Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• What is the difference between a believer who rests in Christ and one who returns to the law?
• A return to the law:
• It Is to look to yourself and not to Christ
• It leads to spiritual pride and a hardening of the heart/spirit
• It leads to pretense
• It leads to disquiet and trouble in the soul
• Resting in Christ:
• No confidence in himself
• Humility
• Recognising it is all of grace
• A gracious spirit
• Learns to be honest in his sin before God
• Finds confidence in God
• Has peace with God
• What is our tendency? - in Christ or in the keeping of the law
• Let us be clear - we are not without law
• Gal 6:2
• Jesus did not come to abolish the law
• Jesus fulfilled the law entirely
• However, it is the spirit of the law - example
• The law is not a means of justification - only trusting in Jesus' work
• Paul uses different words for one who is under the law vs under grace
• Examples
• A message of law and grace - two covenants:
• The Covenant of law - at Sinai, Hagar, a slave woman
• The Covenant of grace - Jerusalem, Sarah, the promise
• Notice the apostle makes a distinction between 'we' and 'you' - cf v21 & 28, cf 5:3 & 5:4
• Which category are we in?
• Overview:
• Analogy of the Two Mothers (v21-26)
• Analogy of the Barren woman who rejoices (v27-28)
• Analogy of the Two Sons (v29-31)

Analogy of the Two Mothers (v21-26)

• Why Abraham and not Moses?
• The 'law' - the Pentateuch
• Let us go back to the beginning
• Overview of the story of Abraham
• He awaited the fulfillment of promises
• He did not wait for the fulfillment of the son of promise - explanation
• Ishmael - the son of a slave woman
• Isaac - the son of promise
• The two mothers are symbolic of the Covenant of the Law and Grace
• The Covenant of the Law was a bondage (v23-24)
• The people of God were meant to live on promise and not on law
• The vast majority of God's people (the Jews) were legalists
• They were more like children of Ishmael that children of Isaac
• They were children of bondage and not of promise
• Example of the pharisees
• The Covenant of Grace (v26)
• Born from above
• To do with the grace of God
• Rom 4:1-5
• Those like Abraham who have believed
• Received by faith alone
• Rom 11:6
• Gal 2:16
• The work is in Christ
• Application:
• 5:1 - stand fast and free in Christ
• Example of Mr Burden vs Mr Freeman

Analogy of the Barren woman who rejoices (v27-28)

• Think of Sarah - explanation
• Isaiah 54:1
• A promise of the Gentiles coming into the nation
• We [as believers] are children of promise (v28)
• This should give us great encouragement
• There were no converts before Paul came to Galatia
• God has a people 
• Great joy comes as a result

Analogy of the Two Sons (v29-31)

• Consider Ishmael vs Isaac
• Backbiting and fighting
• Paul saw this as symbolic
• Consider the 'religious' - explanation
• Throughout the centuries have often been the greatest enemy of the Church of Jesus Christ
• Why?
• Blindness
• Persecution
• Quote from Spurgeon
• The legalistic, self-righteous man
• Separation
• Hagar and Ishmael are cast out (v30)
• Those who are legalistic and those who persecute - must be separated
• Jesus Christ will cast them out at the final judgment
• The Church of Jesus Christ cannot believe in works
• Children of Isaac - the free woman
• "Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free" - 5:1

Closing Remarks

• Reading Heb 12:18-24
• As believers we have come to and are under the grace of Jesus
• Part of a worldwide church
• May we ever say we are a debtor to mercy alone