Sons or Slaves

Sons Or Slaves
Galatians 4

As the Apostle Paul penned the fourth chapter of his letter to the church in Galatia, he addresses further some of the issues of which we have spoken already in our study of this book.
Remember that the Galatians had grown in their faith since Paul had started their church some 3 or 4 years previous, but there had crept into their midst some who had been in this church scene much longer than they had.
These false teachers had come from Jerusalem and had convinced the people in the relatively new church of Galatia that they needed to be converted not only to Christ but to Judaism as well.
They would have to begin to observe all of the Jewish rituals and Sabbaths if they were to be real Christians.
It was not enough to go to church, read the Bible and listen to the Holy Spirit in a personal relationship with God.
They had to conform to the pattern of Old Testament law to be acceptable before God.

They were suddenly tripped up in their Christian growth.
Paul writes here to put down the false airs that had risen in their midst.
It seems the first thing that Paul does is show them that their advance into legalism is a step backward in their growth and a step down in their position before God.

READ TEXT
Galatians 4:1 ¶ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
PRAY

Verses 1-7 show a contrast in Positions before God.
Paul begins by tracing their rise to the position of heir.
--They had before (in OT times) been "children of God," but had not yet received the promise and were therefore no better than slaves.
--Now they were redeemed and adopted children of God and enabled to act like sons of God.
They were no longer bound to the system of the Law as they were.
They were sons of God.
So we, when we accept the price that has been paid for our redemption, become the children of God and heirs of the promise of Heaven.

Galatians 4:8 ¶ Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
12 ¶ Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Verses 8-16 show a contrast in Practice of Religion.
Here Paul reminds them of how they used to practice their faith and contrasts it with their current system of religion.
--Their current religious activity appeared more like when they were idol worshippers.
--They became obsessed with following all the Sabbaths again.
--They used to accept Paul and his infirmities with open arm and with love.
--They used to be compassionate and giving.

Galatians 4:17 ¶ They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
19 ¶ My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
21 ¶ Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
Verses 17-21 show a contrast in Methods of Ministry.
Here Paul points out the different way in which these false teachers had gone about ministering to them.
They had made great changes among them, but only motivated by a desire to look good themselves.
--The false teachers had threatened to exclude them from fellowship if they would not conform to their system of religion.
--The false teachers were concerned with how their ministry made them look.
--The false teachers produced fake results, as their converts only conformed to their teachings when they were being watched.
IN CONTRAST:
--Paul dealt with them as his own children.
--He was willing to work hard for their benefit.
--He was only concerned that they become like Christ.
--He desired to work with them and help them to grow personally.

Galatians 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
Verses 22-31 show a contrast in Symbolic Perspectives.
Here Paul uses an allegory to illustrate the two perspectives that existed within the Galatian church.
To understand the Allegory, we must quickly refresh our memory regarding the Old Testament story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar.
---Abraham was married to Sarah and was promised by God that she would bear a son who would be the child of promise, the one through whom God would bless the world.
Abraham and Sarah doubted God's promise and tried to manufacture their own plan.
Sarah gave her handmaiden, Hagar to Abraham to be a second wife, and Hagar bear a son who was named Ishmael.
Meanwhile God fulfilled His promise and gave Sarah a child who was named Isaac.
Once Isaac was born Sarah and Abraham threw out Hagar and Ishmael to avoid any conflict with the inheritance.

Isaac then was the son of promise and became the symbol of a God's plan working its power within us.
Ishmael then was the rejected son of the bondwoman and became a symbol of man's plan working its chaos and confusion within us.

Some insisted on sticking to their idea of religion and forced an entire system of regulations upon the church - in doing so they showed a lack of faith in God doing what he promises to do, that is make us all perfect in the end.

The right perspective is that of the children of promise.
We cannot manufacture our own set of regulations that will please God.
We must simply obey His explicit instructions and allow Him to do His marvelous work in us.

So it is when we come to Christ for salvation:
We do not come up with our own way of salvation.
We accept His provided way of salvation.

If you are here today and you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your only Saviour, let me encourage you to make that decision today.
Become a child of promise.

Christian Brother, Sister, stop trying to fit a mold that has been created by men and gauging your spirituality by that standard.
It will only rob you of your joy, and you will fall short of God's standard.
Surrender to His working in your life, He has promised to change you, and He will do so.

The Schoolmaster Says...

THE SCHOOLMASTER SAYS...
Galatians 3:15-29

It is early September, when kids are now back in school, and many are already looking forward to Summer.
Although I was mostly home-schooled as a child, I did attend various Christian schools throughout the years, and I recall the mixed feelings that I have had for different classroom teachers that I have had.
I was in love with my second grade teacher because she was pretty.
I was not so in love with the principal because I was always in his office getting a paddling.
I never put the facts together, which were, she was the one who regularly sent me to the principal's office.
It wasn't as if he had sent for me on his own.
I recall another schoolmaster I had, in ninth grade I went to a Christian school for the better portion of a year.
We had a Bible class teacher who was actually one of my favorite teachers.
We would often spend the entire class arguing about one thing or another.
The students would sometimes offer to pay me to get into an argument on quiz days in hopes that the teacher would forget to give the quiz.

Today I would like to introduce you to a schoolmaster that has been around since 1491 BC.
This schoolmaster was born 430 years after God promised Abraham that He would bless the entire world through the Jewish race.
This schoolmaster had a specific job and students that studied under him for nearly 1500 years.
Then there were certain developments that allowed every person to know from within all that the schoolmaster taught and much, much more.
This did not make the schoolmaster irrelevant.
Indeed, every person is born under the authority of this schoolmaster.
Let us read our text and learn what this schoolmaster has to say:

READ TEXT
Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
19 ¶ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
PRAY

Once again we are stricken by the Apostle Paul's high intellectual tone.
He has poured so many truths into these few verses that it is easy to get bogged down in the depth of information that is in our text.
Let us look at these verses in short sections and get a grasp on the greater lesson of the passage.

Verse 15-16
Paul introduces the subject by referencing the Abrahamic Covenant.
This was a promise that God made to Abraham.
The promise was that He would bless the whole world through Abraham's descendants.
Paul's argument is that Christ was the fulfillment of this promise.

Now some of the people in the Galatian church saw that this promise was made to the benefit of the whole world, and they saw it as an affront to their Jewish elitism.
They argued that the law had been given to the Jewish people, and since it was, the promise was also only for the Jewish people.
In the next verse Paul argues that the law could not have disannulled the promise because it was 430 years later, not an addendum to the promise.

Verse 17, 18
Here Paul is saying that the promise has been in effect and is not altered by the law.

Verse 19, 20
Here is the question of Purpose in regards to the law.
Why was the Law given?
What purpose does it serve?
The law was given to indicate sin, to show the shortcomings of man.
The promise had given hope of blessing.
The law showed that the blessing was undeserved.
Moses had been a temporary mediator in the delivering of the law.
In this he was the "go-between" for the transaction between God and man.
He delivered God's law to man in this fashion.

Verse 21
This second Question asks if the law which was essentially a list of rules to live by replaced the promise of a Saviour.
The answer is definitely not!
No person could ever obey all of the rules and is then always in need of a Saviour.

Verse 22
The Scripture draws this conclusion:
We are all sinners and must by faith put on the righteousness of Jesus.

Verse 23
Before fulfillment of the promise in Jesus Christ, all people had, was the law.
The only way they could hope to live a life that pleased their coming Saviour was to follow the list of rules.
How have you done on that?
Do you follow the Big Ten?
Let's go through them:
1. Thou shall not worship any other gods

2. Thou shall not make a graven image.

3. Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother.

6. Thou shall not kill.

7. Thou shall not commit adultery

8. Thou shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

10. You shall not covet.

So, how did you do?
Remember less than 100% is a failing grade.

This brings us to Verse 24
This verse tells us that the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.
This Schoolmaster has brought us to the realization that we are all sinners, condemned to die.
Jesus came as a Saviour, to all who believe in Him.
The Schoolmaster says you are lost, Jesus says, "I am the way."
The Schoolmaster says you are in darkness, Jesus says, "I am the Light of the World."
The Schoolmaster says, The wages of sin is death, Jesus says, the gift of God is eternal life.

It appears the Schoolmaster has done his job well.
We are all brought to this same point of desperate need.
How then can we escape the Schoolmaster's penalty?
It is only by trusting in Jesus Christ, who paid the price for your sin, that we can get out from under the Schoolmaster.
Verse 25
Then we are born into the family of God.
Verse 26
As part of His family we are given special privileges.
Verse 27
The Bible tells us that we are then baptized into Christ - the Holy Spirit of God come and dwells inside of us, to do for us what the law could never do perfectly, guide us into a Christ-like life.
This is the secret to living a victorious Christian life - we no longer have only a written set of rules - we have an indwelling Holy Spirit that constantly reminds and empowers us to live righteously.

