Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 7:23
Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
23. be not ye the servants of men ] Literally, slaves of men. Let your minds and spirits be free, whatever may be your outward condition, i.e. be indifferent to mere external relations altogether, for though man may enslave the body he cannot enslave the soul.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ye are bought with a price – Though you are slaves to people, yet you have been purchased for God by the blood of His Son; see the note at 1Co 6:20. You are, therefore, in his sight of inestimable worth, and are bound to be His.
Be not ye the servants of men – That is, Do not regard yourselves as the slaves of men. Even in your humble relation of life, even as servants under the laws of the land, regard yourselves as the servants of God, as obeying and serving him even in this relation, since all those who are bought with a price – all Christians, whether bond or free – are in fact the servant (slaves, douloi) of God, 1Co 7:22. in this relation, therefore, esteem yourselves as the servants of God, as bound by his laws, as subject to him, and as really serving him, while you yield all proper obedience to your master. Rosenmuller, Grotius, and some others, however, think that this refers to Christians in general; and that the apostle means to caution them against subjecting themselves to needless rites and customs which the false teachers would impose on them. Others have supposed (as Doddridge) that it means that they should not sell themselves into slavery; but assuredly a caution of this kind was not needful. The view given above I regard as the interpretation demanded by the connection. And in this view it would promote contentment, and would even prevent their taking any improper measures to disturb the relations of social life, by the high and solemn consideration that even in that relation they were in common with all Christians, the true and real servants of God. They belonged to God, and they should serve Him. In all things which their masters commanded, that were in accordance with the will of God, and that could be done with a quiet conscience, they were to regard themselves as serving God; if at any time they were commanded to do that which God had forbidden, they were to remember that they were the servants of God, and that he was to be obeyed rather than man.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 23. Ye are bought with a price] As truly as your bodies have become the property of your masters, in consequence of his paying down a price for you; so sure you are now the Lord’s property, in consequence of your being purchased by the blood of Christ.
Some render this verse interrogatively: Are ye bought with a price from your slavery? Do not again become slaves of men. Never sell yourselves; prefer and retain your liberty now that ye have acquired it.
In these verses the apostle shows that the Christian religion does not abolish our civil connections; in reference to them, where it finds us, there it leaves us. In whatever relation we stood before our embracing Christianity, there we stand still; our secular condition being no farther changed than as it may be affected by the amelioration of our moral character. But slavery, and all buying and selling of the bodies and souls of men, no matter what colour or complexion, is a high offence against the holy and just God, and a gross and unprincipled attack on the liberty and rights of our fellow creatures.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What price we are bought with, we heard, 1Co 6:20; the apostle there pressed it upon us as our duty to glorify God with our bodies and our spirits; here he presseth upon us another duty, viz. upon that consideration not to be
the servants of men; by which some think he forbiddeth the selling themselves as slaves to infidels; others think that he only forbiddeth eye-service, as the apostle calls it, Eph 6:6; while in the mean time they might be the servants of men, if they served them as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men. But the most probable interpretation is: Be not servants to the lusts of men: wherein you can serve men, and in the same actions also serve God, and be obedient to his will, you may be the servants of men; but be not servants of men in such actions wherein, to serve them, you must disobey God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. be not yeGreek,“become not ye.” Paul here changes from “thou”(1Co 7:21) to “ye.”YE ALL are “bought”with the blood of Christ, whatever be your earthly state (1Co6:20). “Become not servants to men,” either externally,or spiritually; the former sense applying to the free alone: thelatter to Christian freemen and slaves alike, that they should not beservile adherents to their party leaders at Corinth (1Co 3:21;1Co 3:22; Mat 23:8-10;2Co 11:20); nor indeed slaves tomen generally, so far as their condition admits. The external andinternal conditions, so far as is attainable, should correspond, andthe former be subservient to the latter (compare 1Co 7:21;1Co 7:32-35).