GALATIANS 4:21-312005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Galatians 4:21-31

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005. So Galatians chapter 4. Now, verse 21, Paul starts off and he says, Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? He begins to direct his comments, his arguments now to the Judaizers.

Those who are there in Galatia, in all of that region and in those churches, those who are imposing the law upon the believers, those who are saying and telling the Galatians that they must follow the law, they must keep the law beginning by being circumcised and the rest.

He begins to direct it to them now. Now, the Judaizers were familiar with the law. They were familiar with what Paul is speaking about in this portion of Scripture. They would understand the story in the background that Paul was talking about. But it might not be that clear for us. It might have been sometime since you've looked at the story of Abraham. And so what I want to do is take a quick journey through Genesis to get the background for what Paul is saying because it's very important to understand

what happened back then so that we can understand what Paul is saying to us today. And so turn with me now to the book of Genesis there at the beginning of the Bible. And let's start in Genesis chapter 12. We'll do a quick journey through Genesis and Abraham's life. Genesis chapter 12. Genesis 12, 1 through 3 says... I'll wait a second, I hear some pages turning.

Verses 1 through 3 of Genesis 12. Now the Lord said to Abraham, get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Here in Genesis chapter 12, we find the beginning. Abraham's call, he's called out. At this point, he's approximately 75 years old when God calls him out of his country. And God promises to make him a great nation. And he promises that through him, the world will be blessed. And so here we find Abraham, we find the beginning, the promise that he's going to be a great nation. At this point,

He still has no children. He's married his wife Sarah, but they do not have any children. She is barren. She's not able to have children. Now, if you jump a couple chapters over to chapter 15...

Chapter 15, we find God's covenant with Abraham, or Abram at this point. In verse 1 it says, After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. But Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus?

Then Abraham said,

And he believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness. Now, at this point, it's anywhere from five to ten years after his initial call. He's probably around the age of 80 years old at this point. Still has no children. And God says, hey, I'm going to bless you. And Abraham says, well, how are you going to do that, God? Because I don't have any children. And my servant, Eleazar, he's...

A real good servant. And so he's going to end up being my heir because I don't have any offspring. I don't have anyone to pass my heritage, to pass my family name, my fortune. I don't have anyone to carry on the name. I don't have any offspring. And so God says, no, Eleazar, your servant, he is not going to be your descendant. He's not going to be the heir. There is going to be an heir, even though, Abraham, you're 80 years old.

Even though it doesn't seem probable, and remember, Sarah is 10 years younger than Abraham, so she's 70 at this point, or roughly about that time. And as God says, you're going to have a son, it says that Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And so here we see the basis, and we'll understand that, and we know that that's why we're

Sons of Abraham when we're sons of the faith, as Paul taught us in Galatians chapter 3. But here, God promises a son. Seems impossible, seems improbable, but Abraham believes it, believes God at his word, and it's credited to him for righteousness. But, the next chapter, Genesis chapter 16. Genesis chapter 16 tells the story, probably about six years later. Abraham's 86 years old. He's been in the land for about 10 years now.

And still no son, no offspring, nothing's happened yet. And so Sarah, his wife, in fact, you can read along with me in chapter 16, verse 1. It says, Now Sarai, Abraham's wife, had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abraham, See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please go into my maid. Perhaps I shall obtain children by her.

And Abraham heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abraham's wife, took Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abraham to be his wife, after Abraham had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went into Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Then jump down to verse 15. So Hagar bore Abraham a son, and Abraham named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

Abraham was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abraham. So he's 86 years old now.

Sarai still has no children, yet that's what God promised, that she would have a son. But they decide, okay, well, let's try to do it this way, because it doesn't look like it's going to happen. So she comes up with the idea, well, why don't you take my maidservant, and I'll just kind of adopt her offspring, and she'll be ours, and that could be the heir for you. And so they do this. He marries Hagar, and she has a son.

