Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Something about plants?

Our garden in Hamilton

A Child of God knows freedom.

Vss 8-11

First, to be a child of God is to know the freedom of God’s grace.

To put it even more simply, a Christian is someone who knows God:

To be a child of God is to know the freedom of God’s grace.

To put it simply, a Christian is someone who knows God.

To be a child of God is to know the freedom of God’s grace.

To put it simply, a Christian is someone who knows God.

Verse 8: The experiences of Jews and Gentiles were different, Paul thinks of both as times of enslavement.

A time when the

An even better way to say this is that Christianity is a matter of who knows us!

We can get to know God only because he already knows us—personally—and has revealed himself to us.

So Paul makes this clarification: “now that you have come to know God—or rather to be known by God” ().

To know God is to be a child of God, but this depends on the even more fundamental truth that we are known by God.

This is the freedom of God’s grace, that he knew us long before we ever came to know him.

The initiative for membership in God’s family comes entirely from God himself.

Imagine a tiny baby girl living in an orphanage.

A man comes for a visit.

As he sees the baby lying in her crib, he loves her so much that he adopts her into his family.

She grows up to call the man “Father” because he is the only father she has ever known.

But she knows him as her father only because he first knew her as his daughter.

This is the love that God has for all his sons and daughters in Christ.

GOSPEL MOVE

Anyone who receives such grace, such undeserved favour, could never go back to the orphanage.

Yet this is exactly what the Galatians were trying to do! Paul could hardly believe it: “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” ().

The Galatians were converting back to practical paganism.

It was like déja vu.

They were going back to the first principles of paganism, back to their religious ABCs.

Although they had graduated to faith in Jesus Christ, they were re-enrolling for spiritual kindergarten

An even better way to say this is that Christianity is a matter of who knows us!

We can get to know God only because he already knows us—personally—and has revealed himself to us.

So Paul makes this clarification: “now that you have come to know God—or rather to be known by God” (Gal.

4:9).

To know God is to be a child of God, but this depends on the even more fundamental truth that we are known by God.

This is the freedom of God’s grace, that he knew us long before we ever came to know him.

The initiative for membership in God’s family comes entirely from God himself.

Imagine a tiny baby girl living in an orphanage.

A man comes for a visit.

As he sees the baby lying in her crib, he loves her so much that he adopts her into his family.

She grows up to call the man “Father” because he is the only father she has ever known.

But she knows him as her father only because he first knew her as his daughter.

This is the love that God has for all his sons and daughters in Christ.

Anyone who receives such grace, such undeserved favor, could never go back to the orphanage.

Yet this is exactly what the Galatians were trying to do! Paul could hardly believe it: “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Gal.

4:9).

The Galatians were converting back to practical paganism.

It was like déja vu.

They were going back to the first principles of paganism, back to their religious ABCs.

Although they had graduated to faith in Jesus Christ, they were re-enrolling for spiritual kindergarten

Verse 9: Christianity is a matter of who knows us We can only get to know him because he already knows us ---> personally.

This is what Paul is painting for us in verses 21 to 31 as he talks about two people named Isaac and Ishmael.

The key phrase is in verse 29:

Paul wants us to see the main difference here between the two: Ishmael was born according to the flesh, that is, in the natural way that children are born.

Abraham and Hagar attempted to produce an heir through their own human ability, since Sarah couldn’t have children.

But Isaac was born supernaturally, in the sense that this was something that could only happen if God intervened with a miracle between a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman.

This brings us back to Galatians 3:2.

Galatians 3:2

Paul is telling us that our status as sons, as children of faith in God’s promise, comes about by the Spirit and not by natural human efforts.

We we believe, when we have faith, that what God has done is enough, we rest.

There is freedom.

We’re not slaves to the law, to sin, our old ways anymore.

We are children of freedom.

SO WHAT: There was a time the Galatians didn’t know God —> into all sorts of stuff: astrology, deity, whatever.

They were going back to the orhpanage —> Galatisn were being chocked by the weeds of justificiation through works.

APPLICATION: There was a time you didn’t know God.

Christianity is a matter of who knows us We can only get to know him because he already knows us

GOSPEL MOVE: So let me ask you this: Are you known by God.

Are you believing in the gospel.

5 Fingures.

Are you resting in that God himself came to rescue you.

Transition: As an adopted child, we are free to grow in Christ because we know the freedom of God’s grace.

Remind yourself of the freedom that you have through the joy of being in God’s Word.

A child of God enjoys the ministry of God’s Word Vss.

12-16

To be a child of God is to love the instruction of God

Vs. 14-15: Paul’s question —> What happens to your enjoyment?

Galatians warm welcome was nbot so much that they loved Paul, as it was that they loved God’s Word.

BUT also notice: God used Paul’s problems to achieve His purpose.

What then has become of your blessedness?

—> Lit.

“Counted themselves happy.”

They received the word of God with real joy.

Verse 16: They had lost the joy of being in God’s Word.

Galatians are now turning on Paul and had lost the joy of God’s word.

We’ve been blessed to be part of the Knollwood family.

You’ve accepted my family into yours, but that’s not the case with all.

We see that here with Paul.

The example of the Galatians reminds us that the primary qualification for any Christian minister is that he must preach the Word of God.

Too many churches have the wrong expectations of their ministers.

Consider this description of the “Perfect Pastor” (which, thankfully, does not come from my own job description):

He condemns sins, but never upsets anyone.

He works from 8:00 A. M. until midnight and is also the janitor.

He makes $60.00 a week … and gives about $50.00 a week to the poor.

He is 28 years old and has been preaching for 30 years.…

The Perfect Pastor smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work.…

He spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched and is always in his office when needed.

Ministers should not be judged by their ability, appearance, personality, popularity, or any of the other standards ordinarily used to judge them.

Ministers should be evaluated primarily by their faithfulness to the Word of God.

If they are faithful, then to welcome their message is to welcome Christ himself.

“Happy is that Christian society,” wrote the Scotsman John Brown, “when the minister loves his people, and the people love their minister ‘for the truth’s sake.’