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ye are bought with a price,…. Some read these words interrogatively, as 1Co 7:18, “are ye bought with a price?” and suppose them directed to such who had bought out their time of servitude with a sum of money, and ought not to return to their former condition; but they are rather to be read affirmatively, and to be understood of all, whether freemen or servants, that are bought with the inestimable price of Christ’s blood, as in 1Co 6:20 and contain in them a reason why such as are called by the grace of God, whilst in a state of civil servitude, are Christ’s freemen, because they are redeemed by him from sin, Satan, the law, and from among men; and also why such as are called by the grace of God, being in a state of civil liberty, are Christ’s servants, because he has purchased them with his blood, and therefore has a right unto them, both to their persons and service:
be not ye the servants of men: not that the apostle dissuades such as are redeemed by Christ, and are believers in him, from being the servants of men in a civil sense; for this would be to contradict himself, who here and elsewhere exhorts servants to continue in the service of their masters, and to perform it heartily and cheerfully, and with great sincerity and integrity; but his meaning is, that since they were redeemed from a vain conversation by the blood of Christ, they should not be servants to the lusts of men, nor obey them in things sinful and wicked, which were contrary to law and Gospel, and which were made unlawful by the word of God, and were a breach of the command of their Lord and master Christ; nor should they in matters of religion and the worship of God submit to the authority of any set of men whatever, or be subject to the doctrines and commandments of men; whether these relate to Jewish ceremonies, or Gentile superstitions, or be a mixture of both: they were to call no man master upon earth; nor suffer any to lord it over them, as the false teachers very much did in this church; but to acknowledge Christ, who had bought them to be their only Lord and master. The allusion seems to he to a tradition of the Jews, that the Israelites being redeemed out of Egypt were the servants of God, and not of men p;
“R. Jochanan ben Zaccai was explaining this Scripture, Ex 21:6 how different the ear is from all the members of the body; says the holy blessed God, the ear that heard my voice on Mount Sinai, at the time I said, the children of Israel are my servants, , and “not servants to servants”; and this goes and gets itself a master, let it be bored: R. Simeon ben Ribbi was explaining the same Scripture, how different the door and the door post were from all the parts of the house; says the holy blessed God, the door and the door post, which were witnesses in Egypt, at the time that I passed by the threshold, and by the two door posts, and I said, the children of Israel are my servants, and not servants to servants, and I brought them out of bondage to liberty; and this goes and gets itself a master, let it be bored before them.”
p T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 22. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Ye were bought with a price ( ). See on 6:20 for this very phrase, here repeated. Both classes (slaves and freemen) were purchased by the blood of Christ.
Become not bondservants of men ( ). Present middle imperative of with negative . Literally, stop becoming slaves of men. Paul here clearly defines his opposition to human slavery as an institution which comes out so powerfully in the Epistle to Philemon. Those already free from human slavery should not become enslaved.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The servants of men. Not referring to the outward condition of bondage, but to spiritual subjection to the will and guidance of men as contrasted with Christ.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) Ye are bought with a price. (times egorasthete) of or with a market-place like price ye were purchased, or bought out of the slave-market. 1Co 6:20; 1Pe 1:18-19.
