Well, good morning to everyone. Once more, we are in Galatians and chapter four. I'd like to turn here for a moment. I'd like to begin by asking you a question. If someone says to you, I believe the Bible, what does that tell you about them? Just think about it. You don't have to figure it out, but what does that tell you about them? Would it necessarily follow that they are Christians if they say, I believe the Bible? The fact is, is that it doesn't really tell you very much at all. In other words, you could have a false Jehovah's Witness. They would tell you that they believe the Bible. You could have a Mormon, and they would tell you that they believe the Bible. There are many false Witnesses, false gospels, false religions that would tell you that they believe the Bible, but that is actually meaningless. You know, really, I suppose a better question we might come back with is, but do you believe the gospel? But then the question is, what is the gospel? We have a number of tracts out here, and some that I highly recommend is the question, what is the gospel? by Greg Gilbert, and also, who is Jesus Christ? So what is the gospel might tell you a little more, that you might learn more about that person if you ask that question, what is the gospel? But perhaps even more if you ask them, who is Jesus Christ? Or if you were to ask them, how can I be right with God? How can I be right with God? In fact, you actually need a conversation, right? If you want to know where a person is coming from, because it is so easy to be deceived. Now, the fact is, is that the Galatians were on the verge of deception. They were on the edge even of apostasy because Paul had planted this church. He had preached the gospel. They had believed the gospel. He had had sweet fellowship with them. They had ministered to him in his need and bodily. weakness, he was convalescing because of probably some sort of eye issue that he refers to, that they would even, if they could have, they would have pulled out, gouged out their own eyes and given them to him, if they could have. That's the kind of love they had for him as the person who came and preached the gospel to them. And after those churches were established in the province of Galatia, then Paul learns sometime later, soon after, in fact, that there were these Jews from Jerusalem who had followed him into Galatia. And they were visiting these churches. And they were saying to these young Christians that it's really not enough to believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Lord, the Messiah. His obedience to God's law and his substitutionary death is not sufficient for your justification. So they believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They believe he had died for their sins. But, hey, they said that his obedience to God, his righteousness, his active righteousness, to the law of God, that he kept it perfectly, and his substitutionary death in which he took our sins upon himself and endured the wrath of God on our behalf, that that was not sufficient for our salvation, for our justification. They said you also have to be circumcised, and you have to keep the law. And that was false gospel. It doesn't matter how many things they had right about who Jesus is, or what they may have believed about him that was correct, they had added something to the gospel that made them false teacher. In fact, they're called Judaizers. Paul coins this term back in chapter two and verse 14 He's rebuking Peter, and at the end of verse 14, he says, if you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? The verb here is perhaps one that Paul created, which is live like a Jew. And that's for that reason. word that sounds like Judaizer. And that's why Paul calls them the Judaizers. They were preaching this false gospel. Well, consequently, Paul has written this letter to try to rescue the brothers and sisters that are there out of the hands of these false teachers. He is He is shocked and stunned that the church should be suddenly moved away from the one who called them, from Christ himself, to a different gospel, another gospel, which he says in chapter 1, verses 10 and 11, he says, which is not another. It's another gospel, but it is another of a different kind. It is not the same gospel. So he is feverishly, energetically, earnestly making an argument for clinging and holding fast to the true gospel. And that is the message of the book of Galatians. These false teachers, they understood a lot about the Old Testament. They probably had tremendous parts of the law, the Torah, Psalms, the prophets. They had probably much of it memorized. And to hear them talk about it was impressive. And to see all the ways that they kept the law, all their rituals, and how they practiced that also was very impressive. but their gospel was false. And so Paul, in the end of chapter four, verses 21 through 31, he is going to use the law to prove that these Judaizers should not be tolerated. In fact, they should be cast out, that the freedom of forgiveness in Christ that the gospel bring is to be maintained in the church. And they're not to be driven away from the freedom of the gospel by these Judaizers who wanna make them slaves again to keeping the law. Yes, believe in Jesus, but you also gotta keep the rituals. You've gotta keep the dietary laws. You've gotta keep the festivals. You've got to be circumcised. You've got to keep the laws of Moses. And that's how you stay. That's how you maintain your justification with God. That's how you gain justification with God, is by doing those things. And so instead of what Christ has done, it becomes a matter of what I do. And in fact, that is the false gospel that is pervasive in the religious world in which we live. It's so easy for us to believe it because we are inclined by our flesh to want to be self-justified. Well, that's a little introduction into what is going on here. Paul is now going to talk about law and gospel as a means of discernment. And what he's doing is he is giving us a Christological interpretation of the Bible. He is giving us an understanding of redemptive history through the lens of the gospel. You will not understand the Bible unless you understand it from the viewpoint of the gospel. And so when you hear the gospel, that who Christ is and what he has done, then it is by that vantage point that you are able to understand the Bible. If you do not understand the Bible from that vantage point, you will misunderstand and misinterpret the Scripture. So let's look at chapter 4, verses 21 through 31. