If you would, go ahead and take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Galatians. We’re in Galatians 4:21–31. I’ve entitled this message today, “Born to Be Free.” And I see “freedom” as the big idea of this passage. 

In addition to that, I see the search for freedom as one of the most profound desires of the human soul. Moshe Dayan the great military leader for the State of Israel once said that “Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.” And I agree with that statement, although we probably disagree on what exactly freedom entails and where it is found.

Patrick Henry said in 1775, “Give me liberty (freedom) or give me death.” That inspired a generation of Americans to fight against British Rule for American independence. Many of us watched and cheered as Mel Gibson, portraying the great Scottish warrior “Braveheart,” said, “They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom.” 

There is, in the human psyche, a profound desire for freedom. But what is that? And how do we get it? Some suggest that we find freedom in the illicit use of sex or drugs or alcohol. Just release your inhibitions and go for it. That ironically ultimately leads to a kind of bondage, not freedom. 

Some suggest that we find freedom in the pursuit of our deepest dreams or desires. Maybe for a time, that is “freeing.” But even that eventually turns up empty. We still have sin that we can’t escape. We still have problems that won’t go away. And we still have this thing called death that hovers over us like a black cloud. How do we find freedom in this world with that hanging over us like a bad omen? Death could strike us down at any moment. That’s terrifying. That’s not freeing. 

Well, believe it or not, the freedom that every person longs for isn’t found in setting yourself free. It’s actually found in submitting yourself fully to the God who created you and offers you perfect freedom from sin and death. 

I’ve said this before, but I think it bears repeating. When you get saved, when you give your life to Christ, that’s not your Independence Day. It’s not like the fourth of July. It’s actually your “Dependance Day.” The day you become a Christian, the day you finally become free… you don’t achieve self-rule; you renounce self-rule. It’s your ‘Dependence Day.’” 

Jesus said it this way in John 8. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (8:31–32). Why? Why is that the case? Because, says Jesus, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (8:36).

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Now, let’s take this argument to the book of Galatians and see what Paul has to say about “Freedom.” When we saw Paul last time in Galatians 4:8–20, Paul was an emotional wreck. That passage is one of the most emotive sections of Scripture where Paul was basically pouring out his heart-break before the Galatians. He said in verse 11, “I’m afraid I may have labored over you in vain.” 

That verse reflects Paul’s passion, but also his frustration with the Galatians. In verse 19, he says “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” And then he ended the section by saying in verse 20, “I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.” 

It’s fascinating to me how Paul, the consummate logician… the person who argued masterfully for the purity of the gospel in the first three and a half chapters of Galatians… He was on a roll debunking the errors of the legalists… But when we get to this section, verses 8–20, there’s very little logical persuasion there. Paul’s appeal was driven more by emotional heart-break and pastoral concern for the Galatians. He was beside himself with distress over the situation in their churches. 

Now, in verses 21–31, Paul gathers himself. He stabilizes his emotions. And he returns to his tightly constructed logical argument that salvation is by grace through faith alone. Some would even call these verses the pinnacle of Paul’s argument where he brings down the hammer and makes his argument absolutely indestructible.

And that starts in verse 21. Paul says, 

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 

Another way to translate Paul’s question here is, “Do you not understand the law?” To listen in this culture implies understanding. Paul is asking, “Do you really know what you’re getting yourself into?” “Are you sure you want to go that direction?”

“Sure, it might be intoxicating at first to dabble in a little bit of legalism. You can follow the Jewish calendar, and you can try to observe all the OT laws. But do you know where the logical conclusion of all that leads? Are you aware that Christ died to free you from those legalistic obligations?” That’s the undercurrent of Paul’s argument here.

One of the great errors of the legalists in Galatia is that they misunderstood the purpose of the OT Law. Yes, the law is good and righteous. It’s a part of Scripture and it has an important role in God’s plan of redemption. Its role was not to make Christians “super-Christians,” or to provide an alternative plan of salvation. Its role was to point out sin in our lives and show us our need for a Savior. 

And so in the fullness of time, God put on human flesh and became a sinless human being. He died upon the cross to pay for our sins, and whoever believes in him “should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). End of story.

Paul’s question here is meant as a verbal insult. Do you even listen to the law? You put so much faith in it, do you even realize what it says?

Because… look at verse 22. 

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 

Okay, this is an interesting argument. They probably didn’t see Paul going this direction. Paul makes reference to the law, and now he references a passage in the law (i.e. the torah, the first five books of Moses). And in those writings is the story of Abraham and his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael, Abraham’s first born, was not the son of promise. 

If you remember the story, Abraham and Sarah were promised a son in Genesis 15. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. That was good! 

But after a while, Abraham and Sarah got antsy. And they decided to help God out a little bit. “God helps those who help themselves,” right? Isn’t that in the Bible somewhere? So in Genesis 16, Sarah told Abraham to have a child through her maidservant Hagar, the person referred to as a slave woman here by Paul.

And so Abraham complied with Sarah’s request. He slept with Hagar. And Hagar had a son named Ishmael. But he was not the son of promise, and it wouldn’t be until fourteen years later, when Abraham was a hundred years old, that Sarah, the free woman, would conceive and give birth to the son of promise, Isaac. This is the OT background of Paul’s statement in verse 22. 

I don’t know how well the Galatians knew the OT when Paul first came to that region. They probably didn’t know the OT very well at all. But after they got saved, they started reading the Scriptures. And it’s possible that the Judaizers were even using the OT to try to convince these Gentile Galatians that they need to rigorously follow the Law. 

