Free to Inheret as God’s Loved Children

Echoes of Injustice

Sita grew up in a small village where her brothers were always told they would “carry the family name forward,” but no one spoke of her future dreams. By 13, she was expected to manage household chores and care for younger siblings, leaving little time for schoolwork. Her father arranged her marriage at 15, believing that a girl’s security lay in becoming a wife early. Despite her talent for mathematics, logistics and strategic thinking, no one notices or nurtures it. Her potential is demonstrated in the home, her six children will live in a well organised household despite a life of being underestimated.

Vicente grows up the outskirts of a sprawling city. Each morning, he leaves a cramped shack pieced together with corrugated iron, a place he shares with his mother and younger siblings. His father was murdered by a cartel when he was 4. Born deaf, Vicente’s world is shaped not just by poverty but also by the navigating a society with almost no accommodations for Deaf people who cannot hear. Sign Language exists in his home country, he has no access to learn it. Employers assume he can’t perform basic tasks or communicate with customers. He’s a skilled craftsman—self-taught in carpentry—most shops won’t hire someone who cannot verbally communicate easily with colleagues. The only future available to him is menial labour sorting through trash.

Lena has walked over eight kilometers this morning to the nearest health post—a single-room clinic with limited supplies. She’s carrying teh body of her daughter, Anele, who’s too died during the walk there. The nurse on duty does her best but explains that the hospital in the capital city is the only place equipped that might have helped in such severe malaria cases. Transport costs more than what Lena’s family earns in several months. As she stands in the dusty courtyard, her child’s body in her arms, Lena feels the despair of grief and powerlessness.

Mussa became a Christian in his early twenties, in his region Christianity is not tolerated. He meets secretly with a small fellowship of people where all use assumed names, so that when they are captured they cannot betray one another. In the dead of night, one whispers out a short gospel reading: a tattered version of John’s gospel. After this reading, one person offers a soft, spoken prayer—only just loud enough for those in the circle. Then, for a few moments, they all pray at once, under their breath, with tears welling in some eyes. Then they offer one another small gestures of silen fellowship: a warm hand squeeze. One of them gathers everyone close and shares a testimony of God’s grace that week, how a job opportunity despite the constant crackdown on Christians. Samuel used to dream of being a school teacher, but his conversion closed those doors. Each Sunday, he counts the cost anew: if discovered, he could be jailed or worse. They leave the building - by different doors at 15-minute intervals to lessen the risk of discovery. Each week they wait for the security police to come, Today wasnt that day, but one sunday it will be.

Pita is 20, and belongs on a small pacific atoll nation known for its vibrant coral reefs and white-sand beaches. But in recent years, the rising sea has begun flooding his village, poisoning wells with salt, and devastating the taro crops. The coral is dying, fish are fewer. International meetings talk about climate strategies, yet Pita’s community doesn’t see much change, except the sea level is changing against them. Many families have left in search new ground, but Pita stays—knowing his children will not be able to walk, live or laugh where his forefathers spoke their language and lived out their days. 

Hine, a Māori university student in Auckland, notices the subtle looks she gets whenever she walks into lectures. She’s excelling at Law, but other students whisper that she’s on some “special program.” Across campus, her boyfriend Efeso, who’s Samoan, has a staff member suggesting he drop an advanced paper because “it might be too challenging, given your background.” Hine and Efeso keep showing up, determined to honour their parents and grandparents' sacrifices, to set an example to their siblings and peers - they feel the weight of breaking generational barriers and injustices that have held them and their siblings and communities back.

What does this good news of freedom offer to a world divided by inequality and injustice. 

Tonight you’re in different spaces - you’ve made choices and so have we. At the end of this service - we’ll go back to the world we know and love. But the inequalities of tonight are not permanent - we’re playing at division, but the feelings invoked by this conceit are very real and yet the inequalities of our world might not be felt by us on a day to day basis, but they are real, all too real. And the good news of Jesus brings freedom to all. 

