The New Master in Messiah
6: 15-16
The new master in Messiah DIG: How is the question in verse 15 another attempt to distort Paul’s teaching on grace? Compare Paul’s analogy of death (6:1-14) with this one about slavery. What is similar and different in the points he makes in each case? What is the cost and benefit of each type of slavery here? How is slavery to Messiah freedom from sin?
REFLECT: We are slaves to the one we obey. How would seeing yourself as a slave to Messiah make a difference in your actions and attitudes this past week? Sin wants to be our master and finds a foothold in the old [sin nature]. How does submission to Yeshua lead to freedom? What one thing can you say “No!” to the old [sin nature] this next week?
Believers have been set free from the slavery of the old [sin nature], to become bond-slaves and to serve a new Master in Yeshua Messiah.
Paul now introduces a new analogy to slavery. Image of the Passover Haggadah is “we were all slaves,” but now we are no longer serving Pharaoh, we are serving Yeshua Messiah. In Exodus 21, after serving seven years, every slave was to be set free. But if he loved his master, he could stay with him, choosing to be a bond-slave for life. The door post was the place of redemption, where the blood of the lamb was smeared. The bond-slave made a public statement that his master had been so good to him that, even though he didn’t have to stay, he wanted to stay. That is the analogy here. He was still a slave, but had a loving Master.162
The antagonist (6:15a): In verses 2-14 (to see link click Bu – The New Freedom in Messiah), Paul answered the listener’s question regarding the proposed habitual yieldedness of the believer to the [sin nature], by showing that obedience to it can be broken by the divine nature at the moment of salvation. But the listener comes back with another question. He says in effect, “Well then, since we are under grace, and grace covers all sins, aren’t believers perfectly free to do as they please? What conclusion should we reach? “Let’s go on sinning, because we’re not under legalism (Greek: upo nomon, meaning under something that is not the Torah but a perversion of it, specifically, a perversion that tries to turn it into a set of rules that one can supposedly go through the motions, with neither faith nor love for either God, yet earn a right standing with ADONAI), but under grace” (6:15a)? The doctrine of grace has always been subject to that false charge, which Paul first answered in 6:2. But because the misunderstanding was so common and the issue so critical, he gives the answer again from a slightly different perspective. In 6:1, the present tense is used; but here the aorist tense (Greek past tense) is used. The emphasis here is that just because the believer is no longer under legalism it doesn’t mean that he has the liberty to sin. There is a new compelling deterrent to sin, divine love, produced in the believer’s being which causes him to hate sin and obey the Word of God (Galatians 5:13; John 14:21-24).
The answer (6:15b): Paul gives the same forceful denial he gave in 6:2. Heaven forbid (Hebrew: chalilah, meaning that’s a contradiction, it makes no sense). No way Moshe (6:15b)! The idea is, “No, no, a thousand times no!” The mere suggestion that God’s grace is a license to sin makes no sense. The very purpose of God’s grace is to free mankind from sin. How, then, could grace possibly justify committing periodic acts of sin? Grace not only justifies, but also transforms the life that is saved. A life that gives no evidence of moral or spiritual transformation gives no evidence of salvation.163 Faith without actions is dead (James 2:14-26).
