Answer
The apostle Paul encountered spiritual enemies in Galatia who accused him of compromising the gospel message to make it more palatable to the Gentiles. Speaking rhetorically, Paul resolutely refuted their accusations: “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10, NKJV).
Paul’s unwavering dedication to winning the approval of God and not people is a testament to his faith (1 Thessalonians 2:4; Ephesians 6:6). He was devoted to serving Christ alone. The word rendered “bondservant” (NKJV), or “bond-servant” (NASB), in Galatians 1:10 is alternately translated as “servant” (NIV, NLT, ESV). The original Greek word (doulos) carries nuances within its cultural context.
The term doulos has been applied to a variety of relationships in the Bible, including “slave,” “bondservant,” and “servant,” depending on the circumstances and setting. In ancient times, a person might have become a slave either voluntarily (e.g., to pay off a debt) or involuntarily (e.g., through birth or criminal sentencing). Slavery in Bible times did not necessarily carry the current associations of cruelty and dehumanization related to the nineteenth-century institution.
In the New Testament, doulos most often refers to a bondservant. In the first-century Roman world, a bondservant was someone bound by an official contract to serve his master for seven years. Under Roman law, the bondservant was considered the owner’s property, with no personal rights while serving his time. He could even be executed with impunity by his owner. Bondservants of Caesar were bound under a fourteen-year contract. However, when the contract term ended, a bondservant was paid his wages and allowed to go free.
In Galatians 1:10, “servant of Christ” rather than “bondservant of Christ” seems a more fitting translation. Paul possessed the freedom to either serve Christ or not. He had chosen to become Christ’s servant, not for seven or fourteen years, but for the remainder of his life. He was walking in His Master’s footsteps, who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28; see also Isaiah 53:11; Philippians 2:7).
Many other Bible figures, like David and Job of the Old Testament, and New Testament Christians like Timothy, James, Peter, and Jude, identified themselves as servants of the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11; Job 1:8; Philippians 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1:1). When God called the young virgin Mary, she understood that being a servant of the Lord was a tremendous honor. She willingly submitted and embraced her servant role (Luke 1:38).
Today, every Christian is called to be a bondservant of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:5; Colossians 3:24). Since we are all “Christ’s slaves” (1 Corinthians 7:22), we must humbly serve one another (John 13:12–17; Romans 12:3–8; 1 Peter 4:10; 5:2). Instead of seeking position and status, we remember the Lord’s teaching that the greatest in His kingdom are those who serve others: “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else” (Mark 9:35, NLT).
As bondservants of Christ, like Paul, we are to live to please God and not people, “doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:5–6, ESV; see also Titus 2:9–10). We commit ourselves wholeheartedly and without compromise to following the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:24). We bow down to Him alone (Matthew 6:24).
Paul told the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23–24). God takes good care of His servants (Psalm 35:27; Isaiah 54:17) and promises them a great eternal reward (Luke 12:37–38; 19:17; John 12:26; 15:14–15; Revelation 22:3–5).
