Of Law and Grace | Galatians 4:21-31

[music] We're going to be looking today at Galatians chapter 4:es 21-31. And uh we're looking at the subject of law and grace. And what I'll do is I'll I'll actually read verse 21. And I'm going to preface it by returning to verses 17 to 20, touching on those to lead to verse 21 so that we can see uh the purpose of and context of the passage that we're examining today. So we'll look at verse 21. Let me read it to you, but I'm going to touch on a few of the other things we've already said starting at verse 17 and then roll into verse 21. So Paul says in verse 21 of Galatians 4, tell me you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? Once again, Paul is writing concerning false Christians who have been pursuing the churches of Galatia. They've been preaching heresy. They've been preaching error. They have been preaching a mixture of Jewish law as well as Christian grace. So, they've been mixing the law with grace. And they were insisting that these Gentiles, because the Galatians are Gentiles, they are insisting that they keep portions of the law, especially that they should be circumcised. It reminds me of what had taken place in Acts 15:1 where it says, "There certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless you're circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." In verse 5 of Acts 15, some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses." This is the kind of thing that was taking place by combining the law of Moses with God's grace. They began to pollute what has been referred to as the doctrine of grace. So Paul speaks against them. Paul is correcting them. In chapter 1, we saw this at verse 7. Paul had said that they were corrupting. They were distorting. He literally said they are perverting the gospel. So instead of tolerating [clears throat] what they were saying, saying it's no big deal, you know, everybody has a right to believe what they believe, Paul corrected it. And Paul exposed it for what it is. He strongly condemned the message as well as the messengers. Now today, a lot of people will think, "Oh, what's the big deal?" Well, Paul would say it's the big deal is it's an eternal message. It's a message of of God's love, the gospel of grace. It isn't something that you that you pollute by adding man's efforts because you're undermining its all the entire meaning of the gospel. And anybody who walks in and and preaches that is not to be tolerated. They're to be exposed for what they're doing. He had said in in chapter 1:8, "Even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." That's a pretty strong thing to say. These false teachers are perverting the the gospel of God's grace. And as an apostle, Paul had the authority to speak and and Paul brought correction to the air. You see, he had been appointed by God to preach the gospel. In 1 Timothy 2:7, he said, "For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle." I'm telling the truth. I'm not lying. A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. This is my ministry. This is my commission. These people didn't walk with Christ. These people didn't receive the doctrine from Jesus. These people didn't know who he was. These are people who are taking Jesus and changing him into the image that they want him to be in. These people don't have the revelation. They don't have the true gospel. How is it, he's saying, how is it that these people can be actually listened to when they don't know what they're talking about? number of years ago, my wife Marie was driving to visit one of my my daughters going to her house and somebody happened to follow her and followed my wife and when Marie pulled over, this person pulled over behind her and Marie had a sticker on on on the w on the window of the of of our car, you know, it said Calvary Chino Valley. So the guy got out and walks up to her and Marie told me, she said, 'It was a little kind of nerve-wracking to have somebody you don't know approach you and said, 'You have a Calvary Chapel Chino Valley sticker? And she goes, "Yeah, yeah, I do." He goes, "Do you go there?" She goes, "Yes, I do." He goes, "Well, you know that pastor." And he starts speaking about me to her. And she's kind of looking at him saying, "You don't know how bad he really is." No. She looks at him and he's saying things to her about me and she says, "You know, he's my husband. I think I know him." You know, I think I've always thought how odd it is that people can say things about something they know nothing of with such authority. And that was what was taking place. These people didn't know the Lord Jesus Christ. These people were preaching a different gospel. Paul had gone into Galatia. He had planted the churches. He was their father in the faith. He laid the foundation. He ministered to them. He loved them as children. He wanted to see them mature and to grow and to be faithful in the things of the Lord. And yet, they're listening to somebody. They're listening to people who don't even know the Lord. And that's what's taking place. And that's why Paul would be so insistent about this. That's why Paul would be so upset about it and that's why he said let them be accursed. These people are lying to you and the gospel had been entrusted to him and he was the one who was instructing them. That's why when he was speaking to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1 13 and 14 that's why he could tell this young pastor hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you heard from me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the treasure entrusted to you with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Hold fast to you've been entrusted with the message that I was entrusted with. Well, these false teachers are