Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 8:34
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
34. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin ] Better, Everyone who continues to commit sin is the bond-servant of sin. ‘Committeth sin’ is too weak for the Greek: Christ does not say that a single act of sin enslaves. ‘To commit ( poiein) sin’ is the opposite of ‘to do the Truth’ (Joh 3:21). Again, ‘servant,’ though often a good translation where nothing degrading is implied, is not strong enough, where, as here, the degradation is the main point. Moreover, the connexion with Joh 8:33 must be kept up. The words for ‘bondage’ and ‘servant’ are cognate; therefore either ‘bondage’ and ‘bond-servant,’ or ‘slavery’ and ‘slave,’ must be our renderings.
Some have thought that we have here an echo of Rom 6:16, which of course S. John may have seen. But why may not both passages be original? The idea that vice is slavery is common in all literature: frequent in the classics. 2Pe 2:19 is probably an echo either of this passage or of Rom 6:16. Comp. Mat 6:24.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whosoever committeth sin … – In this passage Jesus shows them that he did not refer to political bondage, but to the slavery of the soul to evil passions and desires.
Is the servant – Is the slave of sin. He is bound to it as a slave is to his master.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 34. Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.] Or, , c., is the slave of sin. This was the slavery of which Christ spoke and deliverance from it, was the liberty which he promised.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our Saviour here correcteth their mistake, letting them know, that he was not speaking about any corporal, but spiritual servitude; not of the freedom of mens bodies from the power of enemies, but of the freedom of mens souls from the slavery and dominion of lusts and corruptions. He that doth sin (saith he) is the servant of sin. The committing or doing of sin here intended, is not to be understood of single acts of sin, for in that sense who lives and sinneth not? (the righteous man sinning seven times in a day); so as all men would be concluded the servants of sin; but of living indulgently and habitually in a course of sin, and in the practice of gross sins; in which sense workers of iniquity is to be taken, Mat 7:23; and this very phrase, 1Jo 3:4. And indeed, the very heathen could see, that there was no such slavery as a servitude to lusts and passions: men are the servants of corruption, 2Pe 2:19; under the dominion of sin, Rom 6:20.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
34, 35. Whosoever committethsinthat is, liveth in the commission of it(Compare1Jn 3:8; Mat 7:23).
is the servant of sinthatis, the bond-servant, or slave of it; for the questionis not about free service, but who are in bondage. (Compare2Pe 2:19; Rev 6:16).The great truth here expressed was not unknown to heathen moralists;but it was applied only to vice, for they were total strangers towhat in revealed religion is called sin. The thought of slavesand freemen in the house suggests to our Lord a wider idea.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Jesus answered them, verily verily I say unto you,…. Taking no notice of their civil liberty, to which he could easily have replied to their confusion and silence, he observes to them their moral servitude and bondage, and in the strongest manner affirms, that
whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin; which must be understood, not of one that commits a single act of sin, though ever so gross, as did Noah, Lot, David, Peter, and others, who yet were not the servants of sin; or of such who sin through ignorance, weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan’s temptations, and especially who commit sin with reluctance, the spirit lusting against it; nor indeed of any regenerate persons, though they are not without sin; nor do they live without the commission of it, in thought, word, or deed; and though they fall into it, they do not continue and live in it, but rise up out of it, through the grace of God, and by true repentance; and so are not to be reckoned the servants of sin, or to be of the devil. But this is to be understood of such whose bias and bent of their minds are to sin; who give up themselves unto it, and sell themselves to work wickedness; who make sin their trade, business, and employment, and are properly workers of it, and take delight and pleasure in it: these, whatever liberty, they promise themselves, are the servants of corruption; they are under the government of sin, that has dominion over them; and they obey it in the lusts thereof, and are drudges and slaves unto it, and will have no other wages at last but death, even eternal death, if grace prevent not; see Ro 6:16.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin ( [ ]). The Western class omits (sin), but that is the idea anyhow. Note the use of (present active participle, continuous habit or practice), not (aorist active participle for single act), precisely as in 1Jo 3:4-8. Note also 3:21 for (the one who practises the truth). Sin, like the worst narcotic, is habit forming. Hence the problem today for criminologists for paroled or pardoned criminals nearly always go back to crime, sink again into sin, the slaves of sin. Xenophon has this notion of the slavery of sin (Memor. IV. 5. 3). So Paul clearly in Rom 6:17; Rom 6:20 “slaves of sin” ( ).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Whosoever committeth [ ] . Rev., more correctly, every one that committeth.
