“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.” Romans 6:17
While living near Columbus, Ohio, our family learned how some of the houses in our area were part of the historical Underground Railroad, homes that offered safety and passage to slaves seeking freedom.
Seeing the houses up close and hearing the stories of the sacrifices, risks, and journeys made to reach freedom is quite moving, as is realizing the price people paid to help set people free from slavery.
In thinking of slavery, it’s often thought of as taking place in certain times of history, not directly and personally affecting us today. But it’s still a very real and relevant issue in the lives of every descendant of Adam —a universal issue affecting all of humanity.
Although there is much discussion of physical slavery that has taken place in history, spiritual slavery is often overlooked. But since the fall of Adam and Eve, all humans have been born into slavery. We are all slaves to sin, bound to it for eternity—unless we receive freedom through Jesus Christ. It’s not something we can opt out of, as some may believe.
The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
Countless people deny the truth that all of us are born enslaved to sin. In denying this truth, they reject their need for a Savior.
Many individuals living in the world today believe they are making their own choices, based on what they think is right or wrong, unaware of sin’s control over their lives.
Like Romans 6:16 explains, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”
Although humanity is born in sin with an absolute inability to resist sinning or free ourselves from being enslaved to it, Paul spells out the answer to this dilemma in Romans 5:6: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
No human enters this life sinless; only Christ Jesus, who was born fully man and fully God, was born without sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains how “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Paul describes in Romans 5:18 how sin entered the world through Adam’s disobedience and how it is washed away through Christ’s death on the cross: “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.”
Righteous living is only possible through Jesus, God’s gift of salvation, who frees us to live right. As Romans 5:19 describes, “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus proclaims that He has come to set captives free from the slavery of sin. “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
As Paul explains in Romans 6:22, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
Without Jesus, men and women are powerless to resist sin, but with Him, we are set free from its hold on us, as 2 Corinthians 3:17 explains: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
Thank you for setting us free from the slavery of sin. We receive the freedom You give us through Jesus Christ. Help us to live righteous lives for Your glory.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Tutye
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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Originally published Thursday, 25 July 2024.
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