Galatians 4:21-31

Cornerstone Church iconCornerstone Church

1 view

Pastor John and Pastor Jeff teach the book of Galatians

0 comments

00:00
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.
00:10
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.
00:21
I pray, Lord, that these examples, these teachings, would help us to keep our eyes focused on you in faith, and give
00:28
Pastor Jeff the right words to teach us. In Jesus' name, Amen. Last week before we came into this room,
00:36
John and I and Tim were praying, and one of the things we prayed over John is that as he taught, the
00:43
Lord would teach him and give him words to say that weren't in his notes, that were just taught by the
00:48
Holy Spirit. So as the teaching went on, he turned to Bob over here, and he said, Bob, what's that on your table?
00:55
And then John questioned him all the more. What's in there? Mountain dew and cranberry juice, which was an interesting concoction.
01:04
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
01:13
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
01:23
Word of God, but it turns out they fall away, which shows that even though they had a little taste, they never fully drank.
01:30
They never drank deeply. They were never saved. They never knew God. So the analogy helped.
01:36
John's analogy helped make the point, and it was powerful. Rick, I want to ask you. You were an English teacher.
01:42
How important are analogies in writing projects? They are included in the
01:51
RSAP, so... That makes them important, but you're always using similes and metaphors to understand more fully the main point.
02:18
Amen. All of us here are commanded to teach. We're supposed to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to make
02:28
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.
02:48
Words are like conveyor belts that move an idea from you to another person.
02:55
You might understand something well enough, but you need a conveyor belt, which is the words, to get that into their understanding.
03:01
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.
03:08
One of the masters of analogy and simile in the history of the church was a
03:15
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.
03:31
So instead of saying that God opened his heart to the gospel, Watson would say something like,
03:38
God opened his heart like a flower petal in the morning, as the sun hit it with the dew from the morning.
03:48
This mental image comes to mind that helps you understand the spiritual idea.
03:53
So Watson has written books on this, and we as preachers can learn from that. Any of us should learn from Thomas Watson.
04:03
When I was preaching on Sunday, I talked about how sin is crouching at the door.
04:10
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?
04:18
So I said, young people, listen to me. Do not open that door.
04:24
Referring to some kind of temptation of 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.
04:37
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.
04:46
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.
05:01
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.
05:13
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.
05:21
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.
05:39
Paul is thinking about a very important issue in the book of Galatians.
05:46
It's a theological issue that's kind of abstract and difficult to understand.
05:53
It's the idea that the law, if you put your hope in fulfilling it, becomes your enemy.
06:03
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.
06:21
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?
06:36
The answer uses analogies. Yes, it is. He teaches about Abraham's analogous family.
06:44
Turn with me to Galatians 4 21 to 31. See, you were following my train of thought there a little bit.
06:50
He was reading the headline. Oh, okay. There you go. The Sunday school teacher asked a young child about who walked in the
06:59
Far East and preached and came and gave his life for our sins.
07:06
And he said, well, I know the answer is Jesus, but it sounds like a squirrel to me. The answer was always a squirrel.
07:14
The answer was always Jesus. So we come upon a very interesting 11 verses.
07:23
From Galatians 4 21 to 31, Paul will use
07:29
Abraham as the grand analogy. He's already done that previous. You recall the key verse with regard to the faith of Abraham is
07:38
Genesis 15 6 Abraham believed God and it was credited unto him as righteousness.
07:48
This is this incredible doctrine of imputed righteousness.
07:58
That righteousness is credited, accounted to a believer on account of their faith.
08:06
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.
08:16
So there's a distinction between the law and the promise. Yeah. Then the difference between belief and believing and receiving, that's something that I came across a month ago, and I'm still not sure.
08:35
Yes, believers. Right. When people in the English language refer to faith or belief, they might only be referring to one aspect of genuine biblical faith.
08:48
So someone who has a mental understanding of something, that thinks something, might be regarded as believing it or having faith.
08:57
But the saving faith of which the Bible speaks includes more than just intellectual assent.
09:03
It includes trusting. So an analogy, I believe this chair can hold me. But when
09:09
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.
09:19
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.
09:30
It involves the will, as well as the heart, like to fully put one's trust into Christ is more than intellectual.
09:38
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.
