The Freedom of Slavery

I was listening to a debate between Dr. James White and Steve Gregg. There is a good argument that I have heard Dr. James White bring up on other occasions and it usually produces a typical response. Calvinists usually argue that in the same way that a slave in biblical times could not free himself so too fallen man cannot free himself from the slavery of sin. This is true and a well thought Arminian will concede the point. The point that is stressed by the Arminian is that a slave can desire freedom and if the proper authority offered that freedom then the slave would be free to choose as he wills. The assumption seems to be that freedom is synonymous with eternal life.

The reason Arminians feel they must point out that a slave can and almost always does desire freedom is probably reactionary to the doctrine of human depravity as laid out by those of the reformed camp. I believe it is a simple misunderstanding concerning the meaning of human depravity. The doctrine of human depravity states that the natural man is in a state of hostility toward God (e.g. Romans 7) because of sin and therefore he does not and cannot desire a fully revealed pure and holy God. The Calvinist, as I understand it, does not understand a person's desire for eternal life as synonymous with desiring Jesus. Desiring God is not synonymous with desiring freedom.

So I believe this is why the slave analogy often fails to contribute clarity. It carries a false assumption about what is meant by eternal life (freedom). I have learned through the personal experience of discussing, informally debating, teaching and clarifying biblical doctrine that it is absolutely critical to assume nothing. It is almost always necessary to define terms. The following is my two cents worth on this issue. Again, assuming nothing let us revisit what it means to be freed by Christ as defined by the Apostle Paul.

16Do 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? 17But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22But 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. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:16-23

This is only one scripture so far, but I would submit to you this. I am convinced that whole of scripture testifies that man, by nature, is a slave. The problem is that most people do not make this biblical assumption because we think only in terms of freedom versus bondage. We think of freedom versus a dictatorship. We think absolute autonomy versus oppression. The Bible does not make such assumptions about man. Quite the opposite is true. According to the Bible, man is a slave/servant by nature because the question is never whether man will serve [slavery] or will not serve [freedom] the question is who or what he will serve. This is because God did not create man as an absolute autonomous being. That would be false assumption #1. Man's attempt at autonomy is what brought the fall. One needs only to read the whole of biblical testimony to see this assumption concerning the nature of man. Take for example God's very first commandment in saying to Israel after their deliverance from the slavery of Egypt.

6 "'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 7"'You shall have no other gods before me. 8"'You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Deuteronomy 5:6-9

God distinguishes only between serving him and serving "other gods." Throughout the Bible we are also told that there really aren't any real gods besides Jehovah, but those "other gods" are referred to in that way because people elevate them to the status of god in that they commit themselves to them and serve them as such. Joshua makes this assumption as well when he challenges the people by saying,

14 "Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:14-15

Again, see how Paul reasons. He says to Christians, "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness… for the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God…its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

So Paul is saying that what takes place at salvation is the exchanging of slave masters. One slave master brings death, but the other slave master (God in Christ) grants eternal life. Though this language may sound antithetical to the concept of freedom one must bear in mind that this language is employed frequently in the New Testament to describe the relationship between the believer and his Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore the gospel is specifically about receiving the person of Jesus versus a state of being [eternal existence, freedom, eternal life etc.]. The gospel is about receiving Jesus who grants eternal life because he is the source of eternal it. The Calvinist agrees that almost everyone if not everyone wants to live forever just not with Jesus. In other words the natural man's concept of heaven is ruined if it includes Jesus as the Divine Lord and King.

I definitely have much more to write concerning this especially because the slave analogy came up between Dr. James White and Steve Gregg when they were discussing Acts 13:48. Steve Gregg prefers the translation that as many as were "disposed for eternal life believed." I want to be elaborate on this on my next post.