Galatians: Lesson 9
Overview
Heirs, Not Slaves: Freedom in Christ
"So you are no longer a slave, but a child, and if a child then also an heir through God" Galatians 4:7. A son is an heir not by virtue of accomplishments but by virtue of his birth. We cannot demand an inheritance—it is gifted. In the same way, righteousness, resurrection, and everlasting life come to us not as agents earning a wage but as beneficiaries receiving a promise. The conscience of the Christian belongs to Christ, not to the law. As Luther put it, "What is the world to him who has heaven?"
Paul illustrates this with the allegory of Hagar and Sarah Galatians 4:21–31. Hagar represents the earthly Jerusalem—Mount Sinai, the law, and the conditional promise: live perfectly and you will be blessed. Ishmael was born of the flesh, a servant, never the appointed heir. Sarah represents the Jerusalem above, the church born of the Spirit, free and eternal. Isaac, the child of promise Genesis 15:3–6, foreshadows all who are children of promise through Christ. This is why Paul lingers on justification even as he begins to address Christian conduct: every aspect of the believer's life branches from the cornerstone that we are made right with God through Christ alone. Apart from this article, Luther warns, "nothing remains except error, hypocrisy, godlessness, and idolatry."
"For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1. This freedom is not civil liberty but freedom from the wrath of God—a liberty lodged in the conscience so that we no longer live in dread. Yet Christian liberty is never a license for self-indulgence. "Through love become slaves to one another" Galatians 5:13–14. Notice the assumption embedded in "love your neighbor as yourself": when you know you are justified in Christ, you can love who Christ has made you to be, and out of that confidence, love for others naturally flows. Luther's word is fitting: "You will never lack people to whom you may do good."
The Christian life is a real wrestling match. The flesh and the Spirit war against each other Galatians 5:16–21, and no believer this side of heaven escapes the struggle with pride, covetousness, impatience, and the like. Do not despair when temptation rises—being tempted is not the same as yielding to sin without remorse. David, Peter, and Paul all sinned grievously, yet when convicted they confessed, repented, and received forgiveness. Meanwhile, the Spirit is at work, bearing fruit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" Galatians 5:22–25. Guard against known weaknesses, lean into the Spirit who dwells in you, and remember the three takeaways: you are free, forgiven, and righteous in Christ alone; you do not struggle alone, for the Spirit fights with you and for you; and "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" Galatians 6:18.
Transcript
Thank you so much for your grace. 6s
We thank you for your mercy and we thank you that, 8s
though we have done nothing and can do nothing to earn it or to 11s
deserve it. 16s
Lord, you love us and you have saved us and you forgive us. 17s
Lord, we ask that you use this time of study together, 23s
that we would know you better, that we would know you better 26s
and embrace your love even more and that we would go forth 29s
richly, richly blessed knowing that we are yours and you are 34s
ours. 40s
Lord, we lifted this to you in the name of Jesus Christ. 41s
Amen. 45s
Okay, so let's just, we gotta get going. 46s
So Galatians chapter four. 49s
Oh, Galatians, I cannot believe we're almost done. 52s
Okay, and I have so many notes so that I don't do too many 58s
tangents. 62s
Okay. 64s
We'll see. 65s
Did I hear a boop? 66s
Yes, maybe, maybe. 71s
Okay, so Galatians four verse seven. 73s
Okay, so this is, this is yet last week we had started talking 78s
about how we are airs and what that means to be, to be airs of 82s
God's and how the spirit of God is interceding for us as we're 86s
praying and praying with us and for us and that we cry out to 91s
to God calling Abba Father. 96s
So picking up in verse seven, so you are no longer a slave but a 99s
child and if a child then also an air through God. 103s
So we cannot permit the law to lie in our conscience. 108s
Our conscience belongs to Christ. 113s
Our conscience belongs to Christ. 118s
Christ is in your conscience. 123s
It is not the law. 125s
Okay. 127s
A son is an air not by virtue of accomplishments but by virtue of his 127s
birth. 133s
And I think it's very interesting that there's a lot of legal 134s
terminology in this. 138s
