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Contrasts and opposites are literary tools that can work magic for an author. Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, was a master of this technique. Today’s focus text draws upon the conscience of every honest-hearted person and forces that person into the vivid pictures that Paul paints. The reader is compelled to say, “He is talking about me – and you know what – he is absolutely dead on!” Consider the text and consider the implications of it upon your life – past, present, and future.

“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? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6.16-18; emphasis mine, jb).

Before delving into the text, look at the contrasts in this passage: Slaves and Freedom; Death (spiritual) and Righteousness; What you were (slaves of sin) and what you are (slaves of righteousness). Without digressing too far, the immediate context also contains other great contrasts: Death and Life; Burial and Resurrection; Dead to sin and Alive to Christ; Righteousness and Unrighteousness; Law (as a means to justification) and Grace (the only means to justification). These contrasts and opposites set the scene for the grand conclusion that the reader must see and feel as Paul logically and emotionally demands us to reckon ourselves for who we are and what we are about.

You were slaves to sin! If not for the past tense verb choice, the reader might walk away in snit and never hear another word that Paul says. However, the calculated use of the past tense softens the blow of the awful truth that the reader must face! “Sin was your master!” “You chose sin as the Lord of your life!” These are the implications of this phrase. Serious and frightful truths are brought to light and conscience. Even if it didn’t seem so bad at the time, Paul frankly says, “You were the servants of sin!”

“You became the servants of righteousness!” The contrast could not be greater. All the other contrasts of this great chapter only serve to highlight this one. Human beings make some decisions in their lives that are momentous, but none more so that the decision that is spoken of here. But it is not just about the past and the present, i.e. what you were and what you are; it is also about the future. “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him…” (Romans 6.8). The crown is not in the present; the crown is in the future! The present may be good, but it has naught to compare with the glory that shall be. The motivation to honor God, to see God, to live eternally with God is the motivation that makes strong, courageous, and committed Christians.

Satan looks at the past and speaks to our shame. He tries to draw us back and silence our voices. Satan knows that dwelling on the past spells sure defeat in the present. God simply says, “I know who you were; you were the slaves of sin.” God does not belittle us for who were, but He rejoices in who we are. God is the ultimate encourager as He openly says, “I love you anyway!”

Questions:

1. Paul says these believers had been made free when they “obeyed from the heart” that form of doctrine to which they were delivered. What does the heart have to do with justification?

2. What believer was not at one time a slave to sin? Consider the force of this fact!

3. How does God encourage us to overcome the past and embrace the present?

4. What motivation does the believer have to follow Jesus? If our motivation has to do with this life only, what does Paul have to say about it in 1 Corinthians 15.19?

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

A World of One