2) Be not ye the servants of men. (me ginesthe douloi anthropon) do not become slaves of common humanity, the unregenerate desires of men, or Eph 6:6.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23. Yea are bought with a price We had these words in the preceding chapter, (1Co 6:20,) but for a different purpose. As to the word price, I have stated there, what is my view of it. The sum is this, that he exhorts servants, indeed, not to be anxious as to their condition, but wishes them rather to take heed not to subject themselves to the wicked or depraved inclinations of their masters. “We are holy to the Lord, because he has redeemed us: let us, therefore, not defile ourselves for the sake of men, as we do when we are subject to their corrupt desires.” This admonition was very necessary at that time, when servants were driven by threats and stripes, and even fear of death, to obey every kind of command without selection or exception, so that they reckoned the procuring of prostitutes, and other crimes of that nature, to be duties belonging to servants, equally with honorable employment’s. It is, therefore, not without reason that Paul makes this exception — that they are not to yield obedience in things base and wicked. Would that this were thoroughly and entirely impressed upon the minds of all! There would not, in that case, be so many that prostitute themselves to the lusts of men, as if exposed for sale. As for us, let us bear in mind, that we belong to him who has redeemed us.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) Ye are bought with a price . . .Better, You were bought with a price therefore become not slaves of men. This carries on the idea of freedmen of the previous verse. With a great priceeven the blood of Christthey have been purchased by Him as freedmen: therefore, do not become slaves of mendo not yield to their views by seeking to change the condition of your calling.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. Bought Carrying out the metaphor of the slave; but it is still used to show that, as purchased by Christ, they are wrongfully bought and sold and owned by men.
Be not ye
“The condition of the slave population of Rome was one of inconceivable wretchedness. Colossal piles built by their blood and sweat attest the bitterness of their bondage. The lash of the taskmaster was heard in the fields, and crosses bearing aloft their quivering victims polluted the public highways. Vidius Pollio fed his lampreys with the bodies of his slaves. Four hundred of these wretched beings deluged with their blood the funeral pyre of Pedanius Secundus. A single freedman possessed over four thousand of these human chattels. They had no rights of marriage nor any claim to their children. This dumb, weltering mass of humanity, crushed by power, led by their lusts, and fed by public dole, became a hotbed of vice in which every evil passion grew.”
Yet how Christianity ignored degrading distinctions is thus shown by the records on their tombs. “Out of eleven thousand Christian inscriptions of the first six centuries, scarce half a dozen make any reference to a condition of servitude, and of these, as Dr. Northcote remarks, two or three are doubtful. Yet of pagan epitaphs at least three fourths are those of slaves or freedmen. The conspicuous absence of recognition of this unhappy distinction is no mere accident. We know that the Christians were largely drawn from the servile classes, but in the Church of God there was no respect of persons.” Catacombs, p. 485.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘You were bought with a price. Do not be the bondservants of men.’
Taken literally this would contradict what he has said above. But he does not intend it to be taken literally. It continues the thought that Christians are bondservants to Christ (1Co 7:22). He is saying that having been bought by Christ through the giving of His own precious blood (1Pe 1:18-19, and having been redeemed through His suffering, they should be His slaves and not slaves to every wind of men’s devising. They should not let men determine their lives and how they lived, especially where they required that which was abhorrent to God. They should obey God rather than men (Act 5:29). They may have to serve men because God has ordained it, but they should not see it as service to men. Indeed their service to men should be seen as service to God, so that they served not as menpleasers but as God pleasers (Eph 6:6; Col 3:22). For from now on all their service should be seen in this way, a service honoured in that it was the way Christ walked (Php 2:7; Mar 10:43-45).