You know, we cannot demand that our parents or grandparents 140s
put us in their will. 146s
We cannot demand an inheritance but it is a gift given to us. 148s
Well, we are gifted the inheritance of salvation given to us by 154s
our Father. 161s
This is the way that we obtain the eternal gifts of righteousness 163s
and resurrection and everlasting life not as agents but as 170s
beneficiaries. 176s
So we receive it. 177s
Luther asks, oh yeah, I love this. 180s
Okay. 184s
Luther asks, what is the world to him who has heaven? 185s
So whoever has heaven, whoever has Christ, what is the world to 189s
that person? 194s
And he says, no wonder Paul greatly desired to depart and to be 195s
with Christ, nothing would be more welcome to us than early death knowing 199s
that it would spell the end of all our miseries in the beginning of 204s
all our happiness. 208s
Yes, if a person could perfectly believe this, he would not long 210s
remain alive. 215s
The anticipation of his joy would kill him. 216s
Not. 219s
Now I'm adding this little note. 220s
This is not promoting to go out and get to heaven quicker. 222s
Okay. 226s
So this is not promoting leaving this side of heaven before God's own 227s
timing and choosing. 232s
Okay. 234s
So I want that clear. 235s
But I think it's interesting. 237s
You know, we know so little of heaven. 240s
We know it is good. 243s
We know it will be good. 244s
We know we will be in the presence of Jesus. 245s
And we know that that is ours. 248s
And we have that promise to look forward to. 250s
But we're all kind of scared of it too. 256s
Kind of scared. 260s
And it's that unknown. 262s
But the unimaginable good that it is, if we actually knew how good 266s
and glorious it was, we'd all be trying to ditch our lives here and be in heaven. 272s
So you know, when someone is called home in the Lord, we cry. 278s
And we grieve because we miss them here. 282s
But when we think of where they are and who they are with, we know it is good. 286s
And so I say that as a word of comfort, death isn't good. 293s
We don't like death. 299s
We're anti-death. 301s
But we are pro-eternal life. 302s
And we are pro being in the presence of Jesus. 306s
That was a tangent. 310s
I'm sorry. 311s
Okay. 311s
So Paul shifts at this point from justification, which really was the bulk of his letter. 313s
And he begins addressing Christian conduct. 320s
So Paul has spent so much time on justification because the devil so often seduces people into directing attention away from Christ. 323s
And if he can direct our attention away from Christ, and if he can direct us to focusing on the law, 334s
then he's directing us to how terrible and awful we are in our sin. 342s
Which is true. 348s
But it's directing us away from the salvation that we have in Christ. 351s
And we know that any other means of justification comes to nothing. 356s
It comes to absolutely nothing. 365s
And so it leaves a person in despair and hopelessness. 366s
Paul is not opposed to the law as the law is in its proper use and function. 371s
He is not opposed to the law when it is properly used in its place and function. 378s
The law shows us who we are. 385s
We need to hear the law. 388s
If we don't hear the law, we don't realize that we need justification. 389s
We don't realize that we need a savior. 395s
So we do need to hear the law. 397s
But the law's role is to direct us to the foot of the cross. 400s
Direct us to where we receive the good news of justification. 405s
So the law is not justification for us, but it points us to where the justification is. 410s
Because we have nowhere to turn, but to Jesus. 418s
Luther says, when the article of justification is lost, nothing remains except error, 422s
hypocrisy, godlessness, and idolatry. 429s
Remember to know Jesus is truly to know God. 433s
We talked about that last week. 437s
We are to know God in Jesus. 440s
We are to know God in Jesus. 444s
So let's look at verse, chapter four, verses beginning in verse 21, 446s
and we're going to read through the first verse of chapter five. 451s
Tell me, you who desired to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? 456s
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. 461s
One, the child of the slave was born according to the flesh. 466s
The other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. 471s
Now this is an allegory. 475s
These women are two covenants. 476s
One woman, in fact, is Hegar from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. 479s
Now Hegar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem. 484s
