contradictions? How Delving Into Challenging Topics Unlocks the Riches of God’s Revelation. You can listen to that 2019 sermon via this link – Coty]
“Live as free people,
but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;
live as God’s slaves.”
(1 Peter 2:16 NIV)
Peter commands us to live as free people – yet also to live as God’s slaves. How can anyone fulfill both commands? If I’m free, surely I’m not anyone’s slave. Right?
Wrong. Scripture clearly teaches that we are free in Christ and we are slaves to Him. The Apostles Peter and Paul as well as Jesus Himself intentionally draw our attention to this paradox.
Understanding how to live out both commands Is key to living the Christian life. In order to do this, we must modify our understanding of freedom as well as our understanding of slavery.
For many people today – particularly those of us who grew up in this country – freedom means “having no constraints:”
- No one is telling you what to do, or what not to do
- No one is controlling you
- No one is forcing you to do one act or another
That conception of freedom is the opposite of slavery. For if I am a slave, I am constrained by the commands of my master. The master tells me what to do and what not to do. The master can force me to do one act or another. Under those definitions, it is impossible to “live as free men” and to “live as God’s slaves.”
But the biblical definitions of both freedom and slavery differ markedly from those modern American understandings. Indeed, biblically the only way to find true freedom is to be God’s slave.
We’ll address this issue under three headings:
- What is Freedom in Scripture?
- What is Slavery in Scripture?
- The Glorious Freedom of the Children of God
Our goal: That we might joyfully live as God’s biblical slaves, and so live in biblical freedom.
What is Freedom in Scripture?
As we’ve said, most Americans today think of “freedom” as the absence of constraints. Furthermore, we think being without constraints is inherently good and desirable.
But consider: Is being unconstrained good for us? Is it even possible for us?
Everyone acknowledges that there must be some constraints on some people. Three-year-olds can’t be allowed to do whatever they might like. And we must have laws and institutions that constrain us in order to protect us from those that might like to harm us.
Even so – we today often think of these constraints as necessary limits on freedom rather than part of the definition of freedom. Thus, many Americans would say: “Yes, being without constraint is good and desirable, with the exception of young children, those with certain mental disorders, and those who, without constraint, will harm themselves or others.”
Biblical freedom, however, is not related to our being unconstrained in that sense. Think of Jesus’ statement in John 8:31-32: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” That statement makes no sense if we think of “free” as “unconstrained.” Rather, Jesus says that knowing, following, and delighting in His words day after day leads to our knowing the truth, and knowing that truth sets us free.
Let’s consider a few additional Scriptures to help us understand the concept, beginning with Romans 8:18-21. The Apostle Paul writes:
“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (ESV – the NIV renders that last phrase, “the glorious freedom of the children of God”)
Paul says: For those in Jesus, there is a glory coming. We will be shown to be the heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. We will be perfected, like Jesus. No longer will we be part of this creation which, after the Fall, was subject to futility. We will no longer grow old; we will no longer be sinful; we will no longer face temptation. We will have the glorious freedom of the children of God. We will fully know the truth and thus be fully free.
Other Scriptures give a picture of what someone with that type of freedom looks like.
“I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!” Psalm 119:32 ESV
Or NET: “I run along the path of your commands, for you enable me to do so.”
Do you hear freedom in this verse? We are free to follow God’s commands with joy and delight.
In December 1984, we returned to the US after three years living in Kenya at over 5000’ elevation. Twenty-eight years old, having trained and competed at altitude – and on hilly terrain – for those years, I was in excellent condition. We spent one night in Amsterdam during our return journey. That morning, I got up before dawn and ran along the canals. It felt so easy! I tested myself, running faster and faster – it seemed I could not even make myself breathe hard. I felt I could run and never grow weary.
Psalm 119:32 is talking about that type of freedom – a freedom that makes it easy to follow His commands. This type of freedom is not so much characterized by lack of constraints as by potential, power, the ability to become something beautiful.
Note four aspects of this biblical freedom that John Piper helpfully brings out:
- The desire to follow Jesus’ commands
- The ability to do so
- The opportunity to do so
- The understanding that these commands are for our good.
Apply these four aspects to Jesus’ statement in John 8:
- Abiding in Jesus’ words gives us the desire to follow them.
- The power of His words as well as the miracle of the new birth gives us the ability to do so.
- Every moment of every day we have the opportunity to follow His Word, His commands
- His word, His commands are always for our good.
Or think of Psalm 1:1-3 in this regard:
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
The blessed man avoids what will be to his harm; he delights in the Law that tells him who God is, who man is, how to be reconciled to Him, and how to live a life to His glory. In this way, he has freedom: He is always sustained, always productive, always fulfilling his potential, always becoming what his Creator intends Him to be. Thus this blessed man is free to have joy! He is free to love God and man! He is free to have peace with God – and peace with man as far as it depends on him.
This is biblical freedom – not the absence of constraints, but becoming a joyful, fulfilled follower of our Creator through Jesus.
What is Slavery in Scripture?
When we hear the word “slavery” in this country we understandably think of the millions of Africans who were kidnapped, carried in chains across the Atlantic, then sold into a slavery that was based on a myth of Africans as sub-human – an inferior race whose right place was to serve the superior race. And these attitudes continued to characterize many individuals and institutions in this country well after the horrible war that led to the ending of such slavery.
That type of slavery, American slavery, is inherently evil, inherently wrong.
