Referred to as 'slaves'?

Are we God's slaves?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

12“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”b 17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.c

18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

We are bought as one who is bought from an en-slaver, who asks a ransom be paid for our freedom. Now that we have been bought from our en-slaver (sin, devil, etc.). We are now free. Shall we then take our freedom re-enslave ourselves to sin? No, we should serve our new master that bought us. It is like God is saying, look, I know you were in a jam. You were all bound up to sin. Look, I will set you free. Now that you are free, you get to do what you want. You get a choice. If you want I can give you a better way to live, do you want to come with me? Do you want to be yoked with me, to plow though this field of life together? It is your choice, you now have been set free to choose by me. I am not going to make join me, but you can if you want. Enlist in my service, and I will be your leader and protect you. I offer excellent benefits. But you don't have to if don't want to. The choice is yours.

When I enlisted in the military service, I chose to do that. I then gave up my freedoms as normal citizen to have my rights restricted to a military code. To operate with in the parameters that the military laid out. Why would I do this? The benefits are great and the rewards include the knowledge that my sacrifice causes others in my country to remain free.

I was the government's slave, servant, service member. They basically owned me. But it was my choice, my election, my freedom, to choose to serve, enslave myself to their rules. But before I joined I was enslaved a poor life, poor options, poor outlook for the future. By enlisting in the service I was set free my old life, free a new life of adventure and challenge and reward. But at what price? 1 Luke 14:28 advices count the cost. 1 Luke 14:25-27 lets us know, if you want to be his disciple it is going to cost you. I hated my old life but traded it for a new one both by enlisting in the government's service and the Lord's service. But fortunately my new master is benevolent and kind. And the rewards are far greater than the old way. I have jumped from the fire into the frying pan to become a finally cooked and delicious meal, fit for his consumption. I have no desire to jump back into the fire.

Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."