February 20 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: Romans 6:18-20 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Yesterday in verses 17-18 we saw that when a man receives Christ he becomes a servant of righteousness instead of a servant to sin. Obviously, this freedom from sin is not a license to sin. The believer is not free to do what he wants. Instead, he has changed masters. He has been freed from the dominion of sin, and has become a servant to God in order to do what is right. Leon Morris expressed it this way:

"For Paul, freedom in Christ is not an invitation to splendid self-centeredness. The freed in Christ have become slaves to righteousness. They are not aimless, purposeless. They have been freed from sin in order that they may give themselves over wholly to worthwhile causes, boldly expressed here as being enslaved to righteousness."

In the first half of verse 19 Paul is explaining why he is using the concept of slavery to explain the relationship of the unsaved man to sin and the relationship of the believer to righteounsness. Slavery was commonplace in that day, so Paul is speaking to them "after the manner of men" i.e. something they would understand. He says that he is speaking this way because of the "infirmity of your flesh". In other words, Paul knows that they are spiritually weak, and thus he has to illustrate this in secular terms that they can grasp.

In the second half of verse 19 Paul returns to his illustration of slavery. In the past, before salvation, the Romans yielded themselves to uncleanness. In fact, they piled one iniquity on top of another iniquity. Now, they should start yielding to righteousness and begin piling up good deeds one on top of the other. In verse 20, Paul makes an interesting statement. He says that when they were unsaved they were "free from righteousness". They were "freed" from doing righteous acts because they were enslaved to sin. They were not neutral, self-determining creatures able to make a choice. Sin was the master, they were not. Their wills were in bondage to the allurements of sin, and thus they saw sin as more attractive than righteousness. So they were "free" in regard to righteousness. It had no power to sway them. Righteousness didn’t look attractive or rewarding. And so its appeals were powerless. However, now that they are saved, they are freed from sin, and thus have the true liberty to serve the Lord. I Corinthians 7:22 says

"For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant."

Jesus Himself spoke of freedom to the religious leaders in John 8:32-36. There He says,

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free... Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin...If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

How are you using your liberty in Christ today?