Sin [ ] . The definite article, the sin, shows that Jesus does not mean merely a simple act, but a life of sin. Compare 1Jo 3:4 – 8, and doeth the truth (Joh 3:21); doeth the righteousness (1Jo 2:29). The servant [] . Or, a servant. Properly, a bond – servant or slave. See on Mt 20:26.
Of sin. A few authorities omit, and read whosoever committeth sin is a bond – servant. Compare Rom 6:17, 20.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,” (apekrithe autois ho lesous) “Jesus replied to them directly,” in direct response to their “how” question. (Amen amen lego humin) “Truly, truly, I tell you all,” you who claim to be liberated, free from bondage, because of your racial heritage, Rom 3:19; Joh 8:33; Joh 8:31.
2) “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” (hoti pas ho poion ten hamartian doulos estin tes hamartias) “That everyone repeatedly doing sin, lawless deeds, is (exists as) a slave of sin,” and in bondage to sin, just as you all have been doing in seeking to kill me, for an extended period of time, Joh 5:16; Joh 5:18; Joh 7:19-20; Joh 7:25; Joh 8:37. And they had committed and were then bearers of unforgiven sins, 1Ki 8:46; . Jesus spoke of a more degrading bondage, and a higher order of freedom, than they realized, Rom 6:16; Rom 6:20; 2Pe 2:19.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
34. Every man who committeth sin is the slave of sin. This is an argument drawn from contrary things. They boasted that they were free. He proves that they are the slaves of sin, because, being enslaved by the desires of the flesh, they continually sin. It is astonishing that men are not convinced by their own experience, so that, laying aside their pride, they may learn to be humble. And it is a very frequent occurrence in the present day, that, the greater the load of vices by which a man is weighed down, the more fiercely does he utter unmeaning words in extolling free-will.
Christ appears to say nothing more here than what was formerly said by philosophers, that they who are devoted to their lusts are subject to the most degrading slavery. But there is a deeper and more hidden meaning; for he does not argue what evil men bring on themselves, but what is the condition of human nature. The philosophers thought that any man is a slave by his own choice, and that by the same choice he returns to freedom. But here Christ maintains, that all who are not delivered by him are in a state of slavery, and that all who derive the contagion of sin from corrupted nature are slaves from their birth. We must attend to the comparison between grace and nature, on which Christ here dwells; from which it may be easily seen that men are destitute of freedom, unless they regain it from some other quarter. Yet this slavery is voluntary, so that they who necessarily sin are not compelled to sin.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(34) Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.The Cambridge MS. and some of the Fathers omit the words of sin; but this is clearly to avoid the difficulty of the connection of thought, and they must be regarded as an integral part of the text.
Committeth sin.The Greek word is a present participle, expressing the continuance of the deeds of sin. It means, not simply the committing individual sins, from which no man is free, but the state of the life which is sinful; the state which is opposed to doing the will of the Father, and is expressed in other words as working iniquity (Mat. 7:21; Mat. 7:23.) The truth is taught in the generality of a well-known maxim, but it has for them a special application. They claimed to be Abrahams seed, and therefore free. Let their lives decide the question of their freedom. He could appeal (Joh. 8:28-29) to a perfect harmony with the divine will, and therefore had a perfect freedom. For many of them the voice of conscience must have spoken in terrible words, and must have revealed the chain which had bound them, hand and foot, in the slavery of sin.
Is the servant of sin.The word means bondservant, or slave. It has been rendered by bondman, and this brings out the connection of the word with that for was in bondage, in the last verse.
It is striking that we have this same thought in the letters of both St. Paul and St. Peter. (See margin.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
34. Committeth sin Doeth or practiseth sin. The verb is in the continuous present, expressing what is persistently done.
Servant Slave. Sin, like a slaveholder, blinds his understanding, inflames his passions, and hems in his will. He is circumscribed within the territory of evil.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Jesus answered them, “I tell you emphatically that every one who goes on sinning is a slave of sin”.’
Jesus denies that they are free. ‘So they think they are free,’ He asks. ‘Well, let them consider this. To sin is to be a slave. It is to be sin’s slave.’ As with drugs, men may think they have sin under control, but once they try to escape they soon discover that they are helplessly enslaved. As Paul puts it, ‘the good I want to do, I do not do. The evil that I do not want to do, I do’ (Rom 7:19). For the fact is that it is only when we are happy to continue in sin that we think we have control over it. But once we seek to escape from it, it is then that we discover its bondage. We should note here that slaves, while not over common in Judea, were looked on religiously as equivalent to bastards. To be compared with a slave was thus an insult.
