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Pastor John and Pastor Jeff teach the book of Galatians
Lord, we come to you and to the word that you've given to us, to teach us, to instruct us, and we understand that your scripture is very clear. It's by faith and not by works. So today as we open your word, and we see examples from Abraham's family, and as we understand, faith is the operative.
I pray, Lord, that these examples, these teachings, would help us to keep our eyes focused on you in faith, and give Pastor Jeff the right words to teach us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Last week before we came into this room, John and I and Tim were praying, and one of the things we prayed over John is that as he taught, the Lord would teach him and give him words to say that weren't in his notes, that were just taught by the Holy Spirit.
So as the teaching went on, he turned to Bob over here, and he said, Bob, what's that on your table? And then John questioned him all the more. What's in there? Mountain dew and cranberry juice, which was an interesting concoction.
But the analogy that John used, and that's the key word, analogy, to this drink was so helpful to illustrate the scriptural point about knowing God. Knowing God is more than tasting. It's drinking. In Hebrews 6, it talks about those who have tasted the heavenly gift, and the power of the coming age, and the goodness of the Word of God, but it turns out they fall away, which shows that even though they had a little taste, they never fully drank.
They never drank deeply. They were never saved. They never knew God. So the analogy helped. John's analogy helped make the point, and it was powerful. Rick, I want to ask you. You were an English teacher.
How important are analogies in writing projects?
Well, there you go. That makes them important, but it just shows the relationship.
All of us here are commanded to teach. We're supposed to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to make Christ known. Some people will have a formal role doing that, like I'm doing right now as a pastor of a church, but all of us will have opportunities to teach a child, a grandchild, somebody in the neighborhood, and the use of analogies is very important because words are important.
Words are like conveyor belts that move an idea from you to another person. You might understand something well enough, but you need a conveyor belt, which is the words, to get that into their understanding.
That was one of those moments. I didn't have a conveyor belt in my head, but the point about words is they're important. One of the masters of analogy and simile in the history of the church was a Puritan named Thomas Watson.
Anybody ever heard of Thomas Watson? He was famous for always throwing in a simile or an analogy, something to describe what he's saying in a way that creates a mental picture. So instead of saying that God opened his heart to the gospel, Watson would say something like, God opened his heart like a flower petal in the morning, as the sun hit it with the dew from the morning.
This mental image comes to mind that helps you understand the spiritual idea. So Watson has written books on this, and we as preachers can learn from that. Any of us should learn from Thomas Watson. When I was preaching on Sunday, I talked about how sin is crouching at the door.
It desires to have you, right? And I thought, how can I bring this to life so that someone would understand it and they would picture what that looks like? So I said, young people, listen to me. Do not open that door.
Referring to some kind of temptation or maybe pornography or something like that. If you open that door, there is a lion crouching outside of that door, and it will pounce and it will take you. You don't expect it to be there, but it's crouching.
Don't open the door to sin, right? So these analogies are important. I think that as Christians, as teachers, we need to use analogies to help others understand. But as Christians, we should see the entire world as an analogy for God's grace.
Every tree should point you to God. Every image that you see in this world, every beautiful image that God has made, should remind you of something of his grace. So that flower that opens in the spring should remind you of the grace of God to give new life and open a heart to the Gospel.
We should be looking all the time. And when we see the glory of the things that God has made, these should remind us of God himself and the beautiful things we read in his words, so that we're making these connections and then they'll come out in how we talk.
Paul is thinking about a very important issue in the book of Galatians. It's a theological issue that's kind of abstract and difficult to understand.
It's the idea that the law.
If you put your hope in fulfilling it, becomes your enemy. The law itself is not an enemy. The law is good. But the one who seeks to be justified by the law becomes a slave to it, and the law ministers death to that person rather than the life.
So it's kind of a difficult concept. So what do you suppose Paul does in Galatians chapter 4? To give us lightbulb moments, so that the lightbulb just goes off in the brain and all of a sudden there's understanding.
Does the answer uses analogies?
Yes, it is. He teaches about Abraham's analogous family. Turn with me to Galatians 4 21 to 31. See, you were following my train of thought there a little bit. He was reading the headline.
Oh, okay. There you go.
