Freedom Is Here: A Study of Galatians | Donovan Rillion | From Slaves to Sons

This morning I want you to imagine something

with me. I want you to picture two different

relationships. So the first one I want you to

picture is an employee with his boss. We've all

worked for somebody at some point in our life.

The employee shows up on time. He does what he's

supposed to do. He follows his job description.

He submits the reports that he's supposed to

do. Gives the presentations. He does his job.

Why? Well, because he has to. He needs a paycheck.

He's motivated by a paycheck. And if he doesn't

measure up, well, he knows that there's going

to be consequences. He's going to get reprimanded,

or he's going to get a dock in pay, or he may

just completely lose his salary altogether. There's

a certain level of respect, or what we would

say is there's a certain level of fear there

for the employee. But there's not really, there's

not this intimacy. There's no intimacy between

a boss and his employee, is there? Unless the

boss is like the husband and the employee is

the wife, right? There's no intimacy there. But

I want you now to picture a little boy with his

dad. Very different relationship. There's still

an authority situation here. There are still

rules that have to be followed and there's still

discipline that has to be laid out. But the boy

isn't handing his father a performance review

at the dinner table. The boy isn't looking at

his dad worried that he might get in trouble

and get fired if he spills his milk. He's not

worried that he's going to get kicked out if

he doesn't make his bed. The boy has a relationship

with his father that he can run into his dad's

arms and he can have a hug and he can feel love.

He can climb into his lap. He can throw the ball

with him in the yard. He can talk to him about

his deepest. darkest troubles. And when his dad

comes home after a day of work, the little boy

can run in and shout. And hopefully you've experienced

this before and just grab him and say, Daddy,

there's a difference. And I hope you can feel

that as you picture these two relationships.

One is motivated by fear and performance, and

the other one is by love and belonging. And that's

what we've been talking about. Since last week

when we talked about this difference between

being under the guardianship of the law and now

being adopted into God's family. And here in

Galatians 4, Paul makes another, well he makes,

he kind of goes into more detail in this illustration.

He's going to give us some understanding. So

last week in chapter 3 we saw that in Christ

we are adopted into God's family. We now have

a place in his family. We've got a seat at the

table. That's the legal side of things, where

now you have the share in the inheritance, you

have a home to sleep in, you have a provider.

The adoption papers have been signed, basically.

We talked about baptism being that moment where

you accept the adoption of the father. And so

we know, based on Galatians 3 now, that we are

God's children with full rights. as children.

But here in Galatians 4, Paul goes a little bit

deeper. And what he's going to say is, I want

you to show or I want to show you how adoption

feels. I want you to know how this changes the

way you relate to God. And so today's message

is this. In Christ, we are not slaves under rules.

We're not employees under a boss. We are now

sons and daughters in relationship with a father.

And that leads us to our text this morning in

Galatians chapter 4, verses 1 through 7. Paul's

Galatians 4:1–7

explaining himself from Galatians 3. Remember,

this is a letter, and so this wouldn't have been

broken up into chapters. So Paul is talking about

in Galatians 3 how we're now heirs to the father's

inheritance. We're sons like Abraham. And so

now we get to verse 4, and he says, I mean that

the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different

from a slave. Though he is the owner of everything,

but he's under the guardians and managers until

the date set by his father. In the same way,

we also, when we were children, were enslaved

to the elementary principles of the world. But

when the fullness of time had come, God sent

forth his son, born of a woman, born under the

law, to redeem those who were under the law so

that we might receive adoption. As sons. And

because you are sons, God has sent the spirit

of his son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father.

So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And

if a son, then an heir through God. See, Paul

begins by comparing our old life to slavery and

slavery. You know, that's a pretty strong word,

right? He compares us to slaves. He says before

Christ, you were like children under guardians.

You had no freedom. You had restrictions. You

were basically servants to the world's masters.

And you were trying to obey the guardianship

that was set for you under the law. And he uses

that word slaves. And I want you to think a little

bit about this. This morning, how does a slave

obey? Does a slave obey because he wants to?