claiming a greater authority and they're preaching error. They're they're adding law to grace and by doing so undermining the power of grace. Paul has been insisting that our salvation rests entirely on God's grace. It's a result of faith in what Christ did for us. It cannot be earned. Salvation is a divine gift. It's it's something sinful man cannot gain for himself. You can't earn it. You can't buy it. You don't inherit it from parents. You don't inherit from grandparents. It's a gift. It's a gift that we by faith receive. And it comes by the grace of God. Well, they've heard the gospel of grace. And it's the gospel of grace that frees you from works of righteousness. And it's not by holding to the law. It's by receiving the spirit of God through through faith. That's that's why in chapter 3:3, that's why Paul said, "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? You're foolish for thinking that way." And so, he's exposing their tactics of these false teachers. Notice again in verse 17 how he says, "They zealously court you." That word zealously, they desire earnestly. They strive after you. They're seducers. They're aggressively pursuing you. That's what happens with seducers. Even in the even in just normal life, when somebody seduces you, they're saying things they they they believe you want to hear. They're they're acting in a way that they think you want them to act. You know, every man knows how to seduce a woman. Find out what she likes and start flattering her with it. insist that you're the right person to fulfill her needs and and desires and and and get to know her well enough to use her. That's seduction. And that's what they were doing. They're striving. They're pursuing. They're they're they're attempting to give the appearance of really caring. And that's why they're pursuing in that way. They'll call you. Today in cults, the cults will call you. They'll message you. They want to know how you're doing. They invite themselves over to your house. They'll invite you to their meetings. and they pursue you because they want to convince you that they care about you. But in fact, he said in verse 17, "It's not for good because they want to exclude you." What do you mean by that? Well, once they have you, the sincere concern they once seemed to have suddenly changes. They now begin to control you. They exercise dominion over your life. And that is the mark Paul would say of a false teacher. Paul wasn't trying to bully them. Paul was encouraging them. It's similar to what he had said in sec 2 Corinthians chapter 1 24 when he had said uh it's not that we have dominion over your faith. You were fellow workers for your joy for it's by faith that you stand. In our day some culture restrict you from reading anything else. They they only want you to get into their material. They don't want you reading anything else or listening to anybody else. They they want you just to read their materials and and uh and listen to them exclusively. They'll keep you away from anybody or they do their best to keep you away from anybody who might influence you in a different direction. How do I know that? Because I've I've been there. My mom, when I first got out of the military, there was a Jehovah's Witness who was coming to my mom's house. And this Jehovah's Witness was telling my mom things about about Jesus. You like he was created for his creation of God and things of that nature. that was heretical. And I was a new Christian. I was more than two and a half years old in the Lord three years, but I'd already begun to read and to study. And and I knew that that was wrong. And I also knew that the uh they would say that you need to listen to their to their teachings and read their literature. They actually believe that the that the Watchtower organization is the voice of God to the world. I knew those things already. And so I went over and I I was there when the woman came to speak to my mom and uh we were having a conversation and the woman said, "Can I teach you the Bible? Can I spend time with you?" I said, "Yes, of course you can." I said, "But I don't want to read your material." I said, "I tell you what we'll do. Let's get into the Gospel of John." And I said, "You, the Jehovah's Witness organization, you used to use the new you used to use the King James version before you had the New World Translation." And I told her and I said, "And so I will study the scripture with you out of the Gospel of John using the King James Bible. How's that sound?" She says, "Oh, no. I can't do that." And I said, "And why not?" She says, "We have to read our material." I said, "That's where your problem is, is you're relying on the false teachings in your material and not the word of God that set you free. That's why I will not read your material, but I will read the Bible with you." See, this isn't something that that is is is 2,000 years old alone. This goes on to this day. This continues to this day. We want to exclude you from the grace of God. We want to exclude you from the word of God. And that's what they were doing to Paul. They were trying to or rather to the people by by undermining Paul. They were trying to exclude them from the doctrine of grace as well as the influence of the apostle Paul. And so what the Lord does is the Lord gives to us teachers who teach the word of God to ex exercise spiritual influence and authority. But the false teachers insincerely pursue converts. And what they're doing is they're attempting to gain followers because they want to increase their membership or they want to make some money off of you. So the fruit of following them will always be drawing you away from the grace of God. And ultimately Paul is saying they will exclude you. They're going to shut you out of the grace of God. Now, he