Some additional teacher asked a young child about who walked in the Far East and preached and came and gave his life for our sins. And he said, well, I know the answer is Jesus, but it sounds like a squirrel to me.
Oh.
The answer was always a squirrel.
So we come upon a very interesting 11 verses. From Galatians 4 21 to 31. Paul will use Abraham as the grand analogy. He's already done that previous. You recall the key verse with regard to the faith of Abraham is Genesis 15 6.
Abraham believed God and it was credited unto him as righteousness. This is this incredible doctrine of Imputed righteousness. That righteousness is credited, accounted to a believer on account of their faith.
Righteous, righteousness is not something that you earn by keeping the law. It's something that God credits to those who have faith in the promise. So there's a distinction between the law and the promise.
Yeah.
Then the difference between believe and receive it. I'm still not sure. I say believers.
When people in the English language refer to faith or belief, they might only be referring to one aspect of genuine biblical faith. So someone who has a mental understanding of something, that thinks something, might be regarded as believing it or having faith.
But the saving faith of which the Bible speaks includes more than just intellectual assent. It includes trusting. So an analogy, I believe this chair can hold me. But when I sit down in it, when I put my trust in it with full confidence that it's going to hold me up while I'm teaching today.
Yeah, then this is a better picture of what what biblical saving faith is all about. It is intellectual, but it's also a resting in, a taking that promise for oneself. It involves the will as well as the heart, like to fully put one's trust into Christ is more than intellectual.
Yeah. All right. So let's first of all, John, would you mind reading? And I want you guys just to, it's 21 to 31, Galatians 4, 21 to 31. Listen to all the analogies in succession. Because it's one after another, all revolving around Abraham.
It's all of the immediate members of Abraham's family. Each one becomes an analogy of something and then we'll break down with what each one refers to.
Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
Now this may be interpreted allegorically. These women had, are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
But the Jerusalem above is free and she is our mother, for it is written, Rejoice, O bearer, one who does not bear, and break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise, but just as that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the scripture say?
Cast out the slave woman and her son. For the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. So, brothers, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman.
Remarkable. How many analogies, one after another, and all of them revolve around Abraham, the father of the faith, the first to believe the promise of Genesis 12, 1 to 3, and then the promise of Genesis 12, 7, which was through the offspring, singular offspring, all the nations would be blessed.
Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now, Isaac will be an analogy in verse 28, and Ishmael will be an analogy in verse 29. But at the outset, it's not particularly Isaac and Ishmael that are the analogy.
It is the births of those two sons from what they were conceived. Notice in verses 21 through 23, tell me you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? Okay, so again, he's not only talking about the children or the actual people, they're only an analogy to something else.
And the great, the grand analogy, of course, is salvation by grace through faith versus salvation by works of the law. He's going to distinguish those two things, but make a point after a point regarding these analogies.
Verse 22, for it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. Now I say, Isaac and Ishmael are not the analogy themselves, because look at verse 23, it's how they were born.
The son of the slave was born according to the flesh. How was Ishmael born? Let's assume maybe somebody listening online doesn't know the story. How was Ishmael born?
Sarah told him to go sleep with my handmaid.
Yep.
Yeah, that's how. Yeah, she didn't think she could ever have a child.
Her fearful state of mind combined with Abraham's lustful, fleshly acceptance of such a suggestion resulted in the birth of an illegitimate son.
And not believe in the promise. Right. And that's that's the next point.
OK, and I'll come to you for this next time. While the son of the free woman was born through promise. So distinguish how Ishmael was born from how Isaac was conceived.
Isaac was born by God because Sarah was too old to have kids. So it was a supernatural work that came because God promised to do this.
Right now, they did sleep together in faith, believing that God could conceive a child even in their old age. They were still believing this. Yeah. But the child was born of promise because they were obeying the promise, looking to God to fulfill what he said.
Now, was Sarah like just all in on the promise the first time she heard it? She laughed. How about Abraham? Do you think he believed it? Yeah. He seemed to believe right away, didn't he?
Yeah, he had this seeming belief.
I don't think there might have been a tinge of doubt in there.
Yeah. Yeah.
It was a miracle for him and for her.
Right. They were both old.
