Well, good morning, everyone. It's good to see you all here today. I send greetings from Surrey Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for all your prayers for Jessica and I and little Lucy.
She is such a little doll and I love her very much. So thank you for all your prayers. But we'll turn our attention to God's word. You can turn with me in your Bibles to Galatians chapter 4, verse 21.
We just finished a series at Surrey in Galatians. So I'll look at the text this morning from there. Galatians 4 verse 21. We're going to look at verses 21 through 31 this morning, but I will read into 5.1 just for a little bit of context for us.
So Galatians 4, begin reading at verse 21. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondwoman, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was
Flesh Versus Promise
born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
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. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
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. 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 free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free. Amen. Well, let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you, O God, that you are our God.
We're thankful, O God, for the freedoms that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, how our sins are forgiven. We are free from the guilt of sin, O God. Christ delivered us from the curse that is found in the law, and we're thankful that he is that one who hung on a tree on behalf of us, bearing the curse and sin and wrath upon him. We give you thanks, O God, for the Lord Jesus and what he has done.
We give you praise and honor that we gather together here today for many as we have believed on him because of your grace. We're thankful for your mercy. We're thankful for your grace. And we're thankful for the fact that we are free.
We are adopted. We are sons and daughters of the true and living God because of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we know, O God, sometimes we can waver. Sometimes we doubt.
And we know that we need to be reminded of your truth, reminded of your gospel, reminded of free and sovereign grace often, O Lord. So God, we do pray, as we study your word today, that you would send forth your Spirit. For, O God, we do need your Spirit to understand divine things. We are a feeble people, but we need divine aid.
So we pray that your Spirit would go forth, that your Spirit would be pleased to bless the preaching and the teaching, O God. For any here today who are Christ's, we pray that you would strengthen them, that you would aid them this day. If they need to be comforted, comfort them, O Lord. If they need to be convicted, convict them, O Lord.
O God, if there are any here today who do not know you, we pray that you would save them in Christ, that you would change them, that you would work in them, that you would cause them to come to saving knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ. But O God, in all things that we do, we pray that you would be glorified, for you are the God who is mighty, and you are the God who is good, and we give you praise and honor for who you are and what you've done. We pray that you'd be with us now, we pray in the name of Christ. Amen.
Well,
Introduction
Paul is writing to the churches at Galatia concerning the doctrine of justification. Paul planted some churches in Acts chapter 13 and 14 in Galatia. He taught them the truth. He taught them salvation by grace.
But he left and some other men came in and began to teach a false gospel. They taught salvation is faith plus a little bit of works. To be right with God, you have to believe on Jesus, but you have to add some other things to that as well. Whether it's your own working, whether it's being under the law, and specifically with Galatia, it's being circumcised.
In order to be saved, you had to be circumcised. And included with that is going back under the law and keeping the dietary laws. So Paul writes back vehemently to the churches at Galatia because the believers were being duped by what was being said. And so he's got some concerns for them.
And he writes with vehemence, saying, if anyone preaches the gospel other than the one that you received, let them be anathema. And he spends most of his letters seeking to defend this blessed doctrine of righteousness in Christ, of justification by faith, forgiveness found in another, not in someone's own keeping. And he does this in many ways throughout the book of Galatians. He appeals to his own conversion.
He appeals to their own experience of the Spirit. He appeals to the scriptures. He says, the law is not of faith. The one who does them must live by them.
He even appeals to their freedom. He says, if you believed on Christ, then you are free in Christ. And he even gives a personal appeal as well. He says, was I not with you?
Were you not kind to me in my difficulties? And then finally, in 421, he comes to a picture in order to appeal to this doctrine of justification by faith. He's beginning to transition to that application section in chapter 5, verse 1, and he comes to this climax with this picture. And really, for many of us, a picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it?
And a picture sometimes drives things home for us, and this is what he's trying to do here in Galatians 4.21-31. And he uses an Old Testament illustration. He uses the contrasts between Hagar and between Sarah. Because you see, that's the problem in the book of Galatians.
There are two contrasting realities. You're either saved by grace, or you're saved by works. The air quotes are in there because you're not really saved by works. You're either righteous before God because of your own keeping, or you're righteous before God because of someone else's keeping.
One is bondage. One is sin. One is corruption. One is death.
The other is freedom. The other is life. The other is everlasting peace. And so these are the two realities he's seeking to show forth with these two women.
