Good morning, Amboy Baptist. Well, it's another Sunday apart, but as I have heard it said, farther apart, closer at heart, or something like that. I know you are all staying connected with each other, and I want to encourage you to keep it up. But please don't let your guard down, even though I know you are itching to do something. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 5 says, there is a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. So I guess I guess we could say this social distancing is somewhat biblical, although difficult. I also want to encourage you to participate in the weekly study with Travis and Crystal on Wednesdays at 6.30 p.m. Separately, both Travis and Crystal are awesome teachers, but put them together And it's a riot. It's a fun time with a lot of laughing and some good, insightful exploration of the Bible thrown in for good measure. So I encourage you to join in. It's really a lot of fun. Amazing things can happen when you are not on the same page with someone else. Chuck Swindoll in his book, Simple Faith, tells the story of a traveler who, between flights at an airport, bought a small package of cookies. She then sat down in a busy snack shop to glance over the newspaper. As she read her paper, she became aware of a rustling noise. Peeking above the newsprint, she was shocked to see a well-dressed man sitting across from her, helping himself to her cookies. Half angry and half embarrassed, she reached over and gently slid the package closer to her as she took out a cookie and began to munch on it. A minute or so passed before she heard some more rustling. The man had gotten another cookie. By now, there was only one left in the package. She was flabbergasted, but she didn't want to make a scene, so she said nothing. Finally, as if to add insult to injury, the man broke the remaining cookie in half, pushed one piece across the table toward her with a frown, gulped down his half, then left without even saying thank you. She just sat there, dumbfounded. Sometime later, when her flight was announced, the woman opened her handbag to get her ticket. To her shock, she discovered in her purse, her package of unopened cookies. She was the guilty party. And somewhere in that same airport, man tried to figure out how a strange woman could have been so forward and so insensitive to him. That man and that woman were not on the same page and it created a lot of a lot of confusion between the both of them. The Galatians were not on the same page with God either, which created a lot of confusion in the church. If you recall, the Judaizers had introduced the Galatians to their own legalistic version of the gospel by combining grace with the law. producing this twisted mixture of false teaching that really wasn't a gospel at all. But Paul defended the true gospel, the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, apart from keeping the law. In chapter 3, Paul reached way back into Jewish history to show that their patriarch, Abraham, was declared righteous by God, was promised to be blessed by God, because he trusted God. Paul made it clear that the law could not produce these blessings which God had promised to Abraham and to his seed. Instead, just the opposite occurred. The law brought a curse because mankind could not do it all, all the time. According to Paul, the law did have its purpose. The law made the problem of sin painfully obvious, just like a very strict guardian would do to a young child who disobeyed him. Paul explained that the purpose of the law was to reveal sin, to convict people of their hopeless and helpless spiritual condition, and to point them to Jesus, the Savior who went to the cross to pay the penalty for their sin. And if the law has done its work, led us to Christ and we have responded to God in faith, then the purpose of the law has been perfectly fulfilled and we who are in Christ are no longer under the condemnation or the custody or the control of it. We are no longer under the guardian as Paul has said. That's the essence of chapter 3. which brings us to chapter four, where Paul expounds on this idea of childhood under the guardian until reaching adulthood. So turn to Galatians chapter four, and we will begin with verse one. Galatians four, beginning with verse one. Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is the owner of everything. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. In this passage, Paul adds a little twist. to the difficult conditions experienced by a child under the custody of a guardian. If you recall from last week, the use of a guardian was a common practice of raising children by wealthy Roman families. And I bring this up because these churches in southern Galatia are in a providence of Rome. and the Galatians would be more familiar with Roman culture than Jewish culture. So Paul, just like Jesus, is using examples they can easily relate to. Paul tells us in this passage that while the child is under the custody of a guardian, The child is really no different than a slave. The child could not do anything without the permission of the guardian. The child couldn't go anywhere without the companionship of the guardian. So for all practical purposes, the child did not differ from a slave. And even though the child was the heir of the estate, and would eventually own it all in due time, the child did not get to enjoy the wealth or the privileges or the freedoms. Instead, the child was subject to the commands of the guardian, who just so happened to be a slave himself. The guardian answered to the commands of the master of the house, the father. and the child answered to the guardian. Now, according to Roman custom, the child remained in strict submission under the guardian until the father determined that the child was worthy to be considered an adult. And as a result, the child would no longer be under the authority of the guardian. And at a Roman ceremony, boys would take their toys and girls would take their dolls and offer them in a sacrifice to their gods as a symbol of putting their childhood behind them. So Paul takes this image of these new adults putting their childish things behind them, and he says, beginning in verse three, so also, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Paul explained There was a time when we were just like those young children under a guardian. There was a time when we were held in custody under the elemental things of the world, which is an interesting phrase. that word elemental has a a root meaning of row or a line of things and it's used for example to describe the letters of the alphabet