speaks about zeal in verse 18. It's good to be zealous in a good thing always. And not only when I'm present with you, it's a good thing to be zealous. It's it's good to zealously seek to honor God. And that's the way, by the way, he sought them out. And and that's how they ought to view his example. I sought you out not for myself. I sought you out so that you might know the Lord. And then finally again in verse 19 he says my little children for whom I labor and birth again until Christ is formed in you. I'd like to be present with you now to change my tone. I have doubts about you. I love you. I agonize for your maturity in Jesus. I want to be with you. I wish I could be. I'm so concerned. I need to see firsthand what is happening to you so that I can help you to get well. And so that's what he's been saying up to this point. And now he says in verse 21, tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? You want to be under the law, do you not understand it? It is written verse 22 that Abraham had two sons. the one by a bond woman, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bond woman was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants, the one from Mount Si, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Si in Arabia, corresponding 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. It's written, "Rejoice, O baron, for you uh 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 bond woman and her son. For the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free. Paul begins to contrast the grace of God once again with the law of Moses. And he does so by reminding them of an Old Testament story, a story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. And what he's doing is he's presenting to them the fact that God's plan of redemption has always been one of grace. So he speaks in verse 22, it is written. Now notice how he begins how he's going to explain this and share with them how grace and law contrast and the purpose of and all of those things. He begins by pointing to scripture and he points to the life of Abram, also called Abraham in the Old Testament. His name is first Abram and he becomes Abraham and his life is generally uh covered in Genesis chapters 12-2. When you read those chapters, you see his call, you see his covenant with God. You see the birth of his sons and all of that. So let me give you some background to develop this so that the point can be made. Abraham lived around 2,000 years before Christ and Moses lived around 1,400 years BC. So the law came hundreds of years after God had established his work with Abraham. And Paul's already been mentioning that and sharing that with them. Abraham is recognized as the father of the Jews and Judaism. In Genesis 12, let me read to you verses 1-3. It says, "The Lord said to Abram, get out of your country, from your family, from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. So Paul is emphasizing salvation by grace through faith. How was Abraham saved? That's something he is clearly pointing out in Romans 4:3. He asked the question, what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God. It was accounted to him for righteousness. So Paul is demonstrating that keeping the law did not and would not justify you. The law came after Abraham, but he's called righteous. How did that happen? And so that's what he's building and contrasting. He says in verse 22, it's written that Abraham had two sons. The two sons that are being spoken of here are going to be Isaac and uh Ishmamail. Abraham's first son was named Ishmael. Ishmael is literally translated God hears or God will hear. Ishmael was a son of Sarai's maidservant, an Egyptian slave by the name of Hagar. Now, Hagar is especially mentioned in Genesis 16:es 1-4 and:es 15 and 16 for those who take notes. Now, he went on to later have a second son. The second son's name was Isaac. Isaac means laughter. And so, he's now contrasting something. He's going to contrast the way that the children were conceived. In verse 23, it says, "He who was of the bond woman was born according to the flesh, he of the free woman through promise." So he begins to contrast. He wants to point out that Ishmael's conception was really according to the flesh. How did that happen? There's a reason for it. It grew out of the fact, and this is an interesting thing to see, this conception by the flesh actually grew out of the fact that Abraham was especially blessed by God. He was especially and exceedingly blessed. And his blessings that he had received had created a concern. Who's going to inherit my estate? In Genesis 15:es 1-4, it says, "The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision." Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. But Abram said, "Oh Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate as Eleazar of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You've given me no children." So a servant in my household will be my heir. The word of the Lord came to him. This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir. Well, that resulted in him having a child through Sarai's maidervant, Hagar. That was a fleshly attempt to fulfill the promise of God to him. He tried to do it on his own. And part of the way it occurred was actually through the insistence of his wife Sarai. In chapter 16 of Genesis:es 1-4, it says, "Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidervant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, see now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please go into my maid. Perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram, to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt 10 years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. She began to disrespect and treat Sarai with