09:45
Galatians 4, 21 to 31. Listen to all the analogies in succession.
09:51
Because it's one after another, all revolving around Abraham. It's all of the immediate members of Abraham's family.
09:58
Each one becomes an analogy of something, and then we'll break down with what each one refers to.
10:04
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.
10:15
But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
10:22
Now this may be interpreted allegorically. These women had, are two covenants.
10:27
One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now Hagar is
10:33
Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
10:40
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,
10:46
Rejoice, O bearer one who does not bear, and break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor.
10:52
For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.
10:59
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
11:10
Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son.
11:17
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.
11:28
Remarkable. How many analogies, one after another? And all of them revolve around Abraham, the father of the faith.
11:38
The first to believe the promise of Genesis 12, 1 to 3.
11:45
And then the promise of Genesis 12, 7, which was through the offspring, singular offspring, all the nations would be blessed.
11:55
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.
12:08
But at the outset, it's not particularly Isaac and Ishmael that are the analogy.
12:16
It is the births of those two sons from what they were conceived.
12:25
Notice in verses 21 through 23, tell me you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
12:34
Okay, so again, he's not only talking about the children or the actual people, they're only an analogy to something else.
12:43
And the great, the grand analogy, of course, is salvation by grace through faith versus salvation by works of the law.
12:53
He's going to distinguish those two things, but make a point after a point regarding these analogies.
13:00
Verse 22, for it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
13:09
Now I say, Isaac and Ishmael are not the analogy themselves because look at verse 23.
13:16
It's how they were born. The son of the slave was born according to the flesh.
13:28
How was Ishmael born? Let's assume maybe somebody listening online doesn't know the story. How was
13:34
Ishmael born? Sarah told him. Yep.
13:41
She didn't think she could ever have a child. Yep. Her fearful state of mind combined with Abraham's lustful, fleshly acceptance of such a suggestion resulted in the birth of an illegitimate son.
14:01
And not believing the promise. Right, and that's that's the next point. Okay, and I'll come to you for this next hint.
14:07
While the son of the free woman was born through promise. So distinguish how
14:14
Ishmael was born from how Isaac was conceived. Isaac was born by God because Sarah was too old to have kids.
14:24
So God did a miracle by having Isaac born. So it wasn't through the flesh at all.
14:31
It was by God. It was a supernatural work that came because God promised to do this, right?
14:37
Now they did sleep together in faith believing that God could conceive a child even in their old age.
14:43
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.
14:53
Now was Sarah like just all in on the promise the first time she heard it?
14:58
Not even close. She laughed. How about Abraham?
15:04
Do you think he believed it? Yeah, he seemed to believe right away, didn't he? There might have been a tinge of doubt in there.
15:12
Yeah, it was as much a miracle for him as for her. Right? They were both old and past the age of being able to.
15:22
Well, no, Abraham did go on 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.
15:39
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.
15:51
What's the analogy to? Yeah, what what what is the analogy referring to in this case?
16:06
You mean the flesh and the bones? Yeah. Faith, Christ, salvation? Right. Yeah, that salvation is taking
16:14
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.
16:26
When Abraham and Sarah devised their own scheme of how they were going to bring forth the son it involved
16:34
Hagar. She should not have been brought into this equation. But she was in the flesh in their fleshliness.
16:41
So those who are trying to earn something are taking matters into their own hands.
16:47
They are operating in the flesh by the flesh trying to please God.
16:52
But you cannot be justified by the flesh. It's only through the promise believing what
16:58
God has said his way of salvation. Can you think of any religious systems which are nothing more than fleshly efforts to justify oneself?
17:12
Every single one of them. Only those who take God at the promise
17:17
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.
17:26
This is the promise of God. Those who believe that are justified. Those who make another way are like those who would fornicate and create their own childhood.
17:40
Yeah Yeah Particularly if you embrace the doctrines of men, which is like what the
17:59
Pharisees did. That's what Jesus saw. So in assassins The last days
18:05
I'm just saying in a sense of looking what the apostasy might look like it might look more religious than we think
18:11
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.
18:23
Yep, 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
18:42
Grand Inquisitor and locking Jesus in a prison cell and so you know, yeah not letting him out.
18:48
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?