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman, but the son of the slave was born according to the flesh while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically or typically, These women are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother, for it is written, Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear. Break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband. Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. So, brothers, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman. We're going to start with the story, and then Paul's interpretation of the story, and then his application of the story. So that's what we're thinking of here. the story, this historical event, events that he is referring to the story, then the interpretation of the story that he gives, and then the application of the story that he makes. So, beginning in verse 21, he says, listen, tell me, you who desire to be under the law, to be under the law, is to be under the dominion of the law, that the law is the means of our relationship with God. In other words, to be under the law as a covenant, or the covenant of works, as it were. That by keeping the law, I have a relationship, I gain a relationship with God, I maintain my relationship with God. And he says that's what who seem to be desiring because they're listening to these Judaizers. He says, tell me you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? He wants them to listen and learn from what God's word has to say, what the law says from the vantage point of the gospel, instead of reading this through the lens of the false teachers. And so he says, now, if you who want to be under the law, listen to what the law has to say. And then he's going to give us the story here. And before I read that again, I won't read it again right now, we can just remember, because most of you know the story from the book of Genesis and how in chapter 12, Abraham was called. He was called out from his people. Called out of Ur of the Chaldeans. Called out of Syria. And he was called to the land. God made the promises to him that he would have a land that he would give to him and to his offspring, and he made the promise that he would have a blessing, that he would be a blessing, that all nations of the earth would be blessed in him, and that he would have offspring, that he would have a child, a son, and that from him kings would come. And so there was the promise that was made that Abraham would receive those things, that he would receive a land and offspring, multitude of descendants that no one could number, and that he would receive the blessing of God, and that he would be a blessing. So those were the promises that were made to Abraham, but he's in the land, but the land is inhabited by the Canaanites. He's in the land, he's where he's supposed to be, but Sarah is barren, and no child seems to be on the horizon. And at some point, when Abraham is about 86 years old, Sarah comes up with the idea that, look, I'm beyond the age of childbearing. This is not going to happen. And she suggests to him something cultural. So we have history of how in ancient Near Eastern culture, if a wife was barren and could not produce an heir, that she could give one of her female slaves to her husband to bear children through her. And so she had an Egyptian slave by the name of Hagar. And she said, you take Hagar, and perhaps I will bear children through her. So Abraham went along with this. even though it was not according to the word that God had said about how he would have an heir. He had told him that it would be Sarah who would be the mother of his heir. Nevertheless, he goes along with it and Hagar gives birth to a son and his name is called Ishmael. Of course, you know anything about history and the Middle East, you know that the conflict between Ishmael and Isaac, that what was born out of this situation is what we are living with even today. So consequently, Ishmael is born, but later on, 14 years later, 13 years later, the Lord himself comes and visits Abraham. And he says, about this time next year, your wife is going to have a son. I'm going to visit her, and she's going to have a son. And so it was that when Abraham was 100 years old and when Sarah was 90 years old, even though it could not be explained by any natural means, impossible in the eyes of man, She gets pregnant. She has a child. She nurses Isaac. She names him Isaac, which means laughter. And she says, is it possible that God would make me laugh at this stage in my life, that I would bear a son and have laughter? And so she's overjoyed with this. And so 100-year-old man, a 90-year-old woman, and they have a son. It's supernatural. After Isaac is weaned, though perhaps even several years have gone by, incident takes place in their home. There's a big feast to celebrate the weaning of Isaac. And during that time, Ishmael is walking. The Bible says he was laughing at Isaac. The words that are used there imply that he was mocking Isaac, probably mocking the way that he was born, born of an old couple. He was born pretty, an old man himself, 86 years old, but nevertheless, so he's 14 years old, and Isaac has just been weaned. Of course, a brother picking on younger brother is not anything new in the world. But that's not just what this means. Apparently, he was mocking what God had done to give them a child. And consequently, Sarah goes to Abraham and she says, cast out the bond woman