The problem for the Pharisees, as for many, was that they did not recognise that their very regulations brought them into slavery, and that they of all men were not free. Instead of making them sin less their regulations actually made them sin more, bringing them into deeper bondage. For the more they strove, the more they were conscious of sin.
‘I tell you emphatically.’ Literally ‘truly, truly’. This was a distinguishing mark of Jesus’ speech, which He used constantly.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
True liberty:
v. 34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
v. 35. And the servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth ever.
v. 36. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed
v. 37. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill Me because My Word hath no place in you.
v. 38. I speak that which I have seen with, My Father; and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
In a very solemn manner, Jesus here proceeds to explain His statement regarding slavery or bondage. Every doer of sin is a slave of sin. He that commits a sin thereby places himself in its power, is bound and held captive absolutely. And therefore these Jews are servants, slaves, in the spiritual sense. But such a slave has no part and right in the house, he has only duties to perform; he is not his own master and cannot speak of freedom. The servants of sin may now be outward members of the Kingdom, of the Church, but they will in the end be obliged to leave, they will be thrust out from the place where they have usurped the rights of children. It is only the Son of God that is able to bring freedom, emancipation from sin and its service. He has earned freedom from sin for all men by paying the price, the redemption for their sin, His holy blood. That is the only true freedom, which the Son has thus earned and is offering to the whole world, which He wants also these Jews to accept. Jesus was very well aware that they were descendants of Abraham according to the flesh, that they could trace their ancestry back to the great patriarch. But they had little of their ancestor’s manner in them, for they were even now seeking to kill Him, because His Word would not enter into their hearts and minds. The unbelievers are filled with spiteful anger against the true believers, but incidentally shut up their hearts tightly against every form of Gospel influence. While Jesus was making it a practice to speak what He had seen in the bosom of His Father from eternity, all the wonderful things which pertained to the salvation of mankind, the Jews were getting ready and setting their hearts to do what they learned from him who was their father in truth, in a spiritual sense, the devil. They were acting in a perfectly consistent manner. It was a bit of impressive irony which should have opened the eyes of the Jews.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Joh 8:34. Whosoever committeth sin, &c. , doeth, or practiseth sin: to do, in the Hebrew dialect, imports not the present act only, but the habit of doing. Hence some render this, Whosoever practises sin, is the servant, , the slave of sin.There are no greater slaves than those who give themselves up to a vicious kind of life, and to the gratification of their sinful appetites. See Rom 6:16. 2Pe 2:19.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 8:34 . (and that with solemn asseveration), , , Euth. Zigabenus.
] instead of keeping himself free from it.
] as to His moral personality or Ego, comp. as to the figure and subject-matter, Rom 6:17 ff; Rom 7:14 ff. Analogous examples from the Classics in Wetstein; from Philo in Loesner , p. 149.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Ver. 34. Is the servant of sin ] Hath as many lords as lusts: a that as Augustine said of Rome in her pride, she conquered countries, but was vanquished by vices; b and as the Persian kings commanded the whole world, but were commanded by their wives and concubines; so is it with sin’s slaves. This slavery they may easily shake off, saith Seneca; wherein the wise man was utterly out, heavenly wide, as Sir Philip Sidney translateth toto errat caelo.
a
b Victrix Gentium, captiva vitiorum. Aug. Captivarum suarum captiva. Plutarch.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
34. ] ., not = , for that all do; but = , Mat 7:23 . It implies living in the practice of sin , doing sin , as a habit: see reff. The mere moral sentiment of which this is the spiritual expression, was common among the Greek and Roman philosophers. See Wetstein: also Rom 6:12 ; 2Pe 2:19 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 8:34 . The answer is: [ is bracketed by W.H [68] ]. The liberty meant is inward, radical, and individual. “Every one who lives a life of sin is a slave.” Cf. Rom 6:16 ; Rom 6:20 ; 2Pe 2:19 ; Xen., Mem. , iv. 5, 3; Philo’s tract “Quod omnis probus sit liber,” and the Stoic saying “solus sapiens est liber”. The relations subsisting in the house of God, the Theocracy to which they boasted to belong, must be determined by what is spiritual, by likeness to the Head of the house; “this servitude would lead to national rejection,” Edersheim. It behoves them therefore to remember this result of the generally recognised principle that sin masters the sinner and makes him a slave (Joh 8:35 ), viz. , “that the slave does not abide in the house,” does not permanently inherit the promises to Abraham, and the blessedness of fellowship with God; it is the Son who abide for ever. Cf. Heb 3:6 . The slave has no permanent footing in the house: he may be dismissed or sold. The transition which Paul himself had made from the servile to the filial position coloured his view of the Gospel, Gal 4:1-7 ; but here it is not the servile attitude towards God but slavery to sin that is in view. From this slavery only the Son emancipates, . This implies that they were all born slaves and needed emancipation, and that only One, Himself the Son, could give them true liberty. in contrast to the liberty they boasted of in Joh 8:33 . How the Son emancipates is shown in Gal 4:1-7 . The superficial character of the liberty they enjoyed by their birth as Jews is further emphasised in Joh 8:37 .
