“Slave of Jesus
Christ” The Badge of Greatness
Pastor Tony Butler
Mother
Teresa is a woman whose name has become synonymous with greatness. This
correlation may have resulted from her philosophy of greatness. She simply
believed, "We can do no great things; only small things with great
love." Such words are reminiscent of our Lord's immortal words on
greatness in Mark 10:43, "...whoever wishes to become great among you
shall be your servant." (Gr. Doulos – slave)
It would seem in the American church the majority of
professing Christians identify more with Jesus in the areas of power, position,
authority and getting blessed than they do with being His slave. The NT writers
bore the title, “slave of the Lord Jesus Christ” gladly and with great honor.
Most do not realize that the title “Christian” is used only once in the New
Testament, and that it was a name given to believers by the unsaved. I am not
suggesting that we do away with the title of “Christian” because of little
mention in the scriptures, any more than I would suggest doing away with the
term, “born again” which is also only mentioned once. One can do all the
service to mankind in the world, but if he/she is not born again it will avail
nothing concerning salvation and forgiveness. Salvation is a gift from God that
can’t be earned or deserved.
I am suggesting that we begin to identify more as the
servants of Christ, which is mentioned far more than any of the above terms.
There are specific distinctions of every true servant of Jesus Christ. Of
course he/she will be born again and a Christian, but being a slave of Jesus
carries a greater understanding of our role in the earth. The following are
some of the marks of a true slave of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The true slave of Jesus has been purchased to God
by the blood of Jesus Christ. He/she now belongs to God and no longer has any
personal claims to his/her own life. I
Cor. 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of
the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; you were purchased at a price. (Rev. 5:9; Acts 20:28)
The true slave of Jesus will
seek to obey and please his/her master. Gal. 1:10 “…or
do I seek to please men? for if I yet
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
The true slave of Jesus is
the servant of all men and esteems them greater than himself/herself. Metaphorically it is one who gives himself/herself
up to Christ as a slave in order to extend and advance His cause among men. It
is the kind of devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ that disregards one's own
interests. I Cor. 9:19 “For
though I be free from all [men], yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the
more.”
Bob Dylan once wrote a song
entitled, “You Got To Serve Somebody”. Part of the lyrics go like this, “it may
be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you got to serve somebody”. God’s word
makes this clear in Romans 6:16, “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?”
If
one has to be a servant to something or someone, be wise and be servant to the
One who loves you with an everlasting love. Jesus became a servant for us and
bore our sins on the cross that we might be forgiven and receive eternal life.
Let us gladly bear the title, “Slave of Jesus” with great honor in thankfulness
of His great salvation.