28.02 | The Beautiful Redemption
Romans 6:1-7:6
‘But 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, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.’
Romans 6:17-18
There’s a story about Abraham Lincoln, that probably isn’t true.
But it really is a wonderful story.
The story is set in a slave auction. The auctioneer was bringing out out person after person, allowing the shouting crowd to bid for them in accord with their perceived value. After some time, a young girl was brought out to be sold to the highest bidder. The bids began, with shouting and leering, as the bids gradually increased.
Lincoln watched, appalled by what he saw. As the bids rose, he raised his voice above the crowd, making his offer. His bid was vastly more than the girl was deemed to be worth.
The crowd hushed. As the auctioneer confirmed the sale, the girl walked towards Lincoln with fear in her eyes.
What kind of a man would pay such a price?
As she approached Lincoln, he said to her,
“My daughter, you are free to go.”
She looked at him, confused.
“You mean, I’m free to do whatever I want to do?”
“Yes, my dear, you’re free to do what you want to do.”
“You mean, I’m free to be whatever I want to be?”
“Yes, my dear, you’re free to be whatever you want to be.”
“You mean, I’m free to go wherever I want to go?”
“Yes,” replied Lincoln, “You’re free to go wherever you want to go.”
The girl looked at him, tears shining in her eyes.
“Then,” she said, “I want to go with you.”
The words of today’s reading take us into a culture that also knew the entrenched evil of legalised slavery. That took a human life, and placed them under the ownership of another. The rule of another. The dominion of another.
Paul is inhabiting this as his metaphor. As with every metaphor, it’s a little imperfect (see 6:19), but it serves a useful purpose to what he wants us to know.
He wants us to know this:
That at the Cross of Jesus you were removed from being under the ownership of sin and death and you were brought into the ownership of Jesus, which means righteousness and life.
That means, before you came to the Jesus of the Cross, you were enslaved. You were owned. This meant at once that you were unable to break free from the wounded desires of your broken heart, at that your trajectory was pointed squarely at the grave.
And yet, Paul says, you were brought to the auction room. Your Lord paid the highest bid, and you were bought out of the ownership of death and destruction into the ownership of Jesus.
In biblical language, you were redeemed.
No longer enslaved under sin, but now under righteousness.
No longer enslaved under death, but now under life.
No longer enslaved under the principles of this world, but now under the principles of heaven.
You were bought. The transaction was made. And you now belong to Him.
How then shall we live?
Obedient to the former master?
Or, transferred into the Kingdom of Jesus Himself, as obedient to the new ways of goodness, wholeness, and life?
With tears shining in our eyes, we look to the Master, and say,
“I want to go with you.”
Reflect:
Picture yourself today at that slave market.
Imagine the other bidders. Give them names. Call them those things that most war against your soul. Anxiety. Lust. Pornography. Anger. Fear. You get the gist. See their faces.
At the back of the room is Jesus. And His bid is His very life, exchanged for yours.
And as you walk towards Him, you walk past all other other slave masters. They do not own you. They have no right to you. And as you reach your new Master, tears in your eyes, hear His declaration upon you:
“You are completely, unchangeably, and eternally mine.”
The hammer falls. Your new life has begun.
Pray:
Father,
I see the battle that Paul is writing about.
A slave to righteousness, maybe
And yet also flirtatious with sin.
Under the ownership of life, for sure,
And yet prone to wander daily back to the things of death.
My heart hasn’t caught up with my reality.
And so, my Father,
Would you send your Spirit upon me,
To declare these new truths into the very fabric of my soul
That I no longer belong to those things that have enslaved me
But I belong to you, bought in Jesus.
This is my new reality
This is my new song
This is my new story.
Win my heart, Father, to this truth.
That I may live from truth unto righteousness,
And your presence unto all things of love.
In Jesus’ Name, who redeemed me,
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Numbers 3-4 | Psalm 29