PASTOR'S CORNER

  Romans 6:15-23   Who is the master of your life?   Who are you a slave too? When we think of this word “slave” we tend to think of kidnapping young people from Africa, bringing them across the ocean to the Auction Block, and selling them to other men.  Slavery has more negatives than positives, but is something that has been around for centuries!   Slavery goes as far back when Joseph was sold to an Ishmaelite caravan from Gilead, by his brothers.  During the Greco-Roman era, slavery was part of the social structure; and it was so common it was never questioned by anyone.  One fifth of the empire’s population were slaves, totalling as many as twelve million slaves at the outset of the first century AD .  When someone had debt in the Ancient world it was voluntary servitude .  When a person owed a debt… that person would fulfill the debt by working it off .  Throughout the Old Testament we see that slaves were to be handled humanly and taken care of by their master.   “Yo

  ROM 6:1-14   The prophet Isaiah penned these words at the beginning of his letter about the ruin of God’s people because of their rebellious hearts. “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.” Isaiah 1:4-6     This describes all hearts apart from the grace of God. All men by nature are under the power of a mortal disease.  As David wrote, “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me .” Psalm 38:4.  There is a plague far greater than any plague, and that is the plague upon the heart of mankind