I have a new Master

We're going to have our Bible reading now,

so if you want to open your devices, your Bibles,

whatever you've brought with you,

we're going to look at Romans 6, starting at verse 15.

Romans 6, verse 15.

Romans 6:15

What then?

Are we to sin because we are not under the law,

but under grace?

By no means.

Do not know that if you present yourselves to anyone

as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey.

Either of sin, which leads to death,

or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.

But thanks be to God that you, who were once slaves of sin,

have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching

to which you were committed.

And, having been set free from sin,

have become slaves of righteousness.

I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations.

For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity

and to lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness,

so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,

leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin,

you were free in regard to righteousness.

But what fruit were you getting at that time,

from the things of which you were now ashamed?

For the end of those things is death.

But now that you have been set free from sin

and have become slaves of God,

the fruit you get leads to sanctification

and its end, eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death,

but the free gift of God is eternal life

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

Would you please pray with me briefly

as we get into God's Word?

Our Father, what we hear in this passage from you

is difficult to accept at first,

and so I pray that you might press it in to each of our hearts.

Lord, you want us to know the freedom of belonging to your Son.

So please help us understand

and help us to believe what you're saying here.

For our joy, for your glory.

I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, as we begin,

you think I'm going to do something,

I want you to do something.

Unless people's lives depend on it

or your job depends on it,

I wonder if you would get out your phone

and put it on aeroplane mode

or turn it off completely.

Go on.

Go on.

Ian, I just got a power trip listening to Ian,

so I thought,

Dave says,

put your phone on aeroplane mode

or totally off.

How many phones can I see?

Now let me give you a reason.

The reason is to give you full attention

to God's Word and being present

with God's people.

I don't want you to turn it back on

until you get into your car.

Okay.

Honesty time.

Hands up.

Who just pretended

to put it on aeroplane mode?

Okay.

Thank you, Natalie.

Thanks for the honesty.

Who's already wondering

what notifications they're missing out on?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Good honesty.

Thank you.

Now, I don't want to make a rule about this.

That's not my purpose.

I want to illustrate a point about freedom.

Freedom is often thought about,

spoken about,

as if it's having no constraints on you.

And I just put a constraint on you.

I tried to, anyway.

Freedom to have no constraints,

it's not possible.

So, when it comes to your phone,

I should probably do it, actually.

I haven't done that.

No.

There we go.

You can be free from receiving notifications

that steal your attention

so that you can be free for

giving your whole attention to being here,

being with God's people,

God's word.

Or, you can be free from

having all your attention grabbed

by being here

so that you can be free for

still engaging online

to some extent

with a notification.

It's one or the other.

You can't,

it's just not possible

to do both.

So, we often talk about freedom,

freedom from,

but we don't talk enough

about freedom for.

Let me put to you

a Tim Keller illustration

in my own words

and maybe the point

will sink in a bit better.

Say there's a man in his 60s

and he has two competing desires.

He really desires eating

all the junk food he wants

and he really desires,

he loves spending time

with his grandkids.

Now, he's got both desires

but he can't do both.

He can be free

to eat all the junk food he wants

but the wages of that

is probably going to be

a shorter life expectancy

and so he's going to miss out

on more time with his grandkids.

Or, he could be constrained by,

he wants more time

with his grandkids

and so he will be constrained

in terms of what he eats.

Freedom from, freedom for.

You can't have it both ways.

It's not how freedom works.

Or, picture driving on the road.

We could be free.

We could just abandon all the rules

and I can just drive

wherever I want on the lane.

I can go as fast as I want.

I can drive in whatever I want.

One of those Pee Wee 50 motorbike,

whatever.

Do whatever you want.

Turn whenever you want.

Don't worry about blinking,

exiting the roundabout.

Gee, it's so hard to remember

that.

Anyway, we could be free from that

if we want.

Or, we can be enslaved

to the road rules

for the freedom

for all of us

arriving home safely.

We've got a choice.

You can't have both.

Either I can be free

from giving my possessions away

for the good of others

for having an abundance

of possessions for myself.

Or, I can be free

of believing that life

consists in the abundance

of my possessions

so that I'm free

for sharing my possessions

with others.

You can't have both.

Jesus said that one

clearly, didn't he?

You can't serve God and money.

You can't.

You can be free

from RSVPing

to an event

so that you can be free

for having to see

if something better

comes along.

Or, you could be,

you could give an RSVP

ahead of time

so that you can be free

for being a person

known

who keeps their commitments

and who actually

respects you enough

to reply.