The son they named Ishmael, and that's very important for later. And so here at 86 years old, Abraham finally has a son, his firstborn son at 86 years old. But then in Genesis 17, in Genesis 17, God changes Abraham's name to Abraham. And he does a work and begins to speak to Abraham. He changes Sarai's name to Sarah. And he tells Abraham again,

Sarah is going to have a son. Look at verses 15 through 17. Then God said to Abraham, As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her. Then I will bless her and she shall be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples shall be from her.

Verse 17, Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, Shall a child be born to a man who is 100 years old? And shall Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child? So Abraham, he's 99 years old at this point. And God promises, You're going to have a son. And he laughs. And he says, Oh man, that's crazy. That's incredible. Not mocking God, but laughing, saying, That's ridiculous. I've never heard of such a thing.

Will it really be that a hundred-year-old man will have a son? But then he goes on in verses 18 through 22, and he tries to talk God out of it.

In verse 18, he says, And Abraham said to God, Oh, that Ishmael might live before you. So Abraham now says, Okay, that's nice, God, that you said you could do that. But why don't you just take Ishmael? I mean, he's my son. And granted, he's not through Sarah, but he's my son anyways. He's my seed. He's my descendant. It's not what you promised. It's not what you had planned. But why don't you just do it this way? And so he tries to...

Encourage God to take Ishmael instead. At this point, Ishmael is 13 years old. But God says, no, Sarah is going to have a son and that will be the year. In Genesis chapter 18, it's confirmed there's three visitors that come and they promise that there's going to be a son through Sarah. And then in Genesis chapter 21, we see the promise fulfilled. If you want to turn there, Genesis 21 verses 1 through 7 says this.

And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac died.

So, Abraham, he's 100 years old. Sarah, she's 90 years old. And the promise is fulfilled some 20 to 25 years after God had made the promise there back in Genesis chapter 12. Now,

The son is born. This is to be the heir. And there begins to be some problems now because Ishmael is 14 years old at this point. And the rest of chapter 21 there talks about the problems that Ishmael and Isaac begin to have. Hagar and Sarah begin to have. In verse 8, no, verse 9.

Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. And so verse 10, Therefore she said to Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.

And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son. But God said to Abraham, do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of the bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice. For in Isaac your seed shall be called. And so at this point they send Ishmael and Hagar away. So God gives Abraham a promise. He believes it. It's accounted to him for righteousness.

Some years later, it doesn't look like it's happening. And so they kind of do this side thing and try to work it out on their own through Hagar. They have a son, but God says, no, that's not the one. There's going to be a son born to Sarah. And so later, after many, many years of waiting, Sarah bears him a son. She's 90 years old. And when she bears him a son, this is the heir. This is the one to pass on the name. This is the one to pass on the family line.

And so Ishmael now is sent away. He's not going to be an heir with Isaac. He doesn't receive the fortune of Abraham or any inheritance from Abraham. He's not an heir with Isaac. Isaac is the only heir, the only one as far as God's concerned, the son of promise. And so Abraham, his faith, it was rewarded. It came to pass what God had said. And then in chapter 22, which we won't get into, but that's

when Abraham's faith is tested. And so God is working in Abraham. He's working his faith. He's saying, I'm going to bless you and I'm going to give you a son. And then 25 years later, he gives him the son. And then the next,

A couple of years later, he tests him and says, do you believe? And he calls him to go and sacrifice his son. Now, God had already told him that that was his error. So Abraham knew that God was going to do something. And now it begins to make sense why Abraham's faith was tested and what God was working in Abraham's heart.

So this is the background for what Paul is speaking to us in Galatians chapter 4. You have Hagar and her son Ishmael, and you have Sarah and her son Isaac, both descendants of Abraham. But this story, it is a literal story. It did take place. It happened this way. But there is a deeper meaning that Paul will bring out to us. And so let's jump back to Galatians chapter 4 and find out what that is.

