Restoring Hope - Slave or Son?

Introduction

I have an image and an illustration

The image:

President Kennedy – his son John John

Always welcomed

He was his son - If we were in England he would be heir to the throne

The illustration

BUT HE IS MY FATHER

There is an old Roman story which tells how a Roman emperor was once enjoying a great victory. He had the privilege of marching his troops through the streets of Rome with all of his captured trophies, and his prisoners behind him. This emperor was marching with his troops; the streets were lined with cheering people; the tall legionnaires had lined the streets’ edges to keep the people in their places.

At one point on the triumphal route, there was a little platform where the empress and her family were sitting to watch the emperor go by, and all of the pride of his victory. On the platform with his mother was the emperor’s youngest son, just a little boy. As the emperor came near, that little boy jumped off the platform, burrowed through the crowd, and tried to dodge between the legs of one of those legionnaires, so he could run out on the road to meet his father’s chariot. The legionnaire stooped down and stopped him; he swung him up in his arms, and said, "You can’t do that. Don’t you know who that is in the chariot? That is the Emperor. You can’t run out to his chariot."

The little lad looked at the legionnaire and laughed and said, "He may be your emperor, but he is my father."

That is our theme this morning:  We are heirs – we are sons!

We are going to look at another piece to the wonder of the gospel.

The Treadmill – Batting Average

God’s family (love-acceptance=hope)  Basically it is healthy

Trust – Let God finish the jog

            Gal 3:9 – those who are of faith

This morning – our position, our standing, our place in the family

            Gal 3:29

Galatians 4

Think of it this way

What we were under the law

Illustration from life

In Paul’s day he was looking at how children were raised. They may have been heirs to the throne, but until they became of age they really weren’t much different from slaves. In fact, slaves were over them.

Or, we could think of it as children whose parents have died.  They may have an inheritance but they are not much better off than slave – or someone who has nothing

Using Paul’s illustration from the typical family the child was not much different than the slave

            Explanation from Scripture

The elementary things involve the idea of achieving diving acceptance by one’s own self effort.  These efforts are elementary in that they are only human never rising above the mundane (earthly) to the divine.

We ourselves were in bondage

What God did to bring about a change

            This is the good news – this is the gospel

What are we now in Christ?

We have been adopted

Romans 8:15 (ESV)

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Possess the Holy Spirit – move from external commandments to internal guidance

We Cry “ABBA FATHER”

We are SONS – We have been given our freedom and the power to use it responsibly

Notes from Hendrickson:

Jews and Gentiles, each in their own way attempted by their own efforts and in accordance with the promptings of their own fleshly  nature to achieve salvation.

There was nothing wrong the law given at Mt. Sinai, but when the Jews and the proselytes to the Jewish religion began to look upon the law as the way whereby they could attain salvation that law became their tyrant.

We are not only god’s sons or daughters, but we know that we are!

Mac Arthur

Life under the law is meant by god to be preparation for divine sonship and that trust in His grace brings the realization of that sonship.

The elementary things involve the idea of achieving diving acceptance by one’s own self effort.  These efforts are elementary in that they are only human never rising aboe the mundane (earthly) to the divine.