and her son. He will not inherit with Isaac. And of course, Abraham's very grieved over this because he loves Ishmael. And before God gave him Isaac as the child of promise, he said, oh, that Ishmael might live before you. He wanted Ishmael to be the child of promise that God was giving. And so he was his son, but God told him, he says, do not let this grieve you. I am going to make a great nation out of Ishmael. He's going to be a mighty hunter. He's become an expert with a bow, and he's going to live in the desert. But you listen to your wife in this regard. So ladies, if you've been trying to persuade your husband of something that God would reveal to him, listen to your wife. God said to him, listen to Sarah. And so he sent out, and of course it's another story, story of faith nevertheless, but it's another story of Hagar being sent out and with her child, 14 years of age, who's almost dying, how God preserves his life. But that's for another time. So that's basically the story that is told. Now, here we have Paul's interpretation of the story. And you might notice, I'll just mention a few things here. One is that verse 22 opens with, for it is written. And verse 27, for it is written. So he's quoting from, he's referring to Genesis in verse 22. In verse 27, he's adding the commentary of Isaiah 54 in verse one. to what he has said, and that kind of forms a parenthesis, an inclusio around the story that he's going to interpret. So now I've told you the story, what is the interpretation? You might notice in verse 24 he says, now this may be interpreted allegorically. This Greek word that is used here and translated allegorically actually means by analogy or by likeness. You know, an allegory does not have any historical basis. But this story has a historical basis, and Paul is going to interpret this story based on the gospel. He is going to give an understanding of this story that is both historical and redemptive. that God has given in Scripture patterns that are intentional. They are divinely ordained patterns that teach us about the gospel. And he does that throughout the law. They are shadows and types and pictures by which the gospel is foreordained. And so, Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is going to give this likeness, this analogy, to the historical story and to what it represents. You might notice also in verse 25, he says, now Hagar is Mount Sinai. The idea here is Hagar represents Mount Sinai. He says also in the next part of verse 25, she corresponds. There you have the idea. So he's going to take this story and he's going to explain what it represents. And believe me, this is going to be a shock to these Judaizers if they heard what Paul wrote to the Galatians in order to protect them. He's going to give an interpretation. So first of all, you have two births. You have the birth of Ishmael and the birth of Isaac. but the birth of these two boys is entirely different. They both have the same father. They are both children of Abraham, but they are very different. In fact, if you look back chapter three for a moment, in verse six, he's telling us how Abraham was saved and He's been explaining how they were saved in these first few verses of chapter 3, and they are saved, verse 6, just as Abraham. They're saved just as Abraham. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. He says, know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. So just because a person had Abraham as a father does not mean that they are a son of Abraham in the spiritual sense. Ishmael had Abraham as a father, but he was not the child of promise. He was not a child in the faith. And so this is what he's saying here. So you have two sons. And you have two births in verse 23, but the son of the slave was born according to the flesh. So, you may remember that although this was culturally approved, it obviously was not divinely approved plan that Sarah had to have a child by her female slave. And so Hagar had the child, but this was not something that God approved. It was a fleshly, carnal plan to try to accomplish what they didn't think God was going to do. And patience was growing thin and they were getting older. And so Ishmael is, verse 22, The son of a slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman, Isaac, was born through promise. God had spoken the word. I'm going to give you offspring. He has spoken the word to him about this time next year, Sarah will have a son. He had given his word concerning these things. And so he was born based on the word of God that can accomplish anything. whereas Ishmael was born according to the flesh and the will of man, the will of a father. So you have two sons, you have two births, and the two moms, Paul says, are representative of two different covenants. The covenant of works and the covenant of grace. Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. And the Covenant of Works can be captured, it was there in the garden where Adam was given the obligation to perpetual obedience, perfect perpetual obedience that he was to keep, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the Covenant of Works is present in the law Leviticus 18 verse 5 or 6 where it says, do this and you will live. Whoever does these things will live by them. So that is the covenant of works. The covenant of grace also we find immediately after the fall of man, the promises that are made to Eve and to Adam in Genesis 3 and verse 15 when he says that The seed of the woman is going to crush the seed of the serpent. And this promise is made here. And so Adam and Eve are looking for a child that will be born that will undo the curse that they've come under because of sin, because of the fall. In fact, when Cain is born, she says, I have gotten a man. She's wondering, is this the one? It's not. He was not the one. Right? He was actually of that evil one. And he killed his brother. And you know the story there. And you see this seed of the woman versus the seed of the serpent. See that being played out now