So verse 22 now of Galatians chapter 4 says, For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondwoman, the other by a free woman. So there's two sons. One by a bondwoman, Hagar, who was the Egyptian maidservant, and one by a free woman, Sarah, who was Abraham's wife. And so you have son number one, Ishmael, the firstborn, son number two, Isaac. And then verse 23, But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh,

and he of the free woman through promise. So now he begins to explain. There's a contrast. There's a difference between these two sons. Ishmael was born of Hagar, the bondwoman, according to the flesh, according to natural means, to nothing supernatural. It was according to the flesh. And the flesh is a picture of our human nature. It was Abraham's attempt to

to help God fulfill his promise, but he was using his own human resources. And it's a very important lesson for us to learn that you cannot do the work of God by natural means. It needs to be spiritual and not natural. Isaac, however, he was different. He was through promise. He was born of the free woman through promise. Now think about it. Abraham could not help God with Isaac. He couldn't help God because Sarah was barren.

She was old and he was old. They were way past the age of childbearing. There was nothing that Abraham could do to change that. He was helpless. He was helpless. All he could do...

Was take God at his word. You might remember the story of Samuel. Back in 1 Samuel. And his mom and dad. His mom was barren as well. And she would always cry to her husband. And he'd say, what can I do? Am I God? I can't open your womb. I can't make you bear children. And Abraham was in this predicament. He was in this spot. There was nothing he could do.

To accomplish what God said that he would accomplish. All he could do is believe God at his word and wait for God to fulfill it. So there's these two sons. One according to the flesh by natural means, by Abraham's own efforts, by them working out trying to accomplish the plan of God. But then the other through promise. It was just that God promised. They believed the promise and God fulfilled the promise themselves.

Many years later, in verses 24 through 26, Paul says, which things are symbolic? So these two sons, these two moms, things here that we're talking about, they're symbolic. It's what's called a type.

By Bible scholars, the type is it's like a foreshadowing. It's a picture that that tells us something else, tells us something deeper, tells us something that is yet to come. And so here's what it represents in verse 24. For these are the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar.

For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. So stay with me here. Get a little confusing. I know, but there's two sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, two women by whom these sons were born. There's Hagar and

And there's Sarah, Hagar the bondwoman, Sarah the free woman. And so Paul says these things are symbolic. What are they symbolic of? They're symbolic of the two covenants. What are the two covenants? The first covenant, what we call the old covenant, is the law. You find it in Exodus chapter 24 verses 1 through 8 where...

Israel confirms this covenant with God and in verse 7 and 8 of Exodus chapter 24, it says, And

And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words. The old covenant, the first covenant, back at Mount Sinai, it was the law where the people said, Okay, we will do the law. We will be obedient to the law. God gave it to them and they said, We'll keep it. And they made a covenant. And there was blood there to seal the covenant, the blood of the covenant.

That they would accomplish and that they would fulfill the law and do the things that God commanded. That's the first covenant. The second covenant, it's the covenant that was made in the blood of Jesus Christ. If you remember in Luke 22, 14 through 23, where Jesus there in the upper room has last supper with his disciples. He instituted what we call today communion today.

And he took the cup. In verse 20, it says he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. What's taking place here? The old covenant. You have to fulfill the law. The new covenant. Jesus says, I've done it for you.

That's the difference between the two covenants. That's the difference that Paul has been trying to stress over and over in Galatians. You have the law, the first covenant, but grace under the new covenant. And so verse 24, he explains Hagar, she's the bondwoman, and she represents the covenant at Mount Sinai. The covenant at Mount Sinai was the law.

So Hagar represents the covenant at Mount Sinai. She represents the law. And her offspring, the result of, the product of Hagar is bondage. Ishmael is bondage. And so the idea here, in other words, what Paul is saying, the law produces bondage. Those who follow the law are in bondage. You follow? Hagar represents the covenant of the law. And Hagar's son,

her being a bondwoman, Hagar's son would be in bondage as well. And so here we have the result of the bondwoman is bondage. The result of the law, because Hagar represents the law, is bondage. It's not freedom. It's not salvation. It's not justification. It's bondage.

Verse 25, he goes on and further explains it. So Hagar represents the covenant of Mount Sinai, which represents Jerusalem. Jerusalem, or Judaism, the Jewish religion, bound to the law. The Jerusalem which now is, is bound to the law. Trying to keep the law. Trying to be obedient. Trying to fulfill that covenant that was made there in Exodus chapter 24.

