Bondservants of Christ

Ephesians 6:5-7 ESV

“Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.” 

Ephesians 6:5-7 NLT

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”

I am not going to be talking about human slavery to human masters today, but since these bondservants were instructed to treat their human masters as they would Christ, then we can safely assume that this is how we, as followers of Christ, are also to treat our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

I read this on gotquestions.org: “In Roman times, the term bondservant or slave could refer to someone who voluntarily served others. But it usually referred to one who was held in a permanent position of servitude. Under Roman law, a bondservant was considered the owner’s personal property. Slaves essentially had no rights and could even be killed with impunity by their owners.”

And that fits with our relationship with Jesus Christ. For we aren’t sold into slavery, and we aren’t forced into slavery, but we choose to be his bondservants, i.e. his slaves, and for him to be our Lord and Master. For when we believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith in him, we now die to sin and to our old lives, and we are rebirthed of the Spirit of God to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

[Rom 1:6-7; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-29; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 1:9; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; Gal 5:13-21; Eph 1:3-4; Eph 2:10,21; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col 3:12; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:5-9,24; 2 Pet 1:3; Tit 2:11-14; Lu 9:23-26; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 2:3-6]

So, as bondservants of Christ, how are we to live? We are to be those who walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, who give much honor and respect to our Lord, who believe what he says, and who are making it our practice to do what he says we ought to do. We take him and his word seriously, and we take to heart his warnings to us, too. For Paul, John and Peter all gave warnings to the church with regard to how we are no longer to live but how we are to live now as followers of Christ.

And the warnings tell us that if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, especially sin which is premeditated and planned out in advance, and so we are not walking in obedience to our Lord, and so we are not living holy and godly lives, then if we continue on that course, or we return to living like that, but we don’t repent, and we don’t come back to the Lord, we are not going to inherit eternal life with God, regardless of the faith we profess.

Judged by God according to our works: [Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

So, we are to be living holy lives, pleasing to God.

[Rom 8:8; 2 Co 5:9; Gal 6:8; Eph 5:10; Col 1:9-11; 1 Thes 2:4; 1 Thes 4:1; 2 Tim 2:4; Heb 11:6; Heb 13:6; 1 Jn 3:22]

And we are to be spreading the truth of the gospel to the people of the world, and we are to be ministering to the body of Christ. For we are called to be God’s holy people who proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light, and we are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and we are to make disciples of Christ of people of all nations, and we are to be our Lord’s witnesses.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCjUYubmflA

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The Lord’s Anointed  

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving. 

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to 

Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear, 

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior, 

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness, 

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations. 

https://vimeo.com/114836524