Does he obey because there's something really

good in store for him? Does he obey because he's

going to get a really large portion of money

and land after the job is done? No. A slave obeys

out of fear of what will happen to them. A fear

of punishment, a fear of rejection, a fear of

not measuring up. A slave obeys because he knows

the consequences. It's like your kid obeys when

you say don't touch the hot stove because they've

touched the hot stove before and they felt the

burn. And now they know if I touch the hot stove,

it's going to burn. The other night, Easton put

his hand on the stove. He hasn't learned that

lesson yet. He will. Luckily, the stove wasn't

on. You obey out of fear when you're a slave.

And the truth is, that is how so many people

approach God, is it not? Christians, that's how

so many of us have approached God over the years.

And we know in our context, in the churches of

Christ, we have approached God out of fear for

so long. And what Paul is saying is, don't do

that. We have this mindset of if I just pray

enough, maybe God will accept me. Or if I will

clean myself up before I come to God, maybe he

won't give up on me. If I blow it again, I know

God is going to be disappointed in me. We have

this fear that we can do something, that we can

do things, we can say things that take us away

from the love of God. And that is slave thinking.

That is slave thinking. That's rule based religion.

And I've got to tell you, I believe that's exhausting.

It is an exhausting way to live, to think every

time I mess up that God is just he's looking

to get me, that every time I mess up, God is

sitting with his finger on the trigger waiting

to smite me. It's an awful way to live. It's

an anxiety inducing fear. driven way to live.

And I want to pause here and just ask you, do

you find yourself relating to God like that?

Do you find yourself looking at God like he's

a boss that's keeping score, that's filling out

an employee evaluation every day? Do you look

at God like if you make one wrong move, you're

out, out the door, no longer a part of the family?

No inheritance left for you. No food for you.

Paul is trying to explain to the Galatian Christians,

don't look at God like a slave owner. Don't look

at God like a boss in an employee situation.

What he wants you to see is that you are no longer

slaves. You are no longer under the guardianship

of this old law that was restrictive. Look at

what he says in verse four. But when the fullness

of time had come, remember, we've talked about

God had a plan from the beginning to save his

people because he knew we messed it up. He's

got to save us because he wants relationship

with us. So he looks at us and he said from the

beginning of time, he's got a plan. And so now

the plan is ready to go. When the fullness of

time had come, God sent forth his son, born of

a woman, born under the law, to redeem those

who were under the law so that we might receive

adoption as sons. I always want to find the gospel,

that good news message of Christ's redemption.

I want to find that in every sermon, every passage

of scripture. And here's the gospel in one sentence.

The son became a servant so that we could become

sons. And that changes everything. Because if

I'm not a slave anymore, if I don't view myself

as a servant and I see myself as a son, that

changes the way I relate to God. It changes the

way I view God and it makes the message of scripture

so much sweeter. Sons depend on their father.

And sons know the love of a father. Sons respond

differently than slaves. See, a son doesn't wake

up wondering if today's the day that he's going

to get kicked out of the family. A son doesn't

wake up wondering, if I don't obey because I'm

terrified of God's punishment, if I don't obey,

I'm going to be smitten. Smitten? Smited? Smited.

Smitten is like I'm smitten in love with her.

I don't think that's the right word. Smote? We

got an English teacher? Anybody? Yeah. English

teacher said smote. So the son doesn't wake up

wondering if today is the day that he's going

to get smote by the father. A son wakes up wondering,

what am I going to do with my father today? Are

we going to throw the ball outside? Are we going

to go fishing? Are we going to build something?

A son wonders about the relationship. It doesn't

worry about the consequence. And what Paul is

challenging us to do is understand our security

in our relationship with God because even when

the son stumbles, he knows he's still in the

family. And what happened in Galatia is these

Christians were worried and they were buying

into this false narrative that if you mess up,

if you don't obey the law, if you don't measure

up to the standard of God, you're out. And what

Paul is saying is you're not looking at that

kind of relationship. What you're in is a family,

and a family sticks together. Remember, ohana

means family, and family means nobody gets left

behind. And God is not looking to leave you behind.

