Did you hear my last thought? Jehovah actually says, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor SERVE them.” Would it be permissible to altar our definition of sin just a little bit to bring it in line with this last thought? Wouldn’t it also be in perfect agreement with the Apostle Paul? And wouldn’t it also agree with what we know to be true in our own hearts, to say….. “A sinner is someone who cannot say ‘no’ to sin.” The sinner is someone who is a slave to sin.
This is Paul’s theme to the end of this chapter. Six times he uses the word “servant” coming from the Greek word “doulos” (doo’-los). The Bible encyclopedia says that “doulos” is a very common word with a variety of meanings, all implying a greater or less degree of on inferiority and want of freedom. It says that the most frequent usage of the word is as the equivalent of “slave.” I suppose that if we wanted to try, we might go through these verses again and point out three different degrees, or kinds, of slavery. Some references might speak of a slave with chains around his ankles and whip-scars across his back, but then other references might be to slaves with a bit more liberty, and without chains, but as someone whose scars are only healing, and who wouldn’t dare think about rebelling again. And then there are definitely others who love their master, and who would do anything that he asked without ever the thought of contradicting him. But let’s confine our thoughts to the masters of the slaves in these scriptures. When we can picture them, we can begin to grasp the kind of slaves about whom Paul is writing, and the kind of service that they perform.
And why is this important? Because it is very important that we know for certain who OUR master is. Eternity is related to our answers to today’s questions.
And my point is this: Beware of the Christian who for one reason or other tries to tell you that he was never a servant of sin. I know preachers who say they were never children of disobedience, while the Bible says that they were. We have heard them say that were never children of wrath, because before the foundation of the earth they were elect to be saved, despite what Ephesians 2 says. Election unto salvation doesn’t mean those people were not, for years, lost, wicked, unsaved, unbelievers. No one is a saint of God until they repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ – the decree of God not withstanding. As Paul has clearly taught us, we all come into this world spiritually dead – and as a result, slaves to sin.
But the service of sin is definitely WRONG. Think back to the original creation. Step by step the Lord created the universe, preparing it for living things, and filling it with living things. Then eventually, “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion…” Man, the pinnacle of creation, was made to reflect the glory and image of Jehovah. The service that he was called to perform was to bring glory to the Creator. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” But when Adam chose to rebel against the gentle, yet specific, command of God, he went from being a servant of God, to being a slave to sin. It was wrong, it was improper, it was evil, it was sinful to break the command of the Lord. Similarly, the service of sin has been evil ever since. And such were some of you; or else you still are.
Romans 6:21 reminds us that the service of sin is FRUITLESS; it is pointless, worthless and wasteful. It is an interesting fact, which stands in stark contrast to the realities of our day, that the gospel was wonderfully received by the African slaves which were brought to America. As appalling as that traffic in human flesh was, it did result in the salvation of thousands of souls. And one of the human reasons for that acceptance, was that those people actually were slaves. In many cases they were worked like animals 6 or 7 days a week, 12 or 14 hours a day. And for all their labors, they had nothing to show for it. There was no fruit in those things of which we should all now be ashamed. And thus the eternal promises of the gospel must have smelled wonderfully sweet. But our thoughts shouldn’t be confined to black skin and physical ankle-chains. The servant of sin is living just as worthless and fruitless a life. Sure, he may live in a mansion with servants of his own, but in the context of eternity, every moment of his life without Christ is a waste of very little, precious time. Remember that the people to whom Paul was writing knew exactly what it meant to be a bond slave. We can only imagine what it is. But many of those people were either slaves themselves, former slaves or slave-holders. Everyone of them knew the nature of slavery and the pointlessness of slavery – even slavery to sin.
And of course this kind of slavery is HARD as well as FRUITLESS. In the hills of Appalachia, and in hundreds of other places as well, companies arose to harvest coal, silver, gold or whatever. They invited men to work for them and promised them housing, life-long employment and all kinds of good-sounding benefits. But when the work began, those workers found that they were nothing but slaves. They were paid meager salaries. They lived in shacks owned by their employers with nothing else available. They had to buy their food from the company store, at high prices determined by the company. And in many cases, they could never save enough money to even move away. They were economic slaves, and their only escape was death. It is another very sad part of American history – both in the east and out here in the west. In exactly the same way, the slave to sin is fettered to a life just as hard and just as dead-ended.
And that’s just the point – this kind of slavery is just as FATAL – in fact even more so. “For the wages of sin is death,” verse 23. And if I might extrapolate from the end of the verse, helping us define this death, we can say that “the wages of sin is eternal death.” Again, this has been Paul’s theme for nearly the entire first six chapters of this book.
Yes, “ye were the servants of sin.” “And such were some of you.” “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves… covetous… drunkards… revilers… extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
The people to whom Paul was writing had been servants of sin, but …
As we have said a thousand times, and we will say it another thousand times if God permits…. The Lord didn’t save us simply to take us to Heaven; He didn’t redeem us in order to make us feel good. We have been saved primarily for Him – for His glory, for His service. We have been justified in order to become servants of righteousness. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
And the service of righteousness is obviously RIGHT. If something is righteous, then it has to also be right. It is the right thing to do to please the Creator. Even more than that, it is very proper to please our Saviour. And “the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.” “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.”
Also the service of the Lord is FRUITFUL. “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” The Word of God teaches that anything which you might do with a desire to serve and glorify the Lord, is considered “fruit.” And what is fruit? Fruit is nothing but a special seed-pod. And that seed came from a plant which first came from a seed. And the fruit of righteousness in us comes out of the grace of God planted in our hearts. Some of those seeds may sprout today and become a blessing you, as well as to others, tomorrow. But our service for the Lord today, in some ways produces and produces throughout eternity. For example, the Lord Jesus was teaching his disciples in Matthew 10 and He concluded with the words: “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” That takes us back to the idea of the servant or slave – who has given his live over to the Lord. “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
The service of God is a very good thing for those of us who were first slaves to sin.
Let’s play a quick “fill in the blank” game in order to make a point before I close. I’m going to read one of the verses of our scripture, but I’m going to quit before I get to the last word. Let’s pretend that you haven’t heard it or read it today. What word would you use to finish this sentence? “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto DEATH, or of obedience unto ……………………………?” Logically speaking, the opposite of “sin unto death” is “obedience unto LIFE.” But that is not Biblically or spiritually correct. Life, and particularly spiritual life, is the gift of God. Our obedience to the Lord, our service of God, our Christian living brings other kinds of blessings and echos a message of righteousness in the ears of people around us. But to those who have received Christ “to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Romans 6:16 says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto DEATH, or of obedience unto RIGHTEOUSNESS.” It is similar to the righteousness to which Jesus referred when talking to John about his baptism. “And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” Christ Jesus didn’t need salvation, but He did need to do what was right – righteousness. And we, too, need to do that which is right and righteous.
When we were the servants of sin, this obedience was impossible and against our very nature. But with regenerated hearts, and with our “old man” crucified with Christ, we have become servants of righteousness. In fact, it is our responsibility as Christians.
But the question remains: are you a servant of righteousness – a servant of God – or are you still slave to sin? When temptation comes your way, can you, by the grace of God, forbid it, or are you its slave? All that I can say is, “If you from sin are longing to be free, look to the Lamb of God.” Repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Forget about your good works, your service and your kindness to others. Fall on your face before God, begin to love and serve Christ as your Lord and Saviour.