And that's an important question, even as we go through, we have to ask this question ourselves. To which woman do you belong? Or to which reality do you belong? Are you part of the woman of death or the woman of life?
Are you part of salvation by works or salvation by grace? And we'll seek to look at this under three headings this morning. First of all, an Old Testament illustration described in verses 21 through 23. Secondly, an Old Testament illustration explained in verses 24 through 27.
And then lastly, an Old Testament illustration applied in verses 28 through 31. So described, explained, and applied.
The Illustration Described
Let's first look then at an Old Testament illustration described in verses 21 through 23. And he starts with a question. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? You see, these Judaizers claim to be the teachers of the law.
They claim to know their Bibles pretty well. They claim to have read it and studied it and have known and had a good understanding of what's said in it. But what's he saying? You who want to be under the law, do you not read it?
Do you not hear what it actually says? Have you not actually read what the law actually says? You see, isn't this what you want to be under the law? Isn't this what you want to go under there?
You want some tangible Christianity? We're kind of all like that a little bit, aren't we? We want something tangible in our Christian life, right? Sometimes we want boxes to check as we walk our way towards the celestial city.
But you see, what makes us a Christian aren't those boxes that we tick. It's Christ, right? And so what's he saying? Do you not hear the law?
Do you not hear what it actually says? For if you actually understood the law, you would know what it's actually saying. And so he begins to enter into the argument with on their own terms. Have you not read it?
Do you not hear it? And he's going to actually expound for us Genesis 12 through 22. What's interesting today, even sometimes, Christians haven't really read their Bibles, have they? Perhaps you could ask a question.
Have you read the Gospels? Have you read the New Testament? Have you read the entire Bible? You see, it's kind of a travesty today that we have so much technology, we have so many Bibles on our shelves at our disposal, yet we don't know the scriptures or read them or understand them well.
And sometimes even pastors, I'm sure I've done it as well, perhaps I've said something from the pulpit and you go, have you read the Bible? And perhaps one of those specific things I've heard a lot from various pastors is with respect to the parables. People say Jesus uses parables that people will understand. And then you're kind of like, yes, it's true, parables are analogies, and they seek to draw on normal everyday life.
But what does Matthew 13 actually say concerning the parables? Jesus describes, or even the disciples say in Matthew 13, why are you using parables? And what does Jesus say? It's for you to know the kingdom of God, but not for them.
And then he quotes Isaiah chapter 6 with Isaiah's ministry. Isaiah's ministry was one of bringing forth judgment and hardening the hearts of the people. Because you see, pictures in the scriptures are seeking to drive something home. And usually when we see pictures arise in the scriptures, especially with the prophets, and especially with Revelation, and even with Jesus in Matthew chapter 13, what does he say?
He who has ears, let him hear. And doesn't John not say this, or Jesus say this in Revelation as well? Because the pictures are supposed to do two things. One, shock the lethargic believers out of their sedated state.
That's one thing it's supposed to do, right? The other thing it's supposed to do is supposed to actually harden hearts. So Paul, he's appealed to many different things in his letter. Now he comes to this picture and he's driving it home.
Either the believers will be shocked out of their states or they will be hardened. And so he's about, he's doing this for that specific purpose. And so
Two Sons, Two Statuses
he appeals to these two sons. Verse 22. For it is written that Abraham had two sons. We're talking about Ishmael and Isaac.
The one of a bondwoman and the other of a free woman. And even then, it's contrasting statuses, right? Hagar was a maidservant. Hagar was a slave.
But Sarah was a free woman. So he says there are two sons. One was born of a bondwoman, the other of a free woman. And then he highlights in verse 23 the significance of these realities.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through the promise. Think back with me for a moment to Genesis 12 through 22. God gives a promise to Abraham that in him all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Doesn't say how that's going to happen.
Fast forward to Genesis 15. He says, in you all the family seeds of the earth shall be blessed. Your seed shall inherit this land. And your seed shall be as numerous as the stars of the heavens.
But even then, God doesn't explain how that's going to happen. So what happens? Sarah and Abraham take matters into their own hands. And so what do they do?
They grab Hagar and say, Hagar, you know what? Sarah says, Hagar, make me a son with Abraham. That doesn't go so well, does it? You read Genesis 16, bad things happen when we take things into our own hands, and that was the case with Hagar as well.
You see, Abraham and Sarah didn't trust in the promises of God, but brought in this one of natural descent. this one named Ishmael, this one who was born according to the flesh. So one is born according to the flesh, but the other is born according to the promise. It's really not till Genesis 17 where we get a very clear picture that next year Sarah shall bear your son, right? Think about that for a moment.
