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INJ
'Slave to None, Slave to All'
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Divine Service
Epiphany V
February 5th, 2006
Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, CO
Dear Saints,
“A Christian is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.”
With these famous words Dr Martin Luther begins his treatise, Concerning Christian Liberty, and when he wrote them, he had in mind St Paul's own words for the Epistle reading, “Though I am free, and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” [1 Corinthians 9:19].
We want to ask of this texts two questions: How is the Christian free? And how is the Christian a servant? But first, freedom.
We were all born as slaves, slaves to sin and to death. Jesus says it like this, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.” [St John 8:34] This is not a pleasant title, slave to sin. But so it is, all of us children of Adam and Eve, brought forth in iniquity, conceived in sin, [Psalm 51:5] children of darkness. Sin is more that the wrong things that we do, for if, Jesus says, you commit sin, you are a slave to it. And so the corruption of our actions shows forth the corruption of our nature, that we are poor miserable sinners. And because we are sinners, we are diers. “The wages of sin is death.” So we are bound, bound to sin, bound to death, bound to the grave.
But you who are bound, listen to Jesus' promise to you, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” [St John 8:36] Jesus has broken the ropes that bind us and keep us captive. He shatters the chains that tie us to the grave. And how? He was bound in our place, nailed to the cross, wrapped in grave clothes, sealed in a tomb. He Himself took our place in the captivity of sin and death, so that we might be set free.
And now, by faith, we are free. A Christian is the most free lord of all, and subject to none, for if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. You are free, free for the coercion of the law, free from its threats and compulsion. By the forgiveness of your sins you are free from guilt and shame and the fear of death and damnation. By the Gospel preached, by the Absolution spoken, by the Body eaten, Blood swallowed, the Promised believed, you are set free. “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit to a yoke of bondage.” [Galatians 5:1]
But this freedom is for a purpose, and this brings us to our second question: How is the Christian a servant? Christ has set us free, but not so that we might use that freedom as a cover for sin. “For you, brethren,” says St Paul, “have been called to liberty; only do not use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” [Galatians 5:13] Or, as St Peter teaches us, you are “free, yet not using your liberty as a cloak for vice, but as servants of God.” [1 Peter 2:16] The Lord Jesus has graciously given us our freedom so that we might care for one another, that we might “serve one another in love.” So the second part of Luther's teaching: “A Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.”
The freedom that Jesus us give us is more than freedom from something, it is freedom for something. Our freedom is for the purpose of loving our neighbor. As Paul is teaching in our Epistle text: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself servant to all, that I might win the more.” [1 Corinthians 9:19] Paul freely makes himself a slave, binding himself to people, to preach the word of Christ crucified to them so that they might believe and be saved.
This is why, dear saints, Jesus has set you free, that in thanks to Him you would make yourself a servant of all people, serving them with love and compassion, speaking and making the good confession of Jesus to them, that you would think of your neighbor more than yourself, that you would lay down your life for them, that you would spill you blood and tears and effort and sweat in service to your neighbor. For in doing so, in your loving the neighbors, that is, all the people which the Lord has placed in your life, in your free service of them, Christ makes known His saving work.
For the Lord Jesus is truly the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, His name is Freedom, and yet He who is above all, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was made man, and took the form of a servant. He has told us, “I am among you as the one who serves.” [St Luke 22:27] This, dear servants of God, is how Jesus is among us, as the one who serves. He serves us His broken body and shed blood, for forgiveness, for freedom, and He grants us the gift of serving others.
“A Christian is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.” May the Lord Jesus grant us His Holy Spirit, so that this is true with us. Amen.
And now may the peace which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Wolfmueller
For further study: As mentioned in the sermon, in 1520 Dr Martin Luther wrote an essay titled On Critsian Liberty. A booklet of this essay (in .pdf format) is available on our website here. (On Christian Liberty is also available online at Project Wittenburg).