God to conceive more children after Sarah. So and people live longer. And he seemed to be a very vigorous man at that age and on into his hundred and twenties, hundred and thirties.
He's quite vigorous.
So but the point is the promise. They're taking God at his word, believing the promise and through the promise who was born, the son of the free woman. What's the analogy to? Yeah. What what. What is the analogy referring to in this case?
You mean the flesh and the bones? Yeah. Faith by salvation.
Right.
Yeah. That salvation is taking God at his word, believing the promise and in the new covenant that is salvation through the blood of Christ over against trying to do things on your own. When Abraham and Sarah devised their own scheme of how they were going to bring forth the son, it involved Hagar.
She should not have been brought into this equation, but she was in the flesh and their fleshliness. So those who are trying to earn something are taking matters into their own hands. They are operating in the flesh by the flesh, trying to please God.
But you cannot be justified by the flesh. It's only through the promise, believing what God has said, his way of salvation. Can you think of any religious systems which are nothing more than fleshly efforts to justify oneself?
Every single one of them. Only those who take God at the promise. John 3, 16, that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life.
This is the promise of God. Those who believe that are justified. Those who make another way are like those who would, you know, fornicate and create their own childhood.
I was thinking about this yesterday. Yeah, this whole concept of like, you know, one of the things I was thinking of, too, is we think of like the great, particularly if you embrace the doctrines of men, which is like what the Pharisees did.
That's what Jesus saw. So in a sense, the last days, I'm just saying in a sense of looking what the apostasy might look like, it might look more religious than we think. Oh, we may actually believe that people who wrote books years ago are the only ones who knew the deeper truths of God and not this and this alone.
Yeah, that's so true.
And I don't know how that hashes out, because I'm not trying to diminish the writings of theologians or even anyone who thinks, you know, think great thinkers. But, you know, again, these analogies are no different than Dostoevsky writing about the Grand Inquisitor and locking Jesus in a prison cell and so, you know, not letting him out.
Well, what's the prison cell? Was it all up in Ivan's mind? Was that the prison cell of wrestling through the orthodoxy of the time? This is what I mean by like, these are great truths. Yes, this this is talking liberty here, not right.
Slavery. Right.
It's like when Bob walked in today, he said, Bob, how are you doing? And he said, well, I'm keeping the law the best I can really well.
I'm just kidding.
He didn't say that.
He said, you know what he said? He said, I'm standing on the promises.
Amen. Yes.
Bob thought he was about to get sold.
Somebody in here stole my line. I'm better than I deserve. We won't talk about it.
No, we won't mention Joe.
All right, let's move on to the second analogy. And well, it's there's two there's two mountains. Representing two women, but each of those are only analogy for the same concept here,.
Which is salvation by grace versus fulfilling the law.
Let's look at the first. John, you're a reader. Would you read 24 and 25?
Now, this may be interpreted allegorically. That works. Yes. These women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, burying the children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia.
She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
But out there.
So this first analogy is to Mount Sinai. Yes. Hagar. Her and her children are in slavery. But wasn't Mount Sinai a good gift from God, the giving of the law? Yeah. Yes. It is a good thing.
The law is good.
We have to distinguish that. If you look back at Chapter three, verse 21, is the law then contrary to the promises of God?
Certainly not.
There's many people who disparage the law just because we can't be justified by it. The issue is not the law. The problem is that we're sinners. The sin in us gets exposed by the law. So the good and righteous standard shows us how sinful we are.
Now, let's think about this analogy of the mountain. One of my favorite. I would probably say I do have a favorite chapter of Scripture, at least right now. It has it moves in flux a little bit. But for the longest time, Hebrews chapter 12 has remained at the very top for me.
It's just it's important for so many different reasons. But this analogy of the two mountains, I find to be glorious, beautiful. John, would you turn with me? This John, John Mora, would you read Hebrews 12, 18 to 21?
It's in your notes or you can read it from the Scripture. John, would you read that? This this is one of the most terrifying pictures compared to the glorious picture that follows.
Yeah, he did. So terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear.
