Who Is Your Slave-Master?

October 29th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Oct 28, 2024

Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 6:15-16 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Some insist that God’s Law works to curb and control sin, but the Apostle Paul taught that Christians must be released from the power of that Law as a necessary step in destroying the reign of sin. There are others, however, who attempt to pervert the Christian’s freedom apart from Law by using God’s grace as an excuse for sinning, believing that God is no longer offended. But Paul says that even “under grace” there are responsibilities of obedience which cannot be taken lightly. Christians are not to continue in sin just because they are under grace and not under the Law. The Law holds people under the slavery of sin which leads to death; but Christ frees Christians from the Law and makes them slaves of righteousness. Hence, those Christ has set free do not sin habitually. Truth is, man’s actions have consequences, for actions reveal who our master is: sin or God. No one under grace sins habitually, for they have been freed from their pre-Christian lifestyle of slavery to sin and are now slaves of righteousness.

Now not being under Law means that sin can no longer be lord and master over a person. But being under God’s grace does not mean that one has no lord per se, having been set free from the lordship of sin. It means just the opposite, namely, that Jesus is Lord over their lives. Their conversion to Christ therefore is a transfer of loyalty from sin to godly obedience. So, when one habitually presents the members of his body (v. 13) to something or someone, they are a slave to that, whether it is to sin or to God. One’s actions tend to prove who one’s master is.

Now can true Christians fall into habitual sin and once again become slaves to it while remaining a Christian? Paul lists only two options, and both carry grave consequences. The one who claims to be a Christian, yet who continues in sinful practices, cannot truly be a Christian. They might pretend or truly believe themselves to be such, but their behavior exposes their true self. Jesus said, “Every person who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). So slavery is not a noun referring to a class of people; it’s a verb—a lifestyle. Where Christians are concerned, their slavery as a sinful lifestyle must no longer be evident in their lives. They can therefore no longer be portrayed as slaves of sin as a class of people, although they still sin. This means that folks ought not fool themselves into thinking they can be slaves of sin yet somehow be Christian.

Unbelievers might ask, “Do I have to give up my freedom in order to serve God?” Ironically, they blindly suppose that they are somehow already free! Yet they are only free to sin, being under a slave-master without realizing it. Christians, however, are never free to sin, for having been set free from sin, they have the power to not sin. Yet prior to surrendering to Christ no one has that ability. Once one believes, their obedience to Christ not only pleases God but reveals the believer as one who has the true knowledge of God. Their end is righteousness—ultimate justification in glory at the judgment seat of God. All the rest who are slaves to sin will endure eternal death—the final exclusion from God’s presence. So, human autonomy does not exist. One is either a slave to sin or to God; he is never free from a master of some kind.

Food for Thought

Who’s your master? Is it food, alcohol, new things, sex, or leisure? These are not wrong in and of themselves, but if they control you, then you are a slave to them. This would mean that you’re not a slave to Christ. True slaves of Christ don’t simply believe in His death and resurrection; they revel in worshiping Christ, strive to obey Him, longing to know Him more.