contempt is what had happened. She got what she wanted. A child was born to Hagar. But she got angry over it because in Genesis 16 verse 5, Sarai said to Abram, "My wrong be upon you. I gave my maid into your embrace." And when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me. I don't now. Wait a minute, baby. I didn't ask for her. I didn't say I wanted to be with her. You're the one who told me. Now, she's good-looking. But that's neither here nor there. It What do you mean? What do you mean I'm at fault? You said take my handmaidaiden. I married her. She became a concubine. We had a child and now it's my fault. You wanted something so bad and I yielded to it without without faith in God the way it should have been. We'll see that in a moment. But now you're blaming you're blaming me for all of this. Now I want to develop something for just a second. At least at least touch it for a minute. That gave me some insight into Sarai. Sarai was obviously a very strong woman. I mean the way she spoke to her husband and the way he listened shows that he had tremendous devotion to this woman as well as an openness to want to please her and all. She was very strong in that way. But she was also hottempered. She's the one who had insisted that he take Hagar as a second wife and now she's blaming him for what she encouraged him to do. So in Genesis 16:6, Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed, your mate is in your hand. Do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. So it gives us some insight into Sarai. There are those who translate the name Sarai. You might want to take note of this. Dominator. Yeah. She was uh Hagar was Sarai's handmaidaden even though she was also Abram's concubine. And that's why Abram told her, "Deal with her as you please." The Bible tells us that she mistreated and humbled her. She reduced her. How'd she do that? Some think that she may have been extremely harsh. Others point out that she would have reduced her to the rank of an ordinary servant. She was married to Abram, but now she's being reduced. You see, Hagar had thought she could disrespect Sarai. She found out she couldn't. So, what happens when you look at the story is Hagar runs away. She heads down to Egypt, her homeland, and she ended up near a spring in the desert just south of Jerusalem. It was there that the angel of the Lord found her. She was by a spring of water and he told her to return to Sri to submit herself under her hand. But the angel of the Lord went on to say in Genesis 16:10-12, "I will give you more descendants than you can count." The angel also said, "You're now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You're to name him Ishmael," which means God hears. For the Lord has heard your cry of distress. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey. He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all of his relatives. You may find it interesting that Ishmael is the father of the Arab nations. In Genesis 16:16, it tells us that Abram was 86 years old when Hagar or Ishmael to him. So verse 23 tells us that Ishmael was born according [music] to the flesh. In other words, his birth was a result of fleshly desire that was accomplished by fleshly means. I was thinking about this when I was preparing and I made a note to myself. Be careful what you ask for. you just might get it. And that's what happened here. And Paul's spirit as he's speaking here reminds me of what he said in chapter 3:3 when he asked the question of the Galatians. Are you so foolish having begun in the spirit? Are you now being made perfect by the flesh? So you have Ishmael, a son of the flesh, but you also have Isaac, the son of promise. You see, the spirit miraculously enabled Sarah to conceive Abraham's child, Isaac. Genesis 17 records how the Lord appeared to Abram and spoke to him. It says in Genesis 17:2, "I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly." And Abram was 99 years old when this happened. Let that sink into your head for a minute. 99 years old. God changed his name from Abram. One of the translates translators say that Abram could be translated high father. The name Abraham is father of many nations. And God said he would establish his covenant between them for all future generations. In Genesis 17:8, I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger. All the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession. I will be their God. Israel belongs to the Jews. God said, I will give you the land as an everlasting possession. Well, God also changed Sarai's name. Instead of Sarai, which could be translated dominative, he changed her name to Sarah. Sarah means princess. God did a work in Sarah also. Now, he told Abraham that she would be blessed. She's going to have a son. She's going to be a mother of nations, kings, and peoples would be from her. And Abraham couldn't grasp what God was saying. How can this be? So in Genesis 17:18, Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before you." And God said, "No, Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him." Remember when God had announced that that Sarah was going to become pregnant, that Sarah was listening through the tent when the Lord was speaking to Abram and he said, "This time next year, she's going to have a child." And she said within herself, "Shall I have pleasure in my later years?" And she laughed. And God said to her, "Why did you laugh?" And I've always found that an interesting, even humorous kind of picture because she's behind the the veil of the tent there. And God is speaking to her and he it's as if she's just standing right in front of him. And he says, "Why did you laugh?" And she says, "I didn't laugh." "Oh, yes, you did. I heard you laugh." And you're going to have this child