Ben Boyett - Romans 1

After writing a blog on The Butlerian Jihad I was reminded of a section from Romans 1 that I have read recently where Paul calls himself a slave. Romans is a letter from the apostle Paul to the church in Rome introducing himself to them and explaining why he is coming to visit them. The introductory section in verses 1-7 talk about who Paul is. In the first verse Paul calls himself a slave, an apostle, and says that he has been singled out for the mission. In an introductory letter I have never described myself as a slave. In Rome slaves were consided lowly so why would he call himself a slave? In the Old Testament once Israel receives a king the people are called to be slaves to their king, and the king a slave to God. I think that in this section Paul has removed the middle man and directly become a slave to God. Not a slave in the sense that we usually think of it but rather as a voluntary servant, who is bound out of obligation. Paul also writes that he has been freed. Freed to be a slave? What is freedom? Can we be totally free under self-rule?