It is tragic to understand that in our once Christian nation, in spite of the way God has blessed us, a higher percentage of our fellow citizens are addicted to life altering drugs than in most nations of the world. That is only one form of slavery that has proven to be a cruel task master to many Americans. Illicit sex, for instance, is such a problem in our country that we have one of the highest rates in the world of sexually transmitted diseases among our population. Many of these diseases, like HIV, are deadly. And for all the blessings of our prosperity, I fear most of us are slaves to various forms of materialism.
It has still been a century plus generations before that, since literal slavery was allowed in the U.S., where the law enabled men to actually own their fellow man. It is hard for us to comprehend what a scourge slavery is (as it is still being practiced in some countries). Today we will look at slavery in the mighty Roman empire. It should cause us to appreciate our freedom, and as I'll show you from the Scriptures, there is something more it should do for us!