The axiom (6:16): Paul answers the question by showing that the believer has changed masters. Don’t you know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves (Greek: doulos), then, of the one whom you are obeying, you are slaves – whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to being made righteous (6:16)? The believer was a slave of Satan before salvation, but since he has been saved, he is a slave of Yeshua Messiah. He is a bond-slave (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Cz – The Hebrew Slave), because he has willingly chosen to follow the Lord. He has changed masters because he has a new nature, a divine nature, and the evil nature which compelled him to serve the devil has had its power over him broken.164
Throughout this chapter, the [sin nature] is presented as some alien entity that can bring us ultimately to despair (7:24) if we chose to allow it to do so. A similar personification of our [sin nature] can also be found in Jewish sources. For example, “Rabbi Yitzchak said, ‘At first our [sin nature] is like an occasional visitor, then like a guest who stays a while, and finally like the master of the house’ (Genesis Rabbah 22:6; the same thing is attributed to Raba in the Talmud, Sukkah 52b, also compare to James 1:14-15).165
The popular notion that a person can master his own life and destiny is a delusion that Satan has inflicted upon mankind ever since the Fall. It was by that lie, in fact, that Adam and Eve were drawn into the first sin. Warning against false teachers in the first century who were spreading that lie, Peter declared: Mouthing grandiosities of nothingness, they play on the desires of the old [sin nature], in order to seduce with debaucheries, people who have just begun to escape from those whose way of life is wrong. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for a person is a slave to whatever has defeated him (Second Peter 2:18-19). If we look at things honestly, we can see that we are not independent creatures. We are not, and cannot be free in the sense in which the world defines and values freedom.
Many people resist the claims of Messiah because they are afraid of having to give up their cherished freedoms. But in reality, they have no freedoms to lose. The unsaved person is not free to do good or evil as he chooses. He is bound and enslaved to sin, and the only thing he can do is sin. His only choices have to do with when, how, why and to what degree he will sin. It should be just as self-evident that no one can be the slave of two different masters. As Yeshua said: No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first (Matthew 6:24a).
The Bible is crystal clear about how you benefit when you fully surrender your life to God. First you experience peace, next you experience freedom, and then you experience ADONAI’s power in your life. Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems can be defeated by Messiah when given to Him.
As Joshua approached the biggest battle of his life, he encountered the Commander of ADONAI’s army, the preincarnate Messiah (Joshua 5:14-15). Joshua fell in worship before Him and surrendered his plans. That surrender led to a stunning victory at Jericho. This is the paradox: victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn’t weaken you; it strengthens you. When you surrender to YHVH, you don’t have fear or surrender to anything else.
Surrendered people are the ones God uses. Ha’Shem chose Mary to be the mother of Yeshua, not because she was the most talented or wealthy or beautiful, but because she was totally surrendered to Him. When the angel Gabriel explained God’s improbable plan, she calmly responded: I am the servant (Greek: doulos) of ADONAI. May it happen to me as you have said (Luke 1:38a CJB). There is nothing more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of the LORD.
Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to YHVH, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, and ego. You were designed to worship God – and if you fail to worship Him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice. If you don’t surrender to Messiah, you surrender to chaos.
Therefore, surrender is not the best way to live; it’s the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other paths lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction. The Bible says that surrender is the most sensible way to serve God (Romans 12:1 CEV). So, surrendering your life is not a foolish emotional impulse, but a rational, intelligent act, the most sensible thing you can do with your life. Your wisest moments will be when you say yes to God.166
Dear Great Heavenly Father, How wonderful and wise You are! Knowing that You know always and always want the best for Your children (John 1:12) is a huge encouragement. It is a joy to love and to follow You! Having You as my Father is such a comfort and it brings great peace that You are also my Master to whom I gladly submit my life. I consider myself so fortunate to have You controlling my life. I love thinking about how great You are. You are omniscient and always know how best to handle any problem I might face. You are omnipotent, all powerful, and Your power is always greater than whatever may be happening in my life and in the world.
It brings me peace to remember You are always in control. When wrong has triumphed in a situation, the wrong was not more powerful than You, nor was it sneakier nor did it deceive You. You are always in control. You may be using trials as a polishing tool for Your child (First Peter 1:7). Sometimes it may look like Satan won, as when Messiah was crucified, but God was the one who won big, for it had been God’s plan all along to have the Messiah die as payment for our sins and then rise in victory from the dead on the third day-conquering death! You are such a wise and loving master who never leaves me (Hebrew 13:5) I am so glad to submit to You for You always want the very best for Your children. I love You! In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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