Why Is This Allegory Here...Again? (Galatians 4:28-31)
GIST: Children of promise experience grace, but misery loves company, so expect persecution, live like you’ve been set free, and pray for those who have not.
This morning, we’re finally wrapping up chapter 4 of Galatians! In fact, I’ll even read a few verses from chapter 5 to set this in context and give you a taste of things to come ☺️.
In what I’ve kept calling a “transitional passage”, we’ve seen Paul develop his final argument for justification through faith alone. As his final nail, he uses the historical account of Sarah and Hagar allegorically to hammer home that being “a child of Abraham” and a “true Jew” is about trusting God’s promise and plans… not bloodlines. To illustrate this, he points out that Abraham had two sons: one came by sinfully trying to take matters into his own hands and one through God working a miracle. Abraham was promised a child at an old age, but his wife, Sarah, was barren, so they decided he should marry Sarah’s servant, Hagar, and have a child by her. They did that, and Ishmael was born. That wasn’t the plan God had given them though. As we addressed last week, doing this just led to pain and suffering. In fact, I didn’t mention this last week, but this pain and suffering didn’t end with Genesis 21. Ishmael is a regarded figure in Islamic tradition, and Muslims trace their lineage back to him, so the physical tension between these two sons continues to be evident today. However, the spiritual picture illustrated here is deeper. Paul said Ishmael was represented by Jerusalem because they were trying to save themselves instead of following after God. In contrast, the true Jerusalem and the true people of God are those who serve Him and live according to His promise, His grace. Let’s start this morning by picking up where we left off last week→
“28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 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. 30 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." 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.”
Last week, we began asking the question “why is this allegory here” and said it was in part because we need to see that even though life isn’t about us and salvation isn’t achieved by our strength, amazing grace has still been poured out for us because of Jesus’ incredible love. Today, we’ll further develop that by noting that: Children of promise experience grace, but misery loves company, so expect persecution, live like you’ve been set free, and pray for those who have not.
I. Children of Promise Experience Grace (28, 31)
Look again at the first and last verse of what we read in opening. “28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. … 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.” We’ve seen Paul develop this point throughout the letter, and he is about to dive full force into the application section where he’ll walk us through what being set free as children of promise looks like. For this morning, I just want to make sure we’re all thinking about two core implications of these truths. First, being a child of promise is→
The Impossible & Unmerited Result Of Grace. Remember, the original audience here is a group of Gentile believers who are being turned away from the truth of the gospel by the Judiazer who are teaching salvation is dependent on your performance. Salvation has nothing to do with that. In fact, salvation apart from grace is impossible. Like we saw last week in this allegory, Sarah and Abraham weren’t able to have a baby because they had the right things going for them. They weren’t able to set into motion the rise of a great nation because they were somehow qualified. Literally, they were exactly the wrong kinds of people for this task. Even if Sarah hadn’t always been barren, they were too old now for this to be physically possible. On top of this, they were wandering in a land that wasn’t their own, and they didn’t even know where they were heading. During that journey, they also made some super solid and impactful mistakes that had long lasting effects. They weren’t perfect candidates who earned this. They were messed up, broken people who happened to trust God...and they even did that imperfectly! Nonetheless, God chose to love and use them anyway.
That’s how salvation works. You won’t ever be “good enough” for this, but do you trust Him. Are you willing to admit how much you need rescued and let Him rescue you? If so, and only if so, you can experience→
Freedom From Bondage. Like I said, we definitely have more to come on this point ☺️ as Paul is about to spend basically the rest of the letter unpacking what this freedom will look like. The core truth to understand here is what we’re being set free from, which is our own sinful natures bent on our destruction. By nature, we’re all fighting a losing battle. You won’t ever have enough. You won’t ever be able to muster the strength you need to overcome because the problem is too deep. This isn’t a repair job; it needs replacing. You know what I mean, right? There are times when we have issues where repairs will cut it. If you have a car that needs new tires, that’s fixable. If you have a car where the doors fall off as soon as you walk up to it, the tires shoot off every time you start the engine, and the gas tank squirts the gas back at you every time you try to fill it up… you’re beyond the “repair” stage. However, that’s the state of our hearts, and we just think if we slap enough gorilla tape on that thing we’ll be fine. We need a new heart because we’re trapped in bondage to our own sin. We’re the problem, and Jesus came to be our solution.