You can't do both.

Now, hopefully,

some of those illustrations,

I don't know

if it's sinking in or not,

but freedom is not just

about what you're free from.

Freedom is about

what you're free for.

Freedom is not about

being free

from all constraints.

That does not exist.

The world talks about that.

We wrestled with that

with the pandemic rules,

didn't we?

Freedom from constraints.

That idea

doesn't exist.

That's not freedom.

True freedom

is giving ourselves

to good constraints.

Life-giving constraints.

That's where you find freedom.

Freedom from,

freedom for.

Now, I'm labouring this point

because I think this is

really crucial to get

in our minds

as we come to this passage

about being set free

from sin

to be slaves

to righteousness.

Otherwise,

we're going to hear

that idea

of being slaves

to righteousness

as burdensome,

as oppressing

our freedom,

when it's actually

saying,

here's where

you'll find freedom.

So my experience

is that

unbelievers

often see

Christianity

as the choice

between giving up

your freedom

to be constrained

by religious rules.

That's not the choice.

Here's how someone,

Douglas Moo,

a commentator,

put it.

The choice

with which people

are faced

is not

should I retain

my freedom

or give it up

and submit to God.

The choice is

should I serve sin

or should I serve God?

That's the choice.

Sin or God?

Lie or truth?

So true freedom

isn't from all constraints.

That doesn't exist.

True freedom

is being constrained

by what gives you life.

Okay,

so how does this relate

to the gospel

and living out

the gospel life?

when we grasp

the gospel

that we are saved

by grace alone,

by faith alone,

simply by faith alone

in what Jesus

has already done,

I'm justified,

just as if

I've never sinned.

I'm saved

from the penalty

of death

that my sin deserves.

There is now

no condemnation.

I am at peace

with God.

That's what we've

covered in Romans.

If you grasp

this gospel,

then the question

Paul asks

is the obvious

question,

isn't it?

Chapter 6,

verse 15.

If I'm definitely

saved by grace,

if the law's

threat of punishment

for breaking the law,

that's gone.

If the law's

promise of reward,

of blessing,

is guaranteed,

what motivation

do I have

to not sin?

What motivation

is there?

The assumption

here is

that it's

God's law

that keeps us

doing the right

thing and keeps us

from doing evil.

Now, the law

can tell us

what is good

and evil,

but the assumption

here is that

it's the law

that has the power

to make us

do the right

thing and not

do the wrong

thing.

This is the

common objection

to Christianity,

especially among

Muslims today.

saved by grace,

you'll just do

whatever you want,

you'll just sin.

That can't be right.

What other

motivation could

there be

to doing the

right thing

and not doing

the wrong thing?

So instead of

just talking

in the abstract,

I want to frame

the rest of this

sermon in terms

of your

fight with sin,

your individual

motivation

to do what

God says.

So I'm going

to frame

the rest of it.

You're facing

the choice

of whether to

sin or not.

What motivation

is there,

if not law?

What does

grace motivate

us to do?

So hopefully

you've got your

Bibles open

to Romans 6.

Make sure

what I'm saying

is true.

Notice first

what Paul

doesn't say.

he doesn't

say sin

doesn't matter.

Go on

sinning,

yeah.

As if we

expected him

to say that.

I don't think

anyone expected

that to be

the answer.

He also

doesn't say,

well,

if a person

goes on

totally living

in sin,

then that

would show

that they

were never

a Christian

in the first

place.

He doesn't

say that.

Now,

that might

be true

in an

ultimate

sense.

If someone

just lives

their life

not caring

about Jesus

at all

for all

their life,

then yeah,

that statement

is true.

But if that

person is here

today,

they've stopped

listening to me

a while ago.

They don't care

about the answer

to this question.

So if you're

still listening,

that's great

news.

Or if you're

still searching

the passage,

that's great

news.

But do you

see what's

dangerous about

thinking,

I've got to

do the right

thing to

prove that

I'm still

under grace?

Do you

hear what's

wrong with

that?

It's really

going,

I'm saved

by Jesus,

but I need

a little bit

of law.

I'm saved

by grace,

but to make

sure I'm

saved by

grace,

I need a

little bit

of law

in my

life to

try and do

the right

thing.

That's not

the gospel.

The gospel

is you

only need

Jesus.

Jesus is

totally

sufficient.

It's

fighting sin,

that kind

of thinking

is fighting

sin with a

little bit

of fear.

