Free to Belong - Galatians 4:8-20

The Good News Matters

Paul’s writing to Galatians - important, urgent and pressing then and now. The good news really matters.

Comfort-Table

[Unload the bag of treats onto a table, set it, sit down and start to tuck into the food.]

You’re wondering what on earth I’m doing, aren’t you?

So no one told you life

was gonna be this way Your job's a joke, you're broke,

your love life's D.O.A.

It's like you're always stuck in second gear

When it hasn't been your day, your week Your month, or even your year, but

"I’ll be there for you" - when all you want is comfort food, drink, everything—potatoes, bread, garlic and onion dip with chips? The comfort hit is heavy, and the relief from stress is high. But oh my—the payoff.

I once came to a bowl of leftover roasted potatoes—and I thought, just one—but by the time the potato hunger had subsided… none were left on the plate, all residing in my stomach. I felt too full, in pain, and ashamed of my lack of self-control.

We are all tempted by comfort food and comfort practices—maybe you’ll bargain with God, maybe you’ll be good, and say a prayer. Perhaps you pray to the deity, the saint, or the 'universe' that you’re used to. We reach for what is familiar. It feels safe. But in reality, it can keep us captive. The Galatians were doing the same—not with garlic and onions, but with rules, rituals, and religion - both pagan past and Jewish tradion, even God’s law. Enslaved by the comfort they experienced in the famliair. Paul sees them going back to the very things Christ set them free from, he pauses in the theological unpacking and the teaching. He speaks as their friend, the one who first shared the gospel with them, the one who experienced their kindness. He speaks to them pastorally, personally and powerfully

Turn with me to Galatians chapter 4, as you find your place you’ll remember the Apostle Paul is writing to this group of churches in modern day Central Turkey, then the Roman province of Galatia in Asia Minor. False teachers, false believers had come among them and told them that faith in Jesus wasnt quite enough - they needed more religion, more rules and regulations for Jesus to be enough. In additng to Jesus they took away from confidence in Him. Paul writes in Chapter 4, beginning verse 7, where we left off last week.

Galatians 4:7–10 NIV 2011

So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!

Turning back is not the way forward.

what they knew was a religious way of life. Patterns, practices, sights, smells, sounds, foods, rituals and rights, Rules and regulations—they were predictable and reliable. 1 plus 1 equals 2. The people of Israel in the desert having been freed from Egypt, rescued from Pharoahs armies, seen the 10 plagues of God’s Judement and walked through the Red Sea, having eaten of heavenly manna each morning and been fed by flocks of quail landing in front of them each night - said 'do you remember the garlic and the onions of Egypt - that was living!' 450 years of slavery and oppression, the murder of a generation of young boys, forgotten all for the comfort food of garlic and onion dip. We are no different.

what if I told you… that every time we turn back to the things that once enslaved us, we’re doing this exact thing—feasting on the comforts of captivity.

“Weak and Miserable Forces”

A virtual table full of comfort food - quick hit, high release, return to slavery.

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?You’ve heard - stuck in your ways - well, Paul lays it out plainly, you were chained to those ways - chained up, stuck down, held inside, entrapped by religion. Pagan idol worship and Religious Jewish observance. No difference. Both 'weak and miserable' are unable to save.

A virtual table full of comfort food - quick hit, high release, return to slavery.

Galatians 4:9 NIV 2011

But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

Comfort is the Opposite of confidence

Has this all been a waste? Is this all hard work for no outcome - it’s at this point that Paul seems to turn from the unpacking of the gospel to the unpacking of his heard.

The essence of a pastor's heart.

Galatians 4:12–16 NIV 2011

I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Have I become your Enemy?

The Galatian church loved Paul when he was at his lowest ebb—physically and spiritually. They cared for him as their own even as they were new believers. They couldn't have treated him better if he were Jesus Himself, but he was, in fact, simply a messenger of Heaven’s gospel—the good news of Jesus.

But the accusation of the false teachers seems to be not that Paul is their apostle, teacher, pastor, and friend. But that he is in some way twisting God’s word - so Paul PLEADS with them.

