"A tale of two sons."

Opening Comments:

Please meet me in your copy of God’s Word in Galatians 4:21-31. As always, if you do not have a Bible, we will put every verse we reference today up on the screens for you to follow along. Also, Id love to gift you your own Bible so please see me after church and I will give you one. We are continuing today in our series through the book of Galatians that we have titled “Freedom through Christ.”

Freedom is the clarion call of the Paul’s letter to the Galatians. In our text before us today, we will see the Apostle Paul try to lead the Galatian people back to the freedom that Christ had given them by leading them back to a correct interpretation of the scripture. Which is paramount to understanding the freedom Christ has given to those who call on His name. If we fail to heed the correct teaching of the scriptures we will become prisoners. Far too often, Christians will claim to love God’s word yet fail to actually listens to what it says or they will claim to have a desire to live in obedience to the scripture yet they will remain completely ignorant to it. When we do this, we will develop pseudo-biblical standards. Which is exactly the sin of the Judaizers in Galatia and the people who were falling prey to their false teaching. Paul, in Galatians 4:21-31 is trying to lead the Galatians back to a correct interpretation of the Scriptures, specifically as it relates to their understanding of the law. In order to do that, he will take them all the way back to Genesis and the Abrahamic Covenant and using it as an allegory for the difference between adherence to the law and salvation by grace through faith.

This is the Word of the Lord lets read it together shall we.

Galatians 4:21–31 NKJV

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.” 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Introduction:

The verses that we have just read bring Paul’s argument against Salvation by way of law keeping to a close. He has used everything from warnings, threats, sarcasm, logic, and emotional appeals up to this point in chapters 3 & 4. He has taken them all the way back to the law first given at Sinai and he has led them to the foot of the cross on Calvary. He has even appealed to history. Now, in the close of chapter 4 he has turned to his last form of argumentation against law and for grace; allegory. But, before he launches into his allegory he asks a rhetorical question in v.21 to those who were arguing that they needed to live under the rule of religious ceremonial law.

“…do you not hear the law?” (v.21)

The Galatian people were being led into a system they had not spent any time getting to know for themselves. The Judaizing false teachers had come appealing to the Law of Moses and their seeming knowledge of the Bible had infatuated the Galatians. What the false teachers were saying seemed to make since. After all, a very large part of the scriptures that they had available to them were taken up by the law that the Judaizers were saying they had to adhere to.

The problem was that the Judaizers and the Galatian people were failing to rightly observe, interpret and apply the law. They were failing in their hermeneutics. It’s really no different than what we see in many churches today who seek to put people under the grip of laws and traditions.

So, in a sense when he asks them “…do you not hear the law? he is saying to them, if you desire to approach God through legalism and religious tradition then you need to actually understand the implications of what you saying.

Paul then takes them on a journey back to Genesis 16 and 21 to a story they had no doubt come to know by heart and he uses it as an allegory to draw out spiritual lessons from it in order to help the Galatians spot the difference between law and grace.

Notice with me this morning:

The history behind the allegory. (v.22-23)

The interpretation of the allegory. (v.24-28)

The application of the allegory. (v.29-31)

1.) The history behind the allegory. (v.22-23)

God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son in Genesis 15. However many years had passed since God made them that promise and Sarah was now old and passed child bearing years. It seemed that she was incapable of having the child that God had promised. She became discouraged, so, in an effort to “help God” she took her servant girl Hagar and gave her to Abraham so that he could have a child through her and then that child would be raised to be Abrahams heir. (This was a customary practice in the land). Hagar had no say in this, she was a slave. Hagar did have a son and that son was named Ishmael. No doubt Abraham had hoped this would be the promised child that God had told him he would have. But it wasn’t. Sometime later, God did indeed keep his promise and Sarah gave birth to a son and named him Isaac.

It is from this historical narrative regarding the birth of Isaac and Ishmael where Paul draws his allegory for law and grace from. (he says so in v.24)

A.) There were two sons and two mothers

Notice the difference in Abraham’s two sons.

Ishmael (Gen 16) was the son of Hagar ( an Egyptian slave girl) and he was

Born through human effort and will.

Born into slavery as the child of a slave.

Born because of fleshly desire and impulse.

Isaac (Gen 21) was the son of Sarah and he was...

Born as a free man the child of a free woman.

Born through God’s promise.

Born because of the love and power of God.

Ishmael is representative of one trying to earn their way to heaven through the keeping of law and works. Isaac is representative of one saved by grace alone through faith alone in the promise of god.

We must remember that mankind is born a slave to sin and is ruled by his sinful desires and impulses. Because of this, no matter how hard we try or any amount of effort we put forth, it can never make us a child of God. It is grace and grace alone that saves.

2.) The interpretation of the allegory. (v.24-28)

Again notice (v.24), Paul tells us he‘s using history to form an allegory.

Paul is making the connection from Hagar and Sarah to the covenant of law and the Covenant of promise (grace.)

A.) Hagar is a type/picture the Covenant of Law. (v.25)

1.) She bears children to slavery- The law demands what you can and cant do. It insists on obedience. So, if a person desires to approach God through their own goodness, merit or effort then he is in bondage to the law.

You must keep it perfectly in order to be righteous and moral enough to earn God’s favor. The rules and regulations of the law make you a slave to the law.

The reality is, no one is capable of keeping the law perfectly. We are not able to save ourselves based on our merit and deeds. All that the law can do is make us a slave to our sin.

