Our Change of Masters

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Romans 6:16-18

Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin to death…

1. Man was made to rule. He was intended for a king, who should have dominion over the beasts of the field, etc. Yet is it equally true that he was made to serve. He was placed in the garden to keep it, and to dress it, and to serve his Maker. Throwing off his allegiance to his rightful Master, he has become the slave of evil passions.

2. When God of His infinite mercy visits man by His Spirit, that Spirit does not come as a neutral power, but enters with full intent to reign. Man cannot serve two masters, but he must serve one. Alexander conquered the world, and yet he became the captive of drunkenness and his passionate temper. Rome had many slaves, but he who wore her purple was the most in bonds. High rank does not save a man from being under a mastery: neither does learning nor philosophy. Solomon, the most sagacious ruler of his age, became completely subject to his fleshly desires.

3. Who, then, shall be man's master? Our text speaks of "being made free from sin," and in the same breath it adds, "Ye became the servants of righteousness." There is no interregnum. Man passes from one master to another, but he is always in subjection. Consider —

I. OUR CHANGE OF MASTERS.

1. In describing this revolution we will begin with a word or two upon our old master "sin." We were not all alike enslaved, but we were all under bondage.

(1) Sin has its liveried servants. If you want to see these dressed out in their best or their worst, go to the prison, or to the places of vicious amusement. Many of them wear the badge of the devil's drudgery upon their backs in rags, upon their faces in the blotches born of drunkenness, and in their very bones in the consequences of their vice.

(2) But great folks have many servants who are out of livery, and so has sin. We were not all open transgressors. Selfish caution restrains from overt acts of transgression. Hypocrites are worse slaves than others, because they are laid under the restraints of religion without their consolations, and practise sins without their pleasures.

(3) The servants of sin are not all outdoor servants. Many keep their sin to themselves. They are excellent in their outward deportment; but they are the indoor servants of Satan for all that.

(4) There are, however, many who were once outdoor servants, sinning openly and in defiance of all law.

2. Believers are made free from sin.

(1) From the condemnation of sin (Romans 8:1).

(2) From the guilt of sin. As you cannot be condemned so does the truth go further, you cannot even be accused. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?"(3) From the punishment of sin.

(4) From its reigning power.

3. How came we to be free?

(1) By purchase, for our Saviour has paid the full redemption money.

(2) By power. Just as the Israelites were the Lord's own people, but He had to bring them out of Egypt, so has the Lord by power broken the neck of sin and brought us up from the dominion of the old Pharaoh of evil and set us free.

(3) By privilege. "Unto as many as believed Him, to them gave He the privilege to become the sons of God." His own royal, majestic, and Divine decree has bidden the prisoners go forth.

(4) By death. If a slave dies his master's possession in him is ended. "He that is dead is free from sin."(5) By resurrection. A new life has been given to us; we are new creatures in Christ Jesus.

4. Ye became the servants of righteousness. A righteous God has made us die to sin; a new and righteous life has been infused into us, and now righteousness rules and reigns in us. The text says we are enslaved to righteousness, and so we wish to be.

II. THE REASONS FOR OUR CHANGE.

1. We changed our old master because we were illegally detained by him. Sin did not make us, does not feed us, has no right to us whatever. Besides, our old master was as bad as bad could be. We ran away from him Because we had never any profit at his hands. "What fruit had ye then?" Ask the drunkard, the spendthrift, any man that lives in sin, what he has gained by it, and we will find it is all loss. Beside that, our old master brought shame. "Those things whereof ye are now ashamed." Moreover, its wages are death.

2. But why did we take up with our new Master? In the first place, we owe ourselves wholly to Him; and in the next place, if we did not, He is so altogether lovely, that if we had a free choice of masters we would choose Him a thousand times over. His service is perfect freedom and supreme delight. He gives us even now a payment in His service.

III. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS CHANGE.

1. That you belong wholly to your Lord. Numbers of professing Christians seem mostly to belong to themselves, for they never gave God anything that cost them a self-denial. But if you are really saved, not a hair of your heads belongs to yourselves; Christ's blood has either bought you or it has not, and if it has, then you are altogether Christ's. You are the slave of Christ; you bear in your body the brand of the Lord Jesus, and your glory and your freedom lie therein.

2. Because you are Christ's His very name is dear to you. You are not so His slave that you would escape from His service if you could; you want to be more and more the Lord's. Where there is anything of Christ there your love goes forth. Haydn one day turned into a music seller's, and asked for some select and beautiful music, and was offered some of his own. "Oh," said Haydn, "I'll have nothing to do with that." "Why, sir, what fault can you find with it?" "I can find a great deal of fault with it, but I will not argue with you, I do not want any of his music." "Then," said the shopkeeper, "I have other music, but it is not for such as you." A thorough enthusiast grows impatient of those who do not appreciate what he so much admires. You can be no friend of mine if you are not a friend of Christ's.

3. All your members are henceforth reserved for Christ. When Satan was your master you did not care about Christ, you went wholly in for evil. You did not require to be egged on to it. Now you ought not to want your ministers or Christian friends to stir you up to good works; you ought to be just as eager after holiness as you were after sin. As you have given the devil first-rate service, let Christ have the same. Some of you never stood at any expense — I wish we could serve Christ thus unstintedly. The poor slaves of sin not only do not stop at expense, but they are not frightened by any kind of loss. See how many lose their characters for the sake of one short hour of sin. They ruin their peace and think nothing of it. They will lose their health, too; nay, they will destroy their souls for the sake of sin's brief delights. In the same way should we serve our Lord. Be willing to lose character, health, life, all, if by any means you may glorify Him whose servant you have become. Oh, who will be my Master's servant? Do you not see Him? He wears upon His head no diadem but the crown of thorns; His feet are still rubied with their wounds, and His hands are still bejewelled with the marks of the nails. This is your Master, and these are the insignia of His love for you. What service will you render Him? That of a mere professor, who names His name but loves Him not? That of a cold religionist, who renders unwilling service out of fear? Do not so dishonour Him.

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