“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John” (Revelation 1:1).

Among the many things that grab my attention this morning is the idea that Christians are the bond-servants of Jesus Christ. You don’t hear much talk of this in our churches. Instead, there is much to do about our freedom in Christ, our being made sons and daughters of God by reason of our faith in Christ. And this is good, and absolutely true. Yet Scripture, the New Testament alone, uses this word (doulos) 111 times. By definition it simply means a slave.

It shouldn’t surprise us to be called such, as Paul reminds us that we were bought with a price, we were redeemed–or, bought back–by the Blood of Christ. Thus we are owned by Christ, and whether we are in agreement or not, or yielded as such, the idea is that our wills have been made subservient to the will of Jesus Christ.

We are owned. When evangelizing others, it would be a good idea to make this known, that in coming to Christ you really are turning your life over to Him.

I like what I believe is Campus Crusades for Christ’s tract used for evangelistic purposes. It depicts a throne. Until coming to Jesus you are sitting on it, you are calling the shots of your life. When accepting Christ into your life you are getting up off that throne and allowing Jesus to sit there. Now, He calls the shots.

This is a good picture of life God calls us to. Not only is Jesus the Savior of men, He is Lord of all. In coming to Him we come under His rule. If we don’t want Him as our Master, then it is best to hold off receiving Him until you are ready to accept Him as such. Those who do not wish to have Him rule over them should read Luke 19:27.

We are not our own.

A slave has no rights, except for those given him by his master. I think the New Testament is all about telling us what our rights are as bond-servants of Christ. There are certain things we must not do, but there are a multitude of things we can do. Chief among the things we are free to do is love. Whatever we can do in love we are absolutely free to do. Too, whatever we can do in faith we are free to do–faith being belief in what God has to say in His word (albeit rightly divided).

Our motto as slaves of Christ ought be that same one as was our Master’s while here on earth: “Not My will, but Thy will O God.” It should be communicated by those preaching the good news of Jesus that in coming to Him you are setting aside your will in favor of God’s will, which is far better than yours.

Everyone serves someone. As Bob Dylan would put it in his song, “You Gotta Serve Somebody,” you either serve the Lord or you serve the devil. It is up to you.

Paul tells us that prior to being born again into God’s family, we were slaves of sin. We were under that cruel master, the devil, or Satan. We were closed in by his kingdom, the kingdom of darkness. We had no choice but to sin; indeed, we were under his control, just like the rest of the world (see 1 John 5:19).

There is so much to-do amongst Christians about pursuing your dreams. I think it is better to pursue the will of God. While I believe firmly that God puts it in our hearts what He wants us to be and to do, simply pursuing things because you want to is the wrong approach.

I have told the story of how I came to be in the painting business. As I came to Jesus I was anti-business and hated to paint. My aspirations were more inclined toward music and writing, and occupationally I thought I would be in the medical field, as some sort of tech or something like that. And then God said, “Start a painting business.” I tell others that it isn’t what you want to do, it is what God calls you to do. It isn’t up to you; it is up to God.

I think it is good to dream a bit, what you could do for God; but in the end it may be something altogether different than your dreams. You may like it in Southern California, or Florida, but God may have you go to Siberia!

The Lord Jesus, the night before He was crucified, was praying in effect to His Father, “Is there any other way?” He knew there wasn’t, but He was asking anyway. And then He said those infamous words, “Yet not as I will, but as You will.” And, “Your will be done.”

Again, I remember a time–it was 1990, and my five-year old company was losing money for the first time. I lay despondent upon the couch in our home on South Waverly Road, and the Lord spoke to me these words from the book of James,

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).

I think this would be a good habit to develop. In considering anything, be it small or great, practical or spiritual, in the home, the workplace, or the church, to say, “If the Lord wills.” This is the attitude of the slave; he wants to know what his master’s will is.

This too is the proper mindset of the bond-servant. He considers his master more important than himself (see Philippians 2). What his master thinks trumps what he thinks. What his master wants trumps what he wants.

As we see in Philippians 2 (just referenced), the slave of Christ not only puts his Master ahead of himself, but also his fellow bond-servants. This is where the rubber really hits the road. In some respects, following Jesus is not all that difficult–it’s these other slaves that complicate matters! But a rule of the first order among all the bond-servants of the Lord is that they love one another, just as they are loved.

And this latter point is the one that must be emphasized above all others. When we speak of being slaves of Christ, you can not think of a better place to be, as this Master is by far better than the other, and you are under this One or that one. This Master loves you, and as He Himself was a Bond-Servant to His Father–and we see the fruit of that relationship–so we are to be bond-servants to Him. There is not a better place to be in all heaven or earth, than under the loving rule of the Lord of all. Knowing what we know of the benefits of being such, who in their right mind would not want this Man ruling over them? I pray regularly, “I will have this Man rule over me.”

So you see, that while we are free, we are bound. We’ve not been liberated to do as we please. No, the idea of liberation is to do what pleases God. A man so liberated can be free no matter where he is, even in chains (as was the apostle Paul). It is as Pastor Len Hill said the other day concerning those he ministers to in prison. They may be behind bars, but they are free men. That is, they are free to serve Jesus as His bond-servants right where they are at.

Free to be slaves, this is the idea.