[68] Westcott and Hort.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh 8:34-38
34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
Joh 8:34 “everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” Jesus was trying to lead them to the spiritual reality behind His previous phrase “make you free” in Joh 8:32, which the statement in Joh 8:33 shows they misunderstood. This statement is related to Jesus’ strong accusations in Joh 8:21; Joh 8:24. His condemnations of these peripheral followers is consummated in Joh 8:44-47.
As Frank Stagg states in New Testament Theology, “the irony of man’s plight is that bondage is the result of his attempt to be free” (p. 32).
The verb here is a present active participle, “doing,” which denotes ongoing sin. Continuing sin is an evidence that one does not “know” the truth (Jesus). This same truth is expressed using the PRESENT TENSE verbs “sinning” in 1Jn 3:6; 1Jn 3:9!
The question is, “Do believers still sin?” The answer must be “yes” (cf. Romans 7; 1 John). Christians struggle with sin, but the lost revel in it and do not recognize it!
The NET Bible (p. 1921 #21) adds a good comment that the contextual sin in John is “unbelief” (the unpardonable sin). This is not an ethical context but a “believe unto salvation context.” The “sin” in 1 John is also unbelief (sin unto death)!
Joh 8:35 This verse does not directly relate to Joh 8:34, but to Joh 8:36. Jesus, not the Moses of rabbinical Judaism, is the true son (cf. Heb 1:2; Heb 3:6; Heb 5:8; Heb 7:28). Only faith in Him, not the performance of endless rules and rituals, can set one free (cf. Joh 8:32).
“forever” See Special Topic at Joh 6:58.
Joh 8:36 “if” This is a third class conditional sentence which speaks of potential action.
Joh 8:37 “yet you seek to kill Me” (cf. Joh 5:18; Joh 7:1; Joh 7:19; Joh 8:37; Joh 8:40; Joh 11:53).
“because My word has no place in you” This phrase can be understood in several senses. A helpful study aid is The Bible in Twenty Six Translations.
1. “because my word hath not free course in you” – American Standard Version
2. “gaineth no ground in you” – The New Testament by Henry Alford
3. “makes no headway among you” – The New Testament: A New Translation by James Moffatt
4. “findeth no place in you” – The Emphasized New Testament: A New Translation by J. B. Rotherham
5. “because my words find no room in your hearts” – The Four Gospels by E. John 8 :Rieu
Again, the problem is receiving or not receiving the gospel. It is an issue of salvation, not moral progress.
Joh 8:38 “which I have seen” This is a perfect active indicative which relates to Jesus’ pre-existence and current fellowship with the Father (cf. Joh 8:40; Joh 8:42).
“you also do the things which you heard from your father” The first mention of “father” could be a reference to Jewish tradition (cf. Isa 29:13). However, in Joh 8:41-44 the subject is qualified to Satan/Devil. Their actions, motives, and words, supposedly supporting “Moses,” clearly show their spiritual orientation. Humans do not/cannot initiate in the spiritual realm. There are two sources of influence (not a dualism) – God/Christ/Spirit or Satan/and His! How one responds to the gospel (cf. Joh 1:12; Joh 3:16; Joh 10:1-18; Joh 14:6) reveals the spiritual orientation!
There is some textual option related to this phrase.
1. both references to “father” could refer to YHWH (no pronoun “your”)
2. the verb is an imperative, not an indicative
(see Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, p.225).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Verily, verily. Called forth by this manifest misrepresentation of the truth. The twelfth occurance. See Joh 1:51.
Whosoever = Every one who.
committeth = doeth or practiseth.
sin. Not a single act, but a life of sin itself. Same as “sin “in Joh 8:21.