The word for ‘price’ contains within it reflections of honour (compare the use of ‘tim-es’ in 1Ti 5:17). What we pay a good price for is highly valued, and what is highly valued we pay a good price for. Thus as these have been bought with such a price they are so important that they are above slavery to men.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Co 7:23. Ye are bought with a price Slaves were bought and sold in the market, as cattle are, and the laws of the Roman Empire considered them as the property of the purchasers. This therefore is a reason for what the Apostle advised, 1Co 7:21 that they should not be slaves to men, that is, not make themselves the slaves of men, because Christ had paid a price for them, and they belonged to him. But he tells them in general, in the next verse, that nothing in any man’s civil estate or right is altered by his becoming a Christian. See Locke. According to Dr. Whitby the meaning is, “Are you redeemed from servitude? Do not sell yourselves for slaves again.” It is indeed probable, that the Apostle does counsel Christians against becoming slaves, if it could be prevented; and with great reason; as it was a circumstance which seemed less suitable to the dignity of the Christian profession, and must expose them to many incumbrances and interruptions in duty, especially on the sabbath, and other seasons of religious assembly,besides the danger of being present at domestic idolatrous sacrifices, or being ill-treated if they refused their compliance. The interpretation, however, seems objectionable, because the advice is unnecessarily restrained thereby to those slaves who had been redeemed; which plainly as well suited those who had theirfreedom given them; and indeed suited all Christians, who never had been slaves at all, and who might more easily have been prevailed upon by their poverty to bring themselves into a condition, the evils and inconveniences of which they did not thoroughly know.If a state of slavery be so inconvenient for the practice and unworthythe dignity of the Christian profession,in how horrible a light must they stand, who call themselves Christians, and yet carry on an infamous traffick, in order to enslave, and reduce to the most complicated distress, millions of their fellow-creatures! See Mr. Sharp’s short account of Africa, and of the Slave-tra
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Co 7:23 . For a price (see on 1Co 6:20 ) were ye (my readers in general) bought (namely, by Christ to be His slaves); become not (therefore) servants of men; i.e. do not make yourselves dependent upon what men wish and demand of you, instead of allowing your conduct to be moulded by Christ’s will and service. Paul designs that this should be applied to the mistaken submission shown on the part of the church to such as wished that men should break up or alter their civil relationships and other existing situations to please them, and in compliance with their solicitations and deceptive suggestions. This more specific reference of the warning, in itself conveyed in general terms, we may naturally gather from 1Co 7:24 . Instigations and seductions of this kind, arising partly, perhaps, from fanatical excitement, must plainly have occurred at Corinth in connection with circumstances of the details of which we are ignorant; for otherwise the whole of the minute instructions from 1Co 7:17 to 1Co 7:24 would lack any concrete basis. The interpretation with which Chrysostom and Theophylact content themselves is therefore much too vague: that Paul is forbidding men-pleasing generally, and compliance with immoral demands. So also Theodoret’s view, that he enjoins . Osiander and Neander’s rendering is too general also (“every kind of wrong dependence”). It is altogether alien to the context, 1Co 7:17-24 , to suppose that refers to Paul, Cephas, Apollos, etc. (Rckert), and that the meaning is substantially the same as had been expressed in 1Co 3:21 by (Hofmann). Equally out of accordance with the subject in hand is Billroth’s exposition (given before by Vatablus), that the apostle exhorts the slaves not to do their service for the sake of men , but for the Lord’s sake (Col 3:22 ). Heydenreich, on the other hand, holds (with Menochius, Hammond, Knatchbull, Mosheim, Michaelis, Zachariae) that he is admonishing the freemen not to sell themselves into slavery. But, even putting out of account the second person plural, which directs the words to the readers generally, were that the meaning, Paul would undoubtedly have called attention to a new illustration of his rule, as he does in 1Co 7:18 ; 1Co 7:21 . And how unlikely a thing that men went into slavery in those days for the sake of Christianity (for according to the connection it is this motive which must be presupposed, not: for gain’s sake )!
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
Ver. 23. Ye are bought with a price ] The redeemed among the Romans were to addict themselves to the service of their redeemers, and to observe them as their parents all days of their lives.
