“Amazing Grace” Series

“The Warm Comfort of Slavery” – Galatians 5:1

Galatians 5:1

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
 
This is my favorite verse in the Bible. I was first impacted by it in high school and its significance only grew in my college years as my view of God shifted from someone I had to constantly please and impress, to a Father who wanted to open up to me a wide expanse. Around that same time I was wondering about my calling to ministry and I was rabidly seeking “God’s will.” I was afraid that I might make a misstep – choose the wrong college, the wrong major, the wrong job and mess up all of the plans God had for me (thereby messing up all of God’s plans). And here in this little verse, Paul was letting me in on God’s will for my life – to be free! What a weight off. And also in this verse, the main “don’t blow it” condition is to simply continue in that freedom!  
 
I remember in college hearing about newly freed slaves after the civil war. How many of them would stand outside the gates of their former master’s plantations because they didn’t know what to do. Without a doubt, a life of slavery was a terrible thing, and slavery was reprehensible. But it was a life they knew. Although freedom was something they had longed for, it was also new and terrifying. There was comfort in the familiar. 
 
“I was free, but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.” Harriet Tubman
 
Also in college, I saw a similar situation played out. I volunteered for a time in Birmingham’s family court (juvenile detention). I would play basketball and cards with the boys and talk to them about their lives and about Christ. Most of the boys there were repeat offenders and tried to come back into the system because they felt safe, they had 3 meals, a bed, and many of their friends were there. This prison for minors was in their opinion, preferable to freedom. 
 
It’s easy to understand why a kid would return to the comfort of the familiar, and we can understand the safety and food issues. But in comparing freedom that grace brings and the slavery that the law brings – I can’t really see the upside. I guess there is the comfort of the familiar, but God is offering us freedom for freedom’s sake. Possibly we’re too quick to believe the enemies lie that it’s too good to be true. 
 
Paul’s admonition is to stand firm, take the gift for what it is, and don’t be afraid to step out into all that God offers.  
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • What are some old patterns that while not healthy, you still find yourself returning to?
  • What are some ways to renew your mind to stand firm and embrace the freedom that is offered to you?   

Jon Price

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 

 

 

 

“The Warm Comfort of Slavery” – Galatians 5:1 Read More »

“Allegory” – Galatians 4:21-31

“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 labor!
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.”
 
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis has captured the imagination of generations of children. More than strictly fantasy, Lewis’ allegorical series beginning with “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” portrayed the gospel through characters like Aslan, Mr. Tumnus, Peter, Lucy, Edmund and Susan. These stories conveyed powerful themes of good versus evil, the trap of greed and envy, and the terrible beauty of sacrificial love. These books gained entrance into homes where the church might not have previously, and cast a second look at the wonder of the good news of Christ to a jaded audience. 
 
Following his rabbinical training, Paul used poetic allegory to draw an image familiar to his Jewish audience in a new light. He contrasted the law and the promise by reframing the story of Abraham and Sarah and how they added to their family with two sons. God had promised them a son, but Sarah had grown tired of waiting and didn’t really see how God could deliver on His promise since they were both so old. So she took matters into her own hands and had Abraham conceive a son with her servant Hagar. As often happens when we grow impatient with God and try to steer the ship on our own, things went sideways. And in this case, the ramifications are still ongoing. 
 
Paul found deeper meaning behind the genesis of Abraham’s two sons, one of promise (Isaac) through God’s miraculous generosity, and the other (Ishmael), born of a slave representing the law. Paul claimed that the Jews were more like Hagar because they were slaves to the law. While, “Jerusalem above” referred to God’s heavenly dwelling – ultimate freedom. And anyone believing and acting in faith, whether Jew or Gentile, identified with Isaac, the child of promise. Just as in the story of their heritage, Paul encouraged his readers that even though they might face persecution from the other sibling, they would win out as true heirs through their faith and enjoy the freedom they were born to enjoy.  
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • What allegories have been powerful to you in the past? What themes did they represent? 
  • Why does story speak so powerfully to us? 
  • In light of the power of story, how can you reframe your story to highlight the themes that are most important to you? 

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 
 

 

 

“Allegory” – Galatians 4:21-31 Read More »

“No Turning Back” – Galatians 4:8-9

Galatians 4:8-9

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

Paul is writing to the Galatian churches in the area we now know as Greece. Jewish Christians had circulated among these Gentile converts pushing the idea that besides faith, they needed to add religious ritual and laws to gain the favor of God. Some Christians were returning to pagan religious acts to add to their faith. 