The most humble, meek man on Earth who walked with God and was God's friend, trembled with fear. And the people were so afraid of the sight of Mount Sinai when it shook and when it was enshrouded by that thick cloud of darkness, they trembled and they could not bear the command that if even an animal went near that mountain, stone it to death, none of them would dare approach that mountain.
This is a terrifying mountain. Sinai is terrifying to the sinner because as sinners, it means our doom. And it's pictured so beautifully there in Hebrews 12. Cannot be touched. Blazing fire, darkness, gloom and a tempest.
The people are begging that God not speak anymore. This law is not light to them. It's a fearful, dreadful thing. Those who seek to be justified by the law should be trembling in fear because it will never work.
It's their death. But now contrast that image, that analogy with the glorious mountain, Mount Zion in heaven. And John, first, would you read the quote in Galatians 4 .26 and then Janet, I'll come to you to read the Hebrews corresponding passage.
4 .26.
OK.
But the Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother, for it is written, Rejoice, O bearing one who does not bear, break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.
OK, so there's a joy, a rejoicing, a breaking forth in song. But here's the operative term. The Jerusalem above is free. And she is our mother. Contrasting with Hagar and Mount Sinai, we have a free Jerusalem through Sarah, the barren one who does not bear.
All of a sudden, she's joyful. There's hope. There's life. So let's read the corresponding passage here in Hebrews 12, 22 to 24, Janet.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God, the judge of all, to the saints, to the spirits of just just men, and to the blood of the sprinkling that.
Isn't that a powerful description of the Jerusalem above? Think about a few of these expressions.
Mount Zion.
So contrasting the Mount Sinai we have Mount Zion. But this is not just the earthly hill on which Jerusalem, earthly Jerusalem sits, that Mount Zion. This is which, which heavenly, which city? The heavenly Jerusalem.
So we're picturing the way to God's heavenly kingdom. Where there are innumerable angels in festal gathering, the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven to God, the judge of all. But this is not terrifying because the spirits there in his presence are righteous, made perfect.
And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. We studied Cain and Abel on Sunday. And Abel died at the hands of Cain. His blood poured out.
But we were told in Genesis 4 .10 that his blood is crying out to God from the ground. So his blood speaks. What does it speak for?
Justice.
Justice. It cries out, avenge my unjust death. But the blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. His unjust death, his innocent blood poured into the ground cries out to God and speaks mercy over these people.
You see, the difference between the old covenant way of trying to obey law in order to be justified, when in fact they were never justified by law. The Old Testament saint was justified by blood. It was picturing the blood of Christ and that blood was shed for them as well.
They're part of the assembly of the firstborn. But it's the blood that cleanses from all unrighteousness. So here you have two analogies. A terrifying mountain versus a glorious one that you would delight to go to.
You're drawn to it. It's like you want to be in heaven. You want to see this mountain. It's the most glorious thing. I was once in Switzerland studying in Geneva and got to see the Swiss Alps. And I'll tell you, it makes the Poconos look like foothills when you see the Alps.
Can you imagine the glory when our eyes see Mount Zion? And that's our inheritance. We're not afraid of this mountain. We're looking to it. And the second analogy was to the two mothers. Hagar gives birth to enslaved children.
But Sarah to this freedom, this glory of this heavenly Jerusalem. All right, now we have a couple more analogies. Isaac and Ishmael themselves.
Yeah, Rick. Question.
It seems that the destinies of Ishmael and Isaac are determined.
Wow.
Well, we're going to get to that in this very point.
I said it seems, but I don't know how to justify that really.
Well, Romans nine versus, why don't we jump to it before we read the actual passage. Jump to Romans nine, seven and nine. Could it be that this is precisely the point? Rick, would you read that for us?
Sure.
Because you brought that up. Romans nine, seven and nine.
And not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
For this is what the promise said about this time. Next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son.
It's not all Israel of the flesh that are counted as Israel. So when you look at the Jewish people at the time of Jesus, a majority of them reject their own Messiah. They're children of God by the flesh, but according to John 8, 44, they're actually children of Satan.
So who were the true children of Israel? Those not just descended by the flesh as Ishmael was, but the children of promise. And when was Isaac promised? Before he had done anything good or bad. It goes on to explain this further, to make a second analogy, Romans nine, 10 and following.