God wants you. He set out on this long thousand

year mission journey to bring you back into his

family. And he's not going to kick you out just

because you said the wrong thing to the guy in

traffic. He's not going to kick you out because

you voted the wrong way. He's not going to kick

you out because you sang the song the wrong way.

God wants you in his family. And if you will

come to him, if you'll trust in him, he is going

to forgive you and keep you in his family. Because

that's what family does. And that's this adoption

that God has offered. That's the amazing grace

that God has extended to us. It's what Jesus

came for. If you were here last week, you'll

remember we talked about adoption in the legal

sense of now that you're adopted, you've got

a seat at the table. You have a share in the

inheritance. Like we said, people sign the papers.

The child officially belongs. That's Galatians

3. But I want to add to that picture. I want

you to imagine that same child that's been adopted

now. For the first time in his life, the child

has a family. For the first time in its life,

the child has a home, a bed that is his, a room

that is his, a seat at the table that is his.

And you know what I mean because in some families

you've got assigned seats at the table. The child

has a place. But I want you to imagine after

the papers are signed and the judge says you

are now a part of this family. The child goes

running into their new father's arms. And he

doesn't call the father, sir. He doesn't say,

master. He doesn't say, mister. He calls him

dad. And that's intimate, isn't it? That's a

relational word. Dad. There's laughter. There's

security. There's intimacy. There is belonging.

That's what chapter four, that's what Paul's

describing here. I don't want you to miss the

beauty here because it is a beautiful thing.

I want you to see that in Christ, we're not just

adopted legally. We are welcomed relationally.

We have a home. You're invited to live not as

a slave but as a beloved child. Look at what

verses 6 and 7 say because this is the heartbeat

of this passage. Because you are sons, God has

sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying,

Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but

a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.

I want you to think about that. The Spirit Himself

teaches us how to relate to God. The Spirit comes

into our lives and teaches us what it means to

be a part of this family. It teaches us what

it means to know love and to know care and to

know security. And you know what I'm talking

about because... You think about that image of

the child that's been in foster care all its

life or it's been in an orphanage. And it's only

known this provider relationship. It's only known

a security in the sense of you have a home, you

have a bed, you have food, but it's not your

family. It's not your place. And now when you

get into this home, you've kind of got to be

taught what it means to be a child in that home,

right? You got to learn that. The family loves

you. I think a few weeks ago we used the example

of a stray dog. When you take the stray dog in,

it takes a little bit before the stray dog isn't

scared of you anymore, right? Before it stops

hiding in the corner. Before it gets nervous

every time you raise your voice. It takes a little

bit of teaching and a little bit of comfortability

before the child learns what it means to be a

part of the family. And that's what the Spirit

does. It comes into our lives and it counsels

us. Remember, Jesus said, I'm going to send to

you the counselor. Some translations say the

comforter. I'm going to send to you someone that's

going to come into your life and it's going to

teach you what it means to be a part of the family.

The Spirit moves into our hearts and gives us

the instinct to now cry out, Abba, Father. Abba

is intimate language. It's like saying Dad or

Papa or Daddy. It's what it means when the kid

runs to the door and it screams and it gives

you the biggest hug. And it's like... I'm so

glad you're home. It's the very word Jesus used

when he's praying to God in the garden. In Jesus'

most terrified, trembling moment, he's speaking

to God, Lord of the universe, and he calls him

Dad. And what Paul says is now we get to call

him Dad. Slaves don't use that word, do they?

No. Orphans don't use that word. Employees don't

use that word. Sons and daughters do. And I want

you to notice the shift that Paul makes here.

In chapter 3, Paul emphasizes the baptism, that

legal process of becoming a part of the family

of God. And then in chapter four, he emphasizes

the spirit that we're gifted in baptism, this

inward assurance and comfort and security of

adoption. One of these is the paperwork and the

other is the relationship. One of these says

you belong. The other says you are loved. Don't

miss this. The spirit's role is not just to give

us new rules to abide by, but it is to give us

a new confidence. A new security. It's to give

us this comfort of knowing that it does not matter

what I do, as long as I don't turn my back to

God, I've got a piece of His family. I've got

a seat at His table. And I love that phrase,

seat at the table, because that means something.

