TEXT: Galatians 4:21-31

SUBJECT: Exposition of Galatians #10: Hagar and Sarah

There's no better way to end a sermon than with a good story. When its logical arguments are lost, its vivid stories stay with us. Paul is a very good storyteller; he uses one to great effect in this place. The story is one the Galatians knew; knew well. But its punchline was not what they expected. Paul uses it to prove--once and for all--that the blessings of God come only by faith and never by "works of the Law". Never ever!

He begins with a rhetorical question, v.21: "Tell me, you who desire to be under the Law, do you not hear the Law?" The false teachers claimed to uphold the Law of God. But like others who make that boast, they were quite selective. Some parts of the Law they couldn't handle. As you might expect, Paul brings one up.

The story of Hagar and Sarah, vv.22-28: "For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondagae, 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. For it is written,

`Rejoice, O barren,

You who do not bear!

Break forth and shout,

You who do not travail!

For the desolate has many

more children

Than she who has a husband'.

Now, we brethren, as Isaac was, are children of the promise".

Hagar was a slave who bore Abraham a son, Ishmael, in the ordinary fashion. Everyone agrees on the facts of the case. But then Paul interprets them. Hagar represents the Old Covenant that was issued at Mount Sinai, or the Mosaic Law. This Law corresponds to Jerusalem, which has enslaved its people. But what would you expect a slave's son to be? A freeman? Never. A slave's son is a slave too. Therefore, everyone who seeks the favor of God by keeping the Mosaic Law is Hagar's son or daughter.

This must have enraged the Legalists in Galatia. They claimed to be Abraham's seed. And so they were--but in the line of Ishmael! They are a people who emphatically do not receive the promises made to Abraham.

Sarah also bore Abraham a son, Isaac. He, however, was not born in the usual way, for both Sarah and her husband had lost their procreative powers. Isaac was born "through promise". Therefore, it was he--and not Ishmael--who embodied the promises of God.

The freewoman's son, as you'd expect, was himself free. And so are his descendants. Who are they? Not the Law-keepers in Jerusalem (or Galatia or elsewhere), but those in Heavenly Jerusalem--the people who live by faith. Not faith and works. But faith alone.

"My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus' blood and righteousness".

The product of this faith is not the gloominess of Law-keeping, but a "joy unspeakable and full of glory". It's a joy in Christ, the perfect Savior who offered up a perfect sacrifice to obtain for us a perfect salvation. One that isn't improved upon by circumcision, Sabbath-keeping,or the Law's other "weak and beggarly elements".

Paul goes on to draw a lesson from the story of Ishmael and Isaac, vv.29-30: But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? `Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman'".

Ishmael was about thirteen years older than Isaac. When the younger boy was weaned, his brother made fun of him. This so enraged Sarah, she told her husband to get rid of the bondwoman's son. Abraham was reluctant, till God weighed in on Sarah's side. Early the next morning, Abraham showed Hagar and Ishmael the door. From then on, they'd have no part in Abraham's family.

Similarly, the men more devoted to Moses than to Christ persecute those who cling to Christ alone. Paul knew whereof he spoke. Hadn't the Jews been his worst enemies? Everywhere he went, they followed him, stirring up opposition. The Legalists were little better, for they were ever trying to discredit him and to drive a wedge between him and his spiritual children. But Paul's not whipped! He recalls that--one day--his opponents will be tossed out on their ears. They'll have no place in that "House of many mansions".

He closes with a summary statement, v.31: "So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but children of the free".

The believer in Christ is not a slave! He is not a slave to the Mosaic Law with its byproduct of terror. He is not a slave to men--pastors or otherwise--who would bring his conscience into captivity. He is not a slave to Confessions of Faith which would dictate (rather than assist) his beliefs. Therefore, he mustn't think of himself as a slave; he mustn't allow anyone to enslave him; he mustn't try to enslave other believers.

Believe me: These warnings are not abstractions. Many believers live as though they are slaves. I know: I was one of them! And more: they admire slaves and bring others into bondage. They despise and fear believers who live as freemen.

The believer in Christ is free. He's free, not to sin, but to serve the Lord Jesus. And to serve Him directly. Without the fear generated by the Mosaic Law. Without anyone's approval. The reason believers are free is because they are children of God. And "...the children are free" our Lord said.

There is a story about Abraham Lincoln and his son. One day the President was in an urgent meeting with his cabinet; it concerned the civil war. His little boy, however, didn't care. He burst in on the meeting to discuss something with his father. Lincoln halted the meeting for a moment to speak with his son. When that was finished, he returned to the business of state. What gave the child such freedom? Only this: the President of the United States was his father. And he preferred his son to his cabinet. In the same way, God is the Father of all believers. Because he cares for his children, he gives us unlimited access. And this favor will produce what Paul said it would: "The glorious liberty of the children of God".

And so we have it; but only if we remember that we're "not children of the bondwoman but of the free".

"Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage".