Slave by John MacArthur

Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ by John MacArthur is the latest book I read through Thomas Nelson's book review blogger program, BookSneeze. To be honest, I was completely intrigued by the title, even before I read what the book was about. I'm very glad I read this book. It causes you to completely rethink on the issue of slavery. When I think of slavery, I think of a time in history that was not very great. A time when people were bought, sold, severely mistreated, and considered of no worth to society. Now while some of that was still true in Christ's day, there were some differences. MacArthur explains that slaves then were not always mistreated. Depending on the owners the slaves came across as no different than free men; they would have jobs, property and even had the chance to own their own freedom. It was very different times back then. They may have been owned, but in some respects they lived in freedom. I love how MacArthur opens up the book with an extensive word study on the word slave. MacArthur says this early in the first chapter of this book,

"The Bible uses one metaphor more frequently than any other. It is a word picture you might not expect, but is absolutely critical for understanding what it means to follow Jesus. It is the image of a slave.

MacArthur says that the Greek word for slave, doulos, has been mistranslated in English versions of the Bible; being translated servant instead of slave. He goes on to say that "while the duties of servants and slaves may overlap, there is a key distinction between the two; servants are hired and slaves are owned." It is a very different metaphor to think about. One that I had never thought of before, but one that makes sense. As we put our faith in God and call ourselves Christians, we are now owned by God. Brings to light a whole new way to think of I Corinthians 7.23, "You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men." The verse right before that says, "For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ." True freedom through Christ happens because we become slaves of Christ.

Special thanks to Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze for providing this complimentary book to read and review. You can purchase the book here on amazon.com.