Series: Galatians – Freedom in the Gospel
Title: Children of the Promise
Text: Galatians 4:21-31
In Christ, we are children born through God’s promise and born by the power of the Spirit. How does understanding who we are in Christ affect our resolve to resist the way of law and persist in the way of grace?
Perspective Questions:
In verse 21, Paul accuses the Galatians of wanting to be under the law. What are some reasons why believers would want to put themselves under some kind of law? What are the pitfalls of doing so?
Many people see the Christian faith as a set of rules and regulations. We know this is not true, why then do we give that impression? What then is the true heart of Christianity and how is it practised in our lives?
Application Questions:
Over the whole series, we have been tracing Paul’s argument that we can be right with God only by faith in Christ. Paul uses several approaches to make his case – he appealed to the Galatians’ experiences with God (Gal 3:1-6), scriptural arguments (Gal 3:7-14), relatable illustrations from daily life (Gal 3:15-4:7), his pastoral heart for them (Gal 4:8-20), and creative analogies from Scripture (Gal 4:21-31).
Which of these approaches are you most familiar with? How can you use some of these approaches to help believers in your community live more by faith?
How can we resolve to live as children of the promise i.e. to resist the way of law and persist in the way of grace?