Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus…
We don’t have to venture but a few words into Romans 1 to see that this book will not be like others we will read in our lifetime. This is to be expected since it comes from the collection of the New Testament of the Bible, but I still read in awe.
In the time that Paul wrote this letter, 85-90 percent of the population of Rome and Italy were slaves or of slave origin.* Being a slave in the Roman Empire looked differently than the slavery from most of our understanding in present or near-present times. To be a slave of Rome meant that you were often protected and paid by your owner.* Often times slaves in a Roman household were treated as extended family members of the owners and held a higher social standing than they would as free people.* Paul was writing to a people who were owned.
This makes his introduction that much more meaningful. The word “servant” is translated in English from the Greek a little nicer than maybe it should.* Paul is actually speaking to slaves of Rome and calling himself a slave of Christ. The implications are great as this communicates that he views himself under the ownership, protection, and pedigree of enslavement to Jesus. Furthermore, throughout the Old Testament, the people of Israel became accustomed to referring to themselves as “slaves of God” after being freedom from Egypt.* This was a title of honor they used to communicate their new allegiance to God.*
Paul was stating to whom he was devoted, and by placing “Christ” in the place of where some would expect him to say “God,” he was commentating on the divinity of Christ.
So much in so few words…
While the 85-90% of Romans were slaves, we are all enslaved to something. If you want to know what you are enslaved to, just pause and ask the Holy Spirit who you are obedient to. I was enslaved to pleasing people. If there was something that I could do to avoid disappointing someone or to make someone think that I did a good job, I would jump to do it without even hesitating. At a deeper level, a fear of rejection was my master.
Christ should be our master; we should be His slave.
The rights, privileges, and honor associated with being His slave includes being an intimate part of His family, enjoying His protection, and receiving from His supply for our needs.
We must ask: do we do whatever He tells us to do? Is He our master? These are challenging questions for us all.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to evaluate who you are serving as master. Perhaps God wants you to regard Christ as He deserves. Maybe God wants you to remember what He is telling you to do and do it.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
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*Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 27–28). InterVarsity Press; [1] Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 35–37). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.