Abraham was 75 when he comes into the land of Canaan. He doesn't get a very clear picture until he's 99. 24 years later, we just pass through those chapters so quickly, we forget that. They waited 25 years before the promises were actually fulfilled. And so we see those promises in Genesis 17, 18, and finally in Genesis 21, that Isaac is born according to the promise.
And clearly, because of 23 and the rest of the section, it shows that they are contrasting realities. And as Ronald Fung says, in the scriptural record of the birth of these two sons of Abraham, Paul recognizes the same opposition between reliance on self, according to the flesh, and reliance on God through promise, as exists between those who would be justified by legal works and those who are justified by faith. If you want to be justified by works, you rely on yourself. If you're justified by faith, you rely on God.
And so that's what he's saying. He's saying, here's the scriptures, hear what they actually say. He's basically saying to them, have you not read the scriptures? Here's what it says.
And I think one clear application for us is we must be biblically minded, right? You must be biblically minded. You must know your scriptures. You must study it.
Even if you think you might not have time on your hands, you all drive, right, at some point. You can pop on the Bible app that reads it for you. And you hear different things as you read it, or listen to it, because it was meant to be read out loud. You actually catch things.
So I would encourage you, continue to be in your Bible, study your scriptures, because a Christian who's not in the Bible is like a sick person without their medicine. So be biblically minded, brethren. Be in the Word. So that's an Old Testament illustration described.
The Illustration Explained
Let's then look secondly at an Old Testament illustration explained in verses 24 through 27. And he says very clearly in verse 24,
Two Covenants Contrasted
these things are symbolic. That is, they represent something. It's actually the term allegory. Don't freak out when I say that.
We can actually use that term well. It just highlights using analogy or likeness to express something. It's not devoiding it of any historical record. Paul's not saying, this didn't actually happen.
I'm just drawing out the spiritual meaning. That's not what he's saying. He's just drawing out what they signify and represent. They represent these two contrasting realities, and we shouldn't freak out when we hear the word allegory, because there's one blessed allegory that we all love, right?
Pilgrim's progress. Isn't that an allegory that describes spiritual truth and reality, and when we read it, we think about our Christian walk as well? You see, it's a wonderful term we can use, and Paul is using it in a very applicable biblical sense, without taking it out of its historical context. So he says, these things are symbolic.
And they represent two covenants. Reformed theologians are all about covenant theology, right? The way in which God condescends and speaks to, or the way God interacts with his people. It's how God interacts with the world, right?
It's the way in which we have relationship with God by way of covenant. And there are two covenants we must ask, we must think through, and ask which one we are under. Are you under the covenant of works? By earning your way, are you under the covenant of grace found in Christ, a works outside of yourself purchased by the Lord Jesus.
And so he says, one is of the covenant of works, the one for Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. I don't know what's the clear text in the showing forth that Mount Sinai, The Old Covenant is a covenant of works, not a covenant of grace. And the reason I say that is because our dear Pado-Baptist brothers like to say that the Old Covenant is a covenant of grace. It is so clear in that covenant, do these things to live by them.
Paul even says in chapter three, verse 10, curses everyone who does not continue in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Or verse 12, yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. And so back in verse 24 of chapter four, he's saying Sinai is this covenant of works that brings forth bondage. Why go back, Galatians, under that covenant?
Why go back to these bulls and goats that do not offer sacrifice for sins? Why go back? You see, again, we're very visual people. The Hebrews had a problem with this in the book of Hebrews.
They wanted to go back. You know, I can actually see the blood spilling out of that goat. I can actually smell it as it goes up. You see, there's something very tangible in that sense, and they wanted to go back.
But Paul's saying, and the writer of the Hebrews says, don't go back, for you're under a better covenant. So the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, this is Hagar. And even Sinai itself is outside of the promised land. It is a covenant of works, and it does not lead to righteousness.
For Paul says in 321 of Galatians, For if there had been a law given, which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But there is no righteousness that comes by the law except for Christ. And so he goes on to say in verse 25, for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children. The Jerusalem that now is, according to the flesh, is just another way of saying this present evil age.
Paul even says that in Galatians 1.4. He says, Christ who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age. And this present evil age will pass away. This present evil age will die.
And anyone who is in that present evil age will pass with it. And anyone who seeks to have righteousness by their own covenant keeping will die with this present evil age. They are part of bondage. They are part of corruption.
