A Reminder of Slavery

From Revealing Histories

This Sunday I started thinking about slavery.  It wasn't a typical sermon, but one of sharing that happens a couple times a year at our church.  I was reading along with several passages using the Olive Tree app on Amy's iPad (or my iPhone)--I really like making notes in the app and then I can sync them between devices so I always have them, even across multiple translations.  My preferred translation is frequently the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard) because of their translation of the Greek word doulos.

Are we servants or slaves?Slaves had no rights, but some servants did. So when readers see Christians called to be Christ's slaves in the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the radical nature of discipleship is clearer.
--from HCSB.org

Next to every instance in the digital version of the HCSB you'll find this note that will pop up.  "The strong Greek word doulos cannot be accurately translated in English as servant or bond servant; the HCSB translates this word as slave, not out of insensitivity to the legitimate concerns of modern English speakers, but out of a commitment to accurately convey the brutal reality of the Roman empire's inhumane institution as well as the ownership called for by Christ."

I've posted about this in the past (back in 2009 actually) and I've read much of the way through John MacArthur's book Slave.  On Sunday I was prompted to search through the New Testament for instances of slave.  At some point I'd like to highlight each verse in my Bible app so that when I'm reading another translation I'll recognize that this is a doulos verse I'm reading.  Anyway, six different New Testament books start out with a reminder of the fact that we are slaves to Christ just like those whom God inspired to write these books.  All of the text below comes from the Holman Christian Standard version.

Romans 1:1
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God’s good news — 

Titus 1:1
Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to build up the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, 

James 1:1
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion.  Greetings. 

2 Peter 1:1
Simeon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ:
To those who have obtained a faith of equal privilege with ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Jude 1:1
Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James:
To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ. 

Revelation 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John,

They're all good reminders, even if we don't want to be reminded because we are uncomfortable to be reminded about slavery.  A review I found when just searching makes an excellent point about the subject.

The book takes us back to an OT understanding of Israelite slavery, recalling the oppressive slavery of Pharaoh to the Hebrews in Egypt.  Although God freed the Israelites from that form of slavery, he did not simply release them to their own desires.  Rather, God moved them from one form of slavery to another; slaves of Pharaoh have become the slaves of God.  MacArthur says, "the exodus from Egypt did not give the Israelites complete autonomy.  Rather, it issued them into a different kind of bondage.  Those who had once been the property of Pharaoh became the Lord's possession."  From there, the book asserts that Paul and the rest of the NT authors knew exactly what they were describing when they used the word "slave" to depict their relationship with Christ, fully aware of the Jewish history and Greco-Roman culture.
--from Philip Meade.com

~Matt