the servant = a bondservant.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
34.] ., not = , for that all do; but = , Mat 7:23. It implies living in the practice of sin,-doing sin, as a habit: see reff. The mere moral sentiment of which this is the spiritual expression, was common among the Greek and Roman philosophers. See Wetstein: also Rom 6:12; 2Pe 2:19.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 8:34. , answered) Jesus replies in inverse order to the twofold objection of the Jews, and first goes on with the portion of the discourse concerning freedom, then discusses the portion concerning the children of Abraham, from Joh 8:37.- ) he who habitually committeth sin, as opposed to the truth.- , is the slave) by the very fact, 2Pe 2:19, While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage; Rom 6:16, Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 8:34
Joh 8:34
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin.-This is the most cruel slavery. They were slow to understand his meeting, and he plainly declares it. [He who continues in sin is in slavery to Satan.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
sin
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Verily: Joh 3:3, Mat 5:18
Whosoever: 1Ki 21:25, Pro 5:22, Act 8:23, Rom 6:6, Rom 6:12, Rom 6:16, Rom 6:19, Rom 6:20, Rom 7:14, Rom 7:25, Rom 8:21, Eph 2:2, Tit 3:3, 2Pe 2:19, 1Jo 3:8-10
Reciprocal: Gen 9:25 – Cursed Joh 1:51 – Verily Joh 8:58 – Verily Rom 7:21 – a law
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4
Jesus explained that he was considering another kind of bondage. Servant is from a Greek word that means “slave.” Many people who boast of their personal liberty, are slaves under the cruelest of all masters, that of sill.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 8:34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you. Every one that doeth sin is a slave of sin. Jesus directs them to a slavery of which they have not thought,slavery to sin. Every one who is living a life of sin is a slave; each act of sin is no mere accident of his life, but a token of its nature, a mark of a bondage in which he is continually held. The word doeth is not the same as that which is used in chap. Joh 3:20, Joh 5:29 in connection with evil: that had reference to the commission of particular acts, this to the general course of life, when sin is chosen,Evil be thou my good. The thought is best illustrated by Romans 6 and (especially) Romans 7.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Ver. 34. The genitive of sin, is omitted by the Cambridge MS., and an important document ofthe Itala; without this complement, the sense is: He is a slave, truly a slave, while believing himself a free man; a sense which is perfectly suitable. If, however, with all the other documents, the complement: of sin is sustained, it must be understood: He is a slave, I mean a slave of sin. The sin to which the man at first freely surrenders himself becomes a master, then a tyrant. It ends by entirely confiscating his will. The passage Rom 6:16-18 presents an idea analogous to that of these words. The present participle , who commits (sin) unites the two notions of act and condition; the act proceeds from the condition, then it establishes it. It is a slavery for which the individual is responsible, because he has himself cooperated in creating it. The genitive of sin brings out the degrading character of this dependence; the following clause shows the terrible consequence of it:
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
THE SLAVE OF SIN
Joh 8:34. Jesus responded to them, Truly, truly, I say unto you, That every one doing sin is the slave of sin. The devils people all night long wheeling in the mazy gyrations of the giddy, lustful dance, quaffing the inebriating bowl till they kindle hell-fire in their blood and transform their cranium into rattlesnake dens, wasting their vitality in brutal debaucheries and diabolical sensualities, vainly dream in their drunken revelries that they are the freest people in all the world because they can do such things, while at the same time they are the most miserable slaves, demons from the bottomless pit lashing them with the firebrands of inflamed appetites and abnormal passions, actually precipitating them into suicide, and forcing them, in the black foundries of an earthly pandemonium, to forge the adamantine chains that shall bind them in penal fires through the flight of eternal cycles.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Jesus proceeded to clarify what He meant. He prefaced His declaration with a strong affirmation of its truth (cf. Joh 8:51; Joh 8:58). Everyone who commits acts of sin becomes sin’s slave. The Greek present participle poion ("who commits sin" or "who sins") implies continual sinning rather than an occasional lapse. This is a general truth that applies to both believers and unbelievers. People who continually commit sin become the slaves of sin. Sin tends to become habit-forming and addictive. This type of slavery is more fundamental and personal than mere political slavery.
How does this revelation harmonize with Paul’s teaching about the believer’s relationship to sin that he wrote in Romans 6? In Romans 6, Paul explained that at regeneration God broke the chain that makes the believer the slave of sin. Sin does not have the power to enslave us that it did before we believed in Jesus. However believers can become sin’s slaves by practicing sin (Rom 6:16). We do not need to be its slaves any longer since God has broken its enslaving power over us. We are no longer its slaves, but we can still choose to live as its slaves by submitting to temptation. Sin gains power over us when we yield to temptation.
Similarly a heroin addict cannot break his or her addiction without radical treatment. The treatment can result in total rehabilitation, but the former addict can choose to become a slave again by returning to his or her habit. However he or she does not need to return since liberation has taken place. Another illustration is Israel in the Old Testament. Having experienced liberation from the Egyptians the Israelites chose to return to slavery under the Assyrians and Babylonians though they did not need to do that. By continually sinning they set themselves up for these strong enemies to take them captive.