Divine Heritage Galatians 4:1-11 Live Free…Free to Live a Cross Centered Life Divine Heritage Galatians 4:1-11

What would you expect a former slave to say when given the chance to go back to his or her old master? “No way” or “I can’t wait to come back to you”? “You were evil” or “I loved every minute of it”? “What will I gain” or “yes I loved working for you without any hope of ever being completely free.”

The theme of Galatians is that every man stands before God clothed with filthy garments. Through our own efforts we can try to use our own detergent, but it doesn’t work, it will never work. We cannot clean up our own filthy garments; when we are all done, the best we have done, even with our own righteousness, comes out filthy rags.

Paul has been carefully arguing that salvation is by faith without works. He’s really been arguing this same point over and over and over again. So you begin to wonder, "Why do you keep saying this Paul? We got it!" because this is the most critical point of Christianity. If we get this wrong, if we mess up the doctrine of salvation, it's all over with.

If we are truly going to understand what Paul has been driving home throughout this letter…if we are going to say we get it…then what difference has it made in our lives. So in contrasting the two lives…slave or son…Paul wants to wake us up to living a truly cross centered life… If that is going to happen we should never want to go back to legalism Main Point: The cross centered life refuses to be chained again to legalism.

I. Your status has changed (1-7). In your spiritual immaturity you were like slaves (1-2) The child was the potential and rightful owner of everything in his father’s possession but must wait until the appropriate time to receive that inheritance. In a similar way, while we were under the law as unbelieving children, we were held in bondage

You were enslaved to elementary stages of religious experiences (3) All the invention of all the pagan systems, they are all efforts to achieve righteousness or justification through works. So everybody was under the tyranny of legalism. Every religion, whether it's theistic, pantheistic, or atheistic, is based on works and self-righteousness, self- effort, self-sufficiency.

Through God’s intervention you experienced hope and freedom (4-6) To redeem those under the law The emphasis is not on the penalty of the Law but on its bondage. Secure the full rights of sonship to the believers All the enjoyments and privileges of a mature son in a family belong to those who have entered into the benefits of Christ’s redemptive work.

You are now sons of God (7) We were locked up, historically, in bondage to the law. We were enslaved to self-righteousness, enslaved to fleshly efforts, to secure our salvation. But God moved into the world at the right time and by what He did with the Son of God, He provided freedom. By what He's done with the Spirit of God, He's provided power to receive and respond to all the inheritance that is ours in Christ.

II. Your legalism is contemptible (8-11) It is ignorant (8-9) Prior to conversion the Galatians were ignorant of the one true God. They were in bondage to false gods…Zeus, Hermes, etc Yet having come to know the true God they were turning back. By going back, Galatians…you are returning to ignorance.

It is external formalism (10) They were observing these special times thinking they would gain an additional merit before God. The danger is that they began to use the law of God as a divine job description to help them demonstrate their moral accomplishment to God in the hope of obtaining the wages of blessing What we DO can never be the basis for God’s acceptance, but our actions can be an indication of whether we truly are a slave or a son.

It is a waste (11) Paul expressed fear that his efforts would be wasted If you continue this attachment to legalistic practices I will have to believe you are not genuinely saved. Paul was beginning to wonder whether the Galatians EVER really understood the gospel. True faith brings change. The Spirit brings change.

Life Step – Remember your freedom Remember you're a son, and don't put yourself back under bondage to the law. If you have been trying to earn the favor of God, you're a slave. If you accept the free gift of Christ, you can be a son. Let us not turn backwards to the weak and beggarly elements of trying to earn God’s favor through flesh or the law. May we always seek God’s help to live as sons.

Final Thought Don't ever let a day go by when you cease to thank God that though you once were a slave, now you're a son.