If I just

do whatever

I want,

maybe that

will show

I'm not a

Christian and

therefore I'm

facing God's

judgment.

Notice that

it's actually

using fear

to motivate

us to do

the right

thing.

that's

not the

gospel.

We have

motivation

of love,

not fear.

We're going

to see that

in this

passage.

So how

does grace

motivate me

to fight

sin's desire?

First,

Paul gives

an instinctive

emotional response,

by no means.

May it

never be.

He could

not say

this more

quickly and

strongly.

Should we

keep on

sinning?

No.

He just

couldn't

help

himself.

It just

comes out

of him.

I think

this little

outburst

says more

than simply

no.

None of

us expect

him to

say yes.

I think

it shows

it's his

instinctive

response.

It's his

gut response.

If I

ask you a

different

question,

because husbands

and wives

have given

promises to

remain together

for the

entire life,

does that

mean that they

can treat

each other

however poorly

they want?

I saw some

shakes of the

head.

Did you have

to logically

think that

through to

come up with

an answer?

Didn't your

instinctive

response go,

no way,

that's not

right?

And then you

work out,

why was that

my instinctive

response?

Something deep

inside our

worldview of

relationships

told us

straight away,

no,

that's not

right.

That's what's

happening here

with Paul.

Shall we

keep on

sinning?

No.

The point

I'm getting

at is that

prior to

Paul's

conversion,

he would

have been

the one

asking this

question,

going,

the gospel

can't be

right,

I'm a

Pharisee.

He would

be the one

posing this

question,

but now

Paul is the

one going,

no way.

Yes,

it's all by

grace.

No,

something

fundamental

has changed

inside Paul.

this outburst,

I think,

comes from

Paul's grasp

of who he

now is

in Christ.

That's the

purpose of

this section.

Chapters 5

to 8

is all about

training us to

think of

ourselves as

in Jesus

Christ,

our Lord.

God.

So,

would you,

I want to

spend a little

bit of time

pressing in

this point

because

someone helped

me to see it

this week

and I haven't

seen it

before and

I just want

to show you.

So,

turn to

chapter 5

verse 1.

Chapter 5

verse 1.

What is this

section of

Romans about?

Chapter 5

verse 1.

See if you

can pick up

a key phrase

that keeps

repeating.

We're going

to look at

a few

different

verses.

Therefore,

since we've

been justified

by faith,

we have

peace with

God through

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Now,

look,

jump to

5 verse 11.

I'm not

going to give

context,

we're just

going to

jump.

More than

that,

we also

rejoice in

God through

our Lord

Jesus Christ

through whom

we have now

received

reconciliation.

Then jump

to chapter

5 verse

21.

So that,

as sin

reigned in

death,

grace also

might reign

through

righteousness

leading to

eternal life

through Jesus

Christ our

Lord.

Have you

got the

phrase yet?

It keeps

repeating.

Look at

6 verse 11.

This is the

first command

in Romans.

Do you know

what you should

do in response

to the

gospel?

Here's the

first command

that you

should respond.

This is how

you should

respond.

6 verse 11.

So you

also must

consider

yourselves

dead to

sin and

alive to

God in

Christ Jesus.

The first

thing we're

told to do

is to

consider

ourselves

something.

Okay,

we're not

done yet.

6 verse 23,

which we've

heard this

morning.

For the

wages of

sin is

death,

but the

free gift

of God

is eternal

life in

Christ Jesus

our Lord.

God.

Then

jump to

7.

25.

Thanks be

to God.

Who's going

to save

me from

this body

of death?

Thanks be

to God

that keeps

sinning.

Through

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord.

I won't

read the

rest of

the verse,

but thanks

be to God

through

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord.

Last

one,

8.

39.

9.

Nothing,

nor height,

nor depth,

nor anything

else in

all creation

will be

able to

separate us

from the

love of

God in

Christ

Jesus

our Lord.

Did you

pick up the

key phrase

that unites

this whole

section?

In and

through

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord.

It's

training us

to think

of ourselves

as in

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord.

We

see

ourselves

as in

him.

So how

does being

united to

Jesus

motivate us

not to

sin?

I think

Paul gives

us four

ways of

thinking

now that

we're in

Christ.

There's

more than

this.

We need

chapter 7

and chapter

8.

The fact

that we

keep on

sinning,

we need

chapter 7

to go,

that is

the normal

Christian

experience.

Sin is

still present.

Who's

going to

save us

from this

body that

just keeps

on doing

what I

don't want

to do?

