36 Bible Verses about Slavery, Spiritual

"We are descendants of Abraham," was their answer, "and have never yet been in slavery to any one. What do you mean by saying 'you will be set free'?" "In truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "every one who sins is a slave to sin. And a slave does not remain in the home always; but a son remains always.read more.
If, then, the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!

Therefore do not let Sin reign in your mortal bodies and compel you to obey its cravings. Do not offer any part of your bodies to Sin, in the cause of unrighteousness, but once for all offer yourselves to God (as those who, though once dead, now have Life), and devote every part of your bodies to the cause of righteousness. For Sin shall not lord it over you. You are living under the reign, not of Law, but of Love.read more.
What follows, then? Are we to sin because we are living under the reign of Love and not of Law? Heaven forbid! Surely you know that, when you offer yourselves as servants, to obey any one, you are the servants of the person whom you obey, whether the service be that of Sin which leads to Death, or that of Duty which leads to Righteousness. God be thanked that, though you were once servants of Sin, yet you learned to give hearty obedience to that form of doctrine under which you were placed. Set free from the control of Sin, you became servants to Righteousness.

What are we to say, then? That Law and sin are the same thing? Heaven forbid! On the contrary, I should not have learned what sin is, had not it been for Law. If the Law did not say 'Thou shalt not covet,' I should not know what it is to covet. But sin took advantage of the Commandment to arouse in me every form of covetousness, for where there is no consciousness of Law sin shows no sign of life. There was a time when I myself, unconscious of Law, was alive; but when the Commandment was brought home to me, sin sprang into life, while I died!read more.
The very Commandment that should have meant Life I found to result in Death! Sin took advantage of the Commandment to deceive me, and used it to bring about my Death. And so the Law is holy, and each Commandment is also holy, and just, and good. Did, then, a thing, which in itself was good, involve Death in my case? Heaven forbid! It was sin that involved Death; so that, by its use of what I regarded as good to bring about my Death, its true nature might appear; and in this way the Commandment showed how intensely sinful sin is. We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am earthly-sold into slavery to Sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I am so far from habitually doing what I want to do, that I find myself doing the very thing that I hate. But when I do what I want not to do, I am admitting that the Law is right. This being so, the action is no longer my own, but that of Sin which is within me. I know that there is nothing good in me-I mean in my earthly nature. For, although it is easy for me to want to do right, to act rightly is not easy. I fail to do the good thing that I want to do, but the bad thing that I want not to do-that I habitually do. But, when I do the very thing that I want not to do, the action is no longer my own, but that of Sin which is within me. This, then, is the law that I find-When I want to do right, wrong presents itself! At heart I delight in the Law of God; But throughout my body I see a different law, one which is in conflict with the law accepted by my reason, and which endeavors to make me a prisoner to that law of Sin which exists throughout my body. Miserable man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body that is bringing me to this Death? Thank God, there is deliverance through Jesus Christ, our Lord! Well then, for myself, with my reason I serve the Law of God, but with my earthly nature the Law of Sin.

There was, you remember, a time when we ourselves were foolish, disobedient, misled, slaves to all kinds of passions and vices, living in a spirit of malice and envy, detested ourselves and hating one another.

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corrupt habits; for a man is the slave of anything to which he gives way.

It is for freedom that Christ set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not again be held under the yoke of slavery.

My point is this--As long as the heir is under age, there is no difference between him and a slave, though he is master of the whole estate. He is subject to the control of guardians and stewards, during the period for which his father has power to appoint them. And so is it with us; when we were under age, as it were, we were slaves to the puerile teaching of this world;read more.
But, when the full time came, God sent his Son--born a woman's child, born subject to Law-- To ransom those who were subject to Law, so that we might take our position as sons. And it is because you are sons that God sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, with the cry--'Abba, our Father.' You, therefore, are no longer a slave, but a son; and, if a son, then an heir also, by God's appointment.

For you did not receive the spirit of a slave, to fill you once more with fear, but the spirit of a son which leads us to cry 'Abba, Our Father.'

Therefore, since human nature is the common heritage of 'the Children,' Jesus also shared it, in order that by death he might render powerless him whose power lies in death--that is, the Devil-- and so might deliver all those who, from fear of death, had all their lives been living in slavery.

