Bob Dlyan Was RIght: (in his song) You Gotto Serve Somebody

Slaves of Righteousness, Pt. 1
Romans 6:15-19[i]

FREED FROM SIN AND FORGET UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS[ii]

 BOB DYLAN HAD IT CORRECT: YOU GOT TO SERVE SOMEBODY

Bob Dylan actually had it correct in his song, “Gotta Serve Somebody”, 1979,[iii]

You may be an ambassador to England or to France;

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance;

You may be the heavy-weight champion of the world;

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls;

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Yes indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Well it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

but you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Free from Sin, Slaves of Righteousness[iv]  Romans 6:15-19 Slaves to God, Sanctification, Eternal Life. Romans 6:20-22 The Free Gift of God is Eternal Life Romans 6:23

Don’t Let Sin Master You, Because Sin Is not Going to Master You

What does it mean to live "under grace" rather than "under law"? That question has been asked in many ways over the centuries. The latter, "under law," refers to the self-achievement of righteousness. It is man relying on himself to produce enough righteousness for his standing with God. "Under grace" is just the opposite. It is reliance on the righteousness of Christ for one's standing with God. So to be "under grace" is to be in Christ rather than in Adam; it is the old man crucified with Christ and the new man living unto God.

As John MacArthur has said  there are only two forms of religion: The religion of self work or human achievement or  and the religion of Christ achievement.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) “fought” for the freedom of enslaved and oppressed peoples for over thirty years and is rightly recognized as one of the world’s great leaders in this regard. He protested racial legislation in South Africa and led civil disobedience campaigns in his native India in order to secure home rule. He was especially noted for his commitment to non-violent ways, his self-discipline and denial, as well as his championing of the underclass within the caste system. It has been said that the theme of his life revolved around the question: “How can people know freedom from slavery—politically, socially, or internally within themselves?”50 [v]

o   Christian, this too should be your theme. Not freedom from political institutions per se, but freedom from sin, on the one hand, and enslavement to God, righteousness, sanctification, and eternal life, on the other. Again, we should ask how can I, as a believer in Jesus Christ, be freed from the reigning power of sin in my daily life? Gandhi was quoted as saying, “the moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall.”51 [vi]The gospel has made every provision for this reality in your life. Have you resolved that sin will no longer have dominion over you? Paul says in Romans 6:15-23 that a proper understanding of grace (and the fact that the Christian is not under law) should lead to freedom from sin and enslavement to obedience.

Near the end of Gandhi’s life he made the following comment:

o   What I want to achieve—what I have been striving and pining to achieve these thirty years—is self realization, to see God face to face, to attain Moksha (spiritual deliverance)…I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after Him…For it is an unbroken fortune to me that I am still so far from Him…I have not seen Him, neither have I known Him.52 [vii]

o   But according to Jesus Christ, the Christian knows God and has been spiritually delivered from sin. Therefore, Christian, live like it is so, for the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now, one would think that these two terms would be easy to grasp and apply in daily life. Yet that does not seem to be the case. Once man is confronted with the gospel of grace that strips him of all self-dependence for righteousness, it dramatically changes his thinking. He has been so accustomed to living in bondage to sin that the liberty that comes in redemption through Christ shatters all notions of daily life. He has new capacities, abilities, strength, power, and ambitions in which he grows and matures.

Yet not without struggles along the way. He still lives in a body affected by sin. He still faces the tyranny of sin trying to reclaim mastery over his life. Ironically, the more he grows in grace the more he realizes his weakness and helplessness in the daily battle with sin. More and more, he learns to rely upon Christ and His gospel. Each stage of his pilgrimage he finds the truth of grace reigning through righteousness more liberating.

Idea:  Romans 6:15-23[viii]

The reason Christians who are no longer the law, but under grace should not sin is because it leads to slavery to sin and death, whereas slavery to righteousness leads to eternal life.

