Romans 6:15-23

Oppressive vs. Benevolent Master

I often find myself thinking about my Dad. He passed away on June 28, 2004. At times I miss him dearly and emotions still take me by surprise but there a times where I remember his life and realize the great teaching moments they were for me personally. One example were the employers my Dad had throughout his career as an Electrician. In particular, I remember his first employer upon establishing himself in Toronto. His name was Artley Greenbaum and he owned Sescolite Lighting on Castlefield Road in Toronto. I remember him as a very generous man. He was very good to my Dad. There were times that he would pass by the shop where Dad was the foreman and slip a $100.00 into Dad's pocket. Back in the late 60's early 70's, a hundred dollars was big money - in fact one full week of pay. It wasn't part of the employee contract or the rate of pay that Dad agreed to work for. It was simply a gesture of care towards my Dad for who he was.

In contrast, I remember other employers Dad had where a union was needed to negotiate any kind of pay increase at all. I remember in the late 70's during a particularly difficult time when Dad's union decided to strike and he went without pay for 3 months. I remember Dad saying he could never make up that loss of income, even by doing odd jobs on the side. I recall how oppressive the situation was for Dad and how it affected us as a family.

When I think of these two opposing employers in my Dad's life, I compare Dad's relationship to those employers to what Paul the Apostle is saying in this later part of chapter 6 in Romans. There are certainly two types of masters we can serve. We can serve under an oppressive Master or live in relationship to a benevolent, loving master. In a very certain way, the door has been opened to us to live in personal relationship to a very loving and benevolent master. Jesus made this possible by the life He lived and the life that he gave for us. Taking up his resurrected life again he took it up for all of us so that we might live in open loving relationship with God the Father. In a relationship with a benevolent loving master, benefits come from no obligation or contract agreement. Much like that extra $100.00 my dad's employer would slip into his pocket, Paul describes the fruit of this relationship as a "gift!" [verse 23 "...but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."]

The Truth of the Matter between Us and God

It isn't about rule keeping that makes one holy and so destined to eternal life. It's about "people keeping" - God keeping us and we staying within the vacinity of God's people keeping - choosing to live within the boundaries of God's loving benevolence toward us.

This relationship frees us from sin taking advantage of the law and holding us prisoner. [Paul will go into detail about this in chapter 7] Trying to live a holy life by meeting the law's requirement is a vicious circle of struggle and failure. Working for law results in letting sin produce death in us. It's the equivalent of working for an oppressive employer: eventually the relationship will wear you down. Holiness is linked to righteousness which is exemplified by Jesus as living in loving relationship with God the Father. This is what it means to be "holy" - living in open and loving relationship with God without hinderance. The framework that makes us holy is our attachment to God through Jesus. This is where the gift lies. This relationship is extended to us where Jesus draws the circle of relationship with God to include us. It's a gift. It's not then about working for it but about living in it!

The Roman believers were making it about how they worked for holiness not about living in the freedom that comes from God's gift of relationship through Jesus. They must have been criticizing Paul's "freedom" point of view. The evidence is found in verse 15:

So since God's grace has set us free from the law, does this mean
we can go on sinning? No way! Don't you realize whatever you choose to obey
becomes your master?

By choosing to be holy by following the law the master of this system ends up being sin. Sin takes advantage of the law and undermines our relationship with God by condemning us. This is a slavery that is oppressive and destructive. Paul says, "Living in the freedom of Christ apart from the law is not allowing sin to master us any more." In fact, Paul is confident that by living free of the law, a life lived "in Christ" is a life that is free to be what God desires it to be. It is not a life that takes advantage of Christ by indulging in sin so that grace may abound all the more.

Back to the Analogy

I don't think my Dad ever intended to leave his first employer who was so good to him. Circumstances caused our family to move away from Toronto and for Dad to change jobs. His next employer would be more distant, de-personalizing and difficult at times. One thing my Dad didn't do was take out his frustrations on his own family. To us he was benevolent, kind and loving. He would never endanger that relationship because he cared for us.

I don't think any one of us would want to endanger the loving relationships we have. Living in the freedom Christ has given us is not to put us in danger of creating distance between us and God by deliberately sinning. In fact, when we come to know the life-giving freedom that Christ gives we will not want to distance ourselves from Him but rather feel free to draw closer. The system of law keeping to be closer to God does not allow for this freedom. The moment we fall, there is alienation and distance. Apart from the law is a freedom to remain in relationship with Christ in the good and the bad with the outcome being a life drawn closer to God through every experience.

Questions to consider:

Assess what system you've been living under? [keeping the law to be accepted or living in the freedom of the relationship Christ has given us]

If you struggle with the "law" system [whether in the past or right now] how can you change this?

Think of what your life can be if you serve a loving, benevolent master?