Galatians 4: 8-11 Paul is concerned… Known by God. Then how can you turn back? To what is not God?

Galatians 4: 8-11 Paul is concerned… Known by God. Then how can you turn back? To what is not God?

Recap: into if new people.

We had some beautiful weeks of Paul’s teaching about Jesus as the promise the blessing from Abrahams promise, that righteousness is by hearing with faith in Jesus Christ, that if we believe we are freed from the curse of the law as Jesus became the curse as he died on the cross, so we can be redeemed and adopted in to Gods family, my old self crucified with Christ and it is now Christ that lives in me, the one that loved me and gave his life up for me, now lives in me, sons and heirs in Christ, baptized in to Christ, no longer slaves of the elementary spirts, in stead home of the Holy Spirt, the very present of God in us, and the Holy Spit bear witness that we are Gods. And made just by faith in Jesus Christ.

All this beauty and good teaching and now Paul starts asking questions again as he started out, rebuking, challenge the Galatians; why are they going astray, calling; come back to Jesus, serve the only true God, don’t return to slavery of elementary spirts and who are not gods at all.

8. Verse. You were enslaved to what is not Gods. Paul addresses the Galatians where many Gods, Roman, Greek, gods was worshiped, and also the spirt of the times, and philosophy, and ways of thinking,

(chronology snoppery - a correction here for people that think that people in this time was stupid, no, they were not, examples cement, math, Philosophy, they were not stupid or unintelligent). But like today, the people were getting captured and imprisoned under different kinds of thinking and different kinds of worship of false Gods.

In our day in the western world, many don’t believe Paul’s statement. People would say; I am a slave to no one, no one can tell me what to do, ( I think that sounds like a slogan from an elementary spirt of this age, to keep people in prison, in slavery, while they think they are free).

One more; I am not so stupid to believe in Gods and false Gods. (The so-called enlightenment/seince argument, made by people, that reject anything even truth, that does not fit their system, yet one more way to be a slave of a system). As I said before people were not stupid, many of the people Paul writes likely speaks many langues, etc. Today as then; the way people think or the pressures of culture to conform, you have to be this way, you need this or that, to be… your dream.

One of the dangerous and destructive ones are the hyper individualism, you be you, do it your way, what a prison; if you find in yourself; sadness, hopelessness, fear, sorrow, loneliness, failure after failure. The light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not found in people deep down, no it is found in looking to Jesus, the one that can set us free from slavery. But what a state to be in being a slave, but not even knowing it? Paul is trying to make the Galatians aware they are slaves as the depart form Jesus.

Verse 9 Paul point to hope, great joy, that as they got to know God by the teaching from Paul and his team, the got to know the only true God, and salvation in Jesus Christ. And this beautiful way Paul turn the words, rather to be known by God. (You don’t just know about a God, God intemeliy knows you, the Lord of the universe, knows you… understands you, and still, he sends his son to free you from slavery and that you could see who the only true and living God is). Paul then asks the Galatians and us: WHY WHY WHY? Would you back to the what is not God, and to be slaves again of the elemetery spirts? Why Why Why?

It is easy for us again to shrug it off, they were stupid dump people. No, we might instead look at when we deny the gospel and chose to live in fear, stress, angst, succumb to the pressure of other people an the spirt of this age, all the thins that enslave us to this world and the expectations and philosophy that our age preaches, - all the things and elementary spirts that enslaves us, to live for that in sted of.

Do we look more like our culture that Jesus? Who is forming who? Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed, Paul Romans.

The gospel of Jesus Christ, - we walk back in to our cell, we lay ourself under the “law”, we in slave ourself to what is no god at all. Or as we might even distort the gospel and bring in the culture and philisopy of the age around us, political correctness, gender politics, sovanicem, femnizem, comunisem, captalizem. All that is not found in Jesus Christ can destroy and distort the good news, and bring slavery instead of Freedom in Christ and the people will get God…. Be known by God… and adopted in to Gods family and Holy Spirt inside. The question to us as the Galatians why would we drift way form Jesus to be slaves of this age, instead of following the God that Paul explained knows us, in a deep intemiy way loved us and send his son to set us free from slavery and bring us to God.

Why do you go back to false Gods? (Week and worthless) Why do you want to be a slave of elemeterty spirt in this age?

Verse 10 and 11:

You do as culture and observe day and months and seasons and years, (so you count that a rigtiousness?) What are you doing? Paul is very concerned, and is afraid that his work for the Galatians has been for nothing, if they run back to be slaves of elemterty spirts and none gods, and trust in their own actions for justification and the law. Not listening to the Spirt of God, not trusting in Jesus Christ work. No understanding they are know by God.

Why is this and encouraging passage? And other waring passages? (Some doubt Gods work in them, I think they are intended to warn and call back to God, not doubt work done in us, but to call back form, where we have gone astray to false teaching, and where we have adopted thinking/philosophy form the world and not from what Jesus has done).

What can lead us astray: false teaching, the Galataens was commited what ever it takes, and was therefore open to false teaching, what about us what leads or can lead us astray?

What do I put in to my mind, what do I watch read listen to, consume, how am I affected by how others live and interact with me, politics, work place rugels, school regulations, expecations from sports clubs and other ativitys, even churches – dose it point to Jesus, or is there other massages?

I think this is another reason that this letter is just as relevant to us today, not much have changed, many elements and spirts false gods selfish ambision, can easy lead people astray, and in our day, social media, IA, create and envorment for destruction, of people made in the image of Jesus Christ.

Slaves and destruction: As statitics show that ung woman that have social media, have more fear, anxitiy, depression, low don’t like their body, feel more lonely, sleep problems and therefore learning problems in school. So I am not saying that teknolgy is evil in itself, but it does have evil effects on people made in the image of God, for what? For profit… Greed? I think we should be aware ask good qustions why do I do what I do when I wach TV/Youtubbe, social media, why do I post? Why do I want followers, why do I follow this person and what does that do to me? Is this person leading me astray away form Jesus?

Why do we not rebel? Why does my daughter have a phone? When I know this statistic? – I am not a fan, but I do think that Jesus is stronger, that if we have found our hope in Jesus Chirst, we might be abel to use teknoligy and not be used by it… But who is using who? What fruit comes out? Is the fruit of the Spirt what grows in us or is it the spirt of the world? Are we in Christ showing God is and God is changing us and others, or are we led back in to prison by what we consume of idears and media, - we might not even know it. Before we see the oppesit of the fruti of the spirt, - anger, impations, greed, sexual immoralty impirtiy, strife, jealousy, rigivries, ficisions, envy, drunkenness, origus, - are our heart and minds staying In Christ Jesus or do we, slip in to the slavery that Jesus lead us out from?

Oh, Lord Help us, see and tust you, more that we may moled by you and not the world, let us not turn and be slaves of what is week and worthless.