Bondage in Scripture refers to slavery in any of three realms: physical (Israel in Egypt, Exod 2:23), spiritual (slavery to sin, John 8:34; Rom 6:17), and cosmic (creation groaning under the bondage of corruption, Rom 8:21). The Exodus is the supreme OT type of redemption from bondage — God heard Israel's groaning and delivered them by mighty hand (Exod 6:5–6). In the NT, every unregenerate person is described as a slave to sin — not merely inclined toward it but owned by it (John 8:34). Christ's atoning work is liberation: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal 5:1). To return to sin after conversion is to voluntarily re-enter chains that Christ broke.
BONDAGE, n. Slavery; captivity; imprisonment; restraint of a person's liberty by compulsion. In Scripture, the bondage of sin is the most terrible form — man under the dominion of sinful passions and habits, unable by his own power to extricate himself. "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness" (Rom 6:18).
Modern psychology has redefined bondage as addiction, compulsion, or mental health disorder — categories that often remove moral agency and spiritual responsibility entirely. While brain science is valid, the biblical framework insists that behind every destructive pattern is a spiritual slavery that requires spiritual liberation, not only clinical treatment. Culture also reframes voluntary submission to God as "bondage" (as in "religious oppression"), while calling slavery to appetite "freedom." Scripture inverts this: "You are slaves of the one you obey — either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness" (Rom 6:16).
• John 8:34 — "Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin."
• Romans 6:16–18 — "You are slaves of the one you obey… you became slaves of righteousness."
• Galatians 5:1 — "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm… do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
• Romans 8:21 — "The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption."
• Exodus 6:5–6 — "I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel… I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians."