1 Corinthians 7:22

For he that was called in the Lord being. bondservant, is the Lord's freedman: likewise he that was called being free, is Christ's bondservant.

'For he that was called in the Lord being. bondservant' -'while. slave' (NASV)

'is the Lord's freedman' -an old word for. manumitted slave. (Robertson p. 130) The slave had been in bondage to. more serious form of slavery, i.e. sin. (John 8:31) And in Christ the slave stands on equal ground with everyone else. (Galatians 3:28)

'is Christ's bondservant' -'Our calling has eliminated the option of belonging to ourselves. We belong to another, Christ.' (Fee p. 319) 'We may put it abstractly: slavery in Christ is true freedom (i.e. freedom from sin); freedom in Christ is true slavery.' (Lenski p. 305) Every Christian is to be. "servant" of Christ. (Romans 6:13; Romans 6:16; 2 Corinthians 5:14; Galatians 2:20)

Therefore any religious teaching that places personal freedom and choice above God's written law, is. teaching that contradicts the very heart of Christianity.

Side Note On Slavery:

'This imagery, of course, must be understood in light of Greco-Roman slavery, not that of recent American history. Slavery was in fact the bottom rung on the social order, but for the most part it provided generally well for up to one-third of the population in. city like Corinth or Rome. The slave had considerable freedom and very often experienced mutual benefit along with the master. The owner received the benefit of the slave's services; and the slave had steady "employment", including having all his or her basic needs met--indeed, for many to be. slave was preferable to being. freedman, whose securities were often tenuous at best.' [Note:. Fee p. 319]

For an excellent article on First Century slavery see: 'Slave, Slavery' The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Volume Q-Z, pp. 453-460.