18:55
This is what I mean by like these are great truths. Yes, this this is talking liberty here, not right, slavery.
19:03
It's like when Bob walked in today and said, Bob, how you doing? And he said, well, I'm keeping the law the best
19:09
I can really well. You know what he said? He said,
19:14
I'm standing on the promise. Bob thought he was about to get sold.
19:23
Somebody in here stole my line. I'm better than I deserve. We won't talk about that.
19:31
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.
19:50
Let's look at the first John. You're a reader. Would you read a 24 and 25?
19:56
Now this may be interpreted allegorically that works. Yes These women are two covenants one is from Mount Sinai burying the children for slavery
20:08
She is Hagar now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia She corresponds to the present
20:15
Jerusalem for she is in slavery with her children So this first analogy is to Mount Sinai.
20:23
Yes Hagar Her and her children are in slavery
20:30
But wasn't Mount Sinai a good gift from God the giving of the law
20:38
Yeah, it is a good thing the law is good We have to distinguish that if you look back at chapter 3 verse 21
20:45
Is the law then contrary to the promises of God certainly not?
20:51
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
21:02
That we're sinners the sin in us Gets exposed by the law so the good and righteous standard shows us.
21:11
How sinful we are now Let's think about this analogy of the mountain One of my favorite
21:18
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
21:27
Hebrews chapter 12 has remained at the very top for me
21:34
It's just it's important for so many different reasons, but this analogy of the two mountains
21:40
I find to be glorious beautiful John would you turn with me? This John John Mora, would you read
21:47
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?
22:02
Compared to the the glorious picture that follows Yeah, Hebrews 12 18 to 21
22:25
That no further messages be spoken to them They could not endure the order that was given if even a beast touches the mountain shall be stolen
22:36
Indeed 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
22:45
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
22:57
They trembled and they could not bear the command that if even an animal went near that mountain stone it to death
23:04
None of them would dare approach that mountain This is a terrifying Mount Sinai is terrifying to the sinner
23:14
Because as sinners it means our doom And It's pictured so beautifully there in Hebrews 12
23:22
Cannot be touched blazing fire darkness gloom and a tempest the people are begging that God not speak anymore
23:31
This law is not like to them. It's a fearful dreadful thing Those who seek to be justified by the law
23:41
Should be trembling in fear Because it will never work it's their death
23:48
But now contrast that image that analogy with the glorious mountain
23:55
Mount Zion in heaven and John first, would you read the the quote in Galatians 4 26 and then
24:03
Janet I'll come to you to read the Hebrews corresponding passage For 26
24:09
But the Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother for it is written
24:16
Rejoice Oh bearing one who does not bear break forth and cry aloud you who are not in labor
24:22
The children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.
24:29
Okay? So there's a joy of rejoicing a breaking forth in song, but here's the operative term the
24:36
Jerusalem above Is free and She is our mother
24:42
Contrasting with Hagar and Mount Sinai. We have a free
24:47
Jerusalem Through Sarah the barren one who does not bear all of a sudden she's joyful there's hope there's
24:57
Life, so let's read the corresponding passage here in Hebrews 12 22 to 24
25:34
Powerful description of the Jerusalem above Think about a few of these expressions
25:41
Mount Zion, so contrasting the Mount Sinai We have
25:46
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?
25:59
Jerusalem so we're picturing the way to God's Heavenly kingdom
26:06
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
26:23
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
26:41
That speaks a better word than the blood of Abel We studied
26:46
Cain and Abel on Sunday and Abel died
26:53
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
27:03
So his blood speaks What does it speak for? Justice justice it cries out avenge my unjust death
27:15
But the blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel His unjust death his innocent blood poured into the ground
27:25
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
27:36
When in fact they were never justified by law the Old Testament Saint was justified by blood
27:43
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
27:51
But it's the blood that cleanses from all unrighteousness so here you have two analogies a
28:00
Terrifying mountain Versus a glorious one that you would delight to go to you're drawn to it
28:07
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
28:16
Swiss Alps And I'll tell you it makes the Poconos look like foothills when you see the
28:23
Alps Can you imagine the glory when our eyes see Mount Zion and that's our inheritance we're not afraid of this mountain
28:31
We're looking to it and the second analogy was to the two mothers Hagar gives birth to slaved enslaved children, but Sarah to this freedom this glory of this
28:44
Heavenly Jerusalem all right now. We have a couple more analogies Isaac and Ishmael themselves.