This special privilege and this new life is offered to people of all races and both genders.
Verse 28

If you are here today and you have never reached the place in your life where you realized you were a sinner in need of a Saviour, won't you believe in Jesus today?
The Schoolmaster has been very clear over the many years - you need Christ.

If you have already trusted in Christ as your Saviour, look at your life.
Does it reflect a personal relationship with Jesus?
Remember, it is that relationship that is the key to victory.
You are no longer under the Schoolmaster - but we are motivated by love to do more than the law ever required of us.

The Work Is His

The Work is His
Galatians 3:1-14

Tomorrow is Labor Day, a day set aside to celebrate the rewards of hard work.
Labor is a gift given to man by God, although we seldom think of it in this way.
God gave Adam the gift of labor when he put him in charge of the Garden of Eden.
Of course things changed somewhat when Adam and Eve both sinned.
Their work was suddenly less rewarding.
Sin has a way of stealing the joy from what God intended as a blessing.
Even in our country, the concept of labor has changed somewhat.
America has been the hardest working country in the world for many years, putting more hours into the average workday than any other country.
However, America has fallen in the standings according to recent studies.
Americans are no longer the hardest working or the longest working of all the nations.

I have studied this to some extent and have come to a few conclusions:
1) Certainly the political viewpoint has changed, and this has affected the work ethic of our people.
2) Also, the societal mindset has changed to more of an entitlement society in which more and more of the blessing of this life are granted by the state as rights instead of earned by hard work.
The only result of this can be an overall slow-down in production and less work.

I have brought up these issues, not because of their political ramifications but because these truths about our society have impacted many hearts and minds regarding religion, and particularly, the salvation of our souls.
Today many people believe that salvation, the redeemed state of the soul, is a right for all people.
It seems more and more have begun to think that they are worthy of eternal life, and they deserve the mansion that Jesus is even now building in the New Jerusalem, which we call Heaven.
This is contrary to all that the Bible teaches.
The Bible clearly states many times that we are all sinners.
Last week on Sunday Night we learned that even the sin of lying earns for us the lake of fire that was prepared for the Devil and his angels.

However, just as in America, there are a few holdouts that know that all good things are earned by hard work.
Unfortunately, this too can lead to false beliefs about salvation and redemption.
Many believe that if they work hard to be good, God will bless them with eternal life.
Many believe that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross was a down payment on the mortgage of their soul, and they have yet to earn the rest of their soul's security by working hard for the rest of their life.
Such was the case with a little group of churches in the New Testament in the Roman province of Galatia.
They were hard workers, and for that they should be commended.
However, they were convinced that the work of Salvation was and uncompleted task.
They were of the opinion that the work of the ministry was their work, and they became possessive of it and proud of it.
They seemed to be doing all the right things, but suddenly the work was not so rewarding.
Paul, the Apostle addresses this problem with some powerful and logical arguments in Chapter 3.
Let us read our text and follow his line of thinking:

READ TEXT
PRAY

The first thing we might notice from our text is that Paul was an intellectual.
His arguments are powerful but a little complicated.
Let us try to break it down verse by verse, with the help of the Holy Spirit and see the major points that Paul is making.
Keep in mind the problems that Paul is addressing regarding a works-based salvation.
Remember that the Old Testament ritual law still looms large over Christianity and many have yet to understand the part that it has played in God's great plan for saving His people.

The first point that Paul makes is in verse 2
He did the work of sending the Holy Spirit. (Verse 2)
Remember, the Holy Spirit is always referred to as a person in the Bible, never a force.
The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus to indwell every believer.
Jesus promised this:
John 15:26 ¶ But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Jesus also said that He must ascend into Heaven for this to take place.
It was a work that only God could do.
This was not earned by the hard-working, it was given to those who believed.

Paul asks the question, how did you receive the Holy Spirit?
Did you earn His indwelling, or did you simply believe?
Some would say that even faith comes by working at it, and Paul debunks that idea by referring to the process by which faith comes.
Paul made the same argument in greater detail in Romans:
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith is a result of Hearing the Word.
The Holy Spirit is sent to those who have believed:
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

The importance of the Holy Spirit is the sealing that He does.
He is not flighty like man.
He comes and seals the believer - securing his soul for eternity.
This work is His, it is not ours.
We do not deserve it, nor can we earn it.
It is his work
He did the work of sending the Holy Spirit. (Verse 2)

Now we move to the next verse and find the logical progression of Paul's argument:
He is doing the work of Perfection. (Verse 3)
Paul points out here that since we were unable to do anything to get the Holy Spirit, we can certainly not do the work of perfecting ourselves without Him.
It was a simple surrender of the heart that invited the Holy Spirit in.
It is a simple surrender of our lives that gives the Holy Spirit the leeway to make us perfect.