Be not ye the servants of men ] When they command you things forbidden by Christ, or when they would tyrannize over your consciences, as the Jesuits, that require blind obedience. Cardinal Tolet saith, The people may merit at God’s hand in believing a heresy, if their teacher propound it; for their obedience is meritorious. (Cases of Conscience.) If a priest teach it (saith Stapleton), be it true, be it false, take it as God’s oracle. If the Church should approve and authorize Arianism or Pelagianism, saith Erasmus (Epist. ad Firkeimer), I would do so too. But so would no wise man.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
23 .] Following out of , by reminding them of the PRICE PAID whereby Christ PURCHASED them for His (ch. 1Co 6:20 ): and precept thereupon , BECOME NOT SLAVES OF MEN: i.e. ‘do not allow your relations to human society, whether of freedom or slavery, to bring you into bondage so as to cause you anxiety to change the one or increase the other.’ Chrys., al., think the precept directed against , and general regard to men’s opinion. But it is better to restrict it (however it may legitimately be applied generally) to the case in hand. Hammond, Knatchbull, Michaelis, al., understand it as addressed to the free , and meaning that they are not to sell themselves into slavery : but this is evidently wrong: as may be seen by the change to the second person plur . as addressing all his readers : besides that a new example would have been marked as in 1Co 7:18 ; 1Co 7:21 . See Stanley’s note.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 7:23 . (see note on 1Co 6:20 ) explains the position both of the and the . by the same act of purchase: the slave has been liberated from sin, and the freeman bound to a new Lord. The point of the appended exhortation, . ., is not obvious: we can scarcely imagine free Christians selling themselves into slavery ; and subservience to party leaders (so Mr [1105] , Hf [1106] , Lt [1107] , El [1108] ; cf. 1Co 1:12 , 1Co 2:4 , etc.) appears foreign to this context. It is better to take the warning quite generally: as much as to say, “Let no human influence divert you from service to God, or infringe on the devotion due to your Redeemer”; cf. Gal 5:1 ; Gal 6:14 . Public opinion and the social pressure of heathenism were too likely to enslave the Corinthians.
[1105] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).
[1106] J. C. K. von Hofmann’s Die heilige Schrift N.T. untersucht , ii. 2 (2te Auflage, 1874).
[1107] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).
[1108] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
are = were.
bought. See 1Co 6:20.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
23.] Following out of , by reminding them of the PRICE PAID whereby Christ PURCHASED them for His (ch. 1Co 6:20): and precept thereupon, BECOME NOT SLAVES OF MEN: i.e. do not allow your relations to human society, whether of freedom or slavery, to bring you into bondage so as to cause you anxiety to change the one or increase the other. Chrys., al., think the precept directed against , and general regard to mens opinion. But it is better to restrict it (however it may legitimately be applied generally) to the case in hand. Hammond, Knatchbull, Michaelis, al., understand it as addressed to the free, and meaning that they are not to sell themselves into slavery: but this is evidently wrong: as may be seen by the change to the second person plur. as addressing all his readers: besides that a new example would have been marked as in 1Co 7:18; 1Co 7:21. See Stanleys note.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 7:23. , you have been bought) by God [as the servants of Christ.-V. g.]- , [not as Engl. Vers. be not ye] do not become) The internal and external state should, so far as it is attainable, agree together, and the latter should be subservient to the former. To become here, is properly applied to those, who are not slaves. [Let not him who is free, cast away his liberty. Not. crit.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 7:23
1Co 7:23
Ye were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men.-Inasmuch as Christ had bought them with his blood, they were his bond servants. Now they were to serve Christ in continuing in submission to their earthly masters with the fidelity with which they served God and as service rendered to God. Paul gives the principle on which the slave was to serve: Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not in the way of eye- service, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that whatsoever good things each one doeth, the same shall he receive again from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. (Eph 6:5-8). The servant is to do service to the earthly master as to the Lord, and God will recompense him for the service done, as though rendered unto him.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
are: 1Co 6:20, Lev 25:42, Act 20:28, Tit 2:14, 1Pe 1:18, 1Pe 1:19, 1Pe 3:18, Rev 5:9
be: Mat 23:8-11, Gal 2:4
Reciprocal: Lev 25:55 – my servants 2Ti 2:4 – that he 2Pe 2:1 – bought
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 7:23. This does not contradict 1Co 7:21. It means not to serve men as to any religious directions. The temporal masters often bought their slaves, and likewise Christ has purchased his with his own blood. (See chapter 6:19, 20.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Vv. 23. The second person plural which comes in here shows that the apostle is addressing the entire Church without distinction. If some from being slaves have become free, and the others from being free have become slaves, it is because a purchase has been made; this purchase, so far as it is a ransom, has freed the slaves, and, as a purchase price, it has brought the free into servitude.
