This sequel continues our discussion on “The Reproach of Egypt,” drawing from the powerful passage in Joshua chapter 5. The reproach of Egypt is defined as servitude, slavery, or servanthood. When the Israelites were circumcised in Gilgal, the Lord told Joshua, “This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (Joshua 5:8).
For the Gentile believer today, this moment parallels the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Once the Holy Spirit has been received, the reproach of Egypt—servitude and slavery—has been rolled away.
A slave or servant is not freeborn; they are subject to the authority and strict laws (“dos and don’ts”) of their taskmasters. However, a believer with the Holy Spirit becomes a freeborn with an inner teacher.
The Goal of Ministry: Wooing the Bride
The fivefold ministry and spiritual gifts were provided to the church to perform one function: to woo the bride to fall in love with the bridegroom. The relationship God desires is a bride-groom relationship, not a master-servant relationship. If a ministry leads the bride toward a relationship characterized by increasing fear of the Groom, that ministry is unknowingly leading them back to Egypt, the place of bondage.
God’s agenda for His New Testament children is freedom, not bondage. The truth, according to scripture, will set you free; conversely, anything that puts a believer in bondage is no longer the truth.
Legalism is Bondage
The restored truth for this age is often referred to as a “middle of the road” path, avoiding both legalism and liberalism. Both are bondages.
- Liberalism is a bondage to the flesh. A person under this bondage lacks the ability to choose or say “no” to lust or carnal desires.
- Legalism is also a bondage. It subjects people to “elementary teachings of a system of external observations and regulations” (often called “beggarly elements”).
Legalistic servitude often leads to burnout, bitterness, and pride. The focus shifts to outward compliance with rules, a state Jesus likened to “dead men’s bones”—a stinking place—when the heart lacks genuine love.
- Love-based relationship: Gives depth, consistency, and strength in trial, leading to a sustained root and increasing love for the Word, resulting in unspeakable joy.
- Legalistic relationship: Brings shallowness, bitterness, and ultimately, burnout, as the individual never had a root in the first place.
We had an experience of a Christian sister who, after hearing the truth, sought baptism. She arrived dressed in tight jeans. A legalistic mindset might have prevented her baptism until she changed her attire. However, because her internal desire was genuine, she was baptized. Her appearance soon began to align with God’s Word, demonstrating that the work of true holiness must be done first from the inside. God looks beyond outward appearance; He is not going to justify anyone based on external show.
The Danger of Lenses
When the gospel is preached, it is often interpreted or presented through the specific lens of the speaker or the hearer. “We see things the way we are, not the way things are.”
This phenomenon is evident throughout Scripture:
- Matthew saw Christ through the lens of the Old Testament, constantly referring back to prophecies being fulfilled.
- Luke, a physician, added medical details, noting “high fever” when Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and describing a man “full of leprosy.”
- John used a prophetic lens, beginning his account with “In the beginning was the Word.”
In the early church, individuals from the strict sect of the Pharisees who came to believe in Christ tried to impose legalism—specifically requiring Gentile believers to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses—even after salvation. The Apostles rebuked this, stating that it placed a “yoke upon the neck of the disciples.” They warned that these legalistic demands were “subverting your soul.” When the new believers received the letter detailing their freedom from the Law, they “rejoiced for the consolation.”
The key takeaway is that you must move away from the slave mindset to the mindset of sonship. You must see the restored truth through the lens of God’s Word itself.
Sonship: Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
The relationship God had with the Jews under the Law was a master-servant relationship. The introduction of the Law at Mount Sinai was so terrifying that Moses himself said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.” God showed them a fearful part of Himself to establish servitude.
However, Christ fundamentally changed this relationship. He said, “I no longer call you slaves… But now you are my friends” (John 15:15, paraphrased).
The foundation of the New Testament relationship is love, not fear.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)
If your walk with God is based on fear, you do not truly love God, and your love is not perfected. Slaves obey because of fear, but sons obey because of love.
Fear is an ineffective motivator for genuine, sustained holiness. Although God introduced fear to the Israelites, they remained rebellious and obstinate, often making another god the moment their tax master (Moses) was absent. Fear only works while the oppressed lacks options or the oppressor is present.
We are not servants; we are sons and heirs of God through Christ (Galatians 4:7). A slave mindset can never inherit with the son of the free woman.
A Call to Internal Reflection
True holiness is a life of love that is coming from within. It is defined by your motive, which is more important than what you look like externally.
We must search our hearts to determine the root of our faith:
- Is the root true love? True love is the root; external behavior is merely the leaves.
- Is there still a mix of love and fear? If so, the love is not yet perfected.
There is no slave who genuinely looks forward to the return of their master. Christ will appear to those who are longing and looking forward to His return. Only a bride who is in love with her Groom, or a son who loves his father, looks forward to that day.
This generation must see that the word of God is their freedom, not a bondage. We must pray—and even fast—for that perfect love to consume our hearts and cast out every last vestige of the slavery mindset. We must ask the Lord to do this work on the inside, commanding a new wave of revival among the people characterized by a pulsating heart for the love of God.