and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:18
Sunday afternoons around my house growing up were what I call prison days. The old ball and chain. Locked up tight and doors closed. We always came home from church as children and had a good lunch. Either my mom or my grandmother would cook, and it was quite a spread. But while we were eating, my sister and I had this sense of impending doom like a cloud over our heads. We knew once we got home, it would be prison time.
All I can remember is hearing these words: “OK, kids! Time to go to your rooms for the afternoon so you can take a nap. Don’t come out until we come and get you!” Now don’t get me wrong, I would do anything for a Sunday afternoon nap today, but then it was a prison. The minutes seemed like hours and the hours seemed like days. Eventually, we fell asleep and then woke up for church in the evening.
I felt like a prisoner in my own home. But you know, we are all a prisoner to something. The older I get, the more I realize that I’m not in control of much in my life. It is God who controls much of what I experience. Why? Because I have become a slave to righteousness. Here’s what I mean.
I am no longer chained to sin
We are all chained to something, and Scripture tells us that we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Which one are you? I think it’s pretty clear that there are only two options. I get it. None of us like it when someone tells us what to do or when to do it, especially when we are 8 years old. But, the God we serve is jealous and created a way to set us free from sin (Romans 7:15-20).
God looked down at humanity (that’s us) and understood very clearly that we needed to be set free from sin. Sin had dominion over our lives and was robbing us of so much joy He intended for us to experience. So He put a plan into place that would set us free from sin. Sin had us chained from our hands to our feet. We couldn’t move without the heavy burden and weight of the chains of sin that easily captured us like a snare (Hebrews 12:1). So He sent Jesus.
We were chained to sin, but Jesus canceled the debt we owed for the sins we committed. Jesus purchased us. He bought us back from the sin that chained us. Redemption came at the cross when Jesus took our sins and took our place so that we would not have to suffer the punishment for our sins. You see, what Jesus did on the cross was a transaction. He bought us back.
I am now chained to righteousness
What is interesting about this passage is that it makes it clear that we are all slaves to either sin or righteousness. Which one are you? Honestly, some days I feel like I’m still chained to sin and walking around with all that cumbersome weight. Other days I feel like I’m chained to righteousness and living a life that significantly honors the Lord.
Living a life full of joy is about understanding the chains that tether you to your master. Are you tethered to sin or righteousness? It makes all the difference in the world. To be chained to righteousness, you must place your faith and trust in Jesus. This means that you recognize that you are a slave to sin and that Jesus came to cancel the debt you owed because of your sin. When He died on the cross, He broke those chains of sin in your life, but you must accept that by faith. You have to repent (turn from) that old life of sin and turn towards Jesus, who is the One who gives you freedom from sin.
However, you shift your allegiance from sin to righteousness. I look at this as not so much a “slave” of righteousness as much as a willing and passionate follower of the one who “purchased, bought, redeemed, and saved” you from the punishment of sin.
Whose slave are you?