The result of the law, however, is bondage.

So they're bound to the law, yet they're unable to keep the law, and therefore are condemned by the law. They're bound to it, they're unable to keep it, and therefore they're condemned by it. Because if you do not fulfill the law, then it brings a curse. And so they're cursed, those who try to live by the law, because we cannot keep the law. But, verse 26, Jerusalem above, so the Jerusalem which now is Jerusalem,

That's in bondage. That's under the Old Covenant. But the Jerusalem above, the New Jerusalem, as spoken of in Revelation chapter 21, which is talking about heaven, Jerusalem above is free, not in bondage, and cannot be reached by those in bondage. So the Old Covenant, the law, produces bondage and not freedom. And you cannot enter heaven by the law because the law produces bondage. But heaven...

It's for those who are free. You follow? I know it can be confusing, but here's what Paul is saying. It's symbolic. These things that happen in the Old Testament, it's symbolic of the relationship that you and I are to have with God.

So we can't get there by the law. Now this is why we cannot get to heaven by our good works. No matter how good they are, they're not good enough because we cannot keep the whole law. So the result of our works and relying upon our works, the result of the law and looking to the things that we do and the laws that we can place on our lives, the result of that is bondage, being in bondage to those things and not being able to fulfill them or be good enough to enter into heaven.

The law, nobody, nobody will enter into heaven by keeping the law. The only one who did was Jesus Christ. He was the only one who kept the law. And that's why he's saved. But you and I, we cannot keep the law. And so we must rely on something else. Verse 27 says,

Just to confuse you a little bit more, Paul pulls this Old Testament quote. It says, Makes sense to anybody? You got it, right? You're following along? Alright, let's just skip to the next verse then. No, I'm just kidding.

It doesn't make sense. What is he talking about here? Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear. So, barren, okay, we understand Sarah, she was barren. She didn't bear, so rejoice, okay. Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor, for the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband. Now, let me ask you, how does someone who is barren have more children than she who has a husband? It doesn't make sense. It's not logical. What is Paul trying to say here? What is this verse talking about?

It's a quote from Isaiah chapter 54. It's Isaiah 54.1. Now, he's directing his comments, if you remember, to the Judaizers, those who are familiar with the Old Testament, those who are familiar with the law. They would be familiar with Isaiah 54. Isaiah 54 is a beautiful promise to Israel that even though things look bleak as their nation is conquered, as they're scattered across the world,

God here in Isaiah 54 promises, even though you look desolate now, His promise to them is He has not forsaken them. And that He promises to restore them to power and prosperity. Isaiah 54.

It's a promise by God that even though things look desolate now, you will be blessed. There will be the fulfillment of all the promises that he gave regarding their prosperity. And do you know what happens or do you know what comes before Isaiah 54? Isaiah 53. You know what Isaiah 53 talks about? It's that great chapter that foretells the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

On our behalf, how he will suffer for our sake. Let me just read to you a few verses. Isaiah 53 verse 4. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. By his stripes we are healed.

That's the context, that's the background of Isaiah 53 leading into Isaiah 54, his promise that though they look desolate, though the outlook is bleak,

God has not forgotten them, has not forsaken them, and promises to bring great blessings into their life. So what's Paul's point? Why does he quote Isaiah 54? Well, those who hold to the law believe that they have something to offer God.

They hold to the law, believing that, well, by being good enough, by keeping the law, I can offer this to God. I can help God save me, in a sense, by keeping the law. The law is man trying to earn God's favor. But the one who is desolate...

The one who realizes that we have nothing to offer God. The one who realizes that we are spiritually bankrupt. This is the one who is blessed and receives the promises of God. Like Abraham. Abraham, you're going to have a son. Well, what can I do? I'm old. She's old. The only thing I can do is rely on God to do what he said. There was nothing that Abraham could do to accomplish God's promise. He was desolate. She was desolate.