I grew up in a family, we didn't sit at the table

and eat dinner. Even when I was in high school,

and my grandma did a great job raising me. I

think some of you may disagree. But when I was

in high school, my grandma would cook and she

made awesome meals. But it was just kind of like

dinner's ready. You grab your plate and you went

wherever you went to eat. And so I'd go in my

room. I had a desk in my room and I'd eat dinner

at my desk. And my grandma would eat dinner at

the table and my aunt would eat in her chair

or in her desk or whatever. We didn't eat together

as a family. We didn't sit at the table. But

now with Eliza and the boys, we eat at the table.

And we try to have conversation. We try to be

a loving family, but with a four and a two -year

-old that are crazy, it's kind of hard. And you

ask them, you know, how was your day? And they're

like, I don't know. And I'm not kidding. We ask

Easton what he did at school every day, and he

just says, I don't know. Like, you don't know

what you learned? I don't know. But he can tell

you things that happened four years ago, but

he doesn't know what happened at school today.

But we had this time at the table, and I've grown

to love it, even though we're wrestling and trying

to get them to eat their food and just trying

to get them to be civil for like five seconds

and, hey, get the food in your mouth, not everywhere

else. But it's this time that I've grown to love

as a family, where we sit together, we pray over

our food together, we eat food together, and

we just... We live together for one moment because

all the other hours of the day were everywhere

else, right? But now we've got a seat at the

table. And that's what I love about communion

is every Sunday, while we don't have a physical

table here, we gather around this meal together.

That's what adoption brings us. That's what the

Spirit assures us of, is you now have a seat

at my Father's table, and you can now partake

in this meal with me. We're a family. So let

me ask you plainly. In your life as a Christian,

if you're in Christ, that is, in your life, do

you live more like a slave, or do you live more

like a son or a daughter? Because slaves are

anxious, fearful, performance -based beings.

I've got to get it right. I can't mess up. I

can't do the wrong thing. Maybe God is done with

me because I didn't do what he asked me to do.

But sons and daughters, they're confident. They're

secure. They're joyful in the father's love.

And they're able to say things like, even if

I stumble, I know my father loves me. Sons say

things like, I want to obey, not to earn his

love, but because I already have it. Or I want

to be with my father and I want to be with his

people because that's my family. I make fun of

Eliza's family because they are a cult. They're

a good cult, but they love being together. And

they like to spend time together. I mean, every

little holiday they're together. It could be

Second Kingdom Come Memorial Day and they are

getting together. It could be the fifth cousin

twice removes birthday. They're getting together.

They love being together. And I think that is

crazy, but I also love it. Because that's what

I want being a Christian to be like. I want my

relationship with God and his people to be like

a family that wants to be together. Please hear

me when I say this. I don't want us to be a cult.

That's not what I'm saying. I want us to enjoy

being together. I want our relationship as a

family to be more than just this. This is awesome.

But if this is all church is, we have missed

the point of adoption into God's family. What

this should be like is on a random Tuesday night,

I should want to have dinner with some of you.

On a random Thursday, I should want to get together

and go play pickleball with y 'all. I don't play

pickleball, so don't invite me. This should be...

One of those things where if I am doing something

in my life that's important, if I'm having a

kid, if I'm having a birthday, the first people

I invite should be my church family because this

is the family that I've been adopted into. This

is the family that I sit at the table with. And

I know that because the Spirit tells me and assures

me. I know that because the Word tells me and

assures me. And I know that because my Father

tells me. And assures me that I am one of his

sons. If you grew up in the church. And you went

to VBS. Or maybe children's Bible study. You

remember the song Father Abraham. Had many sons.

Had many sons. And many sons had Father Abraham.

And I am one of them. And so are you. So let's

all praise the Lord. That's what Paul is saying.