The Question - is the gospel good news for all?

Some argue it’s even immoral to share the gospel because it seems irrelevant, powerless, or too pie-in-the-sky to matter in our harsh world. So we must ask: Is the good news of Jesus actually good for everyone? What if our honest answer were “No,” and we concluded that faith in Christ doesn’t stand up to the scale of global suffering and inequality? Let’s live with that tension and see how the Apostle Paul’s words in Galatians speak into the real brokenness we witness every day.

Reading the Passage: Galatians 3:15–4:7

(Encourage the congregation to follow along in their Bibles or on a screen.)

Paul’s argument in Galatians centers on the promise given to Abraham, fulfilled ultimately in Christ, and how that promise brings freedom, identity, and hope to anyone who believes—Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.

1. Is the Good News Really Good for All?

1. Facing Our Doubts:

• Global injustices—like child marriage, systemic poverty, persecution for faith, environmental crises, or racial discrimination—can make the gospel seem small or distant.

• Paul’s context: Writing to a church divided over whether Gentiles should become Jewish to be fully included. The question then was: Is this Jesus-message big enough for everyone, or just some?

2. The Reality Check:

• It’s no gimmick. If the cross of Christ can’t speak hope to Lena’s grief, Vicente’s silent world, or Hine’s subtle discrimination, then our faith may ring hollow.

• Yet Paul insists the gospel does speak into precisely these sorts of broken circumstances, offering the radical news that God’s promise of life and belonging is open to all.

So how? How does this good news actually address global and personal inequalities? Let’s see Paul’s building blocks in Galatians.

2. Because of Jesus, We Have the Confidence to Have Faith

(Galatians 3:26 – “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.”)

1. We Don’t Have to Prove Ourselves

• Paul reminds us we’re saved by faith, not performance. Think of Abraham—he had nothing to offer but his trust in God.

• For people like Sita, whose potential is overlooked by cultural norms, or Vicente, who faces prejudice because he can’t hear, this is liberating: God’s acceptance doesn’t hinge on human systems or our ability to impress.

2. Faith in a Broken World

• We’re not naive about inequality; neither was Paul. But faith in Jesus meets us as we are, with all our limitations and struggles.

• The same grace that justified Abraham works for anyone willing to believe—no elite membership required.

3. Confidence Rooted in God’s Character

• It’s not about mustering enough emotional confidence; rather, we stand on the unchanging character of God, who keeps His promises.

• In a world that fails Lena—where she can’t reach proper medical care in time—God never fails to see and love her. Even in tragedy, He invites all to trust Him.

Faith is enough in a broken world for broken people because it rests on a God who acts in mercy and truth, not on our social standing or outward success.

3. Because of Jesus, Our Differences Are Real but Not Ultimate

(Galatians 3:28–29 – “There is neither Jew nor Gentile … for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”)

1. Paul Acknowledges Real Distinctions

• Race, gender, social status—these are not illusions. Paul wasn’t denying them; he recognized the injustices embedded in each.

• He was writing to people divided by ethnicity and law-keeping. We know differences exist: Hine’s Māori heritage, Efeso’s Samoan background, Pita’s sinking island—they are profoundly real.

2. But They Don’t Define Our Worth

• While society often ranks and excludes people based on these differences, Paul declares they’re not what ultimately matters.

• We may face real prejudice—like that aimed at Mussa for his faith or the systematic bias that put Vicente in the dumps rather than a workshop—but in Christ, none of that can undermine our core worth.

3. One in Christ

• Being “in Christ” means belonging to a new family where dividing walls dissolve.

• It doesn’t erase culture or identity; it redeems them, making them reflections of God’s multi-faceted grace rather than reasons for exclusion.

Our hope is anchored in Jesus, not in society’s categories. We embrace our differences but refuse to let them be barriers to the unity, dignity, and acceptance we have in Christ.

