7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
If you like literature that cuts to the heart without excess verbiage, Ernest Hemingway is your kind of writer. He did not go in for florid descriptions but every word furthered the story. Galatians 4:7 is a verse that would have made Hemingway proud. Paul, in 19 short words, only one of which has more than one syllable, spoke volumes on the gospel and the transformation that took place in the Galatian believers when they understood grace.
Previously, they had been under the law, which Paul equated with slavery. Now that Christ has come, he reasoned, they were now transformed from slaves into adopted sons and daughters, making them due an inheritance they could have no hope of earning. They were being taught by false teachers that circumcision was necessary. Paul will have some blunt words regarding that in future verses. Paul warned against returning to slavery.
The temperature for Christians in today’s culture is rising to uncomfortable levels, albeit imperceptibly, like the proverbial boiling frog who doesn’t know he is soup until it’s too late. We may not know we are turning away from Jesus until it is too late. Fortunately, we have these blunt words from Paul to remind us that we are no longer of that world but are now citizens of heaven with our proof of identification, the Bible and the Holy Spirit. If after all that, you still feel tugged in the direction of the world, believing you will be a more relevant witness that way, consider the slave/son distinction and to borrow the stark style of Hemingway…
Don’t go back!
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church