The psalmist prophesied about Jesus’ resurrection: “You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive.” (Psalm 68:18). However, Jesus does not lead unbelievers or demons. He only leads believers. Therefore, believers are the captivity that the psalmist prophesied Jesus would lead captive. Jesus rescues us from the captivity of sin and then puts us in the captivity of righteousness.
This is how Paul expresses this kingdom dynamic:
“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Roman 6:16-23).
Chained but free
Significantly, Paul, the chief exponent of the New Testament, was often a prisoner in chains. Indeed, he referred to himself as “an ambassador in chains.” (Ephesians 6:20). Paul was often in chains by God’s design to demonstrate that a man can be physically chained but spiritually free. At the same time, many people that are physically free do not know that they are spiritually chained. This means a physical slave might be spiritually free, while a physically free man might be spiritually enslaved.
The power of the gospel is that it opens the eyes of the blind to see their true spiritual condition. Thus, “Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” (John 8:31-32).
Mystery of iniquity
The word of God reveals that a sinner is in bondage. He is a slave of sin. When we are slaves of sin, we are controlled by our passions and lusts. This is the mystery of iniquity, or the mystery of lawlessness. It is a secret power that is not known to the sinner but becomes self-evident to the saint: “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7).
Freedom in slavery
Jesus is the Saviour who frees us from the stranglehold of sin. He says: “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36).
This freedom is the freedom of the spirit. A man who is spiritually free is free indeed, even though he might be in physical chains as was the case of Paul. A man who is spiritually bound however is bound indeed, even though he is free to go from bar to bar, and to hop from bed to bed.
It is only the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that can make a man spiritually free. This is because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every man who believes.
A man who is in bondage to sin regards himself as free. He feels he can do whatever he likes. He can sleep with whomever he likes. He can drink as much as he likes whenever he likes. He is answerable to no one.
But what he does not realise is that his presumed freedom is a sign of bondage to sin. Sin makes a man free from God. Sin makes a man free from righteousness. Sin makes a man lawless and reckless.
When somebody annoys you, you just feel the urge to slap the person and you do so. Your passions commanded you to slap him and you did. You gave him a dirty slap. You taught him a lesson. It commanded you to abuse him, so you did. Afterward you felt good and even boasted about it.
Your passions commanded you to sleep with that woman. You obeyed, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But without knowing it, you were a man under the authority of sin.
Slavery in freedom
When a man is a slave of sin, he is free from righteousness. But when he is made free from sin, he becomes a slave of righteousness.
A man made free from sin often does not realise he is now a slave of righteousness. He feels he is now free to do what he likes. This is not the case. Precisely because he is now free, he cannot do what he likes.
His freedom is for a reason and with an objective: to serve the Lord Christ. Accordingly, Jesus spoke to Moses saying: “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” (Exodus 8:1).
Righteousness makes a man bound to Christ. Righteousness makes a man free from sin. Righteousness makes a man lawful. A man freed from sin does not wilfully return to bondage. Paul says: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
A man who is made free by Christ needs to serve Christ with the same wholeheartedness with which he served sin. When we were under the bondage of sin, we were completely free from righteousness. Now that we are bound to righteousness, we must be completely free from sin.
There is just one residual problem. Sin still resides in our mortal bodies. Paul says:
“When I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin. So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.” (Romans 7:21-23).
