Scripture:
1 Corinthians 7:22-23 – And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.
Observation:
Paul is responding to questions from the church at Corinth regarding how people should live their lives to serve God. Slavery was common at that time and Paul was illustrating that even if someone was a slave they were free from sin, death through their relationship with Jesus. Paul contrasts that by saying a freeman who is a believer belongs to Christ and should live a life of servitude to Him. God paid the ultimate price to save us as we were all bought with the precious sacrificial blood of Jesus. We all need to remember the cost God paid on the cross for us to live for Him not to serve the things of this world.
Application:
A slave can be free and a freeman should be a slave. What Paul is teaching the 1st century church at Corinth was as counter cultural then as it is today. However, that doesn’t mean that it is not true and equally as relevant for each and every one of us daily. By placing my faith and trust and deciding to follow Jesus I am free from the bondage of sin and death. We, who are believers, belong to Christ as God rescued us from our sin through the sacrifice of His one and only Son. Through faith we are saved, but as a follower of Christ I should live a life of servitude as modeled by Christ. Everyone is going to serve somebody or something. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve to masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for ransoming us from our sin through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. Help me to remember the cost you paid for me and as such I belong to you. Let you Spirit guide me to live a life to serve you and not things of this world.