Articles
Soul Proprietor
While the world follows after its own fleshly, material, and selfish desires, disciples of Jesus Christ are to be distinctly different. True and faithful followers of Christ are to be spiritually minded, rather than fleshly minded, “For to be carnally minded is death” (Rom. 8:6), and “the carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7), and our aim is “to be well pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:9). We do so because Christ “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (Rev. 1:5). And as the saved, we acknowledge and are thankful that we have been “redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19); we have been “bought back” from the consequences and slavery of sin and are now servants of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.
The Greek word translated into English as “redeemed” is lutroo (loo-tro-o), which, according to Thayer’s, means “to release on receipt of ransom.” In effect, we have been set free from slavery to sin (cf. John 8:34), and the ransom price was the blood of Jesus Christ. This was something that Paul had to remind the brethren at Corinth, when he wrote, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19, 20).
Let us not miss the fact that, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are not your own. Read that again: You are not your own.
In a world where ‘being your own man’ or ‘looking out for number one’ is commonplace and a path that many are encouraged to take and celebrated when they do, God’s people are to swim against the current of self-seeking and to be humble servants of our Lord, motivated by their gratitude for having been set free from the slavery of sin and its inevitable consequences. When we are honest enough to admit that all who are in sin are captured in “the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26), and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), when we discover there is a means of escaping sin’s captivity and a means of escaping the inevitable price of sin, who would not be eternally grateful?
It is with gratefulness and humility that we, as disciples, then willingly serve our Lord who redeemed us, doing all that He asks out of love and gratitude, and in the end, not demanding any more of Him, but simply saying, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). We do not ask any more of Him, for He has already done more than what we could ever repay!
But let’s get back to this picture of us not being our own; What does that mean? And what does it require of us? In a world where slavery and servitude is almost always negatively mentioned, how can this possibly be a fact that would entice people to surrender themselves to a life of service to another? In answering these questions, we must point out a few facts about our spiritual condition, and then consider what it means to be a servant — or even the slave — of another. Some of these facts are probably going to be shocking to some, to the point they will simply not believe it. They are true, nonetheless. First:
You Are Already A Slave. As noted in the passages cited earlier, if you are not a Christian, you are a slave. But your master has probably lied to you and told you that, as a non-believer, “You are the one who is truly free, while Christians are slaves to God and Christ. You can do whatever you want!” If you keep in mind that these words come from “a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44), those words won’t seem so appealing. While he tells the world they are the ones who are ‘truly free,’ they are all still bound within “the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:26). Yes, he will tell you that you are ‘free,’ but this comes from the father of all lies! [That is one of his biggest and most believed lies.] While Jesus noted “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34), He also said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Believing the lie that you are ‘free’ while in sin will only prevent you from being freed from its enslavement.
Paul reminded the Christians in Rome, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?…having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness…For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness…But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life” (Rom. 6:16-22). We make ourselves slaves to the devil and sin [which leads to spiritual death], or to God and righteousness [which leads to eternal life]. You are already a slave, so who is your master?
Your Service is to Another. As with anyone who is a servant or slave, the life that is lived is one of service for another, rather than for self. It is this point that many find so disagreeable, even as they serve the devil! Paul spoke to the brethren of Ephesus of those who lived for themselves [including himself], noting this was a path “you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,…among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:2, 3). Again, those who live for these things are doing the devil’s will!
Those who are in Christ, though, must live for self no longer. Paul tells us that disciples of Jesus Christ “should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15). You can live for yourself and do the devil’s will, or you can serve the Lord, so who is your master? Remember, you cannot serve both (Matt. 6:24)!
The Rewards for Service. The ‘reward’ for serving self and the devil is all the earthly pleasures you can experience, but as with anything of this earth, it is all uncertain and it is, as best, temporary. Paul warned against one of the great pursuits of the earthly minded, noting the love of money will lead many to “fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition,” and many who have chosen this path have “pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:9, 10). We have all likely read numerous stories of those who sought happiness and meaning in the earthly things, but who ultimately found neither, and were disillusioned with life and became depressed and despondent because they knew of nothing else. The ultimate ‘reward’ is eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46).
The follower of Jesus Christ, however, will not meet with such disappointment. The thing we seek is “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven” (1 Pet. 1:4). It is only those who serve the Lord who are promised this! Who is your soul’s proprietor? — Steven Harper
