Galatians 4:21-31 Children of Promise

In this passage from Galatians 4, Paul closes his argument about freedom and slavery by making an analogy from the book of Genesis. As we follow Paul's logic, we see that gospel reverses the values of the world (and popular religious culture!)--the ‘able’ and the proud are out, the morally sick and sinful are welcomed in. “Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons, much less secure than non-Christians, because of the constant bulletins they receive from their Christian environment about the holiness of God and the righteousness they are supposed to have. Their insecurity shows itself in pride, a fierce defensive assertion of their own righteousness and defensive criticism of others. They come naturally to hate other cultural styles and other races in order to bolster their own security and discharge their suppressed anger. They cling desperately to legal, pharisaical righteousness, but envy, jealousy and other branches on the tree of sin grow out of their fundamental insecurity.” — Richard Lovelace DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (v.21) What does it mean to want to be “under the law?” How does it differ from obeying the law? (Compare with 4:4-5, and 5:16-20) Read Gen. 16:1–4; 17:15–19; and 21:1–3. When God didn’t work according to Abraham’s timetable, Abraham decided to rely on himself to make God’s promises come true. Have you ever done that? What did it do to your peace and trust in God? Right now, where are you tempted to take control of your hope and future away from God? The residents of Jerusalem would regard Sarah as their mother and Hagar as the mother of the Gentiles. Why does Paul reverse things? How does this bolster his argument in 3:7 and 4:7-9? Read Matthew 5:3–11. How do Jesus’s description of his blessed people compare with Paul’s analogy to Sarah and Abraham in Galatians? How does it compare with your expectations about what it feels like to follow Jesus? (v. 27) Can you identify with Sarah (“the barren one”) in any way? if so, how does her story bring hope or comfort to you?