Freedom in Christ | Romans 6:15-23
A little boy — visiting his grandparents — was given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to grandma’s back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse, he took aim and let it fly. The stone hit its target. The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes. Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally smiled and said, “That’s all taken care of, Johnny wants to do it.” Again she whispered, “Remember the duck.” Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of Johnny doing both his and Sally’s chores, he couldn’t stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he’d killed her duck. “I know, Johnny,” she said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you! I wondered how long you would let Sally make you a slave.” (Leadership Magazine, Christianity Today, Inc., 1983, pg. 86.)
It’s been 248 years since the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. To the majority of the colonists, King George III was an overbearing tyrant, enslaving his colonists to his will. Their biggest complaint was that he was not enacting laws. He wouldn’t let new laws be made; and then He wouldn’t enforce the laws that were already there. And everywhere they looked, there was another tax.
Here’s a question: “How long will you let George make you a slave?”
56 members of the Second Continental Congress would ultimately sign a document and take a courageous stand against oppression. The whole point of the Declaration of Independence was not that monarchy was somehow inherently bad – it was that this particular monarch no longer served their interests. They decided that it was time to throw off a bad master, and choose a good law.
And that’s basically the same thing the Apostle Paul urges in Romans chapter 6. Paul realized that you could declare any type of independence you wanted. But, regardless of what you said or did, there were still laws. The question wasn’t if you were going to live under law, but whose law would you live under??? You have to make a choice. There will always be laws and an order – the goal is to make sure you’re under a good one. And the question at the heart of Paul’s writing is this – “How’s your master treating you?”