I. Should Christians who are no longer under law, but under grace, continue in sin? Absolutely not! (6:15)

II. A person is a slave to the one whom he obeys, whether sin resulting in death or obedience resulting in righteousness (6:16)

III. Paul gives thanks for the Roman Christians because they had become obedient to righteousness which leads to sanctification and he encourages them to continue to offer themselves as slaves to righteousness (6:17-20)

IV. Paul reminds the Roman Christians that their previous way of life reaped shame and death whereas now, having been freed from sin, they are reaping sanctification, the end of which is eternal life (6:21-22)

V. The payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (6:23)

I. The Choices
II. V. 17-18 THE CHANGES
 Not only does Paul speak of the choice we must make in life, but he also refers to the changes that come about in our lives when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Romans 6:17  “But God be thanked, that you were slaves¹¹⁴⁰¹ of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”

But

·       Paul now is going to change direction:  He begins a contrast which expresses the absolute incompatibility of living in sin on the part of the believer.

God be thanked: i.e. “grace to God.

THAT YOU WERE THE SERVANT[ix] OF SIN

·       The idea that you committed over and over actions that was contrary to the will of God. The point is before we were saved, we were in slavery to the idea of serving self.

• a slave, bondman, man of servile condition
• a slave
• metaph., one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men
• devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests
• a servant, attendant

BUT YOU HAVE OBEYED⁵²¹⁹

·       I Peter 1:22-23`

·       You became obedience to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ unto salvation. Literally you listen with attentiveness and you respond graciously to what you heard and you on purpose.

·       There was a definite time in the past that clearly you believed that the life of Jesus Christ was given to you.

FROM THE HEART

·       And gave your heart and mind to what you were hearing.

·       There was a time that you gave your life to Christ’s teaching.

·       It’s the Ezekiel 36:26-27, 11:19; 18:31; Jeremiah 31:33-32, 39-40 idea.

·       I understand you could not live without a physical heart, and if there is something that is going to block the working of the heart, you do something about it.

·       Well in the same way the integrity of our spiritual heart is vital to our spiritual life, for our spiritual life impacts not just our enjoyment of time in this life but thought out eternity.

Spurgeon said:

Spurgeon writes "A short life should be wisely spent. We have not enough time at our disposal to justify us in misspending a single quarter of an hour. Neither are we sure of enough life to justify us in procrastinating for a moment. If we were wise in heart we should see this, but mere head wisdom will not guide us aright."  Psalms 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”

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[i] http://www.southwoodsbc.org/sermons/romans_06.15-19a.php

[ii]  John MacArthur  http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-302

[iii] Bob Dylan video:  GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FavBDpg91gA&feature=related

Born 1941 Rock, folk rock, blues, country, gospel.

64  74198 42010

You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,
You may be the head of some big TV network,
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,
You may be living in another country under another name

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything but no matter what you say

You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

In the late 1970s, Dylan became a born-again Christian and released two albums of Christian gospel music. Slow Train Coming (1979) featured the guitar accompaniment of Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits) and was produced by veteran R&B producer, Jerry Wexler. Wexler recalled that when Dylan had tried to evangelize him during the recording, he replied: "Bob, you're dealing with a sixty-two-year old Jewish atheist. Let's just make an album." The album won Dylan a Grammy Award as "Best Male Vocalist" for the song "Gotta Serve Somebody". The second evangelical album, Saved (1980), received mixed reviews, and was described by Dylan critic Michael Gray as "the nearest thing to a follow-up album Dylan has ever made, Slow Train Coming II and inferior." When touring from the fall of 1979 through the spring of 1980, Dylan would not play any of his older, secular works, and he delivered declarations of his faith from the stage, such as:

Years ago they ... said I was a prophet. I used to say, "No I'm not a prophet" they say "Yes you are, you're a prophet." I said, "No it's not me." They used to say "You sure are a prophet." They used to convince me I was a prophet. Now I come out and say Jesus Christ is the answer. They say, "Bob Dylan's no prophet." They just can't handle it.[173]

[iv] JOHN PIPER http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper2k/12-03-00.htm

[v] 50 See Richard Bewes, Great Quotations of the Twentieth Century (Great Britain: Christian Focus, 1999), 115-16, 125.

[vi] 52 As cited in Bewes, Great Quotations, 125.

[vii] 52 As cited in Bewes, Great Quotations, 125.

[viii] http://bible.org/seriespage/study-and-exposition-romans-615-23

[ix] SERVANT: http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=1401

1. a slave, bondman, man of servile condition
1. a slave
2. metaph., one who gives himself up to another's will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men
3. devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests
2. a servant, attendant