They looked like there would be no possibility for God to fulfill the promise. Yet, he fulfilled it. They had a son of promise named Isaac. There's a saying, God helps those who help themselves. It's not true. It's not in the Bible. You won't find it anywhere in these pages. No, that's the law. That's good works. That leads to bondage. No, God does not help those who help themselves. God helps the desolate and the helpless.

If you think you have it all together, if you think you can get to heaven on your own, God says, go for it. But you'll never be good enough. You won't make it. You can't keep the law. That leads to bondage. But if you say, I'm wicked, I'm broken, I have nothing to offer God, then good. You're desolate and you're able to be blessed by God. You're in a position to be blessed by God.

Remember Jesus in Matthew 5.3, he said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit, the spiritually bankrupt, those who realize and understand, I don't have anything to offer God. We like to think of ourselves as being good people, but as we look at the reflection, as we look at the law, we understand there's many, many things

multitudes of flaws in us. We fall short, not just a little bit short, but desperately short. We're desolate. We need a Savior. We need Jesus Christ. As you look at the law and understand it, then you say, well, you need to please God. And I say, I can't do it. You say, well, you need to have a right relationship with God. I can't do it. You need to be a temple for the Holy Spirit.

I can't do it. You need to keep yourself pure. I can't do it. I'm desolate. I don't have the ability to please God on my own. I don't have the ability to have a right standing with God, to be righteous before God, because I cannot keep the law. I'm desolate. And so he says, rejoice, you desolate. Rejoice, you who are not in labor. Those who are not in the flesh, trying to do it on their own by completing the law, by completing the good works.

Rejoice. Because of your desolation, because you're desolate, and recognize that. You're able now to be filled by God. And you're able, you're in a position for God to accomplish His promise in you because you're desolate. Even though things look bleak, I understand I can't get to heaven. I can't, I'm not good enough. Things look bleak, and there's someone next to me who has it all together.

Seems like, man, they can do it. But God says, no, it's not about what you have to offer me. It's about what I did for you. Isaiah 53, where he died on the cross for us because we're spiritually bankrupt. We cannot do it on our own. It's impossible. Nobody will. Only Jesus was able to fulfill the law. So verse 28, Paul says, now we brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. So children of the flesh,

The law works, represented by Hagar and Ishmael, or children of the promise, represented by Sarah and Isaac. In Christ, we are not of the law and in bondage. We're not Ishmael's or Isaac's. We're children of promise. By putting our faith in God and believing in him, or believing him at his word, we're children of promise.

Remember, God told Abraham that he would have a son. And in Genesis 15, 6, it said that Abraham believed God. It was credited to him as righteousness. And God tells us he sent his only son and whoever believes in him has everlasting life. And so we believe God.

And it's credited to us as righteousness. We have the righteousness of Christ in us because we believe that he sent his son to die for us because we cannot make it on our own. We're spiritually bankrupt. We're desolate. Verse 29. So what's he saying?

So we have these two guys, Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael, according to the flesh. Isaac, according to the spirit. The one who is born according to the flesh, persecuted. The one who is born according to the spirit. And we see that in Genesis 21.9. Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, whom she had born to Abraham, scoffing. He's there. She's weaned Isaac. And now he's making fun of Isaac. He's scoffing him, persecuting him.

And so Paul says the same way it is now. There's the children of the bondwoman and there's the children of the free woman. The children of the bondwoman, making reference to the Judaizers, those who insist that you need to keep the law, they're persecuting those who did not keep the law. And that's how it is. Those who are legalistic are always trying to impose their own laws upon everyone else. In legalism, we become holier than thou. We have that mentality.

And so we look down upon each other as we are caught up in our own good works and caught up in our keeping the law. And we look down at someone else and say, hey, you're not as spiritual as I am. You're not as holy as I am. You're not as mature as I am. Can't believe you still do those things or watch those things or act that way or think that way. But we become then children of the bondwoman because we're looking to our own works, looking to ourself and the way that we keep the law.

In our relationship with God. So, verse 30, he says, So, back in the story, here's Ishmael, he's scoffing at Isaac. Hagar, no, not Hagar, Sarah sees it.

