THE BASIC DEFINITION OF A SLAVE IS “A PERSON WHO IS THE LEGAL PROPERTY OF ANOTHER AND IS FORCED TO OBEY THEM.” THE PREMISE OF SLAVERY IS WHEN A PERSON OR BUSINESS OWN OTHER HUMAN BEINGS, LABEL THEM AS COMMON PROPERTY AND TO FORCE THEM UNDER THE BURDEN OF UNPAID LABOR.
HISTORY OF THE WORLD RECORDS COUNTLESS STORIES WHERE GENERATION UPON GENERATION DEALT WITH ISSUES OF SLAVERY. ONE ONLY NEEDS TO GO BACK TO THE BIBLE TO SEE THAT ONE OF THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS ADDRESSED SLAVERY NEARLY 4,000 YEARS AGO.
GENESIS 15:13, “THEN THE LORD SAID TO ABRAM, ‘YOU CAN BE SURE THAT YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE STRANGERS IN A FOREIGN LAND, WHERE THEY WILL BE OPPRESSED AS SLAVES FOR 400 YEARS.’”
ACCORDING THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATE, THERE ARE STILL 167 COUNTRIES THAT OPENLY ALLOW SLAVERY. THE COMBINED TOTAL OF ALL THESE COUNTRIES ARE ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND 48 MILLION PEOPLE IN BONDAGE AROUND THE WORLD.
TODAY, ALTHOUGH THE WORD “SLAVE” IS NOT AS PREVALENT, IT IS NOW REFERRED TO AS “TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS,” AND “HUMAN TRAFFICKING.” ALTHOUGH THE TERM HAS CHANGED, ITS DEFINITION HAS EXPANDED!
HUMAN TRAFFICKING OR “MODERN SLAVERY” IS “THE ACT OF RECRUITING, HARBORING, TRANSPORTING, PROVIDING, OR OBTAINING A PERSON FOR COMPELLED LABOR OR COMMERCIAL SEX ACTS THROUGH THE USE OF FORCE, FRAUD, OR COERCION.”
THE TOP 6 COUNTRIES TRAFFICKING TODAY ARE INDIA, CHINA, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH, UZBEKISTAN, AND NORTH KOREA. THESE SIX COUNTRIES, ALONE, ACCOUNT FOR 27.7 MILLION TRAPPED IN THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING MARKET.
SLAVERY HASN’T GONE AWAY. THERE IS ANOTHER TYPE OF BATTLE WAGING IN THE WAR ON SLAVERY WHICH IS THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.
IT IS OUR BATTLE. IT IS OUR CHOICE. THERE ARE ONLY TWO CHOICES AND IT IS “ONE OR THE OTHER.” THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY “GRAY AREA” IN BETWEEN. THE CHOICE IS EITHER SLAVERY TO OUR SINFULNESS OR SLAVERY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS.
JESUS EMPHASIZED THIS WHEN HE SAID IN MATTHEW 6:24, “NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS. EITHER YOU WILL HATE THE ONE AND LOVE THE OTHER, OR YOU WILL BE DEVOTED TO THE ONE AND DESPISE THE OTHER….” WE CANNOT HAVE IT “BOTH WAYS” BY CREATING HYBRID LOYALTIES TO SUIT OURSELVES. WE CANNOT BE “SOLD OUT” TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD IF OUR HEARTS ARE DIVIDED.
MAY OUR ONLY CHOICE BE GOD. WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN NEW LIFE BY GOD. OUR BODIES ARE TO BE GIVEN TO HIM TO USE FOR PROMOTING RIGHTEOUSNESS. WE ARE TO REFUSE SIN AND INSTEAD BE WHOLLY COMMITTED TO LIVING FOR GOD. THESE ARE CHOICES WE MAKE MOMENT BY MOMENT, DAY BY DAY, CONSISTENTLY BECAUSE WE HAVE ALLOWED IT TO BECOME OUR WAY OF LIFE.
THIS IS WHY PAUL LATER WROTE IN ROMANS 12:1-2, “AND SO, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I PLEAD WITH YOU TO GIVE YOUR BODIES TO GOD BECAUSE OF ALL HE HAS DONE FOR YOU. LET THEM BE A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE—THE KIND HE WILL FIND ACCEPTABLE. THIS IS TRULY THE WAY TO WORSHIP HIM. DON’T COPY THE BEHAVIOR AND CUSTOMS OF THIS WORLD, BUT LET GOD TRANSFORM YOU INTO A NEW PERSON BY CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK. THEN YOU WILL LEARN TO KNOW GOD’S WILL FOR YOU, WHICH IS GOOD AND PLEASING AND PERFECT.”
OUR PRAYER IS THAT WE CHOOSE THE WAYS OF GOD OVER THE WORLD! THE LAST THING WE WANT TO BE IS IN SLAVERY TO THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD.
WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SLAVE. IT MEANS NO CHOICE. SLAVES DO WHAT THEIR MASTER TELLS THEM. IT MEANS NO FREEDOM. SLAVES GO WHERE THEY’RE TOLD, LIVE WE’RE THEY’RE TOLD, GET UP, GO TO BED, WORK, WHEN THEY’RE TOLD. YOU ARE OWNED, CONTROLLED, AND EXPLOITED.