So we

need to

hear more

than this

as I'm

saying.

Wait for

chapter 7

and 8.

There's

more to

the story

but this

morning we

get four

motivations,

four weapons

to fight

sin with,

with grace.

The first

one is to

see sin

as it

really is,

an

enslaving

lie.

The second

motivation is

understand what

Christ achieved

for you

when he died

and rose

again.

He didn't

just pay the

penalty of

sin,

he liberated

you from

sin's dominion

over you.

You have a

new master.

The second

weapon is

compare these

two masters

and what they

offer you

and you

will find

that you

never have

to choose

between

doing what

God wants

and what

gives you

life.

You never

have to

choose between

the two.

And I

think the

fourth

motivation

we get

in this

passage is

this

slavery

metaphor

analogy,

it's not

the full

picture.

We're only

slaves in

as much

as Jesus

Christ is,

a slave

of God.

So let's

go through

each of

these.

So first,

we need

to see

sin as

it actually

is.

It's an

enslaving

lie.

So verse

16.

verse 16.

Do you

not know

that if

you present

yourselves to

anyone as

obedient slaves,

you are slaves

of the one

whom you

obey,

either of

sin,

which leads

to death,

or of

obedience,

which leads

to righteousness.

I think we

can think of

sin like the

occasional bad

decision that

we commit,

like eating

that 11th

piece of

chocolate,

or 32nd

piece of

chocolate.

We know

we shouldn't

do it,

but we

commit it,

the

transgression.

I'm not

saying chocolate's

evil,

but Paul is

saying sin

here is not

the occasional

transgression,

but really we're

still in control.

We don't have

to have the

33rd piece

of chocolate.

That's not

how he views

sin.

He sees

sin more

like alcohol,

an alcoholic.

It's not

just the

occasional

mistake.

It's

actually

controlling

the person.

It is

affecting

every area

of their

life.

It is

damaging

everything.

They don't

have self-control.

They are

under the

control of

the alcohol.

It affects

everything.

That's how

he's

viewing

sin.

Sin is

enslaving.

sin.

I just

want to

pause at

this point

and qualify

something we've

been saying

in this

Roman series

so far.

Dave and I

have been

saying that

sin is

claiming

autonomy.

Claiming

autonomy away

from God.

God, you're

not ruling

my life.

I'm ruling

my life.

Rejecting

his rightful

rule over

us.

While that's

still an

accurate description

of sin,

do you see

that it's

not quite

the full

picture?

There's

something wrong

with that

definition or

something not

quite complete.

The idea

that we can

have autonomy

is a lie.

It's a

lie.

God is

God.

You can

try and have

autonomy,

it just

doesn't exist.

God is

still

God.

What's

actually

going on

when you

try and

rule your

own life

is you're

giving

yourself

to

enslavement

to a

lie.

You're

not

living

according

to the

truth.

It's

the

fundamental

lie

that Adam

and Eve

believed.

You can

be like

God.

No,

you

can't.

The

sadly

ironic

thing is

by claiming

self-rule

we're

selling

ourselves

to be

slaves

to sin,

to a

lie,

24-7.

Whatever

we obey,

we are

slaves of

the thing

we obey.

We can

either serve

sin or

God.

So,

first,

we fight

sin by

seeing it

for what

it is.

It's not

the occasional

transgression.

It's an

enslaving

lie.

God

to

die.

The

second

thing,

and this

is the

main

motivation

in this

passage,

understand

what

Christ's

death

and

resurrection

accomplished

for you.

Jesus

didn't

just die

and rise

again

so that

you

escaped

the

penalty

of

sin,

although

that is

wonderfully

true.

Christ's

mission

was like

a prison

break.

He

came

into the

prison

to break

us

out,

or it's

like a

military

operation

to come

in and

get the

prisoners

of war

out.

It's

like a

police

raid on

a house

with women

trapped

in human

trafficking.

It's

being

oppressed

and enslaved,

not in

control.

It's a

rescue

mission.

We

weren't

just saved

from the

penalty,

we're

saved

from the

power

of sin

over us.

In

Christ,

I have

been

liberated,

I have

a new

master.

That's

what

verse 17

and 18

is saying,

but thanks

be to

God

that you

who were

once

slaves

of sin

have

become

obedient

from the

heart

to the

standard

of teaching

to which

you were

committed,

and having

been set

free

from sin,

have

become

slaves

of

righteousness.

Let me

try and

use a few

illustrations

here.