They are helpless and self-reliant. And they are part of the Jerusalem which now is. And it is a spiritual bondage that they are in. So
Jerusalem Below and Jerusalem Above
Jerusalem now is versus the Jerusalem that is above in verse 26. Even though it doesn't say Sarah's name, it's clearly referring to Sarah. But the Jerusalem above is free. Jerusalem above is that age to come in the Lord Jesus even the right of the Hebrews in Hebrews 12 Speaks of a heavenly Jerusalem that we come to when we even worship Hebrews 12 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God the heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels to the General Assembly and Church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven to God the judge of all to the spirits of just men made perfect to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
So we are part of the Jerusalem above that is free. He's kind of saying again to the Galatians, don't go back, but be part of this place that is above. Be part of this covenant that is above. For this covenant that is above is freedom.
And he says that a lot throughout the book. You know, sometimes the writers repeat things just to get into our heads, because let's be honest, sometimes we're pretty thick and we're forgetful of certain things. So he says, freedom, freedom, freedom in Christ. That's what he wants them to understand.
Why go back to bondage when you're free already? It's almost like common, should be common sense, right? If you were a slave and in chains for a long time and you were released from that chain, why go back to that chain? If you were in prison for a long period of time and you were in bondage or you're confined and you're released, why go back to those things?
That's what he's saying here with respect to this Jerusalem that is above. And notice he goes on to say, which is the mother of us all, all those who have believed, regardless of distinctions, regardless of ethnic distinction, regardless of status, and regardless of gender, for she is the mother of all those who believe. And
Isaiah 54 and the Barren Woman
thankfully, Paul gives us an Old Testament support for this in verse 27. This comes from Isaiah 54. For it is written, 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.
You can turn with me to Isaiah 54. Perhaps at first glance, it might not seem there's a lot of connections between Isaiah 54 and what's going on in Genesis 3, aside from the fact, aside from the barrenness aspect. But when we think about the broader context of what's going on in Isaiah, we should look back to Isaiah 51. What's interesting is, Sarah's only mentioned one time in the Old Testament outside of Genesis, and that's Isaiah 51.
And notice in Isaiah 51, Isaiah speaking as he speaks about the messianic age, he says, the Lord is speaking comfort to Zion. Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who bore you.
For I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places. So what's going on even in here in Isaiah 51?
It's not talking about physical descent, but those who come by way of faith, those who follow after righteousness. So keep that in mind when we look back or look forward to Isaiah 54. And when he says, Sing, O barren woman, you who have not born. Bring 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. There's even a historical backdrop to that with Sarah and Hagar, right? She cried out for 25 years because she wanted a child. Then finally, God answers that prayer after many years in Genesis 21, and she does rejoice with God.
So when someone comes to believe on Christ, even at the return of exile, perhaps this could be in mind in Isaiah 54, they're singing about the return of the people of God in the mother of us all, namely Sarah. And what's interesting as well, when Isaiah goes on to talk about the covenant of peace in verses 3 and 5, he talks about the nations who will come in, not just Israel, but the nations. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations and make the desolate cities inhabited. And then verse 5, For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
He is called the God of the whole earth. And it comes forth from this barren woman. And even God's promise to Abraham, in him all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And what's beautiful is that Paul brings that out in Galatians chapter 3.
All those who believe by faith are considered sons and daughters of Abraham, and are considered sons and daughters of Sarah. But what's also interesting as well is Isaiah 54 comes on the heels of Isaiah 53. Duh, we can count. But clearly with what's going on here, we see Isaiah 53 is that suffering servant song, isn't it?
And usually after the suffering servant songs, there's an element of comfort afterwards. So Isaiah 54 is that comfort that comes from the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, especially verse 10. And it pleased the Lord to bruise him. Even as we think back with what Paul says in Galatians 3, how he became a curse for us.
He bruised him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. Sing, O barren, you who have not born, because of this One who has come, because of this One who has saved, because of this One who justifies many in Himself.
So the Jerusalem that is above is not tied to any physical place or any earthly place. It's in Surrey, it's in Chilliwack, it's in Vancouver, it's in China, it's in Afghanistan. Those who believe on Christ is where the church universal gathers together and those who believed are part of the Jerusalem that is above. You see, what's interesting here, Paul is wanting to remind these Galatians of the true gospel, right?
