Paul calls the Roman Christians...
Illustration
Paul calls the Roman Christians "slaves of righteousness." Would you go to a church that put that on the signboard out front? Can you see it? There in bold letters for all to see: "Join our church and become a slave!" They would line up in droves, asking, "Where do I sign up? I've always wanted to be a slave!" Not!
The church already has a reputation for overworking its members. After all, there are all of those committee slots that need to be filled, and ushers needed for ushering, and more workers to clean the kitchen. Bakers are needed to make the cookies for Maude's funeral reception, and someone has to proofread the bulletins. The nursery needs supervision a half-hour before the services start; and who's going to lock up when everyone else has gone home? Unfortunately, it is usually just a handful of people who get elected, appointed, and otherwise coerced into these kinds of tasks. But this isn't exactly what Paul means by naming the faithful as slaves of righteousness.
The slaves of righteousness are those who obey God from the heart. Paul's point is that we are all slaves to something. What Paul sees is that most of us are slaves to sin in one form or another. We are slaves to schedules, slaves to paychecks, slaves to empty relationships, slaves to greed and lust, slaves to guilt and fear, and slaves to ideologies that reject God at every turn. We can be slaves to noise and confusion, slaves to anger and despair, slaves to self-interest and sometimes slaves to toxic faith. Yet God is calling to us, always calling, and it is a call to liberation from all those things that enslave us and lead us to death. Paul seems to be saying, "Make yourself a slave to God and to God's way, and you will not die. You will be sanctified and you will live."
The great mystery is how being a slave to righteousness can in fact set you free from death, and at long last, let you be free to live. If the church can show people how to be a slave like that, with benefits like that, there could be a long sign-up line.
The church already has a reputation for overworking its members. After all, there are all of those committee slots that need to be filled, and ushers needed for ushering, and more workers to clean the kitchen. Bakers are needed to make the cookies for Maude's funeral reception, and someone has to proofread the bulletins. The nursery needs supervision a half-hour before the services start; and who's going to lock up when everyone else has gone home? Unfortunately, it is usually just a handful of people who get elected, appointed, and otherwise coerced into these kinds of tasks. But this isn't exactly what Paul means by naming the faithful as slaves of righteousness.
The slaves of righteousness are those who obey God from the heart. Paul's point is that we are all slaves to something. What Paul sees is that most of us are slaves to sin in one form or another. We are slaves to schedules, slaves to paychecks, slaves to empty relationships, slaves to greed and lust, slaves to guilt and fear, and slaves to ideologies that reject God at every turn. We can be slaves to noise and confusion, slaves to anger and despair, slaves to self-interest and sometimes slaves to toxic faith. Yet God is calling to us, always calling, and it is a call to liberation from all those things that enslave us and lead us to death. Paul seems to be saying, "Make yourself a slave to God and to God's way, and you will not die. You will be sanctified and you will live."
The great mystery is how being a slave to righteousness can in fact set you free from death, and at long last, let you be free to live. If the church can show people how to be a slave like that, with benefits like that, there could be a long sign-up line.
