We gathered on Sunday to discuss Galatians 4 – Paul takes a moment here to turn from argument to emotion, but not before expressing his frustration again. The Galatians lived as slaves to the law, in the same manner that the son of a wealthy man might be under the care of stewards and guardians, waiting to mature enough to officially inherit his father’s estate. This is wat Old Testament faith looked like, working to abide by the laws (the people’s “guardian”) under the care of stewards and guardians, awaiting the fullness of time when God would reveal the inheritance already promised. But isn’t it beautiful that Jesus, the Son of God, became the son of man so that all believers, sons of man, could become heirs to God. What a beautiful exchange! No wonder Paul is bewildered and pained when he sees the children of God falling back into the old rigidity of the law. Our lives look different when we are zealously living out our love for the Lord instead of vigorously checking off the next thing to-do on our sanctification check list. The enemy works in this way, to take parts of the gospel and counterfeit it into patterns that lure away timid sheep. How do we learn to discern the counterfeit teachings of false prophets? By knowing the Word in all of it’s glory. Personal accountability comes in here – are you using your time to deep dive into rabbit holes of counterfeit mis directions? Or are we simply turning to fact-check alluring doctrines to God’s Word that we know to be true? There is a whole profession dedicated to getting counterfeit money out of circulation. They don’t spend their time studying the wrong monies, they master the knowledge of what is authentic to have no doubt when something sketchy pops up.
We have very early documentation of this in the story of Abraham’s sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Through Abraham’s own efforts with Hagar, Ishmael was born—representing what is produced by human striving rather than God’s promise. But when God intervenes in His amazing grace, Sarah is blessed with Isaac (representing a covenant of grace). It’s been a question asked in our house before “Are you trying to man-handle this? Or have you actually surrendered it to God?” His grace and provision is always enough. Part of the radical faith of Christianity is accepting that your work is not what is required by God – appreciated, yes – but not what is necessary to earn grace. We are not just forgiven we are adopted. As we choose to accept His divine grace, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The goal? Christ being formed in us. Our humanistic egos can often times interrupt this design. The lies of busyness, fear of condemnation and selfishness actively act against our calling to live vulnerably among a family of believers.
To live as sons and daughters means embracing the lost, just as Jesus did. It means resting in grace by faith and freely sharing the truth of God’s love. We don’t just follow Jesus—we get to reveal Him.