in a row the abcs Paul is using the ABCs to represent an elementary principle of cause and effect, where people live under the very common religious idea that we get what we deserve. When we do good, we deserve to receive good. And when we do bad, we deserve to receive bad. This seems to be a universal philosophy that is rooted in most major religions of the world, and it ties directly to the ABCs of trying to work our way to God. trying to be approved and accepted by God through human effort and good works. So in context, the ABCs that Paul is actually referring to is legalism under the law. I like what Warren Worsby says about the ABCs. He says, it is important that a person know their ABCs. because they are foundational for understanding our English language. But the adult who sits alone in a library and recites his ABCs instead of reading the great books that is around him has a problem. And that's the point Paul is trying to make here. Under the law, they weren't going forward in their spiritual growth. Instead, they were actually going backwards, back to elementary school with the ABCs of legalistic rules and regulations and rituals. So using Paul's example in verse two, if your father has declared you worthy to be an adult with all the rights and all the privileges and the freedoms that come with it, why in the world would someone want to revert back to a childhood of ABCs under the bondage of a strict guardian? This made no sense to Paul. Then Paul goes on and explains that just like a Roman father who determined when the time was right to transition his son from childhood into adulthood, our heavenly father determined when the time was exactly right to send Jesus into a lost and dying world. Jesus was born under the law. so that he might redeem those under the law. Like everyone else, Jesus was under the same obligation to obey the law. But unlike everyone else, he satisfied the requirements of the law by living in perfect obedience to it. And because he lived in perfect obedience to it, he was able to save a lost and sinful people held in custody by the law. And for those who come to him for salvation by grace through faith alone, Jesus paved the way for their adoption into the family of God. Let's talk about adoption for a moment. In verse five, Paul says that those who are redeemed by Christ receive the adoption as sons. When you think of an adoption, what do you picture? I think for most of us, we think of a beautiful legal action where loving parents bring a baby or a young child into their family and home to love and care for that child as if it was their very own biological child. I mean, that's what I picture. Now, what Paul presents here may be difficult for us as Americans to grasp. But that phrase, adoption as sons, in this context, means something a little different than we might imagine. In this case, it means to place as an adult son. It refers to having the full rights of a mature son. I will admit that this was very confusing to me the very first time I studied this. And as a matter of fact, I had to review multiple trusted sources just to make sure I had this right. Even though I was confused because it is such a foreign concept to me This would make complete sense to the Galatian readers who understood the Roman culture So let me explain Let me explain this the best I can in the ancient Roman world generally speaking They did not adopt children because many babies unfortunately did not survive through childhood. You wouldn't go through the expensive adoption process to have a baby that might not make it into adulthood. Furthermore, you didn't know what kind of young man this baby would become. So they adopted adults, male adults in their 20s and even into the 30s. Very rarely was a female adopted. This is why when Paul talks about adoption, In this verse, he only talks about sons because adoption was done with young adult males. These males were adopted into wealthy families, families of status, families with large estates, and families of prominence. Even if they had children, even if they had sons, they still might adopt. If they had no sons, obviously they would adopt in order to have an heir. But if they had sons that the father didn't think were suited for the future of the family, they would adopt another son to be the heir. So they waited until they were in their 20s or 30s so they could see their leadership potential, their mental skills, their physical strength, and their wisdom. Again, they were looking for a man who would be worthy to be the next father of the family, to carry on the family line and take over the estate. And if you think this is just crazy talk, Here are some noted examples of men who were adopted in this way. Augustus, he was the first Roman emperor. Tiberius, the second Roman emperor. Caligula, the third emperor. And Nero, the fifth emperor. And there were others as well. Here is the point Paul is making. Based on our position in Christ, not our performance, but our position in Christ, we are adopted as adult sons of God with all the legal rights and the privileges and the freedoms that come with it. In Christ, there is no need for a guardian. We are no longer treated like slaves. And we are no longer under the condemnation, no longer under the custody, and no longer under the control of the law. But it gets better. Verse six. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God." These two verses really speak about the intimacy with our Heavenly Father, an intimacy enjoyed as a result of our adoption. Through our adoption, each Christian receives the Holy Spirit into their heart to give us new life and the assurance that we are truly in the family of God. Listen to what Paul says in Romans chapter 8, verse 14 through 16. Romans 8, 14 through 16. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. The Holy Spirit is the first blessing of our inheritance from our Father. And it's through the Spirit that we also experience a closeness with our Heavenly Father. So much so that we can cry out, Abba, Father. That word Abba comes from an Aramaic word that little children would use to speak to their fathers. In English, you might say dad or daddy or papa. It's a very intimate way of talking to our heavenly father. But here's what really speaks to me here. A slave would never refer to his master as father. Only a son or a daughter get that privilege. And doesn't that make a difference? When you are crying out, to know you are crying out to a father who knows you and loves you. verse 8. However, at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, How is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. This is an interesting passage where you can really sense Paul's frustration. In this passage, it seems that Paul has to take the Galatians back to a time before they became Christians, to remind them where they used to be when they served their false gods and practiced their own pagan version of legalism. that included useless rules and regulations and rituals that did absolutely nothing for them. For example, the Galatians had observed special days and months and seasons and years related to their Greek gods and the idols they once worshipped, like fertility gods, connected to the movements of the Sun and the Moon, gods of fire and earth and water. You name it, the Greeks had a god for it. Now Paul was not accusing the Galatians of returning back to these false gods, but he is accusing them of going back into slavery again, a different kind of slavery involving a new and improved version of the same old rules and regulations and rituals created to earn God's acceptance and approval. They fell into the same kind of legalism that was simply dressed up a little differently by the Judaizers. In this example, they traded their pagan calendar for a Mosaic calendar. And just so you know, there's nothing wrong with observing special times and dates unless you observe them in an attempt to earn God's favor. then it's just wasted time and effort. So all of this prompted a question by Paul to the Galatians. If you would not return back to the bondage of your pagan religions with all their useless rules and regulations and rituals that did nothing for you, then why go back into the bondage of legalism under the law, which cannot produce life, or righteousness, or freedom, or intimacy with God? Why trade one form of legalism for another form of legalism? When you can enjoy an intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father, who really knows you and in spite of you still loves you and already has accepted you in Christ. This is what Paul struggled with. When the Judaizers led the Galatians back under the law, They were leading them backwards into an empty religious bondage all over again. And they would miss out on a relationship with their loving Heavenly Father. I want to close with a familiar story told by Jesus that I think sums up our entire passage this morning. So turn with me to Luke chapter 15, beginning with verse 11. Luke 15, verse 11. This is a real common story, you'll know it. Verse 11, and he said, a man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me. So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country. And there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now, when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into the fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating. And no one was giving him anything. But when he came to his senses, he said, How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger? I will get up and go to my father and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired men. Did you catch that? The son is verbalizing what the Galatians are believing. I will agree to be a hired servant and work for you. I have given up on the possibility of ever being your son again. Under the law, the Galatians were in essence saying the same thing by accepting this twisted version of a legalistic gospel. Make me as one of your hired men. And you know the rest of the story. The father saw the young son from a distance and ran out to embrace him. Yes, the son had failed his father greatly, but the father stopped his son in his tracks and didn't even let him finish his words of offering to be a hired servant. This father didn't want a hired servant. He simply wanted his son. He just wanted to forgive him and love him, something the law could never do. So why go back there? That's Paul's question to the Galatians. I know I threw a lot at you this morning, and that wasn't my intent. But I want to say just a little more, so just bear with me. What does your Heavenly Father want from you? What does He want? He wants all of you so much so that it was God who took the initiative to send the Savior to draw you to himself and to bring you into his family. He did that, not you. God knew all about you. And I mean everything, every action and every thought, everything, past, present and future. And still, God took the initiative to adopt you as his own in Christ. He just wants you, all of you. And for those who think they have to do something to earn God's favor or impress Him somehow, tell me, how do you impress a God who simply spoke the universe into existence? How do you do that? You can't. It's not about what you do. He just wants you. And one more thing, it's so easy to forget who we are in Christ, to lose sight of our identity. The Galatians had lost sight of their true identity in Christ. The prodigal son had to be reminded who he was. As a believer, You are not an outsider looking in. You are not a hired servant. You are a child of your Heavenly Father. This is your permanent identity in Christ. It can never be forsaken, taken away, or changed. This is who you are at home. This is who you are at work. This is who you are at school. This is who you are in your relationships. And this is even who you are in your failures. There is no condemnation of those who are in Christ. And instead of saying, make me your hired servant when you fail, You can cry out, Abba, Father, I have failed. And your heavenly Father immediately surrounds you in his love and forgiveness, and he stands you up, and he dusts you off, and you continue to walk by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as his son or daughter. because that is who you are in Christ. Let us pray. Father, I thank you for the truth of your word. Father, I admit so many times I've just forgotten. I've forgotten who you are. And I have forgotten who I am in Christ. Father, thank you for reminding me. Thank you for Jesus. I thank you, Father, that he redeemed us. Father, when we lose sight, when we get confused, Father, I pray that you would just draw us closer to you. Even in the chaos, Father, what's going on around us with the COVID-19 and the social distancing, and we can't be in church, and sometimes we can just forget that we are your people. This is your church. Father, remind us of that. I thank you for Jesus. I thank you for your mercy. I thank you for your forgiveness. I thank you for your patience. I thank you for your love. Help us to be your people. Help us to live in the truth that we are children of God. Thank you, Father. May you be honored and glorified in us. In Jesus name.