Before the Passover Festival began, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave the world and go to the Father. He had loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them to the last. The Devil had already put the thought of betraying Jesus into the mind of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon; And at supper, Jesus--although knowing that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God, and was to return to God--read more.
Rose from his place, and, taking off his upper garments, tied a towel round his waist. He then poured some water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel which was tied round him. When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said: "You, Master! Are you going to wash my feet?" "You do not understand now what I am doing," replied Jesus, "but you will learn by and by." "You shall never wash my feet!" exclaimed Peter. "Unless I wash you," answered Jesus, "you have nothing in common with me." "Then, Master, not my feet only," exclaimed Simon Peter, "but also my hands and my head." "He who has bathed," replied Jesus, "has no need to wash, unless it be his feet, but is altogether clean; and you," he said to the disciples, "are clean, yet not all of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said 'You are not all clean.' When he had washed their feet, and had put on his upper garments and taken his place, he spoke to them again. "Do you understand what I have been doing to you?" he asked. "You yourselves call me 'the Teacher' and 'the Master', and you are right, for I am both. If I, then--'the Master' and 'the Teacher'--have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet; For I have given you an example, so that you may do just as I have done to you. In truth I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor yet a messenger than the man who sends him. Now that you know these things, happy are you if you do them.

Jesus, however, called the ten to him, and said: "The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them as you know, and their great men oppress them. Among you it is not so. No, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to take the first place among you, must be your slave;read more.
Just as the Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

But Jesus called the ten to him, and said: "Those who are regarded as ruling among the Gentiles lord it over them, as you know, and their great men oppress them. But among you it is not so. No, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, And whoever wants to take the first place among you must be the servant of all;read more.
For even the Son of Man came, not be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Let the spirit of Christ Jesus be yours also. Though the divine nature was his from the beginning, yet he did not look upon equality with God as above all things to be clung to, But impoverished himself by taking the nature of a servant and becoming like men;read more.
He appeared among us as a man, and still further humbled himself by submitting even to death--to death on a cross! And that is why God raised him to the very highest place, and gave him the Name which stands above all other names, So that in adoration of the Name of Jesus every knee should bend, in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, And that every tongue should acknowledge JESUS CHRIST as LORD- -to the glory of God the Father.

But now that you have been set free from the control of Sin, and have become servants to God, the fruit that you reap is an ever-increasing holiness, and the end Immortal Life.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

No servant can serve two masters, for, either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

To all in Rome who are dear to God and have been called to become Christ's People, From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, who has been called to become an Apostle, and has been set apart to tell God's Good News.

Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as if working for the Master and not for men, Since you know that it is from the Master that you will receive the inheritance which will be your recompense. You are serving Christ, the Master.

James, a Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, greets The Twelve Tribes that are living abroad.

Act as free men, yet not using your freedom as those do who make it a cloak for wickedness, but as Servants of God.

To those to whom, through the justice of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, there has been granted faith equally privileged with our own, from Simon Peter, a servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

So then, Brothers, we owe nothing to our earthly nature, that we should live in obedience to it. If you live in obedience to your earthly nature, you will inevitably die; but if, by the power of the Spirit, you put an end to the evil habits of the body, you will live. All who are guided by the Spirit of God are Sons of God.read more.
For you did not receive the spirit of a slave, to fill you once more with fear, but the spirit of a son which leads us to cry 'Abba, Our Father.' The Spirit himself unites with our spirits in bearing witness to our being God's children, And if children, then heirs-heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, since we share Christ's sufferings in order that we may also share his Glory.

I no longer call you 'servants,' because a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have given you the name of 'friends,' because I made known to you everything that I learned from my Father.

Look at our ancestor, Abraham. Was not it the result of his actions that he was pronounced righteous after he had offered his son, Isaac, on the altar? You see how, in his case, faith and actions went together; that his faith was perfected as the result of his actions; And that in this way the words of Scripture came true-- "Abraham believed God, and that was regarded by God as righteousness," and "He was called the friend of God."

So Jesus went on to say to those Jews who had believed him: "If you remain constant to my Message, you are truly my disciples; And you find out the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." "We are descendants of Abraham," was their answer, "and have never yet been in slavery to any one. What do you mean by saying 'you will be set free'?"read more.
"In truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "every one who sins is a slave to sin. And a slave does not remain in the home always; but a son remains always. If, then, the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!

Tell me, you who want to be still subject to Law--Why do not you listen to the Law? Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one the child of the slave-woman and the other the child of the free woman. But the child of the slave-woman was born in the course of nature, while the child of the free woman was born in fulfillment of a promise.read more.
This story may be taken as an allegory. The women stand for two Covenants. One Covenant, given from Mount Sinai, produces a race of slaves and is represented by Hagar (The word Hagar meaning in Arabia Mount Sinai) and it ranks with the Jerusalem of to-day, for she and her children are in slavery. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she it is who is our mother. For Scripture says--'Rejoice, thou barren one, who dost never bear, Break into shouts, thou who art never in labor, For many are the children of her who is desolate--aye, more than of her who has a husband.' As for ourselves, brothers, we, like Isaac, are children born in fulfillment of a promise. Yet at that time the child born in the course of nature persecuted the child born by the power of the Spirit; and it is the same now. But what does the passage of Scripture say? 'Send away the slave-woman and her son; for the slave's son shall not be co-heir with the son of the free woman.' And so, Brothers, we are not children of a slave, but of her who is free.