Adding to, or taking away from the Gospel message can put us back into slavery to ourselves and unscrupulous religious leaders. Religion is us trying to get to God – the Gospel is what God did to redeem us. Trying to win the favor of God this way is like trying to get into a room you are already in.

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • Is faith enough? Ephesians 2:8-9
  • Have you done something to gain God’s favor? Romans 5:8
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 

A big thanks to Jim Sellers for today’s devotional thought!



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“Daddy” – Galatians 4:6-7

Galatians 4:6-7
 
“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.”
 
You can often tell the state of a relationship by the titles we use. This is particularly true when referring to our fathers. Here’s how I interpret the following monikers:
  • “Father” – formal, distant or even strained, as in, “Hello, Father, I’m home from boarding school. Please pass the Grey Poupon.”
  • “Dad” – familiar and friendly but still respectful, “Dad, thanks for picking up dinner tonight.”
  • “Daddy” – usually reserved for little children, showing intimacy, dependency and adoration. “Daddy! You’re home! Come see what I made!”
“Abba” was the word a small child would use in calling out to their father. When we think of God as our heavenly father, Paul is saying that the relationship is far more than a technical adoption, a simple change of our last name. It is accompanied by an invitation to intimacy. Our God who holds the cosmos in His hand, wants us to think of Him in the most personal of ways. He loves us so much and has given everything to purchase us from the grip of sin and death. And He desires that we draw close to Him.  
 
Many times the relationship we have(had) with our own father shapes what we think about the idea of God as a father. Louie Giglio has said, “God is the perfection of a father, not the reflection of our father.” Everything a father is meant to be can be found in God’s character, His love, and in the inheritance He gives us. So think of Him as your “Daddy.”
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • Has the relationship with your father shaped your view of God as father? How so? In good ways or bad?
  • What are some qualities of a perfect father?  
  • Is your relationship with God one of Father, Dad, or Daddy? Is it formal and strained, familiar and respectful, or intimate and adoring? 

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 
 

 

 
 

 

 

“Daddy” – Galatians 4:6-7 Read More »

“Not Until You’re Old Enough” – Galatians 4:1-5

Galatians 4:1-5
 
“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 is under 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 woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
 
“I’m tired of being told what I can and can’t do. It’s not fair. I can’t wait until I’m a grown up and I can do whatever I want!” This is a sentiment that I’d bet every child has expressed at least once on their way to adulthood. It’s human nature to want what we want and buck those that would hold us from such freedoms. 
 
Paul is tapping into that very human understanding by comparing the constraints on children to the same as that of slaves – that pragmatically there’s no difference. And once we’re on the other side of childhood we understand the need for the guardrails that surrounded us and gave us a safe environment to learn and prepare for the relative freedom that we now enjoy. 
 
Children during Paul’s time didn’t have access to their inheritance or rights until they were of age. And God sent his Son at just the right time to bring about this new age. A transition from the age of the law as guardian, to an age of inheritance, and freedom and adoption into His family. 
 

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  

  • As a child, what freedoms did you look forward to once you would become an adult? 
  • What are some freedoms you now enjoy as an adopted heir into the family of God?  

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you respond? 
 

 

 

“Not Until You’re Old Enough” – Galatians 4:1-5 Read More »

“The One and Only” – 1 Timothy 2:5-6

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

A mediator is someone brought in to a conflict to negotiate between two parties with the goal of healing and reconciliation. Because of sin, humanity severed it’s relationship with a holy God, and a mediator was needed to bring about restoration. 
Paul explains in this passage that Jesus was the only one who could act as mediator. His unique qualifications – being both God (holy and without sin) and man (flesh and blood identifying with all of humanity) allowed him to stand as a go between. And in order to bring about this reconciliation, he went further than any mediator has ever been willing to go. He gave his own sinless life as a ransom to purchase our freedom from sin, and restored us into a right relationship with the Father.   
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • Have you ever acted as a mediator, possibly with family or friends? Were you able to bring reconciliation? How does that experience compare or contrast with Jesus as mediator? 
  • Take some time to reflect on what it means that Jesus was and is our mediator. This passage follows a request from Paul for prayer. How does Jesus as mediator fit into our prayer life?   
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you respond? 

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“The One and Only” – 1 Timothy 2:5-6 Read More »