But how is the warning which follows connected with the mention of the great fact of redemption? Some have thought that Paul meant thereby to prevent the free men of Corinth from selling themselves as slaves for the service of Christ (Michalis, Heydenreich). But no trace is found of such conduct, and in any case the transition to so new an idea would be denoted by some particle or other.
Monod compares this saying with a passage of the letter of Ignatius to Polycarp (c. 4), where the former writes of male and female servants: Let them not desire to be set free at the charge of the common treasury, lest they should be found the slaves of their lust. Paul, he thinks, is reminding Christians thus redeemed that they ought to take care to maintain their independence over-against the Church, or those who have rendered them this service. But how can we bring ourselves to apply to such a purchase the solemn expression, bought with a price? comp. 1Co 6:20. Besides, Paul addresses this recommendation, as we have seen, to the whole Church. This last reason equally forbids us to accept the opinion of Chrysostom (De Virgin., c. 41), quoted by Edwards, according to which Paul recommends slaves not to serve servilely, but as exercising their spiritual liberty; comp. Col 3:23. Rckert, Hofmann, compare this warning with 1Co 3:21 : Let no man glory in men; they think that Paul is inviting the Church to shake off the yoke of the party leaders spoken of in the first chapters. Nothing appears in the context which could call forth such a warning here, and how should Paul immediately return from this strange thought to the general rule, 1Co 7:24? Meyer’s solution seems to me the most natural. Paul, he thinks, wishes to combat the docility of the Church towards certain agitators who were urging believers, in consequence of their conversion, to change their external situation. Indeed, Meyer rightly observes that unless we assume such a tendency, this whole digression (1Co 7:17-24) lacks a basis. Perhaps it was above all in regard to questions about slavery and liberty that those men sought to impose their opinions on the other members of the Church. Let the severe saying, 1Co 4:15, be remembered: Though ye should have ten thousand tutors in Christ…!
The apostle concludes by reproducing in a summary form the general principle already twice stated, 1Co 7:17; 1Co 7:20.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Ye were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 23
Be not ye the servants of men; a general caution addressed to all, against too great subserviency to human authority, suggested by the subject which the apostle had been discussing.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1Co 7:23. Proof of slave of Christ. Same words in 1Co 6:20 to prove you are not your own.
You were bought, do not become: an appeal to the whole church. The word freeman in contrast to slave marked the end of the discussion about slavery.
Servants, or slaves, of men: cp. Gal 1:10; Col 3:22; Col 3:24. Those who forget the Master who has put them where they are that they may do His work and who will pay their wages, become servants of men: i.e. whether slaves or freemen they feel that their well-being depends upon the favor of men, and that they themselves are therefore at the mercy of men. And this is the essence of bondage. Become, rather than be, reminds us that Christ has made His people free, and that to look upon men as the arbiters of our destiny is to abandon our freedom. Cp. Gal 5:1. Christ died that we may be His servants and His only. Therefore, the blood shed on Calvary, which has made us free, forbids us to bow to the yoke of bondage.
Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament
7:23 {14} Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
(14) He shows the reason of the unlikeness, because he that desired to be circumcised makes himself subject to man’s tradition and not to God. And this may be much more understood of superstitions, which some do foolishly consider to as things indifferent.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul’s thought returned to the Cross again (cf. 1Co 6:20). God has set us free from the worst kind of slavery having purchased us with the precious blood of His Son. How foolish then it would be for us to give up any of the liberties we enjoy that enable us to serve Jesus Christ. How ridiculous it would be to place ourselves back into a slave relationship to anyone or anything but Him. This applies to physical and spiritual bondage.