Скачать или смотреть From Slavery to Adoption, Why Christians Should Not Live in Fear

In Romans 8:12–17, the Apostle Paul explains one of the most misunderstood truths in Christianity, the difference between slavery and adoption.

Before Christ, we were enslaved to the flesh. Sin was not just something we struggled with, it was something that owned us. We were in spiritual debt, unable to free ourselves, and bound by a nature that produced fear, guilt, and condemnation.

Through the death of Jesus Christ, we were redeemed. Scripture says we were bought with a price. But God did not rescue us from one form of slavery just to place us into another.

Paul makes this clear when he says we did not receive a spirit of slavery again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption as sons.

In the Roman world, adoption was not symbolic language. It was legal and permanent. When someone was adopted, their old identity was erased, their previous debts were canceled, and their former master had no legal claim over them. An adopted son could never be returned to slavery, even if the father died. He became a true heir.

That is the imagery Paul is using.

Through Christ, believers are not living in fear of being sold back into bondage. We are no longer debtors to the flesh. The old master has no authority, no ownership, and no legal claim.

This is why the Christian life is not driven by fear of punishment, but by identity. We obey God not because we are terrified of rejection, but because we belong to Him. The Spirit testifies that we are children of God, heirs with Christ, and recipients of a new covenant relationship.

Redemption breaks the chains.
Adoption establishes identity.

This is the assurance Paul is teaching in Romans chapter 8, and it is why the gospel produces freedom, not fear.

Scripture references
Romans 8:12–17
1 Corinthians 6:20
Galatians 4:4–7
1 John 4:18