This is my sermon on Galatians 4:6-11. This message was delivered on March 18, 2012 at Hillcrest Baptist Church. This is a verse by verse exposition which deals with false Gods, and our service for the sake of others. You will find the text of the sermon, the audio, and a downloadable study outline. Please note that the sermon text is NOT a full transcript. Typically, as I preach, I add to what is in my notes. So, for the full sermon, please listen to the audio version. Also, the Sermon text will require the use of your Bible to look up the Bible references.
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SERMON TEXT:
GALATIANS 4:6-11
V.6:
“The Spirit of His Son” confirmation that the Holy Spirit is God. This statement puts Jesus and the Holy Spirit on the same level.
So, if Jesus is God John 1:1; John 10:30; Revelation 1:8 (4 times in Revelation), then the Holy Spirit must be God!
We receive the Holy Spirit because of our adoption. He is the confirmation of our adoption.
Romans 8:15
It is precisely because of the Spirit that we can cry “Abba, Father.”
If we weren’t sons, we could hardly call God Abba.
Abba is an Aramaic term of endearment, which is similar to the way we say Daddy. That could only come from one who is truly a child of God.
Of course, if we didn’t belong to God, we would never receive His Spirit in the first place.
V.7:
The adoption into God’s family moves us from the realm of slave to son, and as a son, we are heirs THROUGH Christ.
Just as our salvation happens through Christ, we can only receive our inheritance through Christ.
Any access to the father, and therefore His promises, must come through Christ.
John 14:6
V.8:
You can’t serve who you don’t know. Therefore, until you know God, everything you serve becomes a false God.
The law became a false God to the Jews.
Their focus became the law, rather than the lawgiver.
Obedience is great, when done on faith, but too often it’s done in place of faith.
Our faith is placed in our ability to be obedient, at which point we become servants of the law.
You cannot serve the law and the lawgiver at the same time. You can only serve one master.
Matthew 6:24
V.9:
When we come to Christ in faith, we are then “known” by Him.
The word that is translated as known, has very intimate implications.
At the very least, it implies a coming together. More specifically, it is the same word that is translated as known in a sexual sense.
On purely a cognitive level, God knows all of His creation, but not all have come to him through Christ, and have an intimate relationship.
To not be known by God is disastrous.
Matthew 7:22-23
Where does one go when the Lord says depart from me I never knew you? The only destination is hell.
Matthew 25:41
But once you are known by God, hell can never be an option.
Why then would you voluntarily go back to serving the law.
Jesus paid the ultimate price to free us from that bondage.
He paid such a high price, that we should be absolutely sold out to Him!
We should never look back. When you do, it’s impossible to move forward.
It would be like trying to drive home while constantly looking behind you. It can only end in disaster. Lot’s wife is the classic example.
V.10:
These observances aren’t referring to any pagan festivals.
Remember the context? The entire book of Galatians has to do with the influence of legalistic Judiazers.
They were trying to make the observance of the law necessary for salvation.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with observing the various feasts and holy days, it is not necessary and should never be a replacement for genuine faith in Christ
Paul teaches us that whatever days we choose to observe or not observe is totally inconsequential.
Colossians 2:16-17
Romans 14:1-6
No day, in and of itself is bad, God made all days. We can observe (or not observe) any day we want.
What matters is how we observe the day. Do we observe it “to the Lord?” That’s what matters.
V.11:
We should fear for our brethren who have turned away from God, and for those who are lost.
No one wants their work to be in vain. No one wants to see their efforts to restore a fallen bother or sister shunned.
The word labored, in the Greek, literally means labored to the point of exhaustion, to be tired or weary.
Unfortunately, Christians today care far too little for most of our brethren to be overly concerned as to what becomes of them.
How often do we labor to the point of exhaustion for the benefit of our brethren?
The fact that we don’t see much of that is proof enough that we don’t exhibit Christ-like love! If we did, we would certainly labor harder or their sakes.
Our labor demonstrates our love – Lack of labor equals lack of love.
If the church had more of that attitude, we wouldn’t have to worry about revival, we wouldn’t have to worry about declining memberships, we wouldn’t have to worry about not meeting our budget!
If we had that attitude, we’d give more of ourselves in every area.
Where are your priorities?
In Defense: The Blog 
Posted on March 18, 2012
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