Listen up, little ones
Listen for the word slave.
Reading
Romans 6:15–23—Slaves: to Whom?
Optional Reading
Optional Reading 1 Samuel 17:1-23
Keys for kids
- Goliath wanted to make Israel slaves to the Philistines.
- Satan wants to make you a slave to sin.
- Jesus sets us free from sin and makes us slaves to God.
Questions
- What was Goliath’s challenge to Israel?
- Humans will be slaves to either ** or __**. (fill in the blanks)
- How can we be set free from slavery to sin?
Notes
Goliath challenged the armies of Israel to send a champion to fight against him. If the champion won, the Philistines would be slaves to Israel (although they didn’t keep Goliath’s agreement) but if Goliath won, Israel would be their slaves. We don’t have a 9-plus foot tall giant as our enemy. We have something far worse! Sin and Satan not only want to make us slaves, in Adam’s sin, we were born as their slaves. But having been rescued by our Champion, Jesus, we are free from that slavery. Now we are, in Christ, slaves to God leading to righteousness.
Doriani notes that Scripture uses “slave” to describe total devotion to God several times. … Acts calls Jesus God’s servant (Acts 3:13; 4:30), and Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus took the form of a slave. So when Paul refers to believers as God’s “slaves” (Gal. 1:10; Eph. 6:6), he is in good company.
Having been saved by grace alone, should we live carelessly or lead intentionally sinful lives? Absolutely not! Instead, we should live as we actually are—slaves to God. As Hendriksen notes, What the apostle is saying, then, is this: no man is free, in the sense of being absolutely independent, “his own boss.” He has a Master. That Master is either Sin or God.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 116b, 119r
Prayer
- Give thanks that you have been rescued from slavery to sin.
- Pray for a specific application from yesterday's sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.