SLAVERY TO SIN IS COSTLY. THE WAGES IT PAYS FOR YOUR SERVICES IS DEADLY. IT IS DEATH ITSELF! SLAVERY TO SIN WILL STRIP US OF OUR DIGNITY AS IT DEGRADES AND HUMILIATES. SIN’S DEATH DESTROYS FAMILIES, FRUSTRATES OUR ABILITY TO MAKE A LIVING, AND CRUSHES DREAMS AND CREATES DEPENDENCY AND RENDERS SOME UTTERLY HELPLESS. WE NEED FREEDOM FROM SIN!
HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS: FREEDOM FROM THE SINS THAT ENSLAVE US IS POSSIBLE AND WITHIN REACH! YOU CAN BE SET FREE BECAUSE OF JESUS! WHEN JESUS DIED ON OUR BEHALF, HE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BE FREED FROM THE BONDAGE TO ALL SINS.
WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, HIS RESURRECTION POWER GAVE US THE FREEDOM TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, TO BE FORGIVEN, TO BE RESORTED SO THAT WE CAN FOLLOW HIM AND TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT HE WANTS US TO DO.
HERE IS THE KEY: YOU MUST WANT THIS! YOU MUST DESIRE TO DO WHAT IT TAKES FOR THIS TO BE YOUR WHOLE LIFE. WE STILL HAVE TO FIGHT THE BATTLE IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT, BUT WE DO SO, KNOWING THAT THE POWER OF THE ENEMY IS BROKEN AND THE CONSTRAINTS OF OUR SINFUL BODIES HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
JESUS SETS US FREE TO FOLLOW HIM. BUT THAT FREEDOM CAN’T BE SEPARATED FROM THE COMMANDS TO LIVE A LIFE OF HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.
ALLOWING GOD TO BE OUR MASTER AND CHOOSING TO LIVE SOLD OUT TO HIM, COMPLETELY, WE WILL QUICKLY DISCOVER THAT WE ARE FULLY CAPABLE OF LIVING LIFE THE WAY GOD ORIGINALLY INTENDED.
THIS IS HOW WE DISCOVER THAT THIS NEW SLAVERY IS, IN FACT, A NEW FREEDOM BECAUSE IT PROVIDES US WITH A LIFE THAT FITS PERFECTLY WITH GOD’S PLAN FOR US FROM THE BEGINNING.
THIS NEW SLAVERY MEANS THAT WE’RE BEING MADE MORE LIKE GOD EACH DAY, BEING MADE CHRIST-LIKE, BEING PREPARED FOR ETERNAL LIFE. THIS SORT OF SLAVERY IS PERFECT FREEDOM.
SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO RESPOND TO THIS CALL TO PRESENT OURSELVES TO GOD AS SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS? ARE YOU PREPARED TO GIVE UP SOME OF YOUR SO-CALLED EARTHLY FREEDOMS IN ORDER TO BE MADE SPIRITUALLY FREE?
THERE MUST BE WITHIN OUR HEART AND SOUL A TRUE SENSE OF HUNGERING AND THIRSTING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. WE SHOULD HAVE A PASSION TO ALWAYS DO WHAT IS RIGHT.
OUR SINFUL NATURE MAY NOT ALWAYS LEAD US BEING SUCCESSFUL AND WE MAY STUMBLE AND FALL IN OUR PURSUIT OF HOLINESS. BUT THE HUNGER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ALLOWING IT TO BE OUR MASTER, WE ARE ALWAYS EMPOWERED TO GET BACK UP AGAIN, SEEK FORGIVENESS, TO KEEP GOING AND STRIVING TO DO EVEN BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE.
AS A SLAVE TO GOD, WE ARE SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS. WE ARE UNDER THE CONTROL, AUTHORITY, AND DIRECTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO HELP US LIVE A RIGHTEOUS LIFE THAT IS GOING ON TOWARDS PERFECTION…A SANCTIFIED LIFE.
THIS IS SUCH A HUGE BLESSING. THIS MEANS WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT OTHER PEOPLE DON’T. WE HAVE TRUE FREEDOM AND TRUE POWER. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO GOOD AND BE GOOD. WE HAVE THE ABILITY AND CAPABILITY OF BEING HOLY.
THAT’S EVEN MORE GOOD NEWS! THAT MEANS, WE NO LONGER HAVE TO SIN. EVEN THOUGH WE STILL HAVE A SIN NATURE, WE NO LONGER HAVE TO GIVE INTO IT. OUR FREEDOM FROM SIN MEANS THAT WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING.
1 CORINTHIANS 10:13, “THE TEMPTATIONS IN YOUR LIFE ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT OTHERS EXPERIENCE. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL. HE WILL NOT ALLOW THE TEMPTATION TO BE MORE THAN YOU CAN STAND. WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL SHOW YOU A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN ENDURE.”