What follows, then? Are we to sin because we are living under the reign of Love and not of Law? Heaven forbid! Surely you know that, when you offer yourselves as servants, to obey any one, you are the servants of the person whom you obey, whether the service be that of Sin which leads to Death, or that of Duty which leads to Righteousness. God be thanked that, though you were once servants of Sin, yet you learned to give hearty obedience to that form of doctrine under which you were placed.read more.
Set free from the control of Sin, you became servants to Righteousness. I can but speak as men do because of the weakness of your earthly nature. Once you offered every part of your bodies to the service of impurity, and of wickedness, which leads to further wickedness. Now, in the same way, offer them to the service of Righteousness, which leads to holiness. While you were still servants of Sin, you were free as regards Righteousness. But what were the fruits that you reaped from those things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of such things is Death. But now that you have been set free from the control of Sin, and have become servants to God, the fruit that you reap is an ever-increasing holiness, and the end Immortal Life. The wages of Sin are Death, but the gift of God is Immortal Life, through union with Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Although I was entirely free, yet, to win as many converts as possible, I made myself everyone's slave.

(For it is not ourselves that we proclaim, but Christ Jesus, as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.)

Remember, Brothers, to you the Call came to give you freedom. Only do not make your freedom an opportunity for self-indulgence, but serve one another in a loving spirit.

Who, then is that trustworthy, careful servant, who has been placed by his master over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy will that servant be whom his master, when he comes home, shall find doing this. I tell you that his master will put him in charge of the whole of his property.read more.
But, should he be a bad servant, and say to himself 'My master is a long time in coming,' And begin to beat his fellow-servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, That servant's master will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour of which he is unaware, And will flog him severely, and assign him his place among the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

"Who, then," replied the Master, "is that trustworthy steward, the careful man, who will be placed by his master over his establishment, to give them their rations at the proper time? Happy will that servant be whom his master, when he comes home, shall find doing this. His master, I tell you, will put him in charge of the whole of his property.read more.
But should that servant say to himself 'My master is a long time coming,' and begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, That servant's master will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour of which he is unaware, and will flog him severely and assign him his place among the untrustworthy.

For it is as though a man, going on his travels, called his servants, and gave his property into their charge. He gave three thousand pounds to one, twelve hundred to another, and six hundred to a third, in proportion to the ability of each. Then he set out on his travels. The man who had received the three thousand pounds went at once and traded with it, and made another three thousand.read more.
So, too, the man who had received the twelve hundred pounds made another twelve hundred. But the man who had received the six hundred went and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those servants returned, and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the three thousand pounds came up and brought three thousand more. 'Sir,' he said, 'you entrusted me with three thousand pounds; look, I have made another three thousand!'

He said: "A nobleman once went to a distant country to receive his appointment to a Kingdom and then return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds each, and told them to trade with them during his absence. But his subjects hated him and sent envoys after him to say 'We will not have this man as our King.'read more.
On his return, after having been appointed King, he directed that the servants to whom he had given his money should be summoned, so that he might learn what amount of trade they had done. The first came up, and said 'Sir, your ten pounds have made a hundred.' 'Well done, good servant!' exclaimed the master. 'As you have proved trustworthy in a very small matter, I appoint you governor over ten towns.'

Which of you, if he had a servant ploughing, or tending the sheep, would say to him, when he came in from the fields, 'Come at once and take your place at table,' Instead of saying 'Prepare my dinner, and then make yourself ready and wait on me while I am eating and drinking, and after that you shall eat and drink yourself'? Does he feel grateful to his servant for doing what he is told?read more.
And so with you--when you have done all that you have been told, still say 'We are but useless servants; we have done no more than we ought to have done.'"

All Nature awaits with eager expectation the appearing of the Sons of God. For Nature was made subject to imperfection-not by its own choice, but owing to him who made it so-- Yet not without the hope that some day Nature, also, will be set free from enslavement to decay, and will attain to the freedom which will mark the Glory of the Children of God.read more.
We know, indeed, that all Nature alike has been groaning in the pains of labor to this very hour.