Slavery in New Testament times was quite different.
If we are to understand this topic in Scripture, we must distinguish among three uses of the word “slavery:” American slavery, first century Roman slavery, and the way the word is used in Scripture.
First century Roman slavery was not based on race; it was not lifelong, as people moved in and out of slavery; and it was not based on a myth that masters were superior to slaves. People often became slaves because they could not repay a debt. They could choose to sell themselves into slavery and – over time – earn their freedom. In a way, first century Roman slavery was a substitute for our modern institution of bankruptcy.
Now: even in Roman times, a bad master could make his slaves’ lives miserable. Furthermore, slaves could not just quit and walk away. Nevertheless, it’s clear that this institution was quite different from American slavery, and was not in and of itself evil.
How is the word “slavery” used in Scripture?
Note first that it is very common. Searching the Greek New Testament and the Greek translation of the Old Testament for the words that mean “slave,” “slavery,” and “serve as a slave” yields more than 700 verses! Sometimes the word refers to a first century slave, such as Onesimus, the subject of Paul’s letter to Philemon; similarly, Jesus speaks of such slaves in several parables. Sometimes the word refers to the way a son should act towards a good father, or the way a citizen should act towards a good king, or the way a friend should act toward a good friend, or the way a woman desires to act toward a good man she hopes to marry.
Most modern English translations render the majority of these cases with “servant” language. For example, Ruth tells Boaz, “Spread your wings over your servant” (Ruth 3:9). The Greek translation of the Old Testament renders that “your slave.”
This word group is also commonly used to refer to the relationship of humans to gods – whether to false gods (the Canaanites slave for Baal), or the true God.
So unlike the American institution of slavery, neither first century slavery nor slavery in Scripture is evil in and of itself. First century slavery and slavery in Scripture are good, neutral, or evil depending on the master. To slave for a bad master, or a false god, is terrible. To slave for a good master (or a good friend or a good father or a good man you want to marry) is good. Most of all, to slave for a gracious and loving God is the way to true joy.
This brings us to the issue of authority. Some Americans – particularly those of us who grew up in 1960s – think of authority itself as something problematic. That’s not at all biblical. We need authority in our lives – whether as children or adults. We rightly want to avoid bad authorities; but we should delight to serve good, wise authorities.
Let’s deepen our understanding of the biblical conception of slavery through considering the figurative use of “slavery” in Scripture. The New Testament speaks negatively of our being slaves to sin, and positively of our being slaves to righteousness. To be enslaved to sin is to have wrong desires as our master. Yet the Apostle Paul speaks positively about slavery to fellow Christians: “Through love slave for one another” (Galatians 5:13, literal).
To understand how slaving for one another is positive, let’s consider the example of Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Upon becoming king, Rehoboam seeks advice from his father’s counselors. What type of king should he be? They say, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them … then they will be your servants forever” (1 Kings 12:7 ESV). The Greek translation of the Old Testament uses “slave” language: “if you will be enslaved to the people, they will be enslaved to you.”
Rehoboam rejects this advice, and the northern ten tribes rebel against his rule; the kingdom is never again united. Rehoboam should have slaved for the people.
But then King Jesus does what Rehoboam did not. He becomes a slave to His people (Philippians 2:7), enslaving Himself in love. Not in the sense that He obeys us! But He gave up His majesty, He suffered, He died to give us what we needed most: Freedom from slavery to sin, freedom from slavery to wrong desires, freedom from slavery to Satan.
So now let’s return to Galatians 5:13: “In love slave for one another.” Paul is saying: Do for other people what Jesus did for us. That doesn’t mean do whatever they ask. We are not enthralled to the whims and desires of others. But secure in God’s love, confident in His sovereign provision, we can deny ourselves, love others, and serve them.
Do you see biblical freedom here? We are free to love, free to be like Jesus! Because in Jesus, united to Him, we need nothing, just as Jesus had everything He needed in the Father.
So as Jesus loved sacrificially, we too can love sacrificially
The Glorious Freedom of the Children of God
The 17th century English poet and pastor John Donne captures well the paradox of biblical freedom and slavery:
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free
We have seen: Biblical freedom is not the lack of constraints, but rather is the ability, opportunity, and desire to do what is for our good. And it is for our good to become what God made us to be: Like Jesus. So biblical slavery to God is following the only authority who will always lead us on the path to joy in Christ.
Deuteronomy 10:12-21 sums up this idea well. We are to be God’s slaves. He requires certain things of us: to fear Him, to walk in all His ways (that is, to live our lives as He tells us, showing what He is like), to love Him, to serve/slave for Him (not just with external actions but with our entire being), to obey all His commands and statutes. That is, we must acknowledge that He is our Master.
But is this negative? No! All that He commands, He commands for our good. We are privileged to be loved by Him – by the God who is the Lord of all, who is the God of justice and mercy. So it only makes sense to stifle all rebelliousness, all stubbornness, all rejection of His authority, and to hold fast to Him, to praise Him, to become like Him.
That pictures the glorious freedom of the children of God: Free to love God, free to love others:
- Truly free – because we hold fast to the one who loves us
- Truly free – because we are enslaved to the one who knows us
- Truly free – because our Master owns all things and controls all things
- Truly free – because through obedience to Him we become what He created us to be
This is the truth – the truth that can set you free.
So trust in Christ, enslave yourself to Him – and find the glorious freedom of the children of God.