Are we called to be slaves of Jesus Christ? What about being servants? Are there any commandments requiring Christians to become any of these?
As I read through the Bible I could not find one example of Jesus, the Apostles, or Paul commanding us to be slaves, or servants of Jesus, or anything close to it. Paul does call himself a “slave [or servant, or bond-servant] of Christ Jesus” (Rom. 1:1; see also Titus 1:1, and Philippians 1:1, written while Paul was probably in jail), but nowhere does he writes that this is what all Christians should strive to be.
Even if we consider Paul somebody we should imitate in all maters—after all, so it goes, since he considered himself a slave, we should do so as well—what did Paul understood a slave or a servant of Christ to be?
I would guess that when we think of a slave we think of somebody without any decision-making powers in all aspects of his life. Now, that doesn’t seem to square well with how Paul himself lived:
And if we are to imitate Paul, since he is an apostle chosen by Jesus (and because he said so, 1 Cor. 4:16), it follows, I think, that we may also act as Paul did when it comes to day-to-day choices, as a non-slave, or somebody that can make decisions, can exercise our decision-making powers.
What is obvious in the Bible text is that, before we are saved, we are slaves to sin – Romans 6:20, John 8:34. The way Paul uses the word 'slave' may be cleared up a bit by reading Romans 6:16, where Paul says we are slaves to obedience, because (notice the action) we offered ourselves as obedient slaves (which will eventually lead us to righteousness).
A passage probably easier to understand is John 15:15, where Jesus himself calls us his friends:
"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)
Therefore, we should not think of ourselves as slaves or servants of Christ; at least not in the sense of what we know a slave to be, or what more recent history shows us what slavery has been. Of course, we should devote our lives to Jesus in the sense that everything we own, even our own lives, should be employed to the glory of God. That is what the first commandment demands of us, "to love Him" with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Remember as well the first Catechism answer, and what some Christians say is our calling: to know God and make him known.
And even if we are not sure how this devotion actually is realized in practical life, we should take in consideration what clearer texts in the Bible seems to require of us—ex.: 1 Peter 3:15; Jesus's Great Commandments (to love God and neighbor); . . .—and also what Jesus himself considered us to be, in relation to him—a friend, God's child.
"So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir." Galatians 4:7
As I read through the Bible I could not find one example of Jesus, the Apostles, or Paul commanding us to be slaves, or servants of Jesus, or anything close to it. Paul does call himself a “slave [or servant, or bond-servant] of Christ Jesus” (Rom. 1:1; see also Titus 1:1, and Philippians 1:1, written while Paul was probably in jail), but nowhere does he writes that this is what all Christians should strive to be.
Even if we consider Paul somebody we should imitate in all maters—after all, so it goes, since he considered himself a slave, we should do so as well—what did Paul understood a slave or a servant of Christ to be?
I would guess that when we think of a slave we think of somebody without any decision-making powers in all aspects of his life. Now, that doesn’t seem to square well with how Paul himself lived:
- he made decisions because it seemed good to him at the time (i.e., he didn’t wait for God to tell him exactly what to do; ex.: Acts 17:16—17; see also his "sharp disagreement" with Barnabas, Acts 15:36—41)
- he prayed earnestly to God to heal him (2 Corinthians 12:8—10; it seems to me that a servant wouldn’t bother his master to that extent, so eagerly)
- in short, he acted as a non-slave, a freed person, with freedom to follow his mature Christian decisions
And if we are to imitate Paul, since he is an apostle chosen by Jesus (and because he said so, 1 Cor. 4:16), it follows, I think, that we may also act as Paul did when it comes to day-to-day choices, as a non-slave, or somebody that can make decisions, can exercise our decision-making powers.
What is obvious in the Bible text is that, before we are saved, we are slaves to sin – Romans 6:20, John 8:34. The way Paul uses the word 'slave' may be cleared up a bit by reading Romans 6:16, where Paul says we are slaves to obedience, because (notice the action) we offered ourselves as obedient slaves (which will eventually lead us to righteousness).
A passage probably easier to understand is John 15:15, where Jesus himself calls us his friends:
"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)
Therefore, we should not think of ourselves as slaves or servants of Christ; at least not in the sense of what we know a slave to be, or what more recent history shows us what slavery has been. Of course, we should devote our lives to Jesus in the sense that everything we own, even our own lives, should be employed to the glory of God. That is what the first commandment demands of us, "to love Him" with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Remember as well the first Catechism answer, and what some Christians say is our calling: to know God and make him known.
And even if we are not sure how this devotion actually is realized in practical life, we should take in consideration what clearer texts in the Bible seems to require of us—ex.: 1 Peter 3:15; Jesus's Great Commandments (to love God and neighbor); . . .—and also what Jesus himself considered us to be, in relation to him—a friend, God's child.
"So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir." Galatians 4:7