For she is in slavery with her children. 490s
But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above. 492s
She is free, and she is our mother. 497s
For it is written, rejoice you childless one, you who bear no children, 499s
burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs. 504s
For the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the one who is married. 509s
Now you, my friends, are children of the promise like Isaac. 514s
But just as at that time, the child who was born according to the flesh, 518s
persecuted the child who was born according to the spirit, so it is now also. 522s
But what does the scripture say? 528s
Drive out the slave in her child. 530s
For the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman. 532s
So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave, but of the free woman. 537s
For freedom, Christ has set us free. 543s
Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 545s
So here we have an allegory in which Abraham is representing God. 551s
The two women represent the two covenants. 556s
The covenant that was made with Abraham as far as the Jewish, okay, so now I'm mixing it up. 559s
Okay, so the two covenants. 567s
The covenant that was made with the chosen people, the Jews, 569s
and then the covenant that was made with Abraham, which is the promised heir and the descendants that come after. 573s
Okay, so Abraham was promised an heir with Sarah. 581s
If you go to Genesis chapter 15, and we're only going to be here for a second, 586s
so if you don't want to go there and just listen, that's fine too. 591s
Chapter 15 verses 3 through 6. 594s
Let's see here. 601s
And Abraham said, he's talking to the Lord, you have given me no offspring, 602s
and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir. 607s
But the word of the Lord came to him. 610s
This man shall not be your heir. 612s
No one but your very own issue shall be your heir. 614s
He brought him outside and said, look toward heaven and count the stars 618s
if you are able to count them. 621s
Then he said to them, so shall your descendants be. 623s
And he believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. 627s
So we're going back to Galatians again here. 633s
Okay, so the promise was made, the promise was made. 635s
But God was not delivering on the promise as quickly as Abraham and Sarah wanted him to, 641s
or thought that he should. 650s
And so the flesh takes over that demand. 652s
And Sarah says, okay, I'm going to give you Haggar, my servant woman, 656s
and you're going to go ahead and have a baby with her. 661s
And so a son was born, isch-male. 664s
And as Haggar bore Abraham not an heir, but a servant, she bore one who was under the law. 667s
And so Isch-male remained under the law. 677s
He was never appointed heir. 681s
He was never appointed the same blessing that God had promised for the heir of Abraham. 684s
The promise that Isch-male received, or the promise under the law, is conditional. 694s
It is a conditional promise. 704s
Live perfectly according to the law, and you can live. 706s
Live perfectly according to the law, and you will be blessed. 711s
Sarah did bear a son for Abraham, Isaac. 716s
And Isaac was not born as a servant. 721s
He was born as a son. 724s
Isaac was the son of the promise. 729s
He was the son, the heir, that had been promised to Abraham so long ago. 732s
And so he was brought forth, and where Paul is writing about Jerusalem, 740s
he talks about an earthly Jerusalem, and he talks about how that is, the Mount Sinai, 749s
that is the people under the law, the Jewish people, and then he talks about the Jerusalem above. 755s
He is really talking about the Jerusalem of the promise, those that are born as heirs, 760s
those who have the promise, and those are the descendants that know Christ has delivered them. 768s
Those are the descendants that know Christ, that know they are sons of God, daughters of God, through Christ. 776s
Haggar was the earthly Jerusalem, the law, the temple, the ceremonies, the rights, the sacrifices, 788s
they were all the weights and the burdens of the ceremonial law. 794s
It's all the weights and the burdens of the conditional promise. 799s
And Sarah is the spiritual Jerusalem where the inhabitants are free. 804s
It's interesting because the earthly Jerusalem was destroyed, 809s
the temple was destroyed, torn down in 70 AD. 813s
The Jerusalem of above, the Jerusalem, the freedom that we have as sons and daughters of Christ, 820s
we have as the church on earth, were born of the Spirit. 828s
