Hymns: No Longer Slaves

In this series, I explore some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀.

Anyway, today’s hymn is No Longer Slaves. It’s from 2015.

Sometimes, you can tell what a song is about simply by the title. Not so with this one. I needed to explore the lyrics. I was curious about “No longer a slave to fear“, because hardly a day goes by when some bit of fear or worry doesn’t cross my mind. But these are often trivial things, and some bit of fear isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What is unhelpful is unproductive worry.

Matthew 6:25-67
²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Birds do need to work for their food, but the difference is, they just get on with life. They don’t spend time in unproductive worry. In modern mindfulness thinking, we’re often compared to animals too. For example, if a herd of zebras are chased by a lion, they’ll run like mad, but when the chase ends, they just happily continue to graze. At least it seems so. They don’t spend all their time ruminating on what might happen.

In the song, I think that they are thinking about the long-term fear of what happens when you die. When I started reading the New Testament, I realized that I fell short of God’s standards. I fall short of other peoples’ standards, and I fall short of my own standards. But that’s why I need a Saviour. And when we repent and trust in Jesus, we become God’s children. Just as a parent or teacher might sometimes rebuke or threaten children, you’ll find verses in the New Testament that might scare you. But ultimately, a parent is on the side of the child. And a top-class teacher will ensure that their class overcomes challenges that they have in learning and motivation.

When I started seriously reflecting on religion as a young teenager, I was concerned about the possibility of ending up in hell for eternity. In Catholicism, we were taught that you might end up in purgatory, heaven, or hell. And I was taught that purgatory was as bad as hell except you got out when you served your sentence or if enough people prayed for your soul. Then, I started meeting evangelical Christians. They pointed out that there isn’t any purgatory in the Bible. There is a hell, but there’s a sure way to avoid it. Repent and trust in Jesus. And that’s exactly what I eventually did – after about five years of reflecting on it. And then I was no longer a slave to the fear of hell, because I became a child of God.

To briefly explain the diagram, sin separates us from God. But Jesus, by dying on Calvary has opened the way. So, when we believe, we’re reunited with God and our place in heaven is secured. We aren’t literally there yet, but it’s a little bit like getting a letter from a university telling you that you have been accepted. It might be a while before you physically arrive, but your place is secured. I feel assured by so much teaching in the New Testament that assures me that we cross over to life when we believe. But the Holy Spirit gives me an even more direct sense of assurance.

Romans 8:15-16
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Why did Paul mention suffering here? Well, his audience may well have been suffering persecution and general hostility. This might have caused some to doubt whether God was really on their side. But Paul is emphasizing that Jesus himself encountered persecution. In fact he was crucified. But then, He was raised to glory. And that’s the pattern that his followers will follow. Not all Christians face persecution, but even ordinary life can dampen our hopes.

John 1:12
¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

It’s true that we are all God’s creatures, but we need to become His children.

Gal 4:6
⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

Abba in the New Testament is an intimate term – how you’d address your own father, similar to dad or daddy.

1 John 3:1
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

From my mother's womb
You have chosen me
Love has called my name
I've been born again to your family
Your blood flows through my veins

An older new song that’s often a comfort to me when I’m afraid is “Because He Lives”. Another song that I find helpful is “One Day at a Time”. That was a huge hit in Ireland in the late 1970s. As a teen, I’d be listening for punk/new wave and that would come on. I hated it. Now, it means much more to me. And even in the days prior to my conversion back in August 1980, I was on a bus tour. In a boring section of the drive, the driver invited passengers to sing. Funnily enough, I volunteered and what did I sing? “One Day at a Time” 😀. Strange how I knew all the words. I was trying to nudge myself towards being a true believer. Back then I was a slave to being “hip and cool”, so I was trying to free myself by singing Gloria’s song. I saw her as an old person then, but she was only 10 years older than me.

Anyway, I always like to search for some interesting versions of my daily hymn. Here goes: