Yoke of Slavery
Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. ESV
Slavery or δουλεία/douleia in the koine Greek of the day. The word is translated as slavery or bondage. The root word is δοῦλος/doulos or slave. Doulos is also translated as servant in the New Testament.
The Hebrew word for slave is ebed. Generally speaking, the word is translated as servant in the Old Testament. Ebed is used 800 times in the Old Testament. Ebed is from the word abad in the Hebrew.
As a nation, Israel is all too familiar with slavery. The nation Israel spent 400 years in Egypt as slaves. In the verse below, the term abad is used.
Genesis 15:13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
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Humanity’s dilemma… What are we going to do? What are we going to choose? Fundamentally we have two choices, life or death.
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
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What happens when one chooses a lifestyle of sin regardless of the specificity? God says we are a drift, thoughtless, and sensual. We are malicious, spiteful, greedy little haters. Again, the end result is death. And our path to death is not paved with good times and gold.
Titus 3:3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
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Don’t kid yourself. There is no way we can overcome sin on our own. We are currently in a fallen and broken state. We are not independently strong enough to break the yoke of sin. It is a monstrous and overwhelming burden.
Believers are called to be slaves to God the Father. Notice the progression in the verse below from Romans. Choose God and this leads to growth, purification, and holiness. The end result is eternity with the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
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Believers are called to be slaves to justice. We are called to do the right thing by God.
Romans 6:18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
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This is ultimately about your attitude and heart toward Jesus. He wants us to be a willing participant. Christ is not making us follow Him. As people, we have the free will to choose.
1 Corinthians 7:22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.
A point of Galatians 5:1 is this. As a believer in Jesus Christ, the individual has broken away from the yoke of sin because of Him. One has become free. This is an appeal to the will. Don’t go back to being a slave to sin. Stay with Him and in Him.
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