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Continuing through Galatians we encounter a passage here which may be a little confusing to us straight away, but which preaches enormous joy to Christians:

'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: these women are two covenants. One is 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 labour!
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.' Galatians 4:21-31

An allegory

Paul's overall message from this passage is simple. Throughout the Old Testament the Jews had been trying their best to follow the law, but hadn't really been that successful. Just as if I say to you 'don't think of a hippo' the first thing you think of is a hippo, the Jews had been told not to sin but had immediately sinned, and as a result were enslaved to the law. Paul compares this to Abraham's slave girl, Hagar. Hagar's son, Ishmael, was born into slavery - that's the picture for those under the law. Abraham's other son by Sarah, however, was born out of God's grace. His name was Isaac, which means 'laughter' because of Sarah's laughter first of all in unbelief as she was barren, and secondly in joy as she found she was pregnant!

This leads us to a central theme in Scripture which Jesus told the Pharisees: the Old Testament is actually all about him (John 5:39). When we read the Old Testament it can sometimes seem hard to understand, irrelevant, and simply different to the New Testament, but the truth is that through the lens of Jesus Christ it should make perfect sense. In every passage of the Old Testament we need to ask God, 'how is Jesus shown here?' He is faithful to show us.

Slavery & freedom

So Paul's message is that we're not slaves but are free. But what does that mean? Surely Jesus himself taught against adultery, murder, and injustice? The answer's yes and no. Some people ask 'if I become a Christian, do I have to stop sleeping with my girlfriend and getting drunk?' - and the answer is 'no, you don't have to!'

WOAH. I know, I know, hear me out. The truth of Jesus is that he has already done everything. He went to the cross in our place for our sins, and has satisfied the wrath of the Father on our behalf. Therefore there's nothing we can do to become more righteous or earn God's favour, it's already been won for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Does that mean we ought to continue sinning therefore? Surely we've been given a blank cheque to sin? Paul asked the same question in Romans 6:1 and answered himself immediately: 'By no means!' The truth is that as a Christian you don't have to stop sinning and start living righteously, you get to obey God. Before you were adopted into God's family you were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world and were forced to sin, you had no option but to sin. But now, you are free to stop. You are free to live a holy life, empowered by the Spirit of God. That's good news! Becoming a Christian doesn't mean we take on more rules, they are taken off us and laid on Jesus!

Jesus said that his 'yoke is easy' (Matthew 11:30). The yoke was a tool used to balance the weight of a cart between two oxen, one experienced and one young. The experienced ox would carry the weight while the young ox would be pulled along, not carrying any. Over time its strength would increase until it could bear that weight more fully - that's the Christian life down to a tee. We are becoming more and more like Christ as we willingly take on his yoke so that he carries our weight for us. What tremendous grace!

Persecution

Finally I want to look at verses 29-30, which say: '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.”' It is abundantly clear from this verse (in fact, I'm not sure how it could possibly be clearer!) that as Christians we are destined to be persecuted. So, if you're not being persecuted, I'd ask you why on earth not?! But for those who are experiencing some level of persecution, how should we respond? Paul seems to hint here that we ought to shun those who persecute us - kick them out of our churches and make sure they know that they're not welcome...but I don't think that's what he's saying at all.

Remember that the slave woman and her son are an allegory - they represent slavery to the law and not those who rely on the law. When faced by persecution we are meant to make sure that any hint of our previous slavery has been properly kicked out of our lives and churches. That means

• never focussing on a list of things we do and don't do as Christians
• eradicating sin in our personal lives through personal effort and by pursuing a friend who will keep us accountable for our own sin
• preaching a gospel of free grace and forgiveness, through words and actions
• helping the poor

Without being coarse (apologies) if we properly do these things when we are persecuted, we will be effectively kicking Satan in the nuts. Jesus' name will be glorified through our suffering. Unbelievers will be impacted, and souls will be saved. Who's in?

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

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