Even for Christians and professing believers, we need to be reminded of the gospel and always have it before us. Even as we sang in that one hymn, the Lord strengthens us along our way, right? The Lord strengthens us as we go through. We know that Christ is with us and we must always have our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even when we waver and when we sin, we have dark moments and sin overtakes us. Sometimes that happens, right? Sometimes we sin and do silly things that we do not wish we want to do. But that doesn't mean we don't turn back to Christ.
We're supposed to turn back to the Lord Jesus in the gospel. He's our freedom, our hope, and our life is in Him. All our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven in Him. Listen to the words of Martin Luther.
A Christian man, then, though terrified by the law, showing him his sin, despaireth not. For he believeth in Jesus Christ, being baptized in him, and cleansed by his blood, he hath remission of all his sins. Brethren, if you sin, turn back to the Lord Jesus, for there is a fountain filled with blood in the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's an Old Testament illustration explained.
The Illustration Applied
Let's then look thirdly and finally at an Old Testament illustration applied in verses 28 through 31. He says in verse 28,
Children of Promise by Faith
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of the promise. And we are the children of the promise by faith. Very similar to what he does in Romans chapter 9 when he talks about the promise and flesh and that sort of thing in verse 6 of Romans 9. But it is not the word of God has taken no effect.
For they are not all Israel who are of Israel. Nor are they all children, because they are the seed of Abraham. But in Isaac your seed shall be called. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God.
But the children of the promise are counted as the seed. If you believed on Christ, you are counted as the seed. And he goes on to say in verse 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.
Conflict Between Flesh and Spirit
He's talking about remaining conflict, right? Flesh versus the spirit. And you notice he changes what he says there. Throughout he said flesh and promise, but here he says flesh and spirit.
You see, those who are of the promise are born of the spirit. And what I think he's doing is setting the stage for chapter five, verse 16. We talked about walking in the spirit and versus walking in the flesh. The spirit and the flesh battle with one another, right?
You see, there's two sides to that. There's the internal battle. In this life, we still have the remnants of the old man in us, and we have to fight that daily. So there's an internal battle.
But there's also an external battle as well, between those who are not of Christ, but are of their father, the devil, which Christ says there's going to be a battle between the spirit and the flesh in that sense. And this is what he draws out. He draws even back to Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael mocked Isaac.
Ishmael bothered Isaac. Ishmael lorded over Isaac and laughed at Isaac. And there's wordplay going on there because Isaac's name means laugh, and Ishmael's laughing and mocking at him. And so what happens is Sarah says in verse 30, cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.
There's an exclusive promise, and it's not for Ishmael. It's for Isaac. I know that seems kind of harsh. When we look back at what's going on there, what God is saying, God's promises are for His special people.
And sadly, there's going to be a persecution, even from the seed of the serpent, against the seed of the woman. You see, there's still that tension going on throughout, and there will be that tension throughout until Christ comes back. And there's that tension, especially in Genesis. See the woman, see the serpent.
We see that throughout, don't we? Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Ishmael and Isaac, and further on and so forth. And so there's going to be this tension, and the children of the serpent will persecute the children of the woman. It's going to happen.
It's a reality for Christians, and sometimes it's persecution that separates true believers from temporary believers. Listen to Philip Rykin. One of the distinguishing marks of real Christians is that they are willing to suffer persecution for their faith and even die for it. I'm not saying we have to be masochists and just love pain and go find it.
That's not what I'm saying. But if the government cracks down and says you get the death penalty for being a Christian, you need to be ready to die for the faith, right? That's what it is. Certainly live your life, love the temporal blessings God gives you, but if those things come, we must be ready to die for the faith.
And many brethren around the world demonstrate this daily. They witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. They witness to the professing believers around the world that they'll stand fast on Christ in the midst of death because they believed on Christ and there is nothing greater than Him. Is this for you as well?
Is Christ your great reward and your great pearl? Is He the one that you lean upon, that you would give up everything for, not saying you have to do that necessarily now, but if it does come to that, will you? Because without Christ, there is no life and hope. Without Christ, there is no freedom.
And so then, brethren, verse 31, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Judaism and Christianity are not compatible with one another. There is no Christianity Plus or Christianity 2.0. It's just faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, brethren,
Warning Against Adding to Justification
when we think about the doctrine of justification, there is an important application we must take away and beware of. We must be careful ourselves not to add anything to justification. You see, sometimes that happens, and usually you see it in history, and it will be the case until Christ comes back. It's theological ping pong.
