A Compelling Testimony: Maintaining a Disciplined Walk, Christlike Character, and Godly Relationships as God's Servant

Ses s i on 5: Cu l t i vat i ng Our Charac ter : The Outward Di sc i p l i nes 197

3. Central principles

a. The believer through faith has now become a slave to Jesus Christ, and as such, must submit to others in the fear of Christ (1) Gal. 1.10 – For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (2) Eph. 6.5-7 – Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, [6] not by the way of eye service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, [7] rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man

(3) Slavery to Christ and submission to his lordship provides the basis for the exercise of liberty.

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“Am I now persuading men, or God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a slave [ doulos ] of Christ” (Gal. 1.10). Christ’s slave can logically be slave to no one else. Paul’s adherence to this principle and Peter’s violation of it are equally evident during the crisis at Antioch (Gal. 2.11–14). Paul states that Peter withdrew from table fellowship with Gentiles because he feared the members of the circumcision party (Gal. 2.12): their approval, together with that of James’s group, was vital (so he thought) for his theological and social security; thus he allowed them to dictate his actions and, in the process, to override his personal convictions. Despite the risks, Paul “opposed [Peter] to his face” (Gal. 2.11), because “the truth of the gospel” demanded it (Gal. 2.5, 14–21) and because slavery to Christ left no room for the fear of others (Gal. 1.10). By the same token slavery to Christ frees the believers from bondage to self (“the works of the flesh”) and binds them instead to “the law of Christ” and the power of the Spirit (Gal. 5.16–6.10).

~ Gerald F. Hawthorne. Dictionary of Paul and His Letters . (electronic ed.). Logos Library Systems. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997. p. 314.