and you're going to name him Isaac. laughter. You will never forget [clears throat] your laugh of unbelief. And you didn't believe I would do what I said. The son of promise is going to give you joy in your older age, but you laughed in unbelief. And every time she would call Isaac, she'd be reminded in a way of how good God has been to keep his promise. She was an older woman. How's this going to take place? Genesis 21:5 says, "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." Abraham and Sarah were overwhelmed at the promise. In Genesis 18:14, the question was asked, "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" At the appointed time, I'll return to you in about a year and Sarah will have a son in your old age. You know, here in the church when we do a premarital counseling, we have a little form that people fill out that gives us information, background information, and there are various things that are asked in the form so that our counselors can have uh some understanding of their future plans and all. And one of the questions is asked that is asked is, "Do you plan on having children?" And we had a couple here that were in their late 70s. We gave them we gave them the application. Do you plan on having children? The guy's in his late 70s. And his answer I've never forgotten. He says, "Well, if it happens, it happens." The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11 and 12, "Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, innumerable as the sand, which is by the seashore. So, he's speaking concerning this. He's teaching them concerning this and says to them very clearly verse 24 which things are symbolic for these are the two covenants the one for Mount Si which is the law which gives birth to bondage which is Hagar for this Hagar is Mount Si in Arabia corresponding to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children. Hagar represents Mount Si where Moses got the law which birthed the bondage. Symbolically he's saying Ishmael represents religious self-effort. He represents the covenant of the law. A law that is to be followed and it produces a works kind of righteousness. So Ishmael represents the way of the flesh, a man's way of salvation. But on the other hand, Isaac symbolizes the way of God, the way of grace, the way of promise. He represents God's grace which makes the way for us to please God. So the point of this contrast is to exalt grace, the grace of God in salvation. Legalists will draw people into a system that they can rely on for salvation. If they eat certain foods, if they resist eating other kinds of foods, if they worship on certain days, wear certain kinds of clothes, knock on certain doors, all of this is going to open up salvation. They It's a works righteousness. They're going to earn their own salvation. Paul is saying it's the grace of God that makes it possible for you to be saved. It's not the result of your serious, sincere, or concerted efforts to be saved. It's the work that Christ did for you on the cross. And you don't you cannot earn your salvation. That is so basic. But these people who are coming in who are saying, "No, you have to keep certain things in the law. You need to be circumcised." He's saying, "No, they're undermining and perverting the grace of God." Jesus did that on your behalf. Notice verse 26. Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. When he says, "The Jerusalem above is free," he's speaking of heaven. It's our home which we enter in by faith by the grace of God. Jerusalem above. Hebrews 12:22 says, "You have come to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly." In Philippians 3:20, our citizenship is in heaven. We eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. So he's saying, "The Jerusalem of us free. We go to heaven through the grace of God. It's written, rejoice, O baron, you who do not bear. break forth and shout, you who are not in labor. The desolate has many more children than she who has a husband. This actually is Isaiah 54:1. It's applied originally to the Jewish exiles who had been in Babylon, but Paul applies it to Sarah. He's saying, "Rejoice because God has made good on his promise." Because God always does. There isn't a promise God has ever given that he will not keep. Never been a promise God has given that he will not keep. Keep that in mind. One of the things I've seen, and I'll make this quick, is sometimes when we don't see the Lord act as quickly as we'd like him to, we think he's not going to at all. And there's a very basic thing I learned very early in my walk, and I'll share it with you really quickly now. When it comes to God answering prayers, there's a variety of things that I could build on this. And I want to just say this. Sometimes when you're asking your prayer, sometimes the answer you get is no. And sometimes the answer you get is yes. And then sometimes the answer you get is wait. Wait. Wait on the Lord. Those who wait on him renew their strength. those to learn to wait on the Lord, discover things that you wouldn't have learned had he acted immediately. There are many lessons, as a matter of fact, many very important lessons I've learned as a Christian over the years that I followed the Lord. And one of the things I've learned to do, and it's not always easy, is to wait because he always his plans for us are good. He's never done something to me that was intended to harm me. He has kept things from me that I shouldn't have had, that I desired so much. And he's given to me things I would never have imagined and would never have necessarily thought would be mine. When I met my girl who became my wife, I used to be one of these very anxious to get married young men. I knew I wasn't going to remain unmarried and therefore I wanted to kind of