Romans 6:22-23 (CB)

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eternal life is a gift from God. Because it is a gift, it is not something that we earn or something that must be paid back. Consider the foolishness of someone who receives a gift given out of love and then offers to pay for it. A gift cannot be purchased by the recipient. An appropriate response to a loved one who offers a gift is graceful acceptance with gratitude. Our salvation is a gift of God, not something of our own doing (Eph 2:8-9). He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things that we have done (Titus 3:5). How much more should we accept with thanksgiving the gift that God has freely given to us. We all serve someone. If it is the world, the flesh, and the Devil, the idea that this is true freedom is an illusion. Sinners are in fact slaves of their own thoughts and desires (Titus 3:3). However, salvation in Christ does not set us free to live for ourselves, for this is the very slavery we must escape. When God joins a sinner to Christ, that sinner becomes a willing slave of Christ to do His righteous will. Serving Christ is true freedom (John 8:36). Why is this so? Are you a slave of Christ?