Slavery is a concept that in today’s world is generally viewed as evil and wicked. When we think of slaves, often things like chains, poor living conditions, abuse, and being forced to do something you do not want to do are what come to mind. It is true that in the past, as well as the present, slavery is often used as a very sinful, unbiblical way of controlling and mistreating others. But, the Bible teaches another way to look at slavery. The Bible calls believers slaves.
In his book, Slave, John MacArthur digs deep into what it truly means to be a slave of Christ. MacArthur teaches that the imagery of a slave is the most frequently used metaphor for a follower of Christ found in the Bible. In Slave, MacArthur helps his readers understand what slavery was truly like in Bible times, and uses scripture to biblically define slavery to Christ.
MacArthur teaches that in the Bible times, “one’s experience as a slave ultimately depended on the demands and goodness of the master. The slaves of abusive and temperamental masters endured a life of misery. But for the slaves of reasonable and even gracious masters, the situation could be exponentially better.” In fact, as MacArthur points out, some slaves of kind and gracious masters had such a pleasant life and grew to love their masters so much that they would pledge to forgo freedom to remain their master’s slave for the rest of their lives.
The Bible teaches that we are all slaves of one of two masters: either slaves of sin, or slaves of Christ. Sin is a cruel, wicked master that only seeks your destruction, while Christ is the ultimate caring, compassionate, loving Master who sets you free from the power of sin and gives you an abundant life with Him! And as Christ’s slave, He lifts you out of the pit of cruelty you were in under your old master, clothes you with His garments, and brings you into His household to enjoy Him forever!
Slave will grip you heart and open your eyes to the beautiful opportunity that each of us has to become a slave of Christ. It is so important to understand what the Bible teaches about the freedom and joy that is only found in slavery to Christ, and this book helps to do just that! If you are interested in owning your own copy of this great resource, click here!