Many believe that once He has sealed us we must work hard to prepare ourselves for Heaven.
We must perfect ourselves.
This is what leads to burned-out Christians and forsaken ministries.
The work of perfection is not ours, it is His.
If you think that you are tasked with the awesome responsibility of perfecting yourself, you will follow this well worn pattern:
1) You will work hard and grow fast for a short period of time for all to see.
2) You will then get proud of the results and critical of everyone else.
3) Next you will be discouraged in the work you are doing.
4) Finally you will give up because your efforts are futile.

Unfortunately this is the pattern of many in the Christian life.
Paul wrote to all of his beloved churches with the same overall message in this regard:
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
The work of perfecting is HIS work, and I have but to surrender to Him and let Him do His job of perfecting me.
Verse 4 reminds the reader of all the suffering through which we all go in the process of perfection.
Let it not be in vain.
He is doing the work of Perfection. (Verse 3)

The third point that Paul makes is in verse 5.
He is doing the work of the miracles among us. (Verse 5)
This one is closely related to the first and follows the second in logical progression.
The work of miracles in this context is clearly the saving of other's souls.
Look closely.
The same words are used as in verse 2 reminding us that no one is saved by the works of the law.
Rather, they simply believe after hearing the Word of God.
God is the One giving the Spirit to people and miraculously saving their souls.
It is not our cleverness or our hard work that produces children of God.
It is His work.
When we are able to lead someone to Christ, it means we were able to get out of the way enough to let HIM work.
It is a sign of maturity and spiritual depth in our lives when we are used in this fashion.

The Galatians knew of the importance of people being miraculously saved.
They knew they should be involved in soul-winning and ministry, but they were cutting out the most powerful aspect of ministry.
They were leaving out the One Who does the work!

Let us not lead ourselves into discouragement in the ministry by thinking it can only be done by us.
In reality, in can only be done by HIM!
He is doing the work of the miracles among us. (Verse 5)

Paul slips into a history lesson beginning in verse 6 to bring us back to the place when God chose for Himself a people out of the nations of this world.
Then in verse 8 and 9 we see Paul's fourth point:
He planned this work from the beginning. (Verse 8,9)
I am a schemer.
That is my confession to you.
I think long and hard about every aspect of the ministry that we do here.
It would surprise you how much thought goes into everything we do here, from the order of service to what may look like instant decisions and accidental happenstances.
These things are often thought-out talked-out well-planned actions.
The problem with all this is that we have a tendency to think that if we don't plan every aspect of the work it won't get done.
The truth is, God has planned the work from the very beginning of time.
He has always known who will accept His offer of salvation to all men.
He has always known how things should go within His ministry.
My responsibility is not to come up with the plan.
It is to discover the plan.
This means I have to take my ambitions off of the table and let Him lead.
I cannot look to implement all my concerns.
He has already thought of everything.
He planned the ministry to the Gentiles even when He was giving Abraham the promises of blessing.
He planned this work from the beginning. (Verse 8,9)
And it is a perfect plan that has all things considered.

The next few verses lead into Paul's last point in our text.
Paul is here pointing out the great success of the Law of the Old Testament:
The Law proved the inability of man to meet God's standard.
It proved that we are all cursed by our own inability to meet God's standard of Holiness.
As verse 11 reminds us, NO MAN is justified in the eyes of God by his works.
It is only by believing in something much greater and more perfect than our works that we can claim eternal life.
Thus, the statement "The just shall live by faith."
Finally, in Verse 13 we see the great truth:
He did the work of Redemption. (Verse 13)
We were in debt because of our sin.
We had accrued so much debt to our account that we could never pay it off.
The word "redemption" is a financial word.
It implies a financial transaction.
Jesus laid down His own life on the cross and redeemed us.
We have but to accept that payment as the full payment for our sins.

Beloved, Let me encourage you this morning, the work is not yours.
It is His.
You can not do it on your own.
Only He can do it through you.
If you are here today without full assurance of you salvation, know this, He has done the work of redeeming your soul.
Won't you accept the payment He has made?
You have heard the Word.
Now believe.