in these two births. And these two women are two covenants. One is the covenant of grace, which is the gospel. that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And if you look back at chapter two, you just read a little bit here. Let me pick up at verse 16. Paul says, again, it's part of his rebuke to Peter, Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ, not by works of the law, because by works of the law, no one will be justified. Now here he's saying there that Salvation is not by works. In other words, it is not by the covenant of works, whereby you earn salvation by the works that you do. But salvation is by faith that is trusting in the finished work of Christ, so that what Christ has done is sufficient. and you're saved by trusting in him, that he died for you. He took your punishment, that he is your righteousness. His obedience counts as your righteousness before God. Just so important that we understand that. Coming back over to chapter 4, we have two sons, two births, and the two covenants. And I'll read at verse 24 again. Now that this may be interpreted typically, allegorically, these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, right, where the law was given, bearing children for slavery. She is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem, where she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free and she is our mother. And so Sarah represents this heavenly Jerusalem that is above. And she and her children are born into freedom. And so if you notice here, you have the two covenants. The women represent the two covenants, the covenant of works versus the covenant of grace. You have two conditions. that are the result of those covenants. Under the covenant of works, we have become the slaves of sin, the servants of sin. We have become damned because of sin, condemned, ruined under the covenant of works. And under the covenant of grace, there is freedom, there is forgiveness, there is reception, there is abundance of pardon that is given in Christ. So you have two covenants, the two conditions of slavery, Or free. And you have two cities. This is part of his interpretation. You have two cities. The Jerusalem that is present, where they're teaching the law as a means of gospel. They're teaching the law as gospel. That you get to God by keeping the law. And the Jerusalem that is above, where Paul is thinking of the kingdom of God, that we enter into the kingdom of God by the grace of his forgiveness, that he bestows on us freely, and that it is without price, and it is undeserved, and it is without merit. In fact, if you keep your place here and turn over to Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12, Let me read a passage to you. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 18. He says to them concerning their reception before God. How did you get into God's fellowship? How did you get justification? For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice, a voice whose words may the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. for they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. He's describing Mount Sinai and the giving of the law and the fearfulness of it, the bondage of it. Verse 22, but you have come to Mount Zion to the city of the living God, what the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, the triumphant church, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. The blood of Christ that whispers peace to us. Peace to you who are far off. Peace to you who are near. The blood of Christ speaks peace to us because he has taken God's wrath upon himself. He accomplishes reconciliation. So you can see here in this passage how he describes This heavenly Jerusalem. So you have these two cities. One is the kingdom of this world. It is this world's religion. It is one of self-justification. He's already told them that the law was intended to bring them to Christ, that as the law teaches us about our sin, it is to bring us to that place where we lose all hope in ourselves, that I am such a sinner. So the law says that I have to obey God's laws perfectly in thought and in word and in deed. That's what the law demands. And the intention in giving the law, Paul teaches us in Galatians, was so that we would understand that we are so sinful, we cannot be saved by means of the law. We cannot save ourselves because I have sinned so much. If I have not done it in deed, I've done it in word. And if I haven't done it in word and deed, I've done it in thought. Paul says that that's how he came to understand his sinfulness, because the law said, you shall not covet. In other words, you shall not desire sinful things. And so even if he hadn't done sinful things, he wanted to do sinful things. And so he was under the condemnation of the law. So that was God's purpose in the law. And it was intended to be a means of giving us an understanding of our need for Christ, who obeyed the law perfectly, perpetually, completely, who satisfied the justice of God, who endured the wrath of God for our sins, who alone is our salvation. Christ has done it, not me. And so that's what he's saying to them here. He's saying these two cities are representative of the law and the gospel. And then he gives the quote from Isaiah 54. Two kinds of children here. Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear. Break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband. In other words, the covenant of grace, the new, the heavenly Jerusalem, gives birth to spiritual children. The law only in slaves gives birth to children in slavery, in bondage, under the weight of guilt, under damnation, under wrath. And so he says that the one who doesn't bear the physical children but bears the spiritual children actually bears more. And he says the Jerusalem above, that is our mother, the message of the gospel. Spiritual children versus biological children. Doesn't matter if you can say Abraham's my father physically. What matters is have you believed the gospel. Because that's the only way you can be of the faith of Abraham. A child of promise that was made to Abraham. So you have the story, the interpretation of the story, and then finally the application of the story. Verse 28. Now you brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. He's talking to Jews and Gentiles. He says, you are children of promise. In other words, They have a supernatural birth. They were not born of the flesh. They were born of the Spirit. They were born again. The Christian is born supernaturally. Isaac was born supernaturally. And when we are born again, we are not born by the will of man. We are not born by the will of the flesh. We are born by the will of God. from above. It is God's powerful work by which he makes us the children of God. He adopts us into his family. We are called the sons of God. And because of the promises made to Abraham, of the blessings that he would be and would give, that through him would come the gospel, through his offspring, who is Christ. He says, so likewise, like Isaac, you are children of promise. But the conflict, just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh, Ishmael, persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, so it is now. You know, the enmity that was between, God announced and placed between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, Genesis 3.15. The hostility that was there. It was there between Cain and Abel. Cain hated Abel. That was the hostility that was there. It was the flesh versus the spirit. It was between Esau and Jacob, right? And it's between Isaac and Ishmael as well. Now he says to the Galatians, let me tell you, that these people are not your friends who are trying to talk you into seeking the law and works righteousness as a means of salvation, as a means of being right with God. They are actually persecuting you. They are telling you things that are not true. These are lies that they are saying to you. They are seeking to take away the freedom that you have in Christ. They are trying to steal from you the assurance of being forgiven completely and totally. They are seeking to put you in bondage again. And this is the word of the flesh, the word of the serpent over against the promises of God. So he says to them, now you brothers like Isaac are children of promise, but just at that time, he who was born of the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the spirit, so it is now. But what does the scripture say? And these are actually Sarah's words. Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. So brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. Chapter five, for freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of bondage. So there are many religions and sects and they actually mock the gospel. Because they add something to it, or they deny some portion of it. They either deny the person of Christ, or the work of Christ. But they in some way are mocking the gospel. These Judaizers were mocking the promises of God given to Abraham. They were mocking the gospel promises. Paul says here is that those who are of a self-justifying belief cannot be part of the family of God. You cannot allow these individuals to come into the church. You cannot allow these persons to manipulate you, to become teachers and rulers over you. You have to reject them. Take your stand with the gospel and the freedom that you have in Christ. Because these self-justifying individuals must not be part of the fellowship of those who embrace the true gospel. And so all rivals to the gospel enslave people in some way. All rivals to the gospel enslave people in some way. I'm just gonna mention some. Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, False Jehovah's Witnesses. Animism. You may not see too much of that here, but all throughout the world, people worship spirits. Humanism. It's confidence in self, right? Belief in man and his potential. That's the opposite of faith in God. Atheism, which may be combined with humanism. Hedonism. I got no, I'm a nun, right? I'm a nun, one of those who fills out nun. I just live for the day. I live for the pleasure. Yes, yes. And you also are condemned as someone who thinks that by your own ways, you're going to be fine. The fact is that you're damned. Only the gospel can save. These are all rivals to the gospel. They worship the idol of self instead of the true God. God is calling us, through Paul here, to hold fast to the gospel. Because the law, through the law, there is slavery. You'll always be haunted with, have I done enough? You think that you can be justified by the law. You're always going to be asked, if you're asking that question, it shows that you need to learn the gospel better, right? You need to study the gospel more, because otherwise you're going to be constantly asking, Have I done enough? You will be riddled with guilt and shame, or you may have pride, right? I'm doing so well. You'll be comparing yourself with other people. You'll be angry with those who don't seem to be doing so well. That's the kind of life that the law produces, and it is a life of slavery. The gospel produces freedom. Christ did it all. Christ died for me. He rose again. Christ accomplished it all. There's nothing more that I can add to what Christ has done. In Him, I have forgiveness. In Him, I have acceptance. In Him, I am given humility because I recognize that everything I have comes from Him. Because I have Christ, he has now, through his Spirit, given me desire to live for him. It doesn't mean that I live a lawless life, but rather, it's the law in Christ's hand. It's the law of Christ that is given to me as a rule and principle, and he gives a power to live by it. I'm not justified by the law, but now I have a desire to do what is right by the power of God in me through the Spirit of God. Well, may the Lord protect our church from the many false gospels. May he protect your mind, your heart, all the false ways by which we may be deceived. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.