Imagine you

get a new

job,

and at

9.15am

you get a

call from

and it

happens to

be your

previous

boss,

and there's

a sharp

voice on

the other

end of

the line,

where are

you?

The meeting

started at

9.

What would

you be

thinking in

that moment?

You're not

my boss

anymore,

I'm not

coming to

that meeting.

What?

What do you

mean you're not

coming to

that meeting?

I've got a

new job,

that's who

I am,

you have no

authority over

me, I am

not turning

up, end

call.

Isn't that

how you'd be

thinking about

yourself?

You might be

more polite

than that, I

don't know,

but you have

no authority

over me.

Or to use

the illustration

by, it's on

the back of

your bulletin,

Dr. Sinclair

Ferguson, he's

a Scottish

preacher and

writer.

So say I

became an

American citizen,

I'm speaking

as Sinclair

Ferguson now,

then out of

the blue I

have a letter

from Buckingham

Palace signed

by Elizabeth

II, or

Elizabeth R as

I believe she

signs herself,

Dear Dr.

Ferguson, I

command you to

come back and

serve in the

forces here in

the United

Kingdom.

But I've

become an

American citizen.

I can send my

little letter back

to her, and

especially if I'm

no longer a

monarchist, I'm

not sure what

we'll do here in

Australia, but

Dear Lizzie,

isn't that good?

It was so nice

having you as my

sovereign, and I

actually loved

living under your

reign, but I am

no longer under

your reign.

I am an

American.

I am no longer

under your

dominion.

You have no

authority over

me.

Now, we

might be

thinking, doesn't

the fact that I

still sin often

suggest that I'm

still under the

reign of sin?

Are we just

meant to pretend

and imagine like

sin has no power

over us when,

let's be honest,

it is a strong

force constant in

our life, isn't

it?

Are we just

pretending here?

We're not

pretending, because

the grounds of this

reality is not in

your behaviour.

It's not in your

present daily

behaviour.

That says nothing

about whether you're

slaves or not.

We'll come to that

in chapter 7.

The grounds of

being set free is

what Jesus has

already done.

He died to sin,

in him we have

died.

He's raised to

live for God, in

him we have new

master.

The ground isn't in

our experience, the

ground is what Jesus

has done for us.

This is trying to

teach us, train

yourself to think

like this.

I am free from

sin, even though I

sin so much, and I

don't want to, but I

keep doing it.

I am free, because

of what Christ has

done.

Notice the passive

voice in these few

verses.

It's not that you

committed yourself to

this new master, it's

that you were handed

over.

This was something

that was done to

you.

So it's not that the

standard of teaching

was committed to

you, it was you

were committed to

the standard of

teaching.

So you were

committed into this

new life in

Christ.

It's a passive

voice.

You didn't do it,

and that's why Paul

gives God the

credit.

Thanks be to

God.

He transferred you,

he liberated you.

When did it happen?

When you first believed

into Christ.

Now that's a, it's a

strange way of

describing becoming a

Christian.

So you have become

obedient from the

heart to the standard

of teaching.

It's a bit of a

strange way of

describing becoming a

Christian, but I like

how FF Bruce, another

commentator, puts it, so

let me share it with you.

What is this pattern of

teaching?

It's the pattern of

teaching which was

embodied in Christ

himself.

So it wasn't this list

of rules.

What were we committed

to?

Christ himself.

What he embodied,

this new way of life.

So when we first

believed we have been

brought into this new

way of life, we've

been brought into

Christ.

And being in Christ,

he is both saviour and

Lord.

Alright, if you, I'm

not sure if I've said

that clearly enough, but

feel free to come talk

to me afterwards if you're

a bit confused still on

that point.

We'll talk to each other.

Maybe even better.

Okay, first one.

See sin as an enslaving

lie.

Second motivation is

realise what Christ has

done for you.

You were liberated.

You were set free.

And then we've got a

third motivation that

grace compels us.

In your daily choices,

compare what these

masters offer you.

What fruit do you get?

And that's what verses

20 to 23 are about.

There's two masters,

sin or God,

two results from

serving them,

death or eternal life,

two methods of

rewarding, wages or

free gift.

life.

So let's compare the

pair.

Hopefully that's not a

legal catchphrase that I

just said there, but

anyway, we can scrap

that.

Back then when you were

free from God, you were

free from what God said

and you were just obeying

sin, what fruit did you

get?

Try and think back.

What fruit did you get

when you just handed

yourself over to sin's

desires?

