Building, Maintaining, And Nurturing Good Relationships Servitude A true Christian is a servant. We should desire to be a servant.

Servitude Romans 6:16 (KJV) “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Every child of God, is to understand the principle of servitude. We should all know that servitude in the scriptures was equivalent to slavery.

According to the text, we choose whom we will serve. We are not forced to submit to God But it is best if we willingly submit to Him. Our spiritual service of worship is that which proves in us the will of God, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2). We are to perform duties to God. We have obligations and responsibilities to Him.

We have no problem in doing most of them. This is in consideration of what God has done for us. He knew that sinners would not be acceptable to Him. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23).

Our sins, also known as our iniquities have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Without something in the form of grace, redemption, and propitiation, we could never have a relationship with God. We could not call Him our Father, which is in Heaven. But while we were yet sinners, God sent His Son so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16). Our willingness to submit to God by obeying His commandments is what brings about our salvation.

Jesus was the greatest servant of all time. By learning obedience, He became the source of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:8-9). In that Jesus came to do the will of God, He showed Himself to be an example to all of His followers. Colossians 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. We are servants of Christ as we serve Him.

Although we do not usually consider the Holy Spirit one to be served, we do so when we take His work and apply it to our lives. When we study and meditate upon the word of God, we realize that the Holy Spirit gave this to us as He was directed by God, and Christ. When we allow His work to permeate and infiltrate our very being, then we are in a sense, becoming His servant. So in essence we serve God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Many of those in the church feel very confident that they serve Deity as mentioned above. Many feel that upon doing their duty to Deity, then Deity will reward them. For the majority of Christians, this is all the service they ever offer. But there are two other things which deserve our service. I would suggest that we rethink our application of service being in an upward direction only and apply the word to the original intent of being outward as well. Who are we talking about? Others!

Well, since I said outward, that obviously excludes "me". We must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily in order to follow Him. Like Jesus we are meant to serve, not to be served. We are to serve each other. When we serve ourselves we are serving sin. Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him (Christ), that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Jesus also said that serving two masters was impossible. If we serve Christ, then we no longer serve sin. If however, we continue to sin, we are not serving Christ. It is impossible to serve Christ and sin. Our actions will tell Christ, if we are serving Him or sin. Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ”.

Jesus is to be the Lord of our life. We submit to Him. We are to humble ourselves before Him. If we expect Him to save us, we ought to know that it is only on His terms. By being our Savior, He becomes our God, Lord, Master, Leader, King, Authority, and Guide. If we do not honor Jesus by our obedience, then we are forsaking Him. When anything is given preference over Him, then we cannot be His servant. If we play politics and do things to be seen by men, we cannot be the servant of Christ.

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Jesus was teaching that Satan could not offer an acceptable substitute for God. Jesus quoting from scripture answers Satan who was asking Jesus to bow down before him. There is only one God who is worthy of honor and glory and our worship and our servitude.

Galatians 5:13 (KJV) “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another”. The New Testament is literally filled with passages detailing our duty to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We have the passages that describe us of being in the same body. Having the same Head. Holding to the same faith. Honoring the same God and Lord. (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12). Our stewardship that God gives us is to take care of each other.

Let us now concentrate on those who need the most service, but actually receive the least. These people are the lost. The greatest service to any person would be to show them the Light of the Gospel, and bring them to repentance. God has appeared to all mankind, to show them the Christ. God is not willing that any should perish. Therefore, He sent His Son to us to Light up the Way and show us the Door and the path of the Way which leads to Life. If God made provision for the greatest need that mankind would have, then that should be the one service that we should offer to mankind with God's blessings.

Yes, we are talking about personal evangelism. Evangelism is not the problem with many in the church today. Many in the church today have a problem with the "personal". Many are just tickled pink that their preacher preaches the truth on all Bible subjects. Many feel very good that they support the work of the Church by their contributions. Many delight in the fact that their churches sponsor or support evangelist in foreign works.

These people will have no problem telling you how great it is to be a servant of God. The real problem is that many are not servants of God, but of Satan. How do we know? Jesus said "If you love me, keep my commandments" Jesus taught by example that our service is to others. If we only try to service or serve God, then we are neglecting the needs of those who need God.

Jesus said to go teach, preach, baptize and teach the lost. Jesus did not send us to the saved, but to the lost. Jesus Himself came to seek and save that which was lost. If we do not serve the lost by teaching them the error of their way, then we are not obedient to Jesus Christ. If we are not obedient to Jesus Christ, what else is left? There is only one other choice; You serve Satan (although you do not mean to).

Conclusion We serve God, Christ, Holy Spirit—Deity We serve each other. We serve the lost. Failure to serve in any one of these areas will leave us unfit for the Master’s kingdom. Are you ready to be a servant?