4. Because of Jesus, Identity, Security, and Place Are Guaranteed

(Galatians 4:4–7 – “God sent his Son … that we might receive adoption to sonship … so you are no longer a slave, but God’s child.”)

1. Adoption: More Than a Feeling

• In the Greco-Roman world, adoption was a legal act granting full familial rights. It wasn’t about sentimental emotion alone; it was about status, privilege, and permanence.

• The same is true for believers: You can’t earn or lose it. It’s declared by the Father, sealed by the Spirit.

2. Calling God ‘Abba’

• “Abba” is intimate, personal—it was an expression of closeness and privilege.

• For someone like Mussa, whose faith cost him the chance to teach, calling God “Abba” is a bold claim that he has a Father who is faithful, even if he loses earthly opportunities.

3. Position in God’s Household

• We’re not merely pardoned criminals; we’re beloved children and co-heirs.

• This means Pita’s homeland may be swallowed by the ocean, but his eternal inheritance is untouched by climate change.

• It also means Hine and Efeso, doubted by peers, have a secure identity that no prejudice can strip away.

If we are truly adopted into God’s family, then no earthly barrier—whether social, economic, or cultural—can remove us from the Father’s love, nor from our place in His kingdom.

5. The Good News Is Good Enough for All

1. Revisiting Galatians 3:28

• “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female.” If the gospel isn’t big enough for Sita’s undervalued gifts or for Lena’s heartbreaking grief, it isn’t truly the gospel of Christ.

• Paul’s insistence: Christ unites all who trust in Him, rendering no one too far, too broken, or too powerless to be embraced.

2. What if Our Answer Is ‘No’?

• Dare to wrestle with that possibility. If we find the gospel insufficient, maybe it’s because we’ve only glimpsed a partial or diluted version.

• Scripture invites us deeper: a God who became flesh, who walked among the marginalized, who died and rose again to reconcile all things.

3. Hope with Eyes Wide Open

• We refuse cheap optimism, acknowledging that some injustices remain unresolved.

• But the cross declares that God’s final word to humanity isn’t suffering; it’s redemption, adoption, and unity in Christ.

6. Because of Jesus, We Partner with Others for the Good of All

(Galatians 4:7 – “… since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”)

1. Responsibilities of Heirs

• Heirs in God’s kingdom aren’t passive. We step into the family business of healing, reconciling, and advocating for justice.

• This means noticing the Lenas and Vicentes of our neighborhoods and world—and doing something about their plight.

2. Practical Ways to Partner

Pray - get mission updated.

Give - 1% of your income to the monthly global mission offering, above and beyond

Go - join a team

Advocacy: Speaking out when we see racial, gender, or social injustice.

3. Overflowing Hope

• The gospel that saved us from sin also sends us into the world, bearing God’s compassion.

• It’s not about “us fixing everything.” Rather, we become a living demonstration of God’s healing power at work.

Receiving and Reflecting This Good News

Reiterate the Central Question: Is the gospel powerful, real, and relevant enough for the tragedies and inequalities around us? Paul’s unwavering conviction is: Yes—because it’s rooted in God’s unshakable promise, fulfilled in Christ, and guaranteed by His Spirit.

• Call to Action:

1. Believe in this good news on a personal level—trusting in Christ just like Abraham trusted God.

2. Live it out—practice inclusive love, advocate for justice, partner with ministries that reflect Christ’s kingdom.

3. Pray for the world—especially for people whose stories mirror those you heard earlier. Ask God to give them renewed hope, and seek how you might share or support that hope.

Final Word:

Even if the world’s brokenness makes us question whether the gospel can truly stand under such weight, we find in Galatians a resounding assurance: We are children of God, heirs according to the promise, brought into one family by faith. That promise is robust enough for every story—from Sita’s hidden talents to Pita’s vanishing island—because it springs from the same God who raised Jesus from the dead. And if the resurrection is true, then indeed this good news is good enough for all.