The church is born of the Spirit, it's eternal. 832s
The church militant is this side of heaven. 835s
The church triumphant is in eternity, in the throne of God, 839s
but it is the Jerusalem, the church that is born of the Spirit, born in that freedom. 846s
So looking again at verse 1 of chapter 5, for freedom, Christ has set us free. 853s
Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 859s
Stand firm in liberty and freedom. 865s
This does not mean civil liberty. 868s
Paul is speaking of the freedom from the wrath of God. 872s
He's speaking of the freedom of the wrath of God. 879s
Luther asks the question, where is this liberty? 882s
And he answers his own question saying in the conscience, 885s
the liberty that we live in, the freedom that we live in from the wrath of God is in our conscience, 889s
so that we don't spend our existences in despair and in hopelessness. 898s
But we know that we are saved. 908s
We know that we do not have to look forward or fear or dread the wrath of God being poured down on us, 912s
because it was poured down on Christ for us. 922s
Going on in verse, chapter 5 verses 2 and 3, listen, I, Paul, I'm telling you, 926s
if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 932s
Once again, I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 937s
Now, circumcision is not the issue. 947s
Circumcision in and of itself is not the full issue. 951s
So we don't want to get hung up on what circumcision is. 957s
We'll get lost. 962s
Luther says that circumcision is not in dress to the person who doesn't ascribe any particular importance to it, 965s
just as works don't harm provided a person doesn't attach saving value to them. 974s
So what Paul is talking about is placing trust and confidence of salvation in circumcision. 981s
The false apostles were saying that it had a salvific quality to it. 992s
And that is what Paul is saying, no, absolutely not. 1000s
And then he says, if one is deciding that obeying Moses for salvation is necessary in one point, 1005s
so, you know, okay, circumcision was necessary for salvation at one point. 1012s
But if you still follow that, then you have to concede that all points are necessary. 1017s
The entirety of the law is necessary. 1025s
And we know how well that goes. 1028s
We know how well that goes. 1031s
So, now, we're going to stop here. 1033s
And, you know, we did say that, you know, didn't Paul shift? 1036s
Wasn't he shifting away from justification? 1040s
This all seems still more like justification talk. 1044s
And yes, yes, that's true. 1048s
But this is showing how intertwined the Christian's life is with understanding where justification comes from. 1051s
Or who justifies us? 1060s
How we receive justification. 1063s
And so his reasoning for continuing in the justification, even though he's shifting to talk about the Christian conduct, 1065s
it's so vital. 1079s
It's so vital that we understand where we're branching from, how we're conducting ourselves. 1081s
It's all rooted in justification in Christ and Christ alone. 1090s
So it's absolutely key and necessary. 1094s
As our cornerstone, it's our beginning and ending point in Christianity and in life. 1097s
Remember, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega. 1103s
So going on with verses 13 and 14 in chapter 5. 1107s
Let's see here. 1115s
I've got to find it. 1116s
13 and 14. 1118s
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence. 1119s
But through love, become slaves to one another. 1127s
For the whole commandment, or the whole law is summed up in a single commandment. 1130s
You shall love your neighbor as yourselves. 1135s
Christians are not to abuse their liberty. 1141s
You cannot say, I'm free, so I'm going to do whatever I choose. 1150s
That's called anti-nomenism. 1156s
It's against the law. 1158s
And it's purposefully disobeying God because you're abusing the liberty. 1160s
Luther says, if they use their lives and possessions after their own pleasure not helping the poor, cheating in business and gaining for self through immoral ways at the detriment of the other, they are the dirty slaves of the devil. 1170s
We don't use Christian liberty for self. 1189s
We use Christian liberty, the freedom that we have to serve one another. 1194s
What that service looks like varies because we are all different people. 1204s
We are all skilled and gifted in different ways. 1211s
And so Paul condenses the law of Moses into one sentence. 1217s
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 1226s
