“But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to sanctification, and the end, everlasting life.” Rom. 6:22. Everyone serves once in a while. Those who are Christians are more inclined to serve than those who are ungodly, but they are not serving God when they seek their own, in which case they are partial—going by their likes and dislikes and making demands on those whom they serve. “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more.” 1 Cor. 9:19. In 2 Corinthians 5:15 we read “that those who live should live no longer for themselves,” (one could think that it should say further, “but for the others;” but it does not say that), “but for Him who died for them and rose again.” Further in verse 20 we read, “Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” Here we can see that we serve Christ, but we serve the people according to His will. 2 Cor. 8:5. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” 1 Pet. 3:18. In other words, we have the same task Jesus had, and also the same development. Therefore we can serve people in Christ’s stead and have sanctification as our fruit. The reason people have to be served is because they are sinners—they are unjust. If we are to lead them to God, we—as those that have been set free from sin—need to show them the virtues of Christ: goodness, mercy, longsuffering, etc. We need to suffer—the just for the unjust. If we cannot do that, if we demand our rights or make any demands on them whatsoever, we will not partake of sanctification, which is our fruit of being a servant of God and a co-worker of Christ—He who suffered death in the flesh but was made alive in the spirit. Whether people accept or reject our ministry is their business. What happened to Jesus will also happen to us. Most people will reject us as well as our ministry. They do not have a heavenly calling. 1 Pet. 2:4-5; Heb. 3:1. Nevertheless, Jesus was perfected by serving people according to the will of God. He went all the way through the flesh in which all sin was condemned, with the result that the fullness of God came to dwell in His spirit. Rom. 8:3; Heb. 5:7-9; Col. 1:16-23. You are not a servant of God if you are not set free from sin, even though you can do many good works that are a blessing, because at the same time you criticize those who do not accept your service for which you expect to be praised. That is why you will not have any fruit for yourself—which is sanctification—from your service. Luke 17:9. If you are a servant of God you also have a ministry for which you are responsible. God does not have any servants for whom He does not have a ministry. You who believe that you are a servant of God, are you also aware of your responsibility? You go around expecting to be put into a ministry in the church, but the one whom you serve, He will put you into a ministry. He is the one who apportions the ministries in the church. The family, which has been entrusted to most of us, is a glorious training ground. “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” 1 Cor. 12:18. If you do not feel responsible for a ministry, then you have not been set free from sin either. You need to be finished with being dissatisfied and critical; serve wherever you see a lack, and work out your own salvation so that you can be approved as a servant of God through much patience, purity, discretion, longsuffering, goodness, etc. Then God will also give you ministries where you will have responsibility. 2 Cor. 6:4-10; 1 Cor. 3:9; Phil. 2:19-23. May God grant that many might grow up and be set free from sin so God can entrust them with ministries.Sigurd Bratlie