Spiritual Sabbatical (Part 3): We Are Slaves To Something

If you have not read the previous two articles please begin there:

1. Spiritual Sabbatical: Introduction

2. Spiritual Sabbatical (Part 2): What Happened on Calvary?

So how fallen are we? How bad is sin? In many ways we easily perceive 'evil' in the world. But those are other people. In some ways we are mystified as to how people do evil things. We ask questions like, "how did they become that?" "How were they raised?" "How does such evil exist in a person?" I have always said this and I will continue to do so; without God we all have murder in us, we all have perversion in us, we all have grotesque potential in us. We are all sinners and full of sinful acts, whether we realize it or not. It is the transformation of Calvary that challenges us to stand above the nature that so naturally can take over if given the proper feeding ground. It is only by Christ that we are made new and made better.

I love how R.C Sproul wrote about sin in his book, "Saved from What?" He writes, "...If people understood two things -- if they understood that God is holy and that sin is an offense against His holiness -- then they would be breaking down the doors of our churches, pleading, 'What must I do to be saved?'" (Pg. 45-46)

So how sinful are we? Colossians 1:21-22 makes it clear how sinful we are. "...And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works..." Leon Morris in his book, The Atonement: It's meaning & Significance, writes, "Now an enemy is not simply someone who falls a little short of being a good and faithful friend. He belongs in the opposite camp. He is opposed to what one is doing. Sinners are putting their effort into the opposite directions to that of God... The sin we do inevitably arouses the hostility of God." (Pg. 136-137)

In what ways does our sins violate God? As R.C. Sproul writes, "if a crime has been committed, then we have to deal with penal sanctions. If a debt has been incurred, then payment must be made. If enmity has entered a personal relationship, if the relationship has been violated, that relationship must be restored." (Pg. 49)The three ways that our sin makes us an enemy of the Lord and necessitates atonement is: 

1)Sin as a debt
2)Sin as an act of enmity
3)Sin as a crime

"'Come now, let us reason together,'
Says the Lord,
'Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

Yet Christ redeemed us by the ransom price. He gave his own life to atone for our. He did so much for us, though it was undeserved. "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:21) "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:6) "Yet was the will of the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief." (Isa. 53:10) Christ bore much for our sin. Our sin which is an affront to God's purity and holiness. When we purposely remove ourselves from redemption and Christ's atonement by taking a break from God, we are then removing His cleansing blood from our very crimson heart full of sins. Christ is our salvation! "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all." (1 Timothy 2:5-6a)

Leon Morris in his book, defines "ransom" as, "the money that anyone pays to be delivered." (Pg. 116) or "the term (kopher) conveys the thought of price. God's people are delivered at cost (Isa. 43:3-4)" (pg. 117) So what are we being ransomed from? We are being ransomed from sin. Our wicked deeds. We through our sin, of which is first nature, makes us a slave to sin. John 8:33-34 says, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." And when we are slaves to our sins, and our passions, we cannot break free from them. We are owned by them. That is exactly what being a slave to sin means. A common but very fitting example would be those passions that have then become addiction in our lives. Addictions are blatant examples of how sin has us bound. Even though we may not even realize we are bound to it.

Leon Morris beautifully encapsulates what it meant to be in bondage to our sins, "His word 'ransom' is the technical term used of the money paid to release a prisoner of war or a slave. To release the slaves of sin be paid the price. We were in captivity. We were in the strong grip of evil. We could not break free. But the price was paid and the result is that we go free. 'Sin shall not be your master' (Rom. 6:14)" (Pg. 121). That is why there is no medium. A person cannot simply take a break from God. You are a slave to something. You are either a slave to your sin which in the previous article mentioned the eternal consequences of our sin, of which Christ bore on the cross, or you are slave to God and His Kingdom. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Cor. 6:19-20) 1 Corinthians 7:22 also speaks of us being the Lord's slave.

Lastly I would like to point out why being a slave to Christ is better than being a slave to sin. In a sense being a slave to Christ is liberating. "You (Christ) are worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:9-10) Leon Morris writes, "that in buying them he did not simply transfer them from one slavery to another. . . This is brought out with the affirmation that they are 'a kingdom' and 'priests' and that 'they will reign'. They have a royal state and are thus as far from being menials as can be conceived." (Pg. 127-128) in turn to trusting in God and surrendering our life to Christ, we are made a royal priesthood and kings and queens of his service!

Living for God is in no way easy at times. Christ calls us to a place of self sacrifice and growth in different areas of our lives. But this earthly life is nothing in comparison to the life Christ has planned for us hereafter. The next article will speak on the topic of why I believe people justify taking a break from God. The past three articles, I hope have laid a firm foundation for the belief that taking a break from God is impossible. I pray that the next article helps in a very practical way to overcome this very human desire to give up and feel better in times of struggle.

Blessings!

Books:

R.C Sproul - "Saved From What?"

Leon Morris - "The Atonement: It's Meaning & Significance"

Wayne Grudem - "Making Sense of Christ and The Spirit: One of Seven Parts from Grudems Systematic Theology"