We're going to do a tangent here really quick. 1231s
Because I think it's really important. 1233s
In this, loving your neighbor as yourself, we think about that, hearing that as, you know, think of the other, think of the other, think of the other, think of the other. 1235s
Which is right. 1244s
We do. We are called to think of the other to serve the other. 1245s
But it also says there's just a given there that you will love your neighbor as you love yourself. 1249s
If you are stuck under the weight and burden of the law and you know who you are completely unholy as sinner before the Lord, you don't love yourself. 1257s
You hate who you are because it is an enemy of God. 1274s
But if you know that you are justified in Christ and that you are made right in Christ, then you love who you are because you are who Christ has made you to be. 1285s
A free child of the loving father. 1301s
And out of this love, we serve. 1306s
There's no question of, do I love myself or not? 1312s
It is, it's a given and not in a conceited self-bloded way. 1316s
But in just the confidence of who you are in Christ. 1322s
And when you are confident of who you are in Christ, you love others. 1327s
You can't help but to love and to serve others. 1333s
Luther said, you will never lack people to whom you may do good. 1338s
The world is full of people who need your help. 1342s
Going on in verse 16, live by the spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 1346s
For what the flesh desires is opposed to the spirit and what the spirit desires is opposed to the flesh. 1355s
For these are opposed to each other to prevent you from doing what you want. 1362s
We'll come back to that. 1367s
But if you are led by the spirit, you are not subject to the law. 1368s
Now the works of the flesh are obvious, fornication, impurity, licensuousness, idolatry, sorcery, emnities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, 1372s
dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, corousing, and things like these. 1382s
That is not a comprehensive list. 1388s
I am warning you as I warned you before those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1392s
That whole preventing you from doing what you want. 1408s
That's a sticking point. 1415s
Paul addresses it also in the book of Romans, their his letter to the Romans. 1418s
I do the things I don't want to do, I don't do the things I do want to do. 1423s
It's that battle that we have as simultaneously saint and sinner. 1428s
The lust of the flesh is not completely gone from us this side of heaven. 1435s
It rises up again and again and it wrestles with the spirit. 1442s
No Christian goes through life without the wrestling match. 1448s
No Christian goes through life without the struggle with the old Adam, the old Eve. 1457s
We endeavor to walk in the spirit, we endeavor to fight against the flesh, 1468s
we endeavor to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. 1473s
The lust of the flesh, it does include carnal lust, but it's other desires as well. 1479s
It's all the desires that infect the believer, pride, hatred, covetousness, impatience. 1487s
I tell you what, studying for this and for this sermon this week, talk about a convicting week. 1495s
It's rough. 1503s
It's rough when you dig into it and you just uncover these parts of yourself. 1504s
It's the unseen lusts that are elusive or seem subjective. 1512s
I can know I'm prideful, but someone that doesn't live in my head may say, 1518s
no, no, no, she's not very prideful. 1524s
No, she doesn't. 1527s
It's unthene, but it's blatant. 1528s
That is the struggle that we all have. 1534s
Don't despair, I lost my place, don't despair when your flesh is battling the spirit. 1542s
I think that's really important to know. 1547s
It's not a matter of, well, I'm battling, I better give up. 1549s
Don't despair. 1554s
You are not alone. 1555s
Christ is the one who supplies perfect righteousness. 1557s
You do not come into this world with perfect righteousness. 1562s
You do not remain in this world with perfect righteousness. 1567s
You've been given perfect righteousness eternally through Christ. 1572s
We always hope in Christ and we lean into the spirit. 1579s
We lean into the spirit that resides in us, the spirit of God. 1585s
Luther says, guard against what you know is your weakness. 1593s
Even if you cannot completely overcome it, at least you ought to fight against it. 1597s
We're going to come back to the whole idea of the bag of Oreos. 1605s
I don't know why this is my go-to temptation, but it always is. 1608s
