Central Truth

The only way to live free is to be born under the promise of God, namely the salvation that comes through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Religion apart from Christ is not enough to set us free.

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Reflections

Being born again under the promise of salvation through Jesus Christ is the only way to freedom. It seems so simple when put that way, but in practice we seem driven constantly to find freedom by other means. Paul addresses this issue in the second half of Galatians 4 by looking to the Old Testament. Hagar was the slave of Sarah and Abraham who bore Abraham's first son Ishmael. Sarah later miraculously conceived and had Isaac. Paul takes these two women and interprets them allegorically to show the difference between being born in the flesh and born under promise. Jewish Christians at the time of his writing were trying to impose the physical laws, specifically circumcision, on the Gentile Christians, arguing that the gospel was not complete without the law intact. Paul opposes this stance strongly in Galatians and builds an argument against the law of the flesh. Although Abraham was the father of both Ishmael and Isaac, only one of them was born into freedom. Freedom, by Paul's argument, was not due to the flesh of Abraham but the context under which the child was born.

The argument of Hagar and Sarah seems a little difficult to understand because of how far removed we are now from the Jewish versus Gentile debate of the early church and our overall unfamiliarity with the Old Testament. However, the point Paul makes is a strong one that cuts deep into my own conscience. Although I do not look to Old Covenant Jewish practices to find religious freedom, I frequently look to religiousness to be free. If I lead the right worship songs, go to the right prayer meetings, read the right books, live in a way that appears righteous, then I often times believe that I will be set free. However, when I look solely to religious disciplines or good living for freedom, I forsake the promise of God and thus forfeit liberty in Christ.

We will die slaves if we are not born under the promise of Christ's blood. He is the only way to freedom!

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Discussion Questions

1.  What is the difference between the flesh and promise Paul is talking about?

2.  What religious things do we do as a substitute for God's promise?

3.  Is our freedom dependent upon what we do or the context under which we live?

4.  How do we live free lives?

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