Galatians 4:8-11 • Remembering Grace

Review & Overview

1. Previous Study’s Review

Remember there are 3 sections: Preservation, Explanation, Application

In Ch. 1 & 2 we looked at The Preservation of the Gospel.

In that section we looked at several ways how Paul preserved the Gospel of Grace or how he defended the Gospel of Grace.

Chs. 3&4 deals with The Explanation of the Gospel of Grace

In Ch. 3 was saw Paul offer 4 arguments regarding the Gospel of Grace.

The 1st argument Dealt with the Galatians themselves Vs. 1-5

2nd Argument Dealt with Abraham and his example Vs. 6-9

3rd Argument Dealt with The Law Vs. 10-14

4th Argument Dealt with the Work of God Vs. 26-29

Last Sunday we started Ch. 4 where Paul continued to explain the Gospel of Grace Logically & Emotionally.

We saw that Paul used a legal illustration of a father and a son.

The Roman Father & His Son -

God The Father & His Son -

God The Father & His Sons -

2. Current Study’s Overview

This brings us to Vs. 8 where Paul continues to explain the Gospel of Grace.

He explains to them Gospel of Grace Emotionally. He tries to appeal to their emotions. Read…

The Title of Today’s Message Is:

Because as you saw in our quick reading of today’s scripture Paul gets emotional in Explaining the Gospel of Grace.

If your taking notes we want to look at 3 ways we see Paul’s Emotions in explaining the Gospel of Grace.

1. We See Paul’s Emotions in His Rebuke Vs. 8-11

2. We See Paul’s Emotions in His Remembrance Vs. 12-18

3. We See Paul’s Emotions in His Rebirth Vs. 19-20

1. We See Paul’s Emotions in His Rebuke Vs. 8-11

1.1 Vs. 8

The Galatians had once been under bondage to idols. Before their conversion, they had been heathens who worshiped idols of wood and stone—false gods.

Now they were turning to another type of bondage—bondage to the law.

1.2 Vs. 9-10

4:9 How could they excuse their conduct? They had come to know God, or, if they didn’t know Him in a deep experiential way, at least they were known by Him, that is, they were saved.

Yet they were turning from His power and riches (of which they were heirs) to weak and poor things, the things connected with the law, such as circumcision, holy days, and rules of diet.

They were again putting themselves in bondage to things that could neither save nor enrich but could only impoverish them.

Paul labels the law and all its ceremonies as weak and beggarly.

God’s laws were beautiful in their time and place, but they are positive hindrances when substituted for the Lord Jesus.

It is idolatry to turn from Christ to law.

4:10, 11 The Galatians were observing the Jewish calendar with its Sabbaths, its festivals, and seasons.

1.3 Vs. 11

Paul expresses fear for those who profess to be Christians, yet seek to find favor with God by legal observances. Even unregenerate people can observe days and months and years. It gives some people intense satisfaction to feel there is something they can do in their own strength to win God’s smile. But this implies that man has some strength, and hence, to that extent, he does not need the Savior.

If Paul could write in this manner to the Galatians, what would he write to professing Christians today who are seeking to attain holiness by legal observances? Would he not condemn the traditions brought into Christianity from Judaism—a humanly ordained priesthood, distinctive vestments for the priest, Sabbath-keeping, holy places, candles, holy water, and so forth?

2. We See Paul’s Emotions in His Review Vs. 12-18

2.1 Paul Remembers His Past Vs. 12

Apparently the Galatians had forgotten their gratitude to Paul when he first preached the gospel to them.

But notice, he addresses them as “Brethren” in spite of their failures and his fears for them.

Paul had been a Jew under law. Now, in Christ, he was free from the law.

So he says, “Become like me—delivered from the law and no longer living under it.”

The Gentile Galatians had never been under law, and were not under it now.

So Paul says: “I became like you. I, who was a Jew, now enjoy the freedom from law which you Gentiles always had.”

Now there at the end of Vs. 12 Paul said, You have not injured me at all.

It is not exactly clear what Paul had in mind here.

Maybe he is saying that he had no feeling of personal injury as a result of their treatment of him.

That they should have turned away from him to the false teachers was not so much a blow at him personally as a blow at the truth of God and thus an injury to their own selves.

2.2 Paul’s Remembers Their Reception Vs. 13 - 14

The gospel was first … preached to them in physical infirmity.

APPLICATION: God often uses weak, despised, poor instruments to accomplish His work in order that the glory will be His and not man’s.

And notice in Vs. 14 Paul’s illness was a trial to himself and to those who listened to him.

However, the Galatians did not reject him because of his physical appearance or because of his speech.

Instead, they received him as an angel of God, that is, a messenger sent by God, and even as Christ Jesus Himself.

Since he represented the Lord, they received him as they would receive the Lord (Matt. 10:40).

Matthew 10:40 NKJV

40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

They accepted Paul’s message as the very word of God.

And This should be a lesson to all of us Christians concerning their treatment of the Lord’s messengers.

