I am one of those people who could be called a history nut! I have two degrees in history of one sort or another, and I came to that end because of one of my seminary professors when he spoke to me of choosing a major for my studies. He told me that history showed us that we have options. Well, that did it for me.

We can learn a lot from history—both the good and bad of the behavior of all of humanity. For instance, the American experience of slavery was not a good one. It is vitally important that we learn from history, as Saint Paul deals with the issue of slavery in Romans 6.15-16: ‘What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!’ He indicates that these believing people should have learned from prior experiences.

He powerfully concludes his argument: ‘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?’ You have a choice to make here.

History informs us that the one served makes the determination of the future. Jesus tells us that to obey him leads to life, and not to obey leads to death. The decision is ours to make, and no one can make that decision for anyone else. Simply put, slavery to Jesus is true freedom. I don’t have to die in sin! I choose to be a slave to Jesus Christ!