Galatians 4:12-31 - 4 Reasons Why Following Slavery is Foolish (Part 2)

Remedy Church - 05/03/09

Crucified Christ week 12

Remember, you can download all of Phud's sermons on Galatians at the Remedy Church website or by subscribing on iTunes. Also, an interview with Phud, aka John, was in today's Rock Hill Herald. 

This week at Remedy, Phud continued his discussion of why remaining in slavery is foolish. This fact should seem fairly obvious to most people, but we all return back to the chains of our sin and law exalting legalism. We all choose different areas to focus on. One guy will say that if you love God, then you will wear a shirt and tie on Sunday morning; while another guy will say that if you love people, then you will wear jeans and a t-shirt. Both of these are legalistic, if the person believes a certain mode of dress is required for holiness or proper worship.

Last week, Phud discussed the first two reasons why following slavery is foolish. This week, he discussed the third and fourth reasons.  Here are my notes:

3) BECAUSE YOU COULD HAVE CHRIST FORMED IN YOU! (Gal 4:12-20)

• These Galatians are very close to stepping over the edge and showing that they are not regenerate
• Paul's desire is for them to become like him - he wants them to model his description of himself in Gal 2:20
• The wolves in the flock, the legalistic Jews,  are making much of the Galatians; they are appealing to their natural pride and idolatry (this is never for our good)(be cautious of being told how great you are)
• Paul wants Christ to be formed in them = this causes complete transformation and makes Christ the center

4) BECAUSE YOU SHOW THAT HAGAR IS YOUR MOM, AND NOT SARAH (Gal 4:21-31)

• Paul is using Hagar and Sarah (Ishmael and Isaac) as an illustration of slavery/law-keeping (works salvation; doing it yourself) versus freedom/faith (justification by faith alone; the promise; the true gospel)
• When Abraham tried to do it himself by listening to Sarah and forcing a child through Hagar, the result was of the flesh and useless for the promises of God; however, when God gave Abraham a child through Sarah, which was his promise to Abraham, the result was the child of the promise and the first born of the nation of Israel.
• We are no longer under slavery, yet we continually go back and request Hagar to be our mother
• We have to cast out legalistic, law-keeping, and do-it-yourself theology and those who teach it
• Rather, we need to embrace the gospel because we have been freed and born of the promise
• We have freedom, but freedom to do what? (Col 3:1-3) - We are free to live in Christ and be like Christ, not the world.

ASSIGNMENT: Have dinner with someone else this week - We are supposed to be living in community, so invite over someone else from the church, your neighborhood, or your work.

MY THOUGHTS

A couple of topics really stuck out as Phud taught this passage.  First, as a side note he mentioned how Gal 4:16 perfectly describes our current postmodern culture. Most people today would rather hear something comforting, self-affirming, and uplifting than the truth. The truth of sin and the coming wrath of God are rarely met with enthusiasm, regardless of the truthfulness of these claims. The average person would prefer you to pat them on the back as the walk decidedly into Hell. They consider this pat on the back the gesture of a friend, but if you attempt to share the truth with them, then you may be viewed as an enemy. Truth has lost its value over the past couple of decades; the great value once assigned to the truth has now been given to tolerance and recycling.

Second, Gal 4:17 has a lot to say about the wolves that often enter the flock of God. These enemies enter the church and claim to be a part of the church. They volunteer their services, attend church functions, encourage believers, and all sorts of other endeavors to win people over. They are wolves in sheep's clothing. They usually appeal to your pride and seek to have you on their side. Such men or women cannot be trusted, and at the first sign of their evil intentions, they must be disciplined. Paul was seeking to protect the Galatians from such wolves who were winning people over, because he knew that such men would only bring destruction. Wolves always seek after destruction, whether it is the life of an individual, the local church, or the gospel itself. Be leery of such men who are "zealous to win you over"(NIV) or "make much of you"(ESV), because as Paul wrote, "it is not for your good."