2.) Hagar represents the very center of law and works which was Jerusalem of that day. (v.25)- Paul makes two connections here to prove his point:

Paul says Hagar represents Mt. Sinai, the place where the Mosaic Law was originally given.

Hagar and Mt. Sinai bot picture the center of a religion based in law and works, the Jerusalem of that day.

Hagar is also representative of any religion, church, or people who seek to be made righteous and acceptable to God through their own works and law keeping.

B.) Sarah is a type/picture of the new covenant between God and man, the Covenant of Grace/Promise. (v.26-27)

1.) Sarah, grace, is seen in the New Jerusalem which is above, the heavenly Jerusalem; Paul says. This is the spiritual and eternal city that God has promised to those who approach him through Faith in Christ. This is heaven.

2.) Sarah, grace, and the heavenly Jerusalem are all free. When a person places their faith in Christ alone, throwing all we have and are upon the promise that faith in Christ is all that is needed for salvation. God takes our faith and credits it as the righteousness of Christ and thereby makes us acceptable to Him. We are given the promise of God for eternal life freely, without having to earn it by rules or law.

3.) Paul adds then that the Covenant of Grace has more children than the Jewish legalist by quoting an Old Testament prophecy that predicted that more Gentiles would believe the grace of God than Jews.

Isaiah 54:1 NKJV

1 “Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

C.) Here is the point Paul is making (v.28)

All of those who have placed their faith in Christ alone for salvation, have received a miraculous birth from God. Like Isaac we are children of God’s promise of Grace. Like Isaac would one day inherit the promised land of Canaan we will one day inherit heaven where we will dwell in Gods presence forever.

Romans 4:13–16 NKJV

13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

3.) The application of the allegory. (v.29-31)

Up to this point, we have observed the history that Paul is using for his allegory. He has given us the interpretation of the allegory and now he will spend the rest of the passage applying the allegory to his readers.

If in Paul’s allegory, those who believe in Salvation by grace through faith are Isaac, who then are those who are claiming that acceptance by God is through law? Ishmael.

From Paul’s allegory of Hagar and Ismael and Sarah and Issac we learn two things regarding legalism.

A.) Like Ismael, legalism will always mock and ridicule believers who live in grace. (v.29)

If you journey back to Genesis 21 you will see that Ishmael is mocking and ridiculing Isaac.

Genesis 21:9 NKJV

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.

Paul is drawing on this event to show why those who are trusting in God’s promise for salvation are being ridiculed buy those who would place them under the bondage of the law.

Men who desire to approach God in the power of the flesh will always ridicule and mock the believer who says that self-effort and self-righteousness are not enough to earn God’s favor and will not make a person acceptable to God.

They do this because in order for the person seeking to approach God by their own effort to be saved they would have to confess their own human weakness and inadequacy. The person seeking to live by law refuses to acknowledge their own inability.

They think of themselves to highly and place themselves on a level close to God. So when a believer comes along and says the only way to gain acceptance with God is to be born again by faith in Christ. They will refuse to accept that their effort isn't enough to merit God’s approval.

Matthew 5:11 NKJV

11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

Can I say this morning, even those who claim salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone will mock and ridicule those who claim that after salvation you don’t have to keep a list of rules to have God’s favor we just live in the grace He has already given us.

There are few things as sad a a believer in Christ who is bound up by legalism.

Charles Simpson in his book “Pastoral Renewal” tells a story about meeting a young man who dived for exotic fish to fill aquariums. The young man told him that one of the most popular fish for aquariums are sharks. The man went on to explain that if you catch a shark and confine it, it will stay a size that is proportionate to the tan its in. A fully matured shark in an aquarium can be as small as six inches long, but if you turn that shark loose in the ocean it will then grow to their normal length of up to eight feet.

I have seen the exact same thing take place in the life of a believer. When they are bound in a tank of legalism they cant and won’t grow to a mature faith in Christ because they are stifled by the confines they are in. But, when that same believer is set free from the tank of legalism to live in the ocean that is God’s grace they will grow beyond belief. If you've been swimming in legalism this morning, I invite you to experience the freedom that Christ brings by living in his grace.

B.) Like Ismael, legalism must be cast out and receive no inheritance. (v.30)

Genesis 21:10 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.”

In the verse we just read Ishmael was cast out so that he would not share in Isaac’s inheritance. The son of Hagar, the law, shall not be heir with the Son of Sarah, grace.

God will never accept someone who approaches him through law and works. God is perfect and therefore only perfection can dwell with him. No matter how much good a person can present to God, they are not enough, because those good works can’t make a person perfect.

Matthew 7:21–23 NKJV

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

But, the believer who approaches God by grace through faith in Christ knows that his works and deeds aren't enough, so he approaches God confessing his own weakness and casting himself upon the righteousness of Christ.

God has promised that the person who places their faith in Christ will never perish but will have everlasting life and inherit the promise of God.

Conclusion:

Galatians 4:31 NKJV

31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

All those who have placed their faith in Christ alone for salvation are the children of grace, not law. In the allegory we have just walked through, we are Isaac, not Ishmael.

Though Ismael was cast out, Isaac lived in the presence of his father and all that Abraham had became Isaacs. Just like all those who have come to God by grace through faith in Christ will one day live in God’s presence and be join-heirs with Christ.

We are not children of the bondwoman, so we do not have to live our lives like slaves to the law. We are children of the free woman, grace and God has given his children an eternal assurance of his love and care.

Legalism has no hold on us, we are now children of grace.