And she gets upset. She talks to Abraham and Abraham's torn because it's his son. But God says, no, listen to her because Ishmael will not be an heir with Isaac. So send him away. Send him and his mom away. And you see that in Genesis chapter 1 verses 10 through 12. It's the next part of the story. God tells him to send them away because only the son of the free woman, only Isaac is Abraham's heir.

In the same way, you and I become sons by faith. And that is the only way. By believing the promise. Those who complete the law or keep the law or try to keep the law, that is, they're not heirs according to the promise. They're not heirs of eternity. Because no one will get to heaven by keeping the law. No one will get to heaven by doing good works. Only those who believe God's promise, who believe God at His word, when He said that we're desolate.

spiritually bankrupt, and he sent his son to die on our behalf. So Paul's conclusion here in verse 31 says, Here's the moral of the story, Paul says. We're children of the free woman, not the bondwoman. We're children of Sarah, not Hagar. We're children of the new covenant, not the old covenant. The new covenant, that's freedom.

Because I confess that I'm desolate, I put my faith in God. He justifies me. He blesses me. He fills me with his spirit. He makes me his son. But the old covenant is bondage because I cannot keep the law, yet I'm bound to it outside of Christ. And because I'm bound to it and I cannot keep it, I'm condemned by it. Children of the bondwoman, children of the free woman. So he gives us this final example.

Looking back at the Old Testament, looking at the sons of Abraham. He gives us this final example. Now the question that I continually ask myself is, have I learned the principle yet? God relates to us on the basis of faith, not works. Paul here in Galatians, over and over again, he demonstrates we're justified by faith, we receive the Spirit by faith, we receive blessing by faith, we become faithful.

His sons and have intimate relationship with him by faith. It's all based on our faith and believing him at his word and has nothing to do with what I have to offer or how good I've been or how well I do. Nothing whatsoever. Absolutely nothing. It's something that I need to learn and I need to be reminded of. He's not looking for us to prove to him how good we are or how we have it all together. He's not impressed by our discipline or our rigid legalism.

He's impressed by our faith and our trust in Him. He's pleased by our recognition that we have nothing to offer, that we're spiritually bankrupt, and that we need Him. He's pleased when we trust Him to fulfill His word. And we trust Him to accomplish what He said He would accomplish. That's the principle that we need to learn. That's the principle by which we're saved.

We recognize our need for a Savior. And because we're bound in sin, we can't do anything about it. But when we call upon Him, He forgives us and cleanses us, sets us free from the bondage to sin. But the hard thing is, for those who are believers here, and I believe that we all are, is now that we've believed that and received that, to continue in that same relationship. Because the principle of God does not change.

Now that we're saved, he's not saying, okay, now you have to impress me with how good you are. No, he saved us regardless of all of that by us putting our faith and trust in him. It's not how well we perform. It's not how well we do and how well we keep the law. That's not how God relates to us. Even now, as believers, he relates to us on the basis of our faith. Do we read God's word and believe what he says?

Do we live our lives based on the promises of God? Do we make our decisions based on the promises of God? Do we deal with the people around us based on his word? You say, please, God, I can't. Yes, you can. Just put your trust in him. Put your faith in him. Sure, you can't be pleasing to God by your actions, by how you live. But that was never the case.

Yet somehow in our minds, we get it so confused. We get it so backwards. Now we think, okay, I'm saved and so now I have to... It's not about the works. Now, there will be works as a result of our faith. It'll be the natural product of our faith and our walk with God. But again, because it was all taken care of at the cross, there's nothing that we can do to make ourselves...

and better right standing before God because of the work at the cross. And so all that we do, we do as an act of worship to God. It's not about trying to please God. It's about recognizing who he is and what he's done and giving him back our lives in worship to him. But not to please him, not for our salvation. Sin is sin because it's bad for us. God tells us not to do it because it's bad for us.

We're obedient because that's what's good for us. That's what's best for us. Not to be pleasing to God. We're pleasing to Him based on our faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith and trust in Him to fulfill His word.

