Six One Way, Half a dozen the Other

Romans 6:12-23

We have a problem.  We are slaves. You and me, in modern day America. We are slaves.  Ok, so maybe we aren’t currently slaves, but hear me out.  As part of the human condition. We are all slaves.  We don’t wear physical shackles, we haven’t been whipped or beaten. But we are slaves.  We weren’t sold, we sold out.  We sold out to sin.  And we are slaves to sin.  Humans, as disobedient and selfish creatures allow sin to be the master of our lives.  We are overrun by pride, selfishness, lust, greed, hatred, malice, vengeance, anger, and fear.  Maybe not all day every day, but often enough that sin can still claim to have authority over us, because if we aren’t choosing against sin, we have allowed sin to win.  That’s Paul’s understanding anyway. It’s pretty black and white.  Either you choose sin or you choose God. No choice is to default to choosing sin.  We, as part of humanity, are slaves to sin. 

But there is an alternative. God offers us the option of no longer being subject to sin as our master.  God offers to spare us, at no cost to us.  Free and clear with no debt to pay, God will buy us out of slavery to sin.  Hallelujah!  Freedom! 

We hear that God, as a master, offers us freedom and so we clamor for freedom. All too often, our first priority becomes freedom.  We recognize that sin enslaves and we would do anything to gain freedom.  And so we jump into the God boat, not because it’s God’s but because it’s called “freedom”.  Only the freedom God’s got in mind is not the freedom we had in mind. God sees living in obedience to God’s rules as freedom. We see that as slavery to a master with a different name.  The freedom we envisioned allowed us to do what we wanted when we wanted with whom we wanted for as long as we wanted. That’s how we define true freedom and so when we learn that God’s freedom only requires more rules, we hesitate.  Maybe it’s not worth choosing God.  After all, we aren’t actually free.

Paul presents an idea that’s pretty radical. It’s not will we serve a master or won’t we? Are you a slave or are you free?  Paul says that no matter what we serve a master and no matter what we are slaves. Either one rules or the other does. There’s no master-less middle ground.   No matter what, we serve a master and no matter what we are slaves. The choice is which master we will serve, whose slave will you be and what will you gain for it? 

That’s highly counter-cultural.  Not a great selling point for inviting people to Christ.  “Hey, did you know that without God you’re a slave to sin? But there’s good news!  With God you’re free, no not free where you get to do what you want, but free to play by God’s rules instead.”  It’s hard to pit slavery against slavery. Do you want to be a slave or do you want to be a slave?  Tough choice.  Do you want to wear shoes or shoes?  Do you want to eat food or eat food?  It hardly seems like a choice. 

So then why bother?  If you’re a slave regardless, what does it matter whose slave you are?  It matters because the masters are totally different in how they treat the slaves.  As slaves to sin, the master of sin doesn’t care if we get hurt in the process, the master of sin doesn’t care if we are healthy, or happy or whole, the master of sin only cares that sin’s purposes are served.  But God is a completely different type of master. God is the type of master that is generous, the type of master that shares with his slaves as if they were family, the type of master that gives all He has in order for the people to be blessed.  The type of master that invites the lost, the losers, and the liars to be a part of the party of the year.  It’s not a simply a choice between shoes and shoes, it’s a choice between too-small shoes that cause blisters and dig into your feet, and comfortable shoes that feel like you’re getting a massage all day.  Certainly, both are shoes, but there’s a difference. Likewise, it’s not simply a choice between food and food.  It’s a choice between rancid food that’s barely recognizable and gourmet food that melts in your mouth.  It’s the details that matter.  Just like with the masters. It’s not one master or another. It’s a selfish self-serving master or one who is loving, kind and generous. 

We may be slaves regardless, but we have the opportunity to choose our master. We have the opportunity to choose a master who will care for us and our needs over the master’s. 

AND, the pay is different.  Talk about a disparity in wages. The salary sin pays out is death.  The salary God pays is righteousness and justification which lead to eternal life.  You choose.  Different masters with different motives with different salary packages.  We may be extremely uncomfortable with the notion that we are slaves. But our reality is that we offer our obedience to something. We play by somebody’s rules. And if we aren’t choosing God’s rules, we are choosing sin’s.  And the consequence of choosing sin is death.  Not just physical death, but emotional and spiritual death, in this life and in the next. 

To choose God is to choose God’s rules.  Our obedience matters. Our actions matter.  What we do doesn’t save us, God did that when God offered to take us away from sin.  But our works do prove which master we serve. 

1)      To serve God is to put God first in our lives

2)     To serve God is to know that God is bigger than pictures or statues or symbols, the God we worship is bigger than any image we might conjure in our minds.

3)      To serve God is to use God’s name with reverence, using the power of God’s name to bless and not curse.

4)     To serve God is to allow ourselves rest to be restored, to not work tirelessly and ceaselessly under the illusion that our power is sufficient for success.

5)     To serve God is to honor our parents, not without boundaries, not without healthy relationships, but in a way that respects the role they were given in our lives.

6)     To serve God is to honor the sacredness of life, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

7)      To serve God is to be faithful and loyal and honoring of our partner.

8)     To serve God is to find satisfaction in what we have, sharing so that everyone has enough.

9)     To serve God is to be honest and humble in our communications, using our words to build up and not to tear down.

10)  To serve God is to look with gratitude on what we have, rather than allowing lust for more things and more money to consume our hearts and our spending. 

To serve God is to live with an open and generous heart.    To serve the master of righteousness is no easy task.  Easy is not our selling point.  But to serve the master of righteousness will mean reaping the sweetest harvest. 

And so the choice is ours.  Once we get over the fact that we are slaves, that we must be obedient to some set of rules, to some master, we get to choose.  Which master will it be?  Which master will you serve?