Coach’s Corner

Today, we continue reading our Galatians letter from Paul….

GALATIANS 4

• VS 1-7 - Imagine being the heir to Donald Trump, or Bill Gates, or Sam Walton.  Imagine the resources and potential that is yours at the appointed time.  In a sense, it already belongs to you since you are a child and therefore an heir.  But for some reason, they don’t usually open up the full allocation of resources until you’ve grown up.  It’s yours, but the fullness of it is witheld.   Paul says that’s not much different than being a slave that is in bondage even though he’s the eventual master of the estate.  But God sent Jesus to break the bondage of the law (that could never save us, only point us toward our need for a savior) and open the line of adoption into the kingdom of God.  Now that Jesus has done that, we can become adopted as sons and daughters of God and call him Father.  VS 7 tells us that if we are his children, then we are in fact his heirs and will inherit his promises.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT?
• VS 8-11 - Here Paul marvels at how once they’ve received the freeing power of grace that they would allow themselves to get sucked back into legalistic practices.  I would love to hear from you as to what you consider to be legalistic traps in churches and in the faith today.  Share them in the comment section below.  What are the marks of that?  What does it look like?  How can you tell if you’re being sucked in?
• VS 16 - “Have I then become your enemy by telling the truth to you and dealing sincerely with you?” Here is one of the hardest challenges for pastors and leaders to deal with.  God calls us to speak truth.  Yes, we are called to speak it with love, but nevertheless, we are called to speak truth into the lives of those around us.  Without fail, these are people we care about.  And yet there is this constant concern that the response will be what Paul expresses here.  It reminds me a bit of American Idol.  During the audition rounds, there are lots and lots of people who sound horrible and when experts in the field tell them they can’t sing, they become indignant and insult the judges because they KNOW they can sing.  What do those stupid judges know anyway?  If you’ve ever dealt with a friend with whom you’ve had to be square with them for their own good, you know the dilemma.  How do we get past this avoidance of truth?  Both on the giving end and the receiving end?
• VS 22-31 - This section is ripe with current issues.  Paul discusses the difference between the two children of Abraham.  One was born under the curse of bondage (Ishmael), and one was born under a promise (Isaac).  Ishmael and Isaac represent the Arabic and Jewish people respectively.  Paul acknowledges the strife between them that continues into this very day.  We have a clear and physical example of the conflict between bondage and freedom.  There has never been peace between them.  This is also a reality in the spiritual sense.  There cannot be peace between those who would follow a legalistic approach to faith and those who accept the free grace of Jesus Christ.  You cannot accomodate both.  Ultimately, Jesus will seperate out those who have accepted his grace as his heirs and children forever, and banish those who have attempted to earn their place by performance.  They are not true children and will be seperated forever into a place the Bible calls Hell.  I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful that God’s grace is free and that I have accepted his promise into my life and I stand today as his son and heir.  If you have any doubts about where you stand, click here.

YOUR TURN

I’ve offered some questions and challenges above.  Take a few minutes to add to the discussion and the discovery process for others.