And that's what Paul has been trying to teach us over and over and over again. Relate to God based on faith. And that's why Galatians chapter 5 verse 1 says, Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Again, don't go back now. You realize that you got saved, you're spiritually bankrupt, you received Jesus Christ. Now don't go back to bondage. Don't go back to a relationship where you have to read in order for God to bless you. That's not how God works.

Oh, I haven't been praying so God's not going to do works in my life. I haven't been doing that well so I can't share with that person or witness to that person. I can't serve in this way or that way. It's not based on your works. Your relationship to God is based on your faith and your trust in Him. It's the principle that God wants us to learn. He relates to us on the basis of our faith.

The question is, do I live by faith? We've been looking at this for the past two months now. Have I learned these things? Think about it for a moment. Now that you know that you're justified by faith, that you receive blessing by faith, that you're filled with the Spirit by faith, and that you're his son by faith, do you spend more time in the presence of God? Has it affected your life? Do you live by faith?

Do you step out in faith, believing that the Spirit will indwell you and empower you in the area of witnessing or teaching or anything else? Do you rely upon the strength of God? Do you live by faith? Do you approach God even after you've blown it? We're good at condemning ourselves and knocking ourselves down. I can't pray. I can't read and expect God to

Speak to me. I can't ask God for direction or help or strength or guidance. I mean, look at how I've been living. Look at what I've done. Look at the way I've been walking. But God says, it's never been about that. You've always been bankrupt. It hasn't changed. Come to me by faith. Believe me. I said, those who come to me, I'll in no way cast out. I said, those who ask for the Spirit, they'll receive it.

Those who ask for strength, we can rely upon God. We can trust God. We can believe God at His word. We do need to confess our sin and turn from our sin because it's bad for us. And it hardens our heart so that we cannot have relationship with God. But we're pleasing to God based on our faith, our trust in Him, our taking Him at His word. And the question is, do I do that? Do you do that? He says He'll give us the strength to overcome temptation. Do you believe that? Do you overcome temptation?

He says, so give us love to love even our enemies. Do you do that? Do you love even your enemies? We walk by faith and not by sight. This is what Paul is trying to teach us. This is what we need to learn. Oh God, help us learn to relate to him based on faith because that's how he relates to us. Trusting him at his word. Yes, we blow it. Yes, we fall short. We're desolate. Rejoice. Rejoice.

Because you're in a position then to be blessed by God as you trust him at his word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for your word and the wonderful promises, God. You're such a good God. Lord, if we were God, we would make everybody try to perform and jump through hoops and accomplish difficult tasks in order to have our approval. But you simply say, believe what you say. You want us to have faith in you.

And without faith, your word says it's impossible to please you. We can't please you by keeping the law, by looking to our own works and how well we perform. We can only please you by trusting, by putting our faith in you. And so God, we do put our faith in you. And we proclaim with our hearts, yes, we believe your word. Lord, we look to you for salvation. We look to you for peace.

We look to you for blessing, for the filling of the Spirit. Lord, we need you in our lives. We're desolate. And so, God, we come to you even though we've blown it. We thank you, Lord, that we have full access to you. That we're sons and daughters. That we have intimate relationship with you because we believe what your word says. God, help us to walk by faith. To live according to your word, believing that you'll fulfill what you said. That you'll accomplish what you promised.

Help us, Lord, not to look to our own selves. And Lord, if we are it, I ask, Lord, that you would show us those areas where we are relying upon ourselves and looking to ourselves. Show us, Lord, those areas where we have the product of the flesh, of us trying to work out and accomplish your promises by our own means instead of just trusting in you to do what you said. Lord, I ask that you would give us a desire, incline our hearts towards you, draw us close,

We need you, Lord. We're desperate. We're desolate. So fill us, Lord. Overwhelm us with your presence. Thank you, God, that we have full access to you. We can come to you, and you promise to meet our every need. So Jesus, this morning we say we need you. Help us to walk with you, relying upon you with our faith and trust in you and never in ourselves. In Jesus' name we pray.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.