However, once we’ve been rescued, it’s not like we can just put on the cruise control and relax because→
II. Misery Loves Company, So Expect Persecution (29)
Look again at verse 29. “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.” Ishmael persecuted Isaac. He taunted and laughed at him. He made his life miserable. Paul tells us that the same is true today. Those who have been set free will always be persecuted by those who are still in bondage. I have two observations on this point. First→
Persecuting Others Is A Sign Of Continued Bondage. I know I’ve quoted Tim Keller like three weeks in a row now, but I’ve benefitted a ton from his commentary on Galatians. In that piece, he said, “One of the ways we know that our self-image is based on justification by Christ is that we are not hateful and hostile to people who differ from us; one of the ways we know that our self-image is based on justification by works is that we persecute!” I wanted to start here because it is so easy for us to talk about being the “persecuted” and so uncomfortable for us to talk about being the “persecutors”. In fact, inside the church, most conversations about persecution center around how Christians are the targets and recipients of persecution all around the world and have been for all time. This is true. However, outside of the church, conversations about persecution that involve churches or religious organizations (and a ton do!) center around how religious people are and have been the cause of persecution all around the world. This is… also true.
As 2020 reminded us, claiming to be part of a church does not automatically mean your caring and compassionate. In a year when the whole world was hurting, I saw just as many professing Christians stir up bitterness and anger as I did nonbelievers. I say professing because that shouldn’t be the case if the transformation is real. Yes, even people saved by grace will sin. You’ll mess up. You’ll say things you regret. You won’t always be the witness for Jesus you know you should be. HOWEVER, that should be the exception, not the rule. If your life is defined by attacking others, you’re still living in bondage. If your identity is wrapped up in Christ, you see broken people differently because you know you’re broken too but have experienced unearned grace. Now, I am not saying being a Christian means just rolling over and letting people walk all over you. We’re called to stand firmly for Jesus. However, please keep in mind there is a serious difference between standing against sin and deliberately attacking sinners.
Man, we could camp out there for a long time, but for the sake of time I’ll move on. The second observation I want to make here is that→
Persecution Often Comes From Within “Religious Circles”. That’s the context of this passage. Paul and the Galatian believers weren’t experiencing persecution from pagan nations. It was the religious elite of the day, just like with Jesus, who were stirring up the mess. Why? Because if you’re trying to earn your way to Heaven, the gospel is super offensive to you. The gospel tells us we need Jesus to step in for us, and that goes against the grain for those who have devoted their lives to obeying a set of restrictions for the purpose of their salvation. John Stott put it like this: “The persecution of the true church … is not always by the world, who are strangers … but by our half-brothers, religious people, the nominal church. The greatest enemies of evangelical faith today are not unbelievers … but the church, the establishment, the hierarchy. Isaac is always mocked and persecuted by Ishmael.” If you are living for Jesus who set you free from bondage, expect seemingly “good people” to ridicule and oppose you.
All that being said, the last point I want to walk us through today will actually preview where Paul goes next in this letter, but it’s also an important context piece for where we are today. Children of promise experience grace, but misery loves company, so expect persecution.... but don’t stop there. Instead→
III. Live Like You’ve Been Set Free & Pray For Those Who Have Not (30-5:6)
Remember, this letter wasn’t written in chapters. It was originally designed to be read in one sitting. So, let’s read the end of chapter 4 and the first 6 verses of chapter 5 to wrap up here. “30 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." 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”
We need more time to fully walk through this passage, but I wanted you to see the full context here. Again, I have two guiding observations. First→
You’ve Been Set Free To Live Free From Sin’s Bondage. Our freedom isn’t designed to give us an excuse to be as sinful as we want because we’ve “got grace” so “we’re good”. No. We’ve been set free so we can be free from the destruction of our natures. There should be a noticeable difference in our lives. That’s where we’ll be camping out the next few weeks.
The last observation I want to make for today is this. We might be saved, but many around us aren’t. →
Those Who Are Still Slaves Need To See His Love In Us. When you read these verses it is impossible to miss the dire situation of those who are still trying to save themselves. We see words like cast out and severed. They aren’t experiencing grace, but our lives are supposed to be defined by “faith working through love”. Do the lost around us see Jesus? Are you trying to love them?
Ok, we’re definitely ready for some→
TAKEAWAYS
If you’ve experienced rescue, praise God for His unmerited love.
Don’t be surprised (or bitter) when persecution comes from seemingly “good people” and don’t be a persecutor of others.
Live like you’ve been set free from sin instead of running right back into captivity.
Never forget those around you who haven’t experienced His grace yet!
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