What happens, Paul asks? He’s teaching them the gospel that he did at first, but something has changed. Do they regard him as an enemy really?

There are few places in Scripture where the relationship between a pastor and a church is laid bare like this. But here it is: love, betrayal, grief, concern. And if you think Paul sounds emotional here, it’s because he is. Because good pastors don’t just teach the truth. They live it, they love it, and they long for their people to grasp it. Paul pleads for them to look not only at the teachings but at the teachers.

Become Like Me for I became like you.

We belong together says paul - family not enemies. We feel it today! I wonder if you know how much you are loved? And I wonder if you know how much we, as your pastors, feel loved?

When you do well - when you are loving the Lord and sharing the struggles, when you are following Christ and discovering freedom in him, we thrive. Our hearts are filled with joy, our sleep is deep, our hope is amplified, our joy in Pauls words elsewhere is 'complete'. But when there’s division, when folk walk away, when there’s a refusal to obey God’s Word in Scripture, an accusation that teaching the truth is twisting God’s word. Do you know we’re not offended, we don’t judge, we’re are concerned - we love?

Paul is confronting the lies of the false teachers - he’s not the enemy of the churches in Galatia, he’s not changed - he wants them to believe the good news of Jesus where there is freedom. Paul isn’t just worried they’ll make a theological mistake—he’s worried they’ll lose their true home. They’re chasing security in religion instead of resting in the belonging Christ gives them - that although they are beloved children in God’s house, they’re headed back to the slave quarters of fear.

in Christ we belong together.

Paul isn’t insecure because he’s losing ground, worried about his reputation or his legacy - he’s concerned about the unity and integrity of the good news of Jesus.

We’re not perfect—Jesus is, though. We’re not infallible—God’s word is, though. We’re not all-knowing—God is, though. When we make mistakes, we will own them wholly, which brings us to the next part of Paul’s quiet moment with the Galatians. 

Galatians 4:17–20 NIV 2011

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

They want to Alienate you from us

We are attracted by leaders who seem to have it all together - confident, decisive, clear and unswayed. Stong leaders - people we’d follow anywhere. People with a clear vision, good words, who tell a good story and are persuasive and personally compelling. 

It is entirely possible to be like that and hold those gifts so that God is honoured BUT those strong leaders who encouraged the Galatians to be strong and who made fun of the weakness of Paul were leading them astray. 

Strong Christian leaders will often begin by standing up and telling us they know the way to Christ if we will follow them, then they end up standing in the way of Christ putting their way before Him, until they are confident and arrogant to stand in the place of Christ and demand that to know God we need to go through them. 

False vs True Teachers - clear emphasis and characteristics

will say look at me instead of them, true teachers will say 'look at Jesus, not at us'

will ask you to prove your love for them and for God by requiring things of you for their sake - true teachers will point you to the freedom you have in Christ to disobey the world’s ways and purusue Him

will ask you to suffer for them to the point of agony and at great cost to you (and no cost to them). True teachers will count the cost of following Jesus and pay a great cost in loving you and not make much of it.

Until Christ is formed in you…

Paul’s words in vs 20 are powerful and telling. "I’m perplexed by you" - the illustration he chooses which is brave of any man "it’s like I’m giving birth" so that Jesus is formed in you. It is the motivation and the destination of teachers that reveals their hearts - more than the words they speak, what is the manner of their lives and outcome of their leadership in the lives of those they lead.

Paul leader, the leader we know most about in the new testament, who travelled to new lands and who lists his achievements in purusing the gospel as

2 Corinthians 11:23–30 NIV 2011

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Can i talk personally and pastorally to you - not to point to me, but to point to Jesus?

As your senior pastor in this last 18 months I’ve had sleepless nights and tiring days, I’ve been confused and concerned, worried about what people might think if I don’t turn up to something, or worried about what people might think if I do. I’m often under pressure - unsure as to if I’m saying the right thing or the wrong thing. I’ve been told to my face I’m promoting error, of teaching that’s abusive, of not teaching God’s word powerfully enough, of introducing demons into our worship, of being under the influence of demons. It’s been suggested to elders and other pastors that I am too strong a leader and too weak a pastor, I’ve been told I’m too progressive and too much a conservative, that I’m too concerned about global mission and not promoting reaching the unreached. I’ve been told I’m working too hard and not working hard enough, taking too much time off and that I might be negelcting my family. I daily feel the tension of being a faithful servant and a good dad and granddad. Some have said I’m trying to please too many people and others’ I’m not trying hard enough to learn everyone’s names.  