When you were full of

impurity, envy, hatred,

lying, intentionally

causing others harm,

gossiping, slandering,

hating God, insolent,

proud, boasting,

disobedient to parents,

foolish, faithless,

heartless, ruthless.

What fruit did you get

from that?

Didn't you get shame

inside of you?

Didn't you get

destruction of

relationships around

you?

Didn't you have the

knowledge that you

deserve God's

judgment, it's coming?

What kind of fruit is

that?

What fruit does

righteousness offer?

Or to turn the

question a bit, when

is doing what God

has said made you

feel ashamed?

I can't think of

the time.

I can think of the

time when people

tried to put me to

shame.

That's very different

from, so it could be

a painful thing, but

that's very different

from feeling ashamed.

That's a different

thing.

The fruit you get

from God is honour,

peace, eternal life.

These two masters

reward you by two

very different

methods.

Sin does want to

reward you.

Sin can't wait to

give you the paycheck

at the end of the

day.

You've earned it.

Death.

Can't wait to pay us.

But your new master

only wants to give

you life as a free

gift.

He is generous.

He is gracious.

That's the only way he

relates to us.

That's his character.

So I think the

motivation we're

meant to have here is

it's not saying give

up what you really

want now so that you

get eternal life later.

It's not saying that.

It's saying why would

you want to keep doing

the things that cause

you shame?

Start enjoying the

eternal life you have

now.

I think this paragraph

boils down to a thought

so profound.

It's not my thought.

I'm indebted to John

Piper for explaining

this.

It has totally reshaped

the way I think of

obedience to God.

If God will always,

sorry, if God's will,

if his will always leads

to eternal life,

always, that's the fruit,

then I never have to

choose between doing

what God wants me to do

and what will bring me

life and joy and peace.

They're never two options.

They're the same choice.

You never, ever, ever

have to choose between

doing what will truly

satisfy you and what God

commands.

they're the same choice.

It may be a painful path

at first,

but it will lead

to no shame,

the Lord's pleasure,

eternal life.

I think we see this

principle played out

most fully when Jesus

was sweating drops of

blood in the garden of

Gethsemane and he said,

not my will that yours be

done.

And what's he saying

there?

It's a painful path.

Absolutely.

He's sweating drops of

blood.

I've never done that.

Painful.

Did he want to go to the

cross?

No.

Absolutely not.

In one sense.

But then he prayed this,

not my will but yours be

done.

His most fundamental

desire was to trust that

the Father's will would

result in life and peace

and joy.

And did it?

And honour.

Did it.

Didn't we celebrate that

it did last Sunday?

As sin claims that you

will never be satisfied

until you give in to it,

you can say,

you are lying to me.

You can't wait to pay me

in death.

I never have to choose

between submitting to

God's will and what will

actually give me joy,

everlasting joy.

They are always the same

choice.

I think that's a

profound thought.

It's a profound weapon

to fight with sin.

I think there's one final

motivation in this

passage.

It's a bit disguised.

I think it's a hint that

we need chapters 7 and 8

still to fully understand

ourselves as being in

Christ.

So in verse 19 we've got

I'm speaking in human

terms about this slavery

metaphor because of your

natural limitations.

So we're slow to

understand who we now

are in Christ.

We're slow to get the

fact that being free

from all constraints,

ruling your own life,

doesn't exist.

That there's only sin or

God as our master.

We're slow to accept that.

We need this slavery

metaphor to understand

that Jesus has liberated

us.

So we need it.

But the analogy isn't

good enough.

This breaks down here,

people.

We need to understand

this.

And I think in our modern

thinking we might go,

of course slavery is not a

good example.

That's awful.

It's dehumanising.

It's brutal.

Of course that's a not

good enough analogy.

But that's thinking about

slavery with modern eyes.

If we go back into Paul's

day in Roman times, it

really depended, and talk

to Sean if you want to know

more about this.

He's the historian here.

But hopefully he's agreeing

with me when I say this,

that it really depended on

who your master was,

whether slavery was a bad

thing or not.

You could have more

security, more honour,

more status, more

prosperity if you're a

slave in Caesar's

household than if you're

a free person.

Just another pleb.

Is there a...

Okay, great.

Good.

Good.

It's more dependent on who

your master was, whether

slavery was bad or not, back

in Paul's day.

And in biblical language,

being slaves of God, Paul is

proud of that title.

He opens every letter with

that.

I am a servant, or you could

say slave, of Christ Jesus.

There's nothing to be ashamed

of.

What greater master could you

have?