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| Of the Liberty Proper to Man’s Nature, and the Servitude Introduced by Sin,—A Servitude in Which the Man Whose Will is Wicked is the Slave of His Own Lust, Though He is Free So Far as Regards Other Men.
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Chapter 15.—Of the Liberty Proper
to Man’s Nature, and the Servitude Introduced by Sin,—A
Servitude in Which the Man Whose Will is Wicked is the Slave of His
Own Lust, Though He is Free So Far as Regards Other Men.
This is prescribed by the order of
nature: it is thus that God has created man. For “let
them,” He says, “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over every creeping thing which
creepeth on the earth.”1284
He did not intend that His
rational creature, who was made in His image, should have dominion
over anything but the irrational creation,—not man over man, but
man over the beasts. And hence the righteous men in primitive
times were made shepherds of cattle rather than kings of men, God
intending thus to teach us what the relative position of the
creatures is, and what the desert of sin; for it is with justice,
we believe, that the condition of slavery is the result of sin.
And this is why we do not find the word “slave” in any part of
Scripture until righteous Noah branded the sin of his son with this
name. It is a name, therefore, introduced by sin and not by
nature. The origin of the Latin word for slave is supposed to be
found in the circumstance that those who by the law of war were
liable to be killed were sometimes preserved by their victors, and
were hence called servants.1285
And these circumstances could
never have arisen save through sin. For even when we wage a just
war, our adversaries must be sinning; and every victory, even
though gained by wicked men, is a result of the first judgment of
God, who humbles the vanquished either for the sake of removing or
of punishing their sins. Witness that man of God, Daniel, who,
when he was in captivity, confessed to God his own sins and the
sins of his people, and declares with pious grief that these were
the cause of the captivity.1286
The prime cause, then, of
slavery is sin, which brings man under the dominion of his
fellow,—that which does not happen save by the judgment of God,
with whom is no unrighteousness, and who knows how to award fit
punishments to every variety of offence. But our Master in heaven
says, “Every one who doeth sin is the servant of sin.”1287
And thus
there are many wicked masters who have religious men as their
slaves, and who are yet themselves in bondage; “for of whom a man
is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”1288
And
beyond question it is a happier thing to be the slave of a man than
of a lust; for even this very lust of ruling, to mention no others,
lays waste men’s hearts with the most ruthless dominion.
Moreover, when men are subjected to one another in a peaceful
order, the lowly position does as much good to the servant as the
proud position does harm to the master. But by nature, as God
first created us, no one is the slave either of man or of sin.
This servitude is, however, penal, and is appointed by that law
which enjoins the preservation of the natural order and forbids its
disturbance; for if nothing had been done in violation of that law,
there would have been nothing to restrain by penal servitude. And
therefore the apostle admonishes slaves to be subject to their
masters, and to serve them heartily and with good-will, so that, if
they cannot be freed by their masters, they may themselves make
their slavery in some sort free, by serving not in crafty fear, but
in faithful love, until all unrighteousness pass away, and all
principality and every human power be brought to nothing, and God
be all in all.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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