Happy Monday, everybody! Thank you for starting your week off with us as we explore the book of Galatians. Last week we looked at the new and perfect family we have to look forward to as Christians. This week, Paul will argue for the Galatians' salvation, pleading with them not to turn from God and return to their old ways. I want to remind everybody of the theme that guides this study, the theme of Truth. Truth is absolute, consistent, and without change. God is the creator and living embodiment of Truth. God does not change and is the final authority in our lives. His Word, which we call the Bible, is a physical representation of His Truth. Truth never grows old or outdated. We do not change Truth to fit our beliefs but rather change our worldviews to match the Truth.
Galatians 4:8-11 "8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain."
If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, the thought of returning to your old life has crept in. feelings like these are expected and one of the first temptations Satan will throw at you. He will cast doubt against God in your mind and attempt to turn you back to the world. I have experienced this myself. There was a period in my life when I quickly slid away from God. I had to take these doubts and insecurities I felt and challenge them. I wrote each one down and began to research them through scripture. The result was that I rediscovered God in a new way and grew deeper in my Faith. Doubt became the tool I used to discover more about God and His Truth. My life in God versus my life without God is very different. I was poor, angry, lost, and needed purpose when I was without God. With God, I have experienced tremendous blessings. I am not financially wealthy, but I do not stress about meeting ends meet; I know and have seen him provide in ways I could have never imagined. I used to be filled with anger, but through God, I have discovered forgiveness, healing, and a feeling of peace within myself. I felt lost and without a purpose, almost like something was missing from my life. In God, I have discovered purpose, I have found love and a sense of belonging, and with God, I Have completeness that I honestly do not know how to explain in words.
Paul, in verse 8, is going to talk about the distinction between the old and new lives of the Galatians. Let's begin here by stating facts. First, there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). You can choose to serve the one God or the world where there is no god. The world has been given over to Satan and his Demons, and even they fear and know God but have chosen not to serve Him (James 2:19). The World lives in contrast to God, where God is Perfection, the world is corruption, and we cannot live with a foot in both (James 4:1-10). To live for the world is to live out every desire you could imagine, but at the end of your time, all you have done amounts to nothing. In Christ, Your time on Earth is equivalent to a short visit, and what you build spiritually will carry over into the new perfect Earth He is creating for us (Revelations 21:1-4).
Paul tells the Galatians that when they did not know God, they were slaves. If you think about your life and the life you lived before being a Christian, you can see what Paul is talking about. Before I was a Christian, I lived enslaved to fear, anger and jealousy. I feared I had to try everything and experience life to its fullest before I died. I lived this way because I didn't believe in life after death; I did not think there was more to my creation than the here and now. I lived to fulfill my every desire, not even considering the fact that there was no point in it. As a non-Christian, when I would have died, no one would have cared what things I had done; I would not take those experiences with me; my life on this Earth was essentially meaningless. I was enslaved to an empty life, living out my days completing a task that had no purpose beyond this planet. Today I am a Christian, and I know my works for the Kingdom of God will not end here; I know that the life I experience here is a drop in the ocean compared to the life I will live in eternity. On Earth, I am limited in my success by the amount of time I have before my body expires; in Christ, time does not exist, and there is no limit.
This leads us to verse 9. In Christ, as a Christian, time does not hold a grip over us, allowing us all of eternity to learn and grow in our relationship with God. This relationship would be impossible for us if God had not first chosen us (Ephesians 1:5-6). Before God, we were slaves to time, slaves to sin, children of this world, and inherited the world’s penalty, and death, as payment for our sins (Romans 6:23). We, sinful creatures, could never hold a place in God's court. We could never get to know God; God had to choose to love us, His enemy so that we might love him (Romans 5:8-10). We were unable to separate from sin, and we lived in rebellion against God. He had to choose to save us, as we could not save ourselves (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). In Christ, we are adopted into the family of God, rescued from death, and given the inheritance that only the family of God receives, of eternal life (Galatians 4:4-5). The question in this passage is meant to be one of reflection, to stir up perspective in the minds of the Christians at the Church of Galatia. Paul asks them, would you give up your freedom in Christ and submit yourselves back to the Law and the world?
Verse 10 alludes to this when Paul mentions the "days, months, and seasons." This verse returns us to the most discussed subject of Galatians; that in Christ, we are free from the religious practices of the Law. This passage refers to the Old Testament observation of time in the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 23:5-28; 25:4). The same Law Christ came to free us from. To follow the Law is to choose not to follow Christ and the Gospel. Faith in Christ is all that is required for our salvation. The Law proved unable to save us; Christ proved He was able and willing to save us. We are no longer bound to circumcision, and we are no longer bound to a day of observance. For in Christ, every day is an observance to God, as we live in God, and our whole lives become living worship to him (Romans 14:5-10).
Verse 11 brings Paul back to Lamenting over the Christians at Galatia. Paul is giving them the disappointing dad talk here. If the Galatians continued down this path, turning away from God and back to the Law, Paul's time and sacrifices in Galatia would have been wasted. Similar to Galatians 3:4, when Paul is explaining to the Galatians that if they turn back, everything they had done up to this point, all the suffering and persecution they received for following Christ would have been wasted. The Galatians are threatening to turn away from freedom and return to enslavement, choosing to give up life and take death. Proverbs 26:11 equates this to a dog who has been sick and then returns to the vomit that caused its sickness, and re-ingesting that same vomit.
There are two main takeaways from this passage that I encourage you to remember. The first is that when you become a Christian, you escape slavery, you escape death, and you escape the world. In Christ, you have freedom and the promises of a future. You have the promises of all eternity to live and grow into the person you truly were meant to be. If you are not a Christian, then you have the time allotted here on this Earth and nothing beyond it.
The second takeaway I want to mention is that if you once walked with Christ and now find yourself estranged, then it is not too late. No matter how bad you think you are or how far you have strayed, you are never too far for Christ to save you (Matthew 18:10-14). Dr. Wilmington of Liberty University’s Wilmington School of the Bible says that there is only one sin that denies you eternal life, and that sin is the rejection of Christ. No matter where you are in life, just know we are all in the same boat, and it's sinking. The only life raft is the one given to us by Jesus. He has come and delivered that raft to us, but we have to choose to get in. Your sin doesn't matter because we are all sinners, and God looks upon us the same (Romans 3:9-26). But, in the same token, He loves us and has shown us Grace by sending His Son Jesus to come and die for us (John 3:16-17). We only have to call upon him, believe in him, accept his forgiveness, and become Children of God. God cares about one thing, and one thing separates us from the creator of all things: the choice of following Christ or remaining in rebellion.
Below are this week's reflection questions:
How is your life different today than before you came to know Christ?
What is your life that could you change to follow God closer?
What doubts have you experienced, and what is your strategy for overcoming those doubts?
If you are not a Christian or currently not walking with God:
What doubts do you have that keep you from God?
Have you researched those doubts in scripture or spoken with a Christian about your suspicions?
Do you feel like something is missing from your life, or maybe you struggle to find your purpose in this world?
No matter who you are or your answers, we would love to hear from you at Triple Hares. We would love to talk about anything you have going on. We are not here to alienate anyone, and no matter what you believe, what you have done, or what questions you have, please reach out to us. We don't care if you are a Christian or not. We only care about supporting you and providing for your needs.
Comments