Slave ships on the Mississippi River!

The casino gambling boat in the photograph above stays open all day every day for slaves of the power of sin. These slaves have the ears to hear the lure of casino noises in their imagination and they respond. They come with money and they lose their money; however, they keep coming and while there are brief periods of winning, this is fleeting and the bottom line is one of losing. These slaves are addicted to this particular sin of gambling. Paul makes the point that sinners are slaves to sin in Romans 6:

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Entire families are financially ruined by this sin and some end up committing suicide. When you connect the dots it is evident that sin is it’s own punishment. The punishment for sin is many times the consequences that flow from the sin itself. It is self-inflicted. There are many other sinful activities and behaviors that produce slaves. Addiction to drugs, alcohol, sexual perversions, and idols are a few other things that are sinful and lure slaves to come, participate, and indulge. Romans 1:21-32 gives a longer list of sinful behavior and activity. All of humanity either is or at one time was under this power as Paul makes clear:

Ephesians 2:1-2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--

All of humanity began life dead in sin. They walk in sin and are slaves to sin. They follow the course of the world and the spirit that is work in the sons of disobedience. Since slaves cannot free themselves, they desperately need to be saved from the slavery of sin.

The good news is that the gospel of God through his grace saves sinners from this slavery. Praise God for this amazing grace.

Ephesians 2:5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--

This salvation, which comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, also sets sinners free from the power of sin. Salvation saves sinners to eternal life and from the power of sin.

Romans 6:17-18 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

While redeemed sinners still struggle with sin and may even patronize a slave ship, they are no longer under its power. They are no longer slaves to sin and are able and will produce fruit that leads to sanctification. They will overcome. It is a myth that a Christian can be totally fruitless and be all carnal all the time. This truth is pervasive throughout Scripture and Paul makes the point again as he closes chapter six.

Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
What wonderful powerful grace that saves sinners from the grip and power of sin and enables them to not be enslaved by those Mississippi River slave ships.