Son or Slave? (Galatians

In this passage, Paul continues to remind the Galatians that as sons of the promise they are free in Christ. To turn back to the Law and a works-based religion would make them slaves rather than sons. As believers, we can face this same temptation, thinking that what we do affects our standing before God. Freedom and grace are found only in Christ. Are you trusting in your work and obedience, or in the finished work of Jesus Christ? Are you living as a slave, or as a son? From our Sunday service at Grace Bible Church of Bend.

[@kildacious9171]

Sitting at a truck stop…in my truck in Priceville, AL…5 years after this sermon was preached…and it’s exactly the message I needed to hear today.

[@twenty-fivethirty-six3946]

I see it more like this: Galatians 4:21 “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?” Paul begins by addressing those who have accepted Christ and were being pressured to convert to Judaism through circumcision of the flesh. Galatians 4:22 "For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.” Abraham’s wife Sarah was having trouble getting pregnant, which was understandable considering her age, so Sarah allows Abraham to use her slave woman, Hagar, as a surrogate to produce for him an heir. The male child born of this union between Abraham and Hagar was named, Ishmael (Genesis 16:1-3, 15-16). But Ishmael wasn’t the son through whom the Father intended to fulfill His promise to Abraham. The Father told Abraham that his wife Sarah would bear him a son (Genesis 17:15-21), which she did. Now Abraham had two sons; Ishmael, the son born of the slave woman, Hagar, and Isaac, the son born of the free woman, Sarah. Galatians 4:23 “His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.” We’re told that the birth of Ishmael came through the normal and natural process, while the birth of Isaac required a miracle in order to fulfill the Father’s promise. Galatians 4:24 “These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.” Paul uses these two women, Hagar and Sarah to symbolize two covenants. Those who are born of Hagar according to the flesh. Those who are born of Sarah according to the promise. Galatians 4:25 “Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.” When Moses led the people out of bondage in Egypt he led them to Mount Sinai, where they were given the Father’s Instructions. As the Father gave them the first of His Instructions, the people were filled with fear and asked Moses to speak to the Lord on their behalf and then pass on to them what He said. Exodus 20:18-19 “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” While Moses was up on the mountain with God the people broke their promise to obey the Father’s Instructions and began to worship a golden calf (Exodus 32). But this would be only the first of their many transgressions against the Father which would cause Him to make their hearts calloused. Isaiah 6:10 “Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Because of their disobedience the Father placed a veil over the hearts of His people which made them unable to “understand with their hearts”, meaning from this point on they would be unable to “know” the Father and His character and would have to rely on His Instructions to be their guide in understanding righteousness. Galatians 3:23-25 “Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” Hagar the slave woman is the symbol of those who are born in the normal way with a selfish nature that keeps them in bondage to sin. But Christ wasn’t born in the normal way He was born of a promise. Matthew 1:18 “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” Those who apply the blood of Christ to the doorposts of their hearts are set free from the law of sin and death through circumcision, not of the flesh but of the heart. 2 Corinthians 3:13-18 “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Sarah symbolizes those who are “born again” and have had the veil covering their heart removed by Christ and are now free to worship the Father through their spirit. But this puts us right back to where we started, a group of unholy people trying to worship a holy God. Because of our fallen nature the heart and the spirit of mankind is incapable of worshiping the Father in a way that pleasing to Him. This is why the Father gives us a new heart and a new spirit, so we can worship Him in a new way through His Spirit and through His Truth. Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” It’s here we see that the promise of the new covenant isn’t to get rid of the standard for sin, which we know as the Law, but to give us a new heart and a new spirit that will compel us to obey it. But because of our selfish nature mankind could never keep enough of the Law to be righteous, for even our good deeds are motivated by our selfish nature which is why we must die to ourselves in order to become a new creation in Christ because the only way to know the Father is through the Son. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Christ tells us that the only way we can “know” the Father is through Him, which is why He is the only way to the Father. It’s through Christ we learn the difference between obeying the Law, “thou shall not kill” and fulfilling the Law, “thou shall not have hatred for a brother”. The Apostle Paul expounds on this understanding in his letter to the Romans. Romans 13:8-10 “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” When we’re willing to die to our selfish nature Christ is able to fulfill the Law in us and through us. This is where we see that it’s not solely in what Christ “did” for us that brings hope, but it’s also what He’s “doing” for us now. When we see the work that Christ is doing in our heart to change our desires to align with His it creates hope. That hope then produces faith and that faith produces Godly action which is the fulfillment of our belief. Blessings!

[@LoCoWi]

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