Broke Bonds - “Will Not Serve”

	"Is Israel a slave?" we read in Jeremiah 2:14-20.  "Or is he a homeborn servant? Why has he become a prey?  The young lions have roared at him, they have roared loudly. And they have made his land a waste; his cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.  Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.  Have you not done this to yourself, by your forsaking the Lord your God, when He led you in the way?  But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates? Your own wickedness will correct you, and your apostasies will reprove you; know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God, and the dread of Me is not in you," declares the Lord God of hosts.  For long ago I broke your yoke {and} tore off your bonds; but you said, 'I will not serve!' For on every high hill and under every green tree you have lain down as a harlot."
	Notice what God tells the Israelites in the first part of this last verse: "For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds; but you said, 'I will not serve.'"  Now here is a group of people with a big problem.
	"I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds," He says.  How true this is.  Jacob and his sons move to Egypt where Joseph helps them through the famine.  It is during the following four centuries of bondage that Israel becomes a nation.  Israel is born in slavery, but God leads them to freedom.  After they enter the land of Canaan, the Jews forsake God.  So he turns them over to oppressors with intermittent relief at the hands of the judges.  It is through these judges that God grants them freedom from their masters.  Then the Israelites are ruled by kings.  But it is not long before they abandon God and are carried away by the Assyrians and Babylonians.  When the Medo-Persians take over from these empires, God once again grants freedom to His people.  But their rebellion results in submission to the Greeks and then the Romans.  It is difficult to keep track of the number of times that God has torn off the bonds of the Israelites.
	How, then, could these people be so blind?  They actually claim in the first century that they have never been enslaved to any one else.
	"Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him," John 8:31-34 records, "'If you abide in My word, {then} you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'  They answered Him, 'We are Abraham's offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, "You shall become free"?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.  And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.  If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.'"
	As we look at the Israelites, we quickly realize that their problem stems from the fact that they refuse to recognize their slavery.  Even when they are under Roman rule, they proudly claim to have never been subject to any one.
	It is easy to see the shortcomings of another.  But this discussion is not about the Israelites.  It is about us and ways in which we are guilty of the same things.  The first step is to acknowledge that we are slaves.  Then we need to try to discover the source of our bondage.
	"Do you not know," Paul points out in Romans 6:16, "that when you present yourselves to someone {as} slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?"
	Like the Israelites, we may deny that we have ever been enslaved.  But this is not true.  We have been enslaved to sin.  The next step, then, is to recognize what it is that sets us free.
	"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," Jesus tells the people of Nazareth in Luke 4:18, "because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden." 
	We must acknowledge that we are captives.  We must understand that sin enslaves us.  And we must recognize that Jesus sets us free.

	"I tore off your bonds," God points out, "but you said, 'I will not serve.'"  The Israelites rebel against God nearly every chance they get.  But what about us?  Jesus sets us free from bondage to sin.  Do we respond by saying, "I will not serve"?
	Although we refuse to recognize it, some of us tell God that we will not serve Him.
	"This people honors Me with their lips," God observes in Matthew 15:8-9, "but their heart is far away from Me.  But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men." 
	When we make up our own rules for religion, are we really serving God?  He doesn't think so.  Aren't we actually saying, "You have torn off our bonds, but we will not serve"?
	What about Jesus?  Are we telling Him, "We will not serve"? When we serve some one, we call that person "Master" or "Lord."
	"And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'" Jesus wonders in Luke 6:46, "and do not do what I say?" 
	When we make up our own rules for religion, are we really serving Jesus?  He doesn't think so.  Aren't we actually saying, "You have torn off our bonds, but we will not serve"?
	And what about serving one another?  What are we telling God when we are too proud to care for someone else?
	"And so when He had washed their feet," we read in John 13:12-17, "and taken His garments, and reclined {at the table} again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you?  You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for {so} I am.  If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.  For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.  Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither {is} one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.  If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
	"Let love be without hypocrisy," Paul admonishes in Romans 12:9-13.  "Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality." 
	When we refuse to serve one another, aren't we really saying, "God tore off my bonds, but I will not serve"?
	And what kind of service is expected of us?  The Bible is very clear.  Talking about service is not enough.
	"Little children," 1 John 3:18 urges, "let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." 
	We are enslaved to sin.  God, through the sacrifice of Jesus, can set us free.  We must be careful to not reply, "But I will not serve."  We must serve God the way He wants us to.  We must serve Jesus the way He wants us to.  And we must be willing to serve each other.  Maybe we would do this, as long as we receive proper recognition, right?  Even after we have served, we need to recognize we have done nothing at all.  We should not expect a big parade.
	"And the apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!'" we find in Luke 17:5-10.  "And the Lord said, 'If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and be planted in the sea"; and it would obey you. But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, "Come immediately and sit down to eat"?  But will he not say to him, "Prepare something for me to eat, and { properly} clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterward you will eat and drink"?  He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?  So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done {only} that which we ought to have done.'"
	Jesus did not die to free us from service.  He died to free us from sin.  He tore off our bonds to sin, but He placed us in bonds to righteousness.  We are fortunate, though, because Jesus is the best master we could ever find.
	"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest," Jesus calls in Matthew 11:28-30. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."
	"Be dressed in readiness," Jesus advises in Luke 12:35-40, "and {keep} your lamps alight.  And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open {the door} to him when he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself {to serve,} and have them recline {at the table,} and will come up and wait on them.  Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds {them} so, blessed are those {slaves}.  And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.  You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."
	We must be ready.  We must not be saying, "I will not serve" when the Lord returns.  If we are prepared, the Master will grant to us a reward beyond our greatest dreams.  We need to be sure we are obeying the truth, so the truth can set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."