When we receive them cordially, we receive Him in the same way (Luke 10:16).

Luke 10:16 NKJV

16 He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

2.3 Paul Remembers Their Joy Vs. 15

When they first heard the gospel, they acknowledged what a rich blessing it was to their souls.

So great was their appreciation that they would have given their own eyes to Paul, if it were possible.

And SIDE NOTE: (This might be an indication that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was an eye disease.)

But Paul is saying where is this sense of gratitude now?

Unfortunately, it has disappeared.

APPLICATION: Talk about Awestruck and never grow familiar with the Lord.

2.4 Paul Remembers Their Relationships Vs. 16-18

What accounted for their changed attitude toward Paul?

He was still preaching the same message, earnestly contending for the truth of the gospel.

If this made him their enemy, then their position was dangerous to be sure.

The motives of the false teachers were different from Paul’s:

they wanted a following, whereas he was interested in the spiritual welfare of the Galatians (4:17–20).

The false teachers were zealous in their efforts to win the affections of the Galatians, but their motives were not sincere.

Paul says they want to exclude you.

The Judaizers wanted to cut the Galatians off from the Apostle Paul and from other teachers.

They wanted a following, and sought to form a sect in order to get it.

John Stott Quote: “When Christianity is turned into a bondage to rules and regulations, its victims are inevitably in subjection, tied to the apron strings of their teachers, as in the Middle Ages.”

But notice in Vs. 18 Paul says it is good to be zealous in a good thing always.

In other words, “I do not mind others fussing over you, even when I am absent from you, as long as they are doing so with pure motives and for a good cause.”

APPLICATION:

3. We See Paul’s Emotions in His Rebirth Vs. 19-20

3.1 Vs. 19

By calling the Galatians his little children, Paul would remind them that it was he who had pointed them to Christ.

He is undergoing birth-pangs again for them, not this time seeking their salvation, but rather that Christ might be formed in them.

Christlikeness is God’s full objective for His people (Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:28).

Ephesians 4:13 NKJV

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Colossians 1:28 NKJV

28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:29 NKJV

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

3.2 Vs. 20

This verse might mean that Paul was puzzled as to the true status of the Galatians.

Their straying away from the truth had left him with doubts.

He would like to be able to change his tone and speak with certainty and conviction about them.

Or maybe he was perplexed as to their reaction to his Letter. He would rather be speaking with them in person.

Then he could better express himself by changing the tone of his voice. If they were receptive to his rebukes, he could be tender.

If, however, they were prideful and rebellious, he could be stern.

As it was, he was puzzled about them; he could not tell what their reaction to his message would be.

Since the Jewish teachers made so much of Abraham and insisted that believers must follow his example by being circumcised, Paul turns to Abraham’s domestic history to show that legalism is slavery and cannot be mixed with grace.

God had promised that Abraham would have a son, even though he and Sarah were too old, naturally speaking, to have children.

Abraham believed God and thus was justified (Gen. 15:1–6).

Genesis 15:6 NKJV

6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Sometime afterward, Sarah became discouraged, waiting for the promised son, and suggested that Abraham should have a child by her slave-girl, Hagar.

Abraham followed her advice, and Ishmael was born. This was not the heir promised by God, but the son of Abraham’s impatience, carnality, and lack of trust (Gen. 16).

Then, when Abraham was one hundred years old, the child of promise, Isaac, was born.

Obviously this birth was miraculous; it was made possible only by the mighty power of God (Gen. 21:1–5).

Genesis 21:1–5 “1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.”

At the customary feast in observance of the weaning of Isaac, Sarah saw Ishmael mocking her son.

She then ordered Abraham to expel Ishmael and his mother from the home, saying this…

Genesis 21:8–9 NKJV

8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.

Genesis 21:10–11 NKJV

10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

This is the background for the argument which the apostle will now take up.

And As we close, it's important that we don't merely hear Paul's emotional appeal; we must allow it to transform our hearts.

The Galatians were in danger of abandoning the freedom they had in Christ, returning to the bondage of the law.

In the same way, we can easily be tempted to revert to relying on our own efforts, rules, and traditions rather than resting in the grace of God.

But remember: Christlikeness is God's full objective for us.

This isn't about checking boxes or fulfilling legal requirements—it's about being conformed to the image of Christ through the power of His Spirit.

So, let Paul's rebuke, review, and rebirth speak to us today.

Rebuke—where have we placed ourselves back under the yoke of legalism or self-effort?

Review—where has our joy and freedom in Christ faded, replaced by the burdens of performance?

And rebirth—what is God birthing in us as He forms Christ in us more fully?

We should walk in the grace of God, not just as an idea, but as a daily reality—trusting that His work in us, just like the birth of Isaac, is miraculous and rooted in His promise, not in our striving.

Let's live in that freedom, knowing that it's grace alone that sustains us, grace that carries us, and grace that conforms us to the image of His Son. Amen.

ENDING….