Not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac. So when Isaac sires some offspring, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, Rick, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls.
She was told the older will serve the younger. So there the analogy between the two sons, Esau the older and Jacob the younger, before either of them were even born or had done anything good or bad, Jacob was already elected to be the son of promise and Esau was not.
Now we're taught that that's a different kind of predestiny. Jacob is elected to be saved, whereas Esau is passed over. God doesn't need to predestine someone for wrath when they are already a sinner, responsible for their own sin.
He passes over that person in a way that's different from how he elects somebody. Now there are Calvinists that would dispute that point. They're called supra-lapsarians. They believe that supra, before the fall, God in his mind had already chosen whom to elect and not.
Infra-lapsarians hold, which is my view, that God is viewing all of humanity in Adam, in their fallen state, responsible for their own sin. And in his mercy, he actively elects some for salvation. But what can't be disputed from this passage is precisely Rick's point.
Isaac hadn't done anything good or bad to be the child of promise. He was born of God. Born of the promise. It was not of his work. It was according to God's purpose of election that God's purpose might stand.
So let's see that now in the analogy. John, you're our reader in Galatians. John, would you read Galatians 4, 28?
Now you brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
So, the birth of Isaac was an analogy at the beginning, and that was to taking God at his word. When Abraham and Sarah believed God, a child of promise was born. The birth of Ishmael was a picture of the flesh, of fleshly desires and not believing the promise.
That's why he went to Hagar and Ishmael was born. Now we're talking about the children themselves. Isaac represents a child born of the promise. Now you brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. Paul is telling the Galatian believers that they have been saved by grace.
God's sovereign purpose in the promise. To elect them, to save them. They didn't save themselves. This was all the gracious work of God to make them children of God. It's not like Isaac saved himself.
He was born a child of promise. In the same way, we, like the Galatian believers here, are reading this as children of promise. We're to give all the glory to God. Conversely, John, would you read verse 29?
But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, so also it is now.
So Ishmael is the one born according to the flesh. And what do we learn that he will do to the children of promise? Persecute. And this, of course, goes all the way back to the curse. In the fall of man, you have Genesis 3 .15, the curse on the serpent.
I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and the children of God. And between your offspring and her offspring, he will crush your head, you will strike his heel. So there will be enmity, hatred, animosity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
The he, with a singular pronoun, means the one singular offspring, Christ, will crush the head of the serpent. But in the prior verse, it says, between his seed and her seed, mini. So we are the children of promise.
What should we expect in the world?
Persecution.
We should expect that there would be hostility between, and it's not initiated by us. Notice that in the analogy. Look at 29. Just as at that time, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit.
In Nigeria, over the last number of years, there's been at least 130 children, Christian children, by and large, abducted by Muslim terrorists and brought to be sex slaves or to be killed. How do you account for that?
Isn't Islam just another way to God, another religion? No, it's a religion of the flesh, man-made, which results in the persecuting of Christians. It's that way in North Korea, under Kim Jong-un. It's that way, to a large extent, in most countries of the world, including Russia, including Ukraine, including Israel.
Because most of Israel, most of the children of Israel are not believing the promise, and so they'll persecute Christian missionaries. There's video of them spitting on Christian missionaries.
As they bring the gospel.
Even in the US?
Yeah, what do you think, how do you regard our persecution here?
What do you see? If it's not as radical, then it's...
I think a lot of us could testify to real persecution caused by the seed of discernment against believers.
Or even an abortion issue.
Right, yeah.
I think his name is Rusty Thomas. He's been doing abortion outreach for decades.
He's in jail right now.
They said he blocked the way.
As someone was trying to enter.
They arrested him, threw him in jail.
Well, your testimony of being at the women's clinic, which is a weird phrase anyway, and the driver.
Oh, yeah.
Raging his eyes.
A group of, he almost mowed us down. The aisle, the parking lane in between the main street and the quote-unquote clinic was very wide. He completely crossed over and came at us like this and veered at the last second before mowing down the group of people praying.
And that was just a protection of God because it was probably in his heart to do it.
Otherwise, why did he start to do it?
And he received many threats, too.
You know, like that wannabe gang member that drove up one time.
Put signs at us.
We just laughed.