We are a part of this divine family. We're a

part of this descendants of God. I've probably

said this quote before in here, but I love what

Nero's spy said to Nero when he had infiltrated

the church. And Nero's like, so what's the deal

with these Christians in the first century? Why

is it that everybody wants to be a Christian?

Why does everybody want to be a part of this

family of God? What is the big deal? And the

spy says, I don't know, but I know there is something

divine among them. Y 'all, if there is nothing

divine among us, we are not the church. But I

do believe there is something divine among us.

I believe the Spirit has come to be a part of

this gathering, to be a part of these people,

and has said, be sons, be daughters, be a family

that is together, that is partaking in the relationship

that God has given you. So do you live more like

slaves? Or do you live like sons? Which one describes

your relationship with God? Be honest with yourself.

Does your faith feel like fear? Does it feel

like having to check the boxes and get all the

things right? Or does it feel like family? Does

it feel like a place where you belong? Where

you share your struggles? Where you share in

joy? I want to take you back to that picture

of the little boy with his dad. Him running across

the house or running across the yard because

daddy's home. He grabs him and gives him the

biggest, tightest hug. And the dad bends down,

he scoops him up and he holds him close. You

know, the reason the story of the gospel means

so much to me. Is because I didn't have that.

I've told some of you that before. I didn't have

the dad that embraced me. I didn't have the dad.

that scooped me up and gave me the big hug. I

didn't have the dad that I could run to at the

door and say, Dad's home. And so when I think

about the father and this beautiful imagery of

being adopted into his family, that's the good

news for me. And we all know what it's like to

want to belong. We all know what it's like to

want to find our place in a family outside of

the family we were born into because we do it.

We go and find jobs. We get careers. We join

clubs and we join teams and we join societies

and all these things because we're trying to

find a place where we belong, where people that

don't have to want us want us. And that's what

the family of God is. This is not just sentimental

poetry. It's the good news. It's a story. It's

our story in Christ of a family. And if you're

in Christ today, you don't have to live like

a slave. You don't have to keep trying to prove

yourself. You don't have to wonder if you belong.

You belong. Like I said last week, I heard a

preacher down in Atlanta. He said, we are already

united in Christ. It's just a matter of if we're

going to live like it. Are we going to live like

we're a part of this family? The Spirit of God,

the Comforter, He lives in you. He lives in us,

reminding us over and over and over again, you

are loved, you are wanted, and you are His. No

questions asked. Regardless of your faults and

failures, you are His. And this message from

Paul, hopefully for you, you feel it to be life

-changing because I believe it is. Slaves obey

out of fear, but sons respond out of love. Slaves

don't know intimacy, but sons can cry out, Abba,

Father. Slaves are uncertain about their place,

their standing in the kingdom, but sons are secure.

So as you go, Don't live like a slave wondering

if you're good enough. Don't worry about the

boxes. Did I check that box today? Live every

day like a child of God, running into his arms,

doing everything you can to be with him because

he wants to be with you. And if you're not in

Christ, if you are not a part of that family,

if you've not done your part in accepting the

free gift of salvation, if you've not been baptized

for the remission of your sins, for the gift

of the Holy Spirit, for the welcoming into the

family of God, don't wait. Run to the Father.

Because you are loved. You're wanted. And he

has offered you, he's put out his hand, he's

given the papers to be signed for your adoption.

It's just a question of if you are going to be

his. Church, we have been freed from the chains

of slavery. We do not live under the guardianship

of the law. We have been offered a place in the

family, a seat at the table. Will you accept

it? It's for you to decide. If you'd like to

be a part of the family of God, if you need prayers

from the church, whatever it is that you need,

we do this every Sunday where after the sermon

we offer an invitation. And I want to encourage

you, whatever it is that you need, this invitation

is a real one. You are invited to come and share

your burdens, your struggles, request prayer,

request salvation. And we as a church, as a family,

We'll do whatever we need to do for you this

morning. So consider what you need. And if you

need anything, come as we stand and as we sing.