28:50
Yeah Destinies Well we're gonna get to that Well Romans 9 verses why don't we jump to it before we read the actual passage jump to Romans 9 7 and 9
29:22
Could it be that this is precisely the point? Rick would you read that for us because you brought that up Romans 9 7 to 9
29:59
It's not all Israel of the flesh that are counted as Israel so when you look at the
30:06
Jewish people at the time of Jesus a majority of them reject their own
30:12
Messiah They're children of God by the flesh, but according to John 8 44.
30:18
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
30:35
Isaac? promised Before he had done anything good or bad
30:42
It goes on to explain this further to make a second analogy Romans 9 10 and following not only so but also when
30:50
Rebecca Conceived children by one man our forefather Isaac So when
30:56
Isaac sires some offspring though They were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad
31:03
Rick In order that God's purpose of election might continue not because of works, but because of him who calls
31:13
She was told the older will serve the younger So they're the analogy between the two sons
31:19
Esau the older and Jacob the younger Before either of them were even born or had done anything good or bad
31:28
Jacob was already elected to be the son of promise and Esau Was not now.
31:37
We're taught that that's a different kind of predestiny Jacob is elected to be saved
31:48
Whereas Esau is passed over God doesn't need to predestine someone for wrath
31:56
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.
32:08
There are there are Calvinists that would dispute that point They're called super lapsarians They Believe that supra before the fall
32:16
God in his mind had already chosen whom to elect and not Infra lapsarians
32:22
Hold which is what my view that God is viewing all of humanity in Adam in their fallen state
32:29
Responsible for their own sin and in his mercy. He actively elects some for salvation
32:36
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
32:46
He was born of God Born of the promise. It was not of his work
32:53
It was according to God's purpose of election that God's purpose might stand. So let's see that now in the analogy
32:59
John you're a reader in Galatians John. Would you read Galatians 4 28 now you brothers like Isaac?
33:08
children of promise So The birth of Isaac was an analogy at the beginning and that was to taking
33:22
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 And not believing the promise that's why he went to Hagar and Ishmael was born now we're talking about the children themselves
33:45
Isaac represents a child born of the promise Now you brothers like Isaac are children of promise.
33:53
Paul is telling the Galatian believers That they have been saved by grace
34:02
God's sovereign purpose in the promise To elect them to save them
34:08
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
34:17
He was born a child of promise in the same way We like the
34:22
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?
34:31
But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh Persecuted him who was born according to the spirit.
34:40
So also it is now So Ishmael is the one born according to the flesh and what did we learn that he will do to the children of promise
34:55
Persecute and this of course goes all the way back to the curse in the fall of man you have
35:01
Genesis 3 15 the curse on the serpent I will put enmity
35:08
Between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring
35:16
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
35:28
The he with a singular pronoun means the one singular offspring Christ will crush the head of the serpent
35:34
But in the broader prior verse It says between his seed and her seed many
35:43
We are the children of promise, what should we expect in the world? Persecution we should expect it that there would be hostility between And it's not initiated by us
35:56
Notice that in the analogy look at 29 Just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh
36:04
Persecuted him who was born according to the spirit in Nigeria over the last number of years there's been at least a hundred and thirty children
36:15
Christian children by and large abducted by Muslim terrorists and Brought to be sex slaves or to be killed
36:25
How do you account for that Isn't Islam just another way to God another religion
36:32
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
36:43
It's that way to a large extent in most countries of the world including
36:49
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
37:00
Christian missionaries There's video of them spitting on Christian missionaries as they bring the gospel
37:07
Yeah, what do you think how do you regard our persecution here
37:27
Yeah, I Think a lot of us could testify to real persecution caused by the seat of the serpent against believers
37:37
Yeah Yeah, I think his name is rusty
37:51
Thomas has been doing abortion Outreach for decades. He's in jail right now
37:57
They said he blocked the way as someone was trying to enter they arrested him
38:02
Well your testimony of being at the women's clinic, which is a weird phrase.