But also the security guard there and people walking by. That, I think, Satan sends.
Some sort of reminder.
And we know that nothing, no weapon formed against us shall prosper, right? So we trust God to be our shield. But the desire is in the heart of the wicked. And I don't think we even realize how strong that desire is because we're protected by our God.
I have one from the beginning of this portion.
Of the conversation.
It just keeps running through my head.
Leave us alone.
It comes all the way back if you go into the book of Isaiah. Lucifer said, I will make myself like the Most High. And God responded to that by banishing him down to earth. From that moment on until the end of the book of Revelation, Satan needs to be pursuing, I will make myself like the Most High, which means he has to eliminate the vestiges of Yahweh.
Just as the Holy Spirit would make us, would make us, give us a righteousness by faith, so Satan's minions or even his spirit would drive us the opposite direction.
I think it's the enmity that you talked about.
Yes.
I think that's right.
So from the spiritual, John nailed it, which is that it's demonic. There is a spiritual force that's motivating this. From the earthly,.
You see it in Ishmael.
He's jealous of Isaac. He sees, oh, there's the son of promise. The father favors him and they can sense that. And so he stirred up, why did Cain kill Abel? Because the father was pleased with Abel's offering and not his.
There's a sense that the world can tell that the pleasure of God, and they see that in our pleasure, ironically enough. Christians are joyful people. They see that these people are happy. They don't like that we're happy because inside, they're wanderers.
They're like Nod,.
Right?
The land of Nod. Cain is a restless wanderer and he hates that we have something that he doesn't.
And while they try to convince us.
There is a position.
There is no neutrality.
Boy, doesn't this destroy the myth of neutrality?
100%. Yeah.
There is only the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. There's Isaac and there's Ishmael.
And so we are tempted to look at the rest of the world,.
And let me reiterate, it's not by ethnic lines. It's not by that.
In fact,.
The offer of the gospel is to all ethnicities, every person. So this is open to you. Come be a child of the promise. Come drink. From our perspective, it's a free gift. God knows whom he will draw.
And who will come.
But the offer is genuine and it's real and it's out there. So come. It's not a matter of a.
And Paul tries to win people over by making them jealous, or at least his former foes too.
Trying to provoke them to jealousy.
Instead of just being jealous and killing them, just be jealous and go get what they want.
Stan, I saw your hand up. I didn't want to move away from you.
I'm going to answer first. I'm going back to Abraham and Ishmael. The seed.
Speaking of that analogy, it's our part to sow the seed, but we can't make it grow. The Lord brings the growth,.
Brings the harvest.
It's only God that takes that. It's like sowing a seed unto death. It's buried under the ground. But unless God makes it come alive and grow,.
Allegorically speaking,.
It'll never live.
We have a hard time sometimes understanding.
What's going on.
You go back to Abraham.
You'll know it by its fruit.
And that will be the broad ways as most people choose that. Last analogy. John, would you read for us 4 .30 and 31?
But what does the scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son. For the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. So brothers, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman.
So when Ishmael was taunting Isaac, what did Sarah appeal to Abraham to do? And it seemed so harsh. Cast her out. Send them away. And of course, God did care for them. But it was right for Abraham to take Sarah's advice there and cast her away.
As hard as that is. So what does that mean for us in the analogy? Hagar, the enslaving works righteousness, we must cast that away. So picture what's happened in Galatia. The Judaizers have come. These false teachers claiming to come from James, to have the authority of the apostles.
And they're saying, you must be circumcised in order to be saved. And they're saying, the law of Moses is a deeper and higher spirituality. Unless you do this, you're not a Christian. What should the Galatians do?
Send them packing. Send those false teachers packing and their ideology with them. That's Hagar, enslavement, that's Sinai. We have come to the free Jerusalem. We're children of the promise, not children of the law.
John, could you close us in a word of prayer?
Lord God, you are a holy God. And you call us not because that we have earned it, but because of your mercy. But at the same time, there is this pull to go back to be proving our value by the law. Teach us, oh Lord, we are no longer under the law.
We are not of the slave women. We are not children of the slave, but of the free woman. That our lives will be lived according to faith, according to your grace, according to your promise. Jesus' name, amen.
So what.
