“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.”
Paul discloses three significant things about his position in the first verse. His servanthood, Apostleship, and being set apart for the gospel. We will be discussing all three. But this week we’ll focus on servanthood. This verse is the ESV translation. The NASB translation uses the word bond-servant. Other translations use the word slave.
DOULOS MEANS SLAVE
The Greek word doulos means slave. When you see the word doulos translated into servant or bond-servant, think of the word slave, not a servant. Although they’ve translated the word doulos as being a servant, that’s not the actual translation. Because the word slave carries a negative connotation, it has been replaced with the word servant or bond-servant to mask its true meaning. And even though some translators replaced the word slave, we know that the Holy Spirit inspired the word doulos (slave) here in Romans 1:1, not servant.
While the ESV and NASB translations don’t translate doulos to slave in Romans 1:1, you will notice that doulos in Romans 6:16 was actually translated to slave. As MacArthur stated in his “Servant or Slave?” article, that in the New Testament, you will notice the word doulos is translated to a slave when it’s tied to an inanimate object, like a slave to righteousness or sin. Or even in instances when it’s referring to an actual physical slave.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND OUR POSITION AS A SLAVE OF CHRIST?
Because we need to understand the Master-slave relationship we came into when God saved us. He is not our buddy or someone we can call upon when we want our selfish needs fulfilled and expect Him to obey us. We must not miss the reverence, faithfulness, and submission that is due to our Master. The word servant and slave are not defined the same. The word servant doesn’t capture the richness and real meaning of doulos. A servant is someone who is hired to do a job. The servant had some type of freedom to choose to reject or accept a job. A slave is one who is owned or controlled by the master. It’s someone who didn’t have the personal freedom to do as he pleased. Slaves were possessions of their master and were bound to obey. There are full submission and obedience to the master.
It’s important to grasp the difference between slave and servant in how we view ourselves in light of our Master. John MacArthur said this, “Just a couple of illustrations to show you how important it is. Jesus said, “No man can serve two” – What? – “masters.” Well, you could if you were a servant, right? You could serve two people, couldn’t you? You could have a day job and a night job. A lot of people work for more than one person, but you can’t be a slave to two masters because you can only be owned by one.”
John MacArthur also said this, “But nonetheless, the Holy Spirit inspired the word doulos, doulos. Since we don’t see that word in our English Bible, we are missing a paradigm in which to understand our relationship to Christ.”
WHAT IS A SLAVE OF CHRIST?
Those who are in Christ say Jesus is Lord. We acknowledge Him as our Master and one who has authority over us. It’s no longer about our own desire or ambitions. As slaves of Christ, our duty is to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, Matt. 16:24-26), pursue holy living (1 Peter 1:14-16), do God’s will, and do what is pleasing to Him. We submit daily to our Master in obedience to His commands. We see Paul’s reverence for God, his humility, his selflessness, his desire to obey, to be rid of sin, and his devotion. He lived to glorify God. The words slave, servant, and bond-servant in the New Testament are applied to someone who was devoted to Jesus.
Got Questions said, “Servants of Christ do their work humbly and selflessly, desiring only to please their benevolent Master. There’s no pretension, no self-importance, no compensation-seeking in true servanthood. Jesus reminds us of the lowly place a servant occupies: “You also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’” (Luke 17:10, ESV).”
WE ARE ALL SLAVES
The Bible has made it clear that we are all slaves. We’re either slaves to sin or righteousness (Rom. 6:16-18). And because we are born slaves to sin, we don’t have the ability to break free from sin on our own and choose Christ. Slaves are not free. We are in bondage to sin unless, by the grace of God, we repent of our sins and place our trust in Christ.
Although all Christians are slaves of Christ, we are free in the sense that we are no longer in bondage to our sin which leads to death (Rom. 8:2). We are also free from the penalty of our sin. Jesus paid that price for us. Being a slave to Christ is the most beautiful gift we could have ever received. In conversion, God changed our hearts. In Romans 6:17, Paul tells us that we became obedient. We are no longer slaves to sin but righteousness. We now have a desire to obey God and do as he commands of us. In Salvation, God moved us from one slavery to another slavery.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, we are not our own, we were bought with a price. We are owned by God. He is our loving, faithful, compassionate, just, holy, and righteous Master. The Mosaic law allowed an indentured servant to voluntarily become a permanent slave of a master he loved and respected (Ex.21:5-6). Because God changed our hearts, we also willingly love, respect, and obey our Master. We are not slaves that are kept unwillingly but ones who rejoice in our relationship with God. As slaves of Christ, we reject other masters (Matt. 6:24) and give ourselves wholly to God (Matt. 16:24). While this may sound contradictory, it’s only when we’re slaves of Christ that we find true freedom and peace. What an honor and privilege to be slaves of the creator of the world, our Lord, God Almighty.