38:08
Anyway, and the driver Oh, yeah rage in his eyes a group of he almost mowed us down the the aisle the
38:17
The parking lane in between the Main Street and the quote -unquote clinic was very wide
38:23
He completely crossed over and came at us like this and veered at the last second before mowing down the group of people praying
38:29
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?
38:36
We saw many threats. Oh, yeah. Yeah that one of the gang member that drove up one time.
38:43
Oh, yeah Yeah We just laughed But also the security guard there oh, yeah walking by that that I think
38:53
Satan sent And we know that that nothing no weapon formed against us shall prosper
39:00
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
39:10
Because we're protected by our God Conversations It comes all the way back if you go into the book of Isaiah Lucifer said
39:36
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 it needs to be pursuing
39:49
I would be make myself like the Most High which means he has to eliminate the vestiges of Yahweh Just as the
39:57
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
40:09
The opposite direction. I think it's the entity that you talked about. Yes So from the spiritual
40:16
John nailed it, which is that it's it's demonic. There is a spiritual force. That's motivating it
40:22
From the the earthly you see it in Ishmael. He's jealous of Isaac he sees oh, there's a son of promise the father favors him and they can sense that and So he stirred up.
40:34
Why did Cain kill Abel? Because the father was pleased with Abel's offering and not his
40:43
There's there's a sense that the world can tell that the pleasure of God and they see that in an hour pleasure
40:49
Ironically enough Christians are joyful people. They see that these people are happy.
40:55
They don't like that. We're happy because inside They're wanderers. They're like not right the land of not
41:01
Cain is a restless wanderer and he hates that We have something that he doesn't
41:06
And while they they try to convince us there is a position of neutrality Right Boy, doesn't this destroy the myth of neutrality?
41:17
Yeah, there there is only the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent There's Isaac and there's
41:23
Ishmael Yeah, and let me reiterate it's not by ethnic lines
41:32
It's it's not by that. In fact, the offer of the gospel is to all
41:37
Ethnicities every person so this is open to you come be a child of the promise come drink from our perspective.
41:44
It's a free gift God knows who he will draw and who will come but the offer is genuine and it's real and it's out there
41:52
So come it's it's not a matter of and Paul tries to win people over by making them jealous or at least
41:59
Yeah I saw your hand up.
42:08
I didn't want to move away from It's still good.
42:31
So we had a promise from back when God promised Abraham Yes, the good seed and we are part of a good seed
42:39
What bothers me is the bad seed, which we don't know we're proclaiming the gospel
42:45
Like you're saying everyone to the world. Yes But the bad seed for some reason just doesn't get yeah
42:54
Just didn't get the spirit of God within it. Right? And so we talk about persecution
43:01
The good seed is going to be persecuted. Amen. Speaking of that analogy It's our part to sow the seed, but we can't make it grow.
43:09
The Lord brings the growth brings the harvest It's only God that takes that it's like sowing a seed unto death.
43:15
It's buried under the ground But unless God makes it come alive and grow Allegorically speaking it's it'll never live
43:22
We we have a hard time sometimes understanding what's going on in the world You go back to Abraham and the good seed the bad seed.
43:31
Yep. You see what's growing out there You'll know it by its fruit and that will be the
43:39
Broad ways is most people choose that last analogy John would you read for us on 430 and 31?
43:46
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
43:56
So brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free women so when
44:03
Ishmael was taunting Isaac. What did Sarah appeal to Abraham to do and it seemed so harsh
44:11
Cast her out send them away and of course God did care for them But it was right for Abraham to take
44:19
Sarah's advice there and Cast her away as hard as that is.
44:24
So what does that mean for us in the analogy? Hagar The enslaving works righteousness
44:33
We must cast that away So picture what's happened in Galatia the Judaizers have come
44:39
These false teachers claiming to come from James that to have the authority of the Apostles and they're saying you must be
44:47
Circumcised in order to be saved and they're saying the law of Moses is a deeper and higher spirituality unless you do this
44:54
You're not a Christian What should the Galatians do? Send them packing send those false teachers packing in their ideology with them.
45:04
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
45:13
John. Could you close this in a word of prayer what God you are? You are a holy
45:19
God and you call us not because that we have earned it but because of your mercy
45:26
But at the same time there is this pull to go back to be proving our value by the law
45:32
Teach us Oh Lord. We are no longer Under the law.
45:37
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