You see, what happens is people get super rigid and super legalistic. In order to be right with God, you have to add some things to be a Christian. What happens? People see that, and they respond, and they go the other way, and they say, no, you don't have to do anything.
You don't have to do any works. It's an antinomian kind of way of thinking. And then the legalists see that and go, no, we have to add something to Christianity. And it's just a mess back and forth.
Just be in the middle. You are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. But those who are justified by God's free grace, but those who are justified will be sanctified, right? Those who are justified will grow in grace and knowledge, not perfectly, but there'll still be some growth.
You see, sometimes we can be impatient with Christians who are at different stages in our sanctification, right? You might be in the stratosphere in your sanctification, but for the rest of us earthlings, we're still slogging along here. You know? You know, I say that, you know.
But that's kind of what life is. Sometimes people grow slower than others. Cut them some slack. Pray for them.
Help them along the way. Because if they believed on Jesus, they say, I profess Jesus, I'm still struggling. That's good. They're battling with their sins.
So just chill out for a moment. I feel like our generation is one of the most wound up generations on the planet ever. We get so, yeah, just bothered by nitpicking little things. But you see, that's like the Pharisees, isn't it?
And there's all some sense we're all sort of sometimes recovering Pharisees. As Rykin says, he says, be careful. He says, we often do the same thing. We forget that Christianity is a form of liberty, not slavery.
We reduce faith in Christ to a list of rules or traditions. We evaluate our spiritual standing by what we do for God, rather than by what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. In truth, we are all recovering Pharisees in constant danger of forgetting to live only by faith and choosing instead to go back under the law. You see, you're not a Christian because you read the Bible.
You read the Bible because you are a Christian. You're not a Christian because you do these good works. You do those works to please God because you are a Christian. You aren't a Christian because you come to church, but you come to church because you are a Christian.
Do you see the order there? If you believed on Jesus, you are right with Him, and you do the things that Jesus loves in your sanctification. And it's nothing in your hands that you bring, but only to that cross do you cling. But brethren, beware.
Beware of adding anything. And usually when we add something to it, it's usually our own preferences rather than the law of God, isn't it? We get so, again, wound up. We're nitpicking this little preference that I have.
That person has to believe everything I say rather than what God's law actually says. Repent if you do that. Chill out for a moment. If it's not found in the Word of God and it's an adiaphora that is a thing indifferent, just relax.
Okay? People are growing. People are, you know, growing in their faith. You know what?
You would cut yourself a lot more slack than you do other people. But we have to beware. We are Christians because we believed on Jesus Christ. And that faith isn't some fuzzy, warm feeling inside of me.
Sometimes the most faithful people never have assurance, right? And what do they do when they lack assurance? They go on their knees to God in faith! That is faith!
Calling out to their God in their trials and difficulties. You see, true faith is believing the truth concerning Christ Jesus. So that's an important question we have to ask. Do you believe on Jesus?
Do you believe that He is the true and living God? Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you are a believer in Christ Jesus. You see, that's where freedom is found. So which reality do you belong?
Hagar, Bondage. Jerusalem of the now is. Righteousness by your own self-reliance. Death.
Or we could say the law. Or are you part of Sarah? Freedom. Jerusalem above.
Righteousness by faith. Life. And the gospel. If so, stand fast in your freedom.
And if not, believe on Christ and you shall be free as well. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you, O God, for freedoms found in Christ Jesus. We know that our Christian liberty is found only in the Lord. We are free from the curse of the law, we are free from the guilt of sin, and we know it is because of Christ's work. We know, O God, that he was the perfect one who lived, died, and rose again, and died as that perfect sacrifice for his people.
We know, O God, that salvation is of you. It's not by our works and by our covenant-keeping, but by your great grace and your great mercy and your power and your law-keeping, O God. We know that we need to lean upon you. Forgive us, O God, when we begin to add things to your faith and add things to our faith.
We know that is not right. We know, O God, that those who are yours will seek to do that which pleases you, not to be saved, but because we are saved. So, God, we do pray that we would love you. We do pray that we would be biblically-minded.
We do pray that we would love your gospel. We do pray, O God, that we would be gracious and merciful and kind to others. Thank you for your grace and mercy to us, your patience and long-suffering. We pray again for the saints today that you would strengthen us and aid us, O God, as we walk out, as we go into the world.
We also pray for those who do not know you. We pray that you would change them, that you would make them believers, help them to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And oh God, in all things we do pray that you'd be glorified. And we pray these things in the name of Christ.
Amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation, then I will come up and pray for the food.