The Law or the Lord? You Decide

In Galatians 4 Paul continues with his contrast of the grace of Jesus and the law. There must have been some people in Paul’s audience that were turning away from grace and turning toward the law. Paul reminds the Galatians that they are either going to be under the law or under the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The metaphor that Paul uses is the difference between a slave and a son. Paul says that when a slave and a son are children there is little difference in their lives, at least as they relate to authority. The son has a steward or guardian over him, telling him what to do. But when that son reaches an age appointed by the Father, things change. He is no longer treated in a way that is similar to a slave, rather he becomes a full fledged son, and an heir to the estate of the family. Paul equates that with coming to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ. You see no one is ever a “free agent”. We all serve someone…either Jesus or Satan. We are either under law or under grace. We can’t opt out of the effects. The Galatians were apparently turning back to the law and Paul is showing them how futile that is.

Who or what have you decided to follow? Are you going to follow the law and its associated bondage, living a life that is centered around your behavior and the inevitable guilt and feelings of inadequacy that this brings; or Christ and His freedom? The choice is up to you. I hope you will choose the Lord and not the law. The law will always hold you in bondage and can never set you free. However, when we choose the Lord we have freedom.

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