Romans 6:17-19 “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”
Slavery can be a good thing; slavery, as we think of it in human terms is a horrible thing. In the days of the early church, and before, someone could for various reasons voluntarily submit themselves to someone as a slave for obedience. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are slaves to something. Before we became a believer, we were committed to living life our way, not according to the ways of God. When we became a believer in Jesus as Savior, we were transferred from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God. Obviously, life in the kingdom of God is totally unlike the kingdom of the world. As believers we have been introduced to a new way of living and this new way is presented in the gospel-the word of God. We are called to turn form any and all things that are unlike the ways of God and turn to the ways of the kingdom of God. No longer are we bound to sin and all that is unrighteous; now we have been freed from the power of sin and are able to present our members as slaves to righteousness. The key point is-have we become obedient to the gospel and have we become slaves of righteousness. We know that we cannot be righteous by our own will-power and by our own strength; we can live righteously only because we are in Christ and He is in us. We must understand that our righteousness is not in theory only; the righteousness that is form God is to be expressed through us-in real, identifiable ways. Righteous acts would include such things as giving as the Lord directs, praying for others, encouraging others, helping someone in need, preferring others more important than ourselves, speaking the truth in love, being honest in all our dealings, and etc. The point is that we now belong to Jesus and because of that, we are to reflect Him in the way we live; we are no longer a part of this worldly kingdom-we have a new allegiance-the king of kings, the Creator of the universe. We are now His ambassadors.
Romans 6:22-23 “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Blessings, Buddy