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SIN. YOU ARE NO LONGER UNDER SIN’S CONTROL. YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE AUTHORITY AND POWER TO HAVE VICTORY OVER EVER SIN AND TEMPTATION THAT TRIES TO DEFEAT YOU. YOU ARE NOT A SLAVE TO SIN ANYMORE! YOU BELONG TO GOD! HE IS YOUR MASTER!
I CAME ACROSS A UNIQUE RHYME THAT SAID, "GOOD, BETTER, BEST. NEVER LET IT REST, UNTIL YOUR GOOD IS BETTER AND YOUR BETTER IS BEST." THE ADVANTAGE FOR ANYONE WHO COMMITS THEMSELVES TO GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY AS SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS, IS THAT THEY GROW TOWARDS A SANCTIFIED LIFE PLEASING TO GOD, WHERE, IN THE END IS ETERNAL LIFE WITH HIM.
THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH DEFINES “SANCTIFICATION” AS FOLLOWS: “SANCTIFICATION IS THAT SAVING WORK OF GOD BEGINNING WITH NEW LIFE IN CHRIST WHEREBY THE HOLY SPIRIT RENEWS HIS PEOPLE AFTER THE LIKENESS OF GOD, CHANGING THEM THROUGH CRISIS AND PROCESS, FROM ONE DEGREE OF GLORY TO ANOTHER, AND CONFORMING THEM TO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST.
AS BELIEVERS SURRENDER TO GOD IN FAITH AND DIE TO SELF THROUGH FULL CONSECRATION, THE HOLY SPIRIT FILLS THEM WITH LOVE AND PURIFIES THEM FROM SIN. THIS SANCTIFYING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD REMEDIES THE DIVIDED MIND, REDIRECTS THE HEART TO GOD, AND EMPOWERS BELIEVERS TO PLEASE AND SERVE GOD IN THEIR DAILY LIVES.THUS, GOD SETS HIS PEOPLE FREE TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THEIR HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE THEIR NEIGHBOR AS THEMSELVES.”
AS WE YIELD OURSELVES TO GOD, INSTEAD OF GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE, WE GO FROM BAD TO BETTER AND THEN BETTER TO BEST ! WE DRAW CLOSER TO HIM GOOD THINGS WILL START TO BUILD UPON ON EACH OTHER UNTIL WE HAVE BUILT A LIFE OF HOLINESS AND DEVOTION TO GOD.
WHEN WE PURSUE HOLINESS AND SEEK AFTER A SANCTIFIED LIFE, THE PAYMENT FOR SUCH SURRENDERED SERVICE IS THAT OUR LIVES REFLECT JESUS TO THE WORLD, IT MAKES DISCIPLES, AND BRINGS OTHERS TO SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST.
HOWEVER, IF WE CHOOSE TO STAY IN BONDAGE TO SIN AND REMAIN ITS SLAVE, WE STILL GET PAID, BUT THE PAYMENT IS OF A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CURRENCY. THE SALARY THAT WE WILL GET FOR CHOOSING THE DEVIL AS OUR MASTER ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DEATH: PAIN, MISERY, FRUSTRATION, STRESS, FEAR….AND THE LIST GOES ON. YOU GET THE IDEA.
THE FREE GIFT THAT GOD OFFERS IS ETERNAL LIFE AND THE BLESSING OF AN ETERNAL LOVING RELATIONSHIP IN HEAVEN WITH HIM. 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.”
WE DON’T LIVE FOR OURSELVES, BUT WE LIVE FOR GOD. HE IS KING, WE ARE THE SERVANTS ENSLAVED TO HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS SEEKING A SANCTIFIED LIFE. JESUS CHRIST ISN’T JUST OUR SAVIOR, HE IS OUR LORD AND OUR MASTER.
I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE YOU WITH SOME OF THE WRITING ENTITLED “DEPTH OF MERCY” BY REV. CHARLES WESLEY:
DEPTH OF MERCY! CAN THERE BE
MERCY STILL RESERVED FOR ME?
CAN MY GOD HIS WRATH FORBEAR,
ME, THE CHIEF OF SINNERS, SPARE?
I HAVE LONG WITHSTOOD HIS GRACE,
LONG PROVOKED HIM TO HIS FACE,
WOULD NOT HEARKEN TO HIS CALLS,
GRIEVED HIM BY A THOUSAND FALLS.
I MY MASTER HAVE DENIED,
I AFRESH HAVE CRUCIFIED,
AND PROFANED HIS HALLOWED NAME,
PUT HIM TO AN OPEN SHAME.
THERE FOR ME THE SAVIOR STANDS,
SHOWS HIS WOUNDS AND SPREADS HIS HANDS.
GOD IS LOVE! I KNOW, I FEEL;
JESUS WEEPS AND LOVES ME STILL.
PITY FROM THINE EYE LET FALL,
BY A LOOK MY SOUL RECALL;
NOW THE STONE TO FLESH CONVERT,
CAST A LOOK, AND BREAK MY HEART.
NOW INCLINE ME TO REPENT,
LET ME NOW MY SINS LAMENT,
NOW MY FOUL REVOLT DEPLORE,
WEEP, BELIEVE, AND SIN NO MORE.
LET US SURRENDER TO CHRIST
AND BECOME ENSLAVED TO RIGHTEOUSNESS!