hurry God's hand along and I wanted to get married. When I first got saved, I had heard that if Jesus said it, if you ask anything in my name, I'll do it. So, I started claiming girls in the Bible study. Not a lot of them. One here, one there. in Jesus name. Get thee behind me, Satan. You lion serpent, she's mine. And it didn't work. Finally, couple years into my walk with the Lord, finally I that's when I had said to the Lord, I want to be like Adam because you put him to sleep and then brought the woman. My plan for my wife was that she was going to be a little blonde surfer with bright blue eyes. And God brought this toasty little girl [laughter] into my life. My plans for myself were not the right ones. His plans were perfect. He brought the perfect one for me. The right one. Just wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. He is so good [applause] because his plans are always the best. And so the point he's making and I'll wrap this up with a couple of thoughts is that we owe our spiritual rebirth to the grace of God and not by our works. It it says in uh in verse 28 that we are actually brethren uh brethren. He says as Isaac was we are we are the children of promise. Believers are conceived and we receive God's promise by faith in Christ. were born again. In other words, our spiritual rebirth is by the grace of God. It says in verse 29, uh, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who is born according to the spirit. And even so, it is now the same way. Ishmael persecuted Isaac. In Genesis 21:8-10, the child grew, was weaned. And on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had born to Abraham was mocking. She said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." So he would persecute. He was bothering. And this persecution incidentally continues to this day. This this this hatred for the Jews continues to this day. this anti-semitism that is on the rise here in the United States is nothing new, but it's increasing. It's a historic rise right now. And so he's pointing it out. Even so, he says in verse 9, even so it is now. There was persecution then, there's persecution now. So what does scripture say? Verse 30, cast out the bond woman and her son, for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we're not children of the bond woman, but of the free. We don't enter in by the the works of the law of Moses. The son of the bond woman will not be an heir, and they will be cast out. We are spiritual descendants of Abraham. And that comes through through the the promises. Even as as Isaac was the son of promise, we receive the promises in Romans 2:28-29. A man is not a Jew if he's only one outwardly. Nor is circumcision merely to outward and physical. A man is a Jew if he's one inwardly. Circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the spirit, not by written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God. You see, Abraham believed and was counted as righteous. And so are we. It is not keeping the law. It's faith in Christ. And he wants to emphasize this once again because these legalists are trying to take them away. They're pursuing them to take them away from the free grace of God through Jesus. Don't get entangled. We'll see that next week when he says in verse one, "Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free. Do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." Don't go back to a yoke that will keep you in slavery to rules and regulations. Learn the grace of God that will set you free in Jesus Christ. Father, we bless you and we thank you for the work of your Holy Spirit and the grace that we have through you. Even as our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed, there may be some who need to get right with the Lord right now. You may be a backslider or somebody who's never even opened your heart and said, "God, be merciful to me. I've tried and I fail. I need your help. Forgive me a sinner. Help me, Lord." If you need to get right with the Lord now and you sense the spirit tugging at your heart and you need prayer, would you ra raise your hand? Let me pray for you right where you're at right now. Father, you see these hands. You know the reason why they're going up. You know the hearts of all of these people who are raising their hand right now. In Jesus name, I pray that you would just do a work in them. Lord, may they be freed by you. May your spirit be free to work in them. Wash and cleanse them by your blood, Jesus. And and as they open their heart, Lord, fill fill their hearts with you. Fill them with you. May your spirit just work in them now. May they even sense your presence right now in a real refreshing way, Lord, and work in them from this moment on. Set them free, Lord, and may they walk in the freedom that you give. By faith, we thank you and we give you praise. Thank you, Lord. You can put your hands down. And there may be some right now who are going through an illness that you'd like prayer for. Would you raise your hand and let me pray for you? Lord, you see these hands. You're the healer. We're only asking. I would ask in Jesus' name that you would reach down and touch these whose hands are raised. and that Lord you would bring healing to their bodies. And we think of some we know and we love that we pray on their behalf that you would touch them. May your Holy Spirit move and may your Holy Spirit heal, Lord. Work to your own glory. By faith we ask, by faith we would receive, but we trust your will. And we know your will is good towards us. Therefore, we ask that you would move, Lord, in this way. And we bless you. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. You can put your hands down. And father, we're about to leave and we ask that you would just go with us in Jesus name. Amen.