Introduction: Do you recall a time when you were on vacation and you
saw some beautiful mountain or scenic canyon? Did you travel around
it so that you could see it from different angles? That is how our
lessons feel recently. We have been asking this question: “If we were
saved by trusting in God from the very beginning, why did God give us
the Ten Commandments later?” We have looked at this question several
times now, and we look at it again in this lesson. Paul apparently
wants us to consider the question from all angles, so let’s plunge
into our study of the Bible and view a different angle!
- Sons and Daughters
- Read Galatians 3:23-26. How has your status improved? (We
went from “prisoners” to “sons!”) - How did we become sons? (“Through faith in Christ
Jesus.”) - Read Galatians 3:27. How important is baptism? (Extremely!
When we go under the water in baptism, we “cloth” ourselves
with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.) - Read Galatians 3:28. During the time that Paul wrote
Galatians, there was a huge societal difference between
Jews, Greeks, slaves, males and females. What is the
importance of these differences when you become saved?
(They disappear. We all become one in Jesus.) - Read Galatians 3:29. Is this a different angle than we
discussed two weeks ago? Then we discussed that we
inherited from Abraham the contract that he had with God.
That contract was that Abraham should believe (trust) God,
and God would consider Abraham righteous. What does this
say about the way we inherit the promise made to Abraham?
(It says that we inherit if we “belong to Christ.”
Belonging to Christ means that we trust what He has done on
our behalf. This reaffirms the same promise, the same
inheritance.) - Slaves and Heirs
- Read Galatians 4:1-2. How can Paul say a son is “no
different from a slave?” A son has hope and a future. A
slave does not. How can we understand what Paul is saying
in a way that makes sense? (Paul is writing like a lawyer.
From a legal point of view, a young son has the same kind
of limitations as a slave.) - Read Galatians 4:3. What are the “basic principles of the
world?” (Adam and Eve were warned that a basic principle is
that sinners die an eternal death. (Compare Genesis 2:15-17
with Genesis 3:1-5.) The Ten Commandments generally reflect
basic principles of the world. Do not steal, do not kill,
and other self-evident rules. You don’t need the Ten
Commandments to know that those things are wrong.) - Read Galatians 4:4-5. When we talk about a child, moving
from a child to an adult occurs early in life. When does
this change from slave to adult son take place when it
comes to our relationship with God? (It took place when
Jesus came to earth to live, die and be resurrected on our
behalf.) - Everyone who is reading this lesson was born after
the time that Jesus came to earth. What do you think
Paul means when he says that we ( Galatians 4:5) have
the “full rights of sons?” What, exactly, are those
“rights?” (The context shows that we have the right
to be free from “guardians and trustees.” We are no
longer like slaves.) - Does this include being free from the Ten
Commandments? (Yes! And, all other kinds of laws
given by God to guide humans.) - Let me ask you a practical question. Why did the
parents hire guardians and trustees? Why did you
teach your children that they should do certain
things and not do others? - Would you reasonably expect that when your
children became adults, they would disregard all
of the things they were taught by you? (Just the
opposite. Parents hire “guardians and trustees”
to teach and direct their children for the very
purpose of convincing the child of the best way
to live when they grow up.) - Read Galatians 4:6. Under whose influence do we independent
“adult” children of God live? (You may get tired of me
saying this, but Paul makes the point over and over again:
we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The Holy Spirit
leads us into a Father – son (daughter) relationship with
God.) - Read Galatians 4:7. What is the context for us becoming an
“heir?” What have we been discussing about our
inheritance?(We inherit the promise that if we trust God,
we will credited with being righteous.) - Does this verse suggest that we have inherited more
than that? (Yes! We have become part of the family of
God. We are God’s sons and daughters.) - Read Galatians 4:8. When you were discussing the last
several questions, you might have said, “We are all living
after Jesus’ time here on earth, so why are we even
discussing the idea of us being “slaves” instead of “sons?”
Is the time of slavery currently going on for some people?
(Yes. For those who do not “know God,” they are still
slaves!) - Could a person know the Ten Commandments and not know
God? (Think of the pagans that you know. Do they
murder others? Do they recognize that it is wrong to
steal? These concepts are widely understood.) - Consider the person who believes that they are a
“good person,” but who rejects “religion.” Are they
slaves? (Yes! They are not children of God for they
have rejected Jesus’ offer of salvation and the offer
to be His son or daughter.) - Who or what are the “not gods” in Galatians 4:8?
- Read Galatians 4:9-11. Some say that the religion to which
the Galatians are “turning back” is a mystery. Do we have
any clues? (“Special days and months and seasons and years”
sounds precisely like the Old Testament holidays and its
system of economic rules. When you consider Galatians 2:11-15 the answer seems very obvious – Paul is talking about
them turning back to Judaism, with its emphasis on works of
the law.) - Is that the “not gods” of Galatians 4:8?
- Focus on Galatians 4:10 and its reference to “days.” I
worship on Saturday in accord with Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus
20:8-11, and the fact that Jesus rested in the grave on
Saturday after He died on the cross. Is Paul telling me
that I’m making an error? Is grace wasted on me? (If you
look at older commentaries, they argue that this verse does
not apply to a weekly day of rest. (They are arguing for
going to church on Sunday.) I think Robertson’s Commentary
states it best: “Paul does not object to these observances
for he kept them himself as a Jew. He objected to Gentiles
taking to them as a means of salvation.” Worshiping on
Sabbath does not save you. Trusting God saves you.) - If you believe, as I do, that a weekly day of rest
and worship is God’s plan, on what day would you rest
and worship if you trusted God? ( Exodus 20:11 tells
us that the Sabbath reminds us that God is our
Creator. Jesus’ Sabbath rest after His crucifixion,
reminds us that God is our Redeemer. Why would I pick
out my own day (a different day) if I trusted God?) - Read Galatians 4:12-16. How do you like it when someone
corrects you? When someone disagrees with your theological
views? (We don’t like it. But, Paul tells the Galatians to
consider their history with him. When he first taught them
about trust and grace they were filled with joy.) - Zealous
- Read Galatians 4:17-18. Do you believe in evangelism? Do
you believe in being “on fire” to advance the gospel? What
warning does Paul give us about being evangelistic and “on
fire?” (He says it is fine as long as you are pursuing a
“good purpose.”) - What bad purpose is involved here? (Promoting the law
instead of trust in God.) - Have you had a discussion in your church about how
best to evangelize your town? If so, what did
members suggest? (I recall several suggestions. One
is to talk about prophecy and the monsters in
Revelation. Another is to talk about the Sabbath.
Another is to improve cooking skills and health.
Another is seminars that will help local people in
some way. Some of these, obviously, are merely aimed
at getting people in the door of the church.) - If you specifically targeted “trust in God” as
your evangelistic outreach, what would you do? - Read Galatians 4:19-20. Why would Paul “change [his] tone”
if he were present with the Galatians? (He is likely using
a harsher tone to get their attention. If he were present,
he would not have to do that.) - Friend, does looking at the law and grace in terms of
“slaves” and “sons” help you to better understand the
importance of trusting God? Why not ask the Holy Spirit to
help you trust God more? - Next week: Paul’s Pastoral Appeal.