Across the pastoral team it’s amplified, And so, as your senior pastor, I need you to know this.

We are a church with a clear and forceful agenda. We want all to know Christ.

We want each one of us and all of us together to be confident in His love. And we will do everything—everything—to make sure that happens. Just what Paul wanted for these men and women he’s writing to, so too we want that for you.

We will, like Paul, boast in our weaknesses, because of the glory of God.

We will teach the word of God to the people of God to the glory of God. We will share the good news of God’s salvation with all who will listen so that we will see the kingdom of God grow in the hearts and lives of any and every person who will come to Him. We will open the doors of this church and spend the resources that God gives us in the pursuit of His Kingdom, in His Power, to His glory until we breathe our last or until The Lord Jesus comes again. 

We will extoll the glory of knowing Christ and warn you against false teachers and false teaching

and point you to who Jesus is and what God’s word says. 

We will turn around on a pinhead if we are going in the wrong direction and we will praise God for the correction,

especially when it’s painful. We will do whatever God asks, love whoever God shows us, build what God commands, go wherever God sends. 

We will be clear about who God is and together work out what that means for us today

in the highs and lows of life; when things go wrong, we will turn to Him. When we do wrong, we will turn back to Him, not away from Him. 

But this isn’t just about us as individuals. It’s about all of us

—because we are all free to belong. Free to lay down our agendas and pick up the mission of Christ. Free to be formed together into the body of Jesus in a world that desperately needs Him

And So… here’s the truth.

You are free…. to belong as God’s beloved Child

You don’t belong to your past. You don’t belong to your failures. You don’t belong to the religious performance treadmill, or to the expectations of others, or to the lies you’ve believed about yourself. You belong to Christ. You are known by Him. You are loved by Him. You are His.

So why would you ever go back? Why would you trade belonging for bondage? Why feast on the comforts of slavery when Christ has given you the banquet of grace?

Turn away from religious comfort

For some of you today, this is the moment. You’ve been living as a slave—trapped in performance, stuck in fear, weighed down by guilt. Maybe you’ve tried to prove yourself to God, hoping to be good enough. Maybe you’ve never truly trusted Jesus, never really rested in His grace.

But hear this: You don’t have to stay in slavery. You don’t have to try harder, be better, or clean yourself up before you come to Him. Christ has done everything needed for you to be free. The cross was enough. His grace is enough. So today—turn away from slavery. Turn away from trying to save yourself. Put your trust in Jesus. Let Him rescue you. Let Him make you His.

Turn to Jesus in confident faith

And for those of us who know Him, the truth is—we still crave Egypt sometimes. We turn to the old comforts, the familiar patterns, the things we once trusted instead of trusting Christ. We let fear, pride, or self-reliance creep back in. We run back to the very things that once enslaved us. But today—turn to Christ. Repent of the comforts that are holding you captive. Stop clinging to what cannot save you. Jesus isn’t calling you back to a safe life—He’s calling you to a free life. A full life. A life where your identity, your worth, and your belonging are secure in Him.

And if you’ve never been baptised, if you have put your trust in Christ but never taken that step—then let today be the day you decide. Be baptised. Step into the waters, bury the old life, and rise into the new. Let your freedom in Christ be declared, seen, and celebrated.

You’re free…Live freely and belong

We are not just freed FROM something—we are freed FOR something. We are free to belong to Christ, to be known by Him, to live as His people.

You don’t have to live chained to your past. You don’t have to live proving yourself. You don’t have to live controlled by fear. In Christ, you are free—so live in that freedom. Be free to trust Him. Be free to walk in grace. Be free to belong—not to your sin, not to your shame, not to your old life, but to Him.

Because in Christ, we are not slaves. We are free. And we are free… to belong.