Communauté et discipulat

The Only Path to Blessings (Gal 4:21-5:1)

2011.11.20Rev. Eddie Byun

Flesh brings bondage, but faith brings blessings, because the only path to blessing is trusting in Christ rather than in our own heritage, efforts, or wisdom. Christ has set us free so that we may stand firm, live by faith, and live for the glory of God and his kingdom.

The law points to Christ, not to our bloodline (21-23)

Paul asks those who want to be under the law whether they truly hear what it says. A true hearing of the law shows that all the Scriptures point to Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the law, and it reveals our inability to save ourselves. Trusting in Abraham's bloodline is no substitute for a personal connection to Jesus Christ. Those who rely on their own heritage remain bound to the flesh.

Who is your mother? Flesh brings bondage, promise brings freedom (24-26)

Paul uses Hagar and Sarah to represent two covenants, one grounded in law and human effort and the other in faith and God's promise. Ishmael was born according to the flesh, while Isaac was born through promise, a supernatural birth for a couple who were about a hundred and ninety years old. The shocking point for Paul's Jewish audience is that without faith in Christ, Hagar is their mother. The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Faith brings blessings, and salvation comes only through faith (27-28)

Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1, a word of hope spoken to God's people in Babylon that their bondage would one day turn into freedom and their barrenness into fruitfulness. We enter that season of blessing not by our own works but through faith. Like Isaac, every believer is a child of promise, as John 1:12-13 says, because those who believe in Christ become children of God. Salvation is the ultimate blessing, and it comes only through faith in Christ.

Keep an eternal perspective through pain and persecution (29-31)

Paul says that those born according to the flesh persecuted those born according to the Spirit, and that this has always been so. Pain and persecution are primary tactics Satan uses to destroy the faith of the church. In the hospital, the speaker found that the thought of hell's eternal torment, and of the rich man crying for one drop of water, put his suffering into an eternal perspective. On Judgment Day there will be a division, and those of faith will inherit eternal life.

Our true rest and home are found in God's presence

Exhaustion in a crowded emergency room showed that rest is one of the deepest human longings. When the speaker finally knelt in prayer, he found that he was in the position he was created for, in the presence of God. Since college, the speaker has found that dwelling in God's presence makes it home, no matter where he is in the world. We are pilgrims and sojourners who are not home yet, and our eternal rest is still coming.

Christ set us free for freedom, so we live for his kingdom (5:1)

Galatians 5:1 says that Christ has set us free, so we must stand firm and not submit again to slavery. We are saved by grace alone through faith, not by works, but we are saved to do good works, as Ephesians 2:8-10 teaches. The freedom Christ gives also frees us from sin, shame, greed, lust, and bitterness, and it sends us to declare the gospel so that others may be set free. A life lived purely for God's glory and kingdom is a life well lived.

Apply to Life

  • Let us stop trusting in our heritage, our efforts, or our wisdom, and rest in the work of Christ alone.
  • Let us fight the fight of faith, holding fast to Christ in pain and persecution.
  • Let us keep an eternal perspective on our lives and not live only for the here and now.
  • Let us stand firm in the freedom Christ has given us and turn away from sin, shame, and bitterness.
  • Let us seek first God's kingdom and live for his glory, declaring the gospel to others so they may be set free.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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