We are working our way through the New Testament letter of Galatians. Paul wrote this letter to a group of churches he helped start on one of his missionary journeys. The purpose of Paul writing this letter was to correct some false teachings that were creeping into the churches in the region of Galatia. People were coming in telling these fairly new Christians that if they wanted to truly be right with God, then they would have to not only trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior but also obey the Law of Moses. It was essentially a move to make many who were Gentiles become Jewish. It really had nothing to do with them being right with God.

The trying to earn God’s favor by keeping a religious checklist was sold to the Galatian people as a means of freedom, but it only brought bondage. In the first three chapters of this letter, Paul explained that the Law was never meant to save a person. He states that only through the grace of God demonstrated through Jesus’ sacrifice can save a person.

Different scholars have said the theme of the letter of Galatians can be summed up in the word “freedom.” As we turn our attention to Galatians 4, we see Paul focusing in on the freedom that God calls us to. In the verses we will look at today, we will see Paul calling us to look through three lenses: how we got here, who we are, and where we’re going.

⁸ But in the past, since you didn’t know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not gods. ⁹ But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years. ¹¹ I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.

​Galatians 4:8–11 (CSB)

Skip down to verse 21 with me. We will look at the verses we are skipping in the coming weeks. But verses 21-31 go together well with what Paul says in verses 8-11.

²¹ Tell me, you who want to be under the law, don’t you hear the law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman. ²³ But the one by the slave was born as a result of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born through promise. ²⁴ These things are being taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery—this is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written, Rejoice, childless woman, unable to give birth. Burst into song and shout, you who are not in labor, for the children of the desolate woman will be many, more numerous than those of the woman who has a husband. ²⁸ Now you too, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ But just as then the child born as a result of the flesh persecuted the one born as a result of the Spirit, so also now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman.” ³¹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave but of the free woman.

Galatians 4:21–31 (CSB)

‌How we got here

While we typically will read something from beginning through to the end, I want to take a different approach to these verses to catch the thought the Holy Spirit is sharing through Paul here.

Paul is trying to share how the Law by itself holds us in bondage. The tool that he uses to illustrate this is an analogy of Sarah and Hagar from Genesis. Sarah was the wife of Abraham. God had promised to bless Abraham and make him a great nation that God would use to bless the entire world. Hagar was a servant of Sarah’s.

Just so we’re all on the same page, because of Sarah’s age, she told Abraham to have children with Hagar. This is how they figured God would work out His plan. Hagar would give birth to Ishmael. In verse 24, Paul states that Hagar and Ishmael represent the Old Covenant (the Law), and it only produced slaves. How did it do this? The Law produced slaves because we could not keep the Law. Each person who has lived on this earth (except Jesus) has broken God’s law and stands condemned before Him.  Once again we see the Law cannot save us.

We don’t like to think about living in slavery to anything, but we do. Paul mentions in verses 8-11 how the Galatian people were enslaved to things that were not God before coming to faith in Christ. We are the same way. Each of us was a slave to our sinful nature before we came to faith in Jesus Christ.

Who we are

The next lens that we need to look through is the lens that shows us who we are in Christ.

In verse 29, Paul uses a particular phrase in talking about Isaac, the child born through Sarah: “as a result of the Spirit.”

Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in a miraculous way. They were both past the age of childbearing (Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90). God supernaturally enabled this couple to have a child for His purpose. Isaac would be the child of promise. It would be through Isaac’s line that Jesus would come to earth.

Paul uses the illustration of Isaac to show us that we are not slaves of some religion. We are children of freedom in Jesus Christ.

Paul warns the Galatians that to return to a former way of life is to turn away from true life. He says in verse 9 that they would be going back to slavery after already being set free.

The things said by these false teachers sounded good though. They would talk about things that could be seen in the Old Testament: circumcision, festivals, and such. But Paul says that trying to be right with God by doing these things is no different from any other person of any other religion trying to do the same thing through those means.

If you go to church, sing songs, and study the Word, thinking this is how you’re going to work to earn God’s favor, then you are no different from the over one billion Hindus in the world today who are bowing down to their gods. If your Christianity is a check-off box in order to make you feel good about yourself before God, in order to save your skin on the day of judgment, then your Christianity is no different from every other religion in the world, and ultimately it will condemn you.

I came across a question while preparing for this message that really stopped me in my tracks. It was this: What if Satan’s strategy to condemn your soul involves not tempting you to do all the wrong things, but instead leading you to do all the right things with the wrong spirit?

Christianity is radically different from every other world religion. Rather than calling you to be a slave to a religion, Christianity calls you to be a son with a personal relationship with God.

When we make Christianity a list of things we have to do, we make it no different than every other world religion. I like what one person said, “We ought not be a people who prayed a prayer a while ago and now are just trying to do our best to get things right with our lives on a week-in and week-out basis. We should be a people who walk with God and know Him intimately. We ought to serve God wholeheartedly, not because we’re trying to make ourselves right, but because we’ve been made right by God’s grace.‌”^[1]Tony Merida and David Platt. Exalting Jesus in Galatians. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014.

If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are free.

Where we’re going

This brings us to the final lens that we need to look through. We have seen where we come from and what Christ has made us, but where do we go from this point?

In verses 25-26, Paul compares Hagar and Sarah by saying Hagar represents the earthly city of Jerusalem (slavery to sin), but Sarah represents the New Jerusalem (freedom in Christ).

As Christians, we are to live in the freedom Jesus has given us. It is not a freedom to live for earthly pleasures or for sin, but it is a freedom to live as we were supposed to live.

Free from the weight of sin

We don’t have to carry our sin on our shoulders any longer. Christ has taken that upon Himself when He went to the cross.

‌Free from others’ expectations

Everywhere you turn, there are people who want to tell you how you should live. You may be able to please some, but you will never please everyone. There will always be someone who you disappoint because their expectations aren’t met.

When you come to faith in Christ, you are brought into His family, and the only expectation you have to live up to is His.

It is so freeing when you realize that you do not have to please every person you come in contact with. You are called to please One, and His name is Jesus Christ. You will find that when you live to please Him above all else, the other stuff He will take care of.

‌Free from fear

So many people are crippled by fear these days. We don’t have to live our lives wondering if we’ve done enough for God to accept us. We can rest assured that Jesus’ finished work on the cross is sufficient for covering all of our sins.

Conclusion

Paul reminds us through these verses in Galatians 4 that if we have trusted in Jesus, then we are to walk in freedom and not slavery. It is a matter of understanding our identity in Christ.

How do we see ourselves? Are we trying to manufacture this relationship with God in our own strength? Are we trying just to do the best that we can do? Or are we fully trusting in Jesus and allowing Him to transform us into His image?

I would encourage you today to experience and walk in the freedom that Jesus has provided for any who would trust in Him. If you’ve never placed your faith in Jesus, I would encourage you to do that today. Come and see what real freedom from the inside out is. If you have trusted in Jesus, are you walking each day in the freedom Jesus died to give you? You may need to confess areas where you have been trying to do it yourself. You may need to turn those over to Him and His control so that you can experience freedom again. I would encourage you to do that.