Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. 1:1-7
" FREEDOM!!", yelled William Wallace as he was about to be martyred in Braveheart. "God Bless America" we sing in the 7th inning on Sundays and on the 4th of July and we are warmed inside as we think about the freedom we attained from the evil Brits. As a British Comedian said on our cruise last year, "Congratulations on being free from our taxation ... how is that working out for you?" The fact is, we can never be free. The Bible says that we are either slaves to Satan (who is just as happy if we are slaves to ourselves) or slaves to God. Look at the wording in this passage. Paul is a servant who by someone else's plan was set apart for a job he didn't pick. He now belongs to that Master and must be obedient to that Lord. Not only that but there is nothing special about him, he is just one of many who are identified as "His holy people".
What is freedom? We tend to think of it as autonomy - no rules - no one telling us what to do. Freedom actually is not the absence of rules but rather living under the right set of rules. What would a pick up basketball game be without rules? Chaos and no fun! What would Black Friday look like without rules? Dangerous!! A fish is free in the lake but if he leaves the water to live on the land, free from his restrictions, he dies.
I can't rule out freedom to choose here. There is freedom to make a choice. On one hand, you can continue to be a slave to your own desires or you can be slaves to Christ - it is your choice. Paul, in some versions refers to himself as a "bond-servant". The OT talks about this as a slave who was given his freedom but instead chooses to remain with his master for life. Why would anyone do this? Probably because they had a good master who was kind, took care of their needs, kept them safe and warm, allowed them to have a family, in fact everything except gradually working their way into the job of master.
You see, this is your problem... this is my problem. On one hand I want to be a bond servant of Christ. I know He is Good. I know He is loving. I know He will meet all my needs. I know He has put me in with a bunch of wonderful fellow servants. YET.. I want to call my own shots. I don't want to be told what to do. I want to stand out. I want the ability to say "No, Lord". And this is my sin nature I fight with daily. Just think what a difference you and I could make for God's kingdom if we would finally totally surrender to His Lordship...
Lord, help me today to realize that submitting to You is so much better than following my own way. Help me die to myself and my pride. Thank you for how much you love me and that You have my best interests in mind and know what is best for me better than I do!
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