Maybe it sounds like it's not so bad. 1614s
I don't know. 1617s
Instead of giving in and eating the whole bag, it's probably why is there for me to be guarded 1622s
and to not buy the bag of Oreos. 1632s
If I struggle with taking the name of the Lord in vain, 1635s
and the first word to cross my lips is some sort of curse against the Lord, 1644s
then I probably should not listen to music or watch movies that have that repeatedly 1653s
because it gets ingrained. 1660s
It's one thing to be tempted by the flesh. 1664s
It's another to yield to it without remorse and continue and to continue in sin. 1667s
We all have the struggle. 1674s
We cannot guard ourselves against every single temptation or struggle that will come our way. 1676s
It'd be amazing if we could. 1684s
I don't even think we could put ourselves in bubbles and do that because we still have to deal with our thoughts. 1686s
We cannot fully guard ourselves, but we are in Christ fully. 1694s
We belong to Christ fully, and so we continue to turn to Him. 1701s
And when we do fall to temptation, we turn to Him and beg the forgiveness that we know and are promised we will receive. 1708s
We don't continue to sin to thumb our noses at God blatantly. 1720s
It's the sorry not sorry, then you're not repentant. 1727s
You're not repentant. 1734s
David committed adultery. 1738s
Peter denied Christ. 1742s
Paul persecuted the church. 1746s
When these men were made aware of their sin, they didn't persist in their sin. 1749s
They were remorseful. 1759s
They confessed their sin. 1761s
They repented. 1764s
They asked for forgiveness. 1766s
They received forgiveness. 1768s
The struggle is real. 1771s
The struggle of sin is real, but the spirit is real. 1773s
The spirit is real. 1781s
And the spirit bears fruit within the Christian. 1783s
Let's go to the fruit of the spirit. 1788s
Chapter 5 verses 22 through 24. 1790s
By contrast, the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness. 1793s
Gentleness and self-control. 1803s
There is no law against such things. 1805s
And those who belong to Christ have, Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 1808s
Now pay attention to 25. 1818s
If we live by the spirit, let us also be guided by the spirit. 1822s
If we live by the spirit, let us also be guided by the spirit. 1830s
None of us are free from temptation. 1836s
No matter what sins we struggle with, we are called to walk in the spirit and resist the flesh. 1841s
That is the Christian conduct. 1851s
We know we are justified by Christ and Christ alone. 1857s
We are called to follow the lead of the spirit. 1862s
And as we struggle in sin, as we struggle with temptation, we are called to repent of it, to confess it, 1870s
and to continue to walk in the spirit. 1882s
Where the spirit is, the spirit is working. 1888s
The spirit transforms us. 1894s
I have experienced it, I have lived it, but I have seen it in your lives as well. 1898s
That is not to say that when I came here as thinking, oh my gosh, who are these people? 1908s
No, no, no, no. 1914s
I have told a few people this before, it is the most amazing honor and humbling honor to get to see how God is working in and through you. 1918s
It is incredible. 1934s
It is incredible. 1935s
And so we know that the spirit is at work. 1939s
We see the spirit at work. 1943s
It is God's own spirit dwelling in you and powering you to live by His spirit in freedom. 1945s
We literally could go on and on and on with Galatians. 1956s
We could start this study all over again and have another nine weeks of new studies. 1962s
All out of Galatians, it is a powerful, powerful book in Scripture. 1971s
It is God's word for you. 1978s
First thing that we have to take away from this study that we've done, you are free. 1981s
You are forgiven. 1990s
You are righteous in Christ and Christ alone. 1993s
If there is nothing else that you gain from having been in this adult ed series, I would count it a victory if you walked away knowing that. 2000s
That you are saved, justified before the Father, through Christ and Christ alone. 2016s
I hope also that you are encouraged knowing that you do not struggle in temptation or sin alone. 2028s
I do not mean that we can look to the left and right and know that person is struggling too. 2038s
We already know that. 2042s
It is the spirit who wrestles with you. 2046s
It is the spirit who fights with you and for you and calls you to walk with Him. 2050s
And third, and final point, is chapter 6, verse 18. 2063s
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. 2075s