Romans 6: 15-23

“The Slave To Good”

“You Gotta Serve Somebody”

Seems like a strange illustration

Slavery?

Paul appeals to a common occurrence of selling ones self into slavery to pay off debt

85-90% of Rome and the Italian peninsula

The startling claim that all people are slaves is not as shocking when you know that, but…

No neutral ground here

Self-lordship is an illusion! Humans are not God!

Freedom!

What the discussion is really about is freedom and what that means

Some of Paul’s opponents wonder what kind of people the Gospel will produce

Paul himself even admits that the slavery metaphor my not be a perfect one (V.19)

Paul says the Gospel doesn’t produce legalism or license

Freedom doesn’t mean the ability to do whatever you want! (Driving for example)

This is a complex theme within which are wrapped up views of time, virtue, and the goal of humans

Pagan Time

Christian Time

Ancient Ethics

Humanity as it is

Moral Virtues

Telos or Humanity

as its meant to be

I’m From the Future…

Humanity as it is

Jesus comes into reality as the

representative of the New

Humanity

New Humanity

Calvin and Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes (16th century) and Leviathan

Hobbes took a very cynical view of human nature (i.e. Babylonians)

For Hobbes, humans are mechanical animals that need restraint from a sovereign, people give power to the state

Virtues are things that protect “individual rights” instead of pushing toward a common good

Freedom is understood best as being able to do what one wants to do within the bounds of the law

The lack of telos is the telos, preservation is the highest virtue

Calvin and Hobbes

John Calvin is writing at about the same time

“Common grace”

That humanity, despite being sinful, is capable of great things and of recognizing a common good

Sanctification=That humans are being made into something better when that submit to Christ

Repentance was key

The inner self, the conscience, needed to be trained

Heart=idol factory

Stealing and Building

Ephesians 4:17-32

Not about doing things to MAINTAIN salvation

Living more fully into it

You are saved and you are being saved

De-selfing of the self

Rooting out the sin under the sin

The Gospel creates demands in the Christian because believing it propels you OUT

Choose Your Master

Is Paul right about Sin?

That Sin and Self says, if you stay with me, you must do these things or you miss out on life!

But says very simply to test the air for signs of death

Distancing, Decay, Destruction

How’s your fruit? (V. 21)

What’s growing in your life?

Choose Your Master

Jesus in Matt. 6:24

Money is not inherently evil

It’s what comes with it that we really like

Money is the universal way to be a god

The great lie is that what you really need is more of what you already have

Everyone is offering themselves to something and sacrificing for something

Rebecca Pippert

“Whatever controls us is our lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person

who seeks acceptance is controlled by acceptance. We do

not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our

lives.”

Martyn Lloyd Jones

“But you say, ‘I’m not religious.’ Well, sorry to say, but everybody’s religious. What is

your religion? Well, your religion is what you rely upon... Your religion... is what you live

for, is what you hope for... Your god is that to which you give yourself, you give your time,

attention, your greatest thought, your money — you live for it. It is the thing that

keeps you going... It is what you turn to when life gets so hard. Everybody has a

religion. But the question is – what is your religion?”

Choose Your Master

We offer ourselves to what we see as the highest good in life…

If you don’t turn to God, you will be a slave of selfishness the rest of your life

Sin has many faces

Lust, bitterness, pride, materialism, worry, fear, approval

Approval: constantly experience self-pity, envy, hurt feelings, inadequacy…

The real truth of sin (selfishness) is that it cannot save because the heart is sick

Obedient From The Heart

Real change happens from the inside out

Outside in attempts at change create legalists or discouraged people

What moves your heart? What does your heart leap toward?

Psalm 119:32

All good things require submission to a teacher or process

Jesus shows us what real goodness looks like and its captivating…

A New People

God has always been looking for a people

God wants to make you into someone who lives for the sake of others

It takes great courage to throw off the shackles of consumerism and self

But who’s going to do it? Who’s going to point the way forward?

Cavanaugh on church

Jesus as the next evolutionary step (C.S. Lewis)

God takes our sin on Himself and absorbs it into the Trinity to set us free now and forever

Prayer