Well, it’s interesting to me that Paul assumes here that they know the OT. And he’s going to use the OT to defy the false teaching of the Judaizers. 

And he says in verse 23, 

23 But the son of the slave [Ishmael] was born according to the flesh, 

 I think there is a double entendre here in verse 23. Ishmael was born according to the flesh, meaning there was nothing spectacular about his birth. Abraham slept with Hagar, and she conceived and gave birth. He was born through the natural process of conception and childbirth. But I think there is a double-meaning of flesh here. He was born as a result of sin. He was born as a result of unbelief on the part of Abraham and Sarah, whereas Isaac was the son of promise. 

while the son of the free woman [Isaac] was born through promise.

Here’s the first point from our text today. We’re talking today about freedom, the oxygen for our soul. Where is that found in this world? Well first of all, freedom is found… it’s rooted in God’s promises. 

1) Freedom is rooted in God’s promises (4:21–23)

I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon how people sometimes seek after freedom through self-indulgent hedonism. I’ve seen many people throughout my life try to champion the excitement and “the freedom” of self-gratification, whether that be sex or drugs or money or greed or gluttony. But those indulgences eventually lead to bondage. Like the prodigal son who spent all he had on “loose living” and eventually was craving hog-slop (Luke 15:11-32), so a hedonist will eventually destroy himself with his self-indulgence. That’s not the road to freedom. 

Freedom isn’t rooted in hedonism. But it isn’t rooted in legalism either. This was the error of the Galatians. From my own experience and the experience of watching others, legalism also leads to bondage, not freedom. Many people make the mistake of trying to “improve” upon God’s work of redemption by self-dependent and self-reliant legalism. But that is a rejection of God’s promises. God’s promises are actuated through faith, and they are reliant upon him. 

Sanja had this friend when we first got married—I’ll just call him Jimmy. And Jimmy was the epitome of a legalist. he had come out of a very sinful lifestyle. And he had gotten saved at Sanja’s church. And he really started to grow as a Christian; it was a wonderful story. 

But shortly afterwards, Jimmy started to gravitate towards legalism in his own life and also in his expectation of others. He began to put unrealistic demands upon himself and others, demands of prayer and restriction of certain activities. And he got really obsessive about all these different rules that he had manufactured. 

And you know what happened with Jimmy? His joy dissipated. And soon afterwards people started to dread his presence whenever he would come into a room. Shortly after that Jimmy had a mental breakdown and became incapacitated both physically and spiritually. 

Let me just ask you a question, “Is that freedom?” “Is that what Christ died on the cross for?” No, it is not. And the mistake that Jimmy made was drifting away from the promises of God that freedom is rooted in. And he promoted instead self-reliant legalism. 

The problem with self-indulgent hedonism on one side, and self-reliant legalism on the other is “self.” And whenever the focus is on self you can bet your last dollar that God is not going to show up. And God doesn’t bestow freedom upon those who are focused on self. Freedom is rooted in God’s promises, namely 1) the OT promise of a Messiah and 2) the NT promise of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s where freedom is found. 

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Legalism doesn’t lead to freedom; it leads to bondage. In fact, that’s our second point from the text today. Freedom is rooted in God’s promises but also… 

2) Freedom is incompatible with legalism (4:24–27)

A few weeks ago at the beginning of this series, I said that if grace was Superman, legalism is Lex Luther. If grace was Spiderman, Legalism is the Green Goblin. If grace was the Chicago Bears, then legalism is the Green Bay Packers. Or vice-versa. 

Well that same dichotomy, that same polarity is at work with freedom. Grace is incompatible with legalism. And so is freedom. Grace and freedom go together. And they both oppose the forces of legalism. 

Paul says it this way. Look at verse 24.

24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: 

The “this” in verse 24 refers to the narrative of Isaac and Ishmael in the book of Genesis. Paul says that the story may be interpreted allegorically. 

Now we need to be careful with this term allegory. Some of you English majors in college are familiar with the term allegory. An allegory is a story that uses characters to convey a deeper meaning. Most of the time allegories involve fictional characters. For instance, you probably are aware of John Bunyan’s book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, which is an allegory of the Christian life. The characters in Pilgrim’s Progress are fictional (Pliable, Faithful, Hopeful, Giant Despair, Doubting-Castle, the Celestial City, etc.). And they are meant to depict different aspects of the Christian life. It’s an elaborate analogy or metaphor. Jesus also uses the medium of allegory, when he tells parables of fictional characters in order to advance a theological point or convey a secret meaning. 

Now the difference between Jesus’s parables or Pilgrim’s Progress and Paul’s use of allegory here is that Paul is referring to actual history. Abraham and Sarah actually existed. They are not fictional characters! They lived and breathed upon the earth approximately 4,000 years ago. And Paul is using the historical events in their lives to convey a theological point. 

Probably a better term for “allegory” here is “typology.” NT revelation was prefigured in the OT types of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Ishmael. That’s what typology is, and that’s what Paul is doing here. 

Okay, let’s take a look at Paul’s allegorical or typological interpretation. 

24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women [that is Sarah the mother of Isaac and Hagar the mother of Ishmael] are two covenants. 

In this allegory, the two women represent two covenants: the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In the verses that follow Paul is going to contrast these women and their sons, Isaac and Ishmael. There are two lines of trajectory in Scripture, two covenants. And these lines of trajectory are symbolized by Isaac or Ishmael. So there are two covenants, two women, two sons, two lines of trajectory, and eventually two cities. 

Let’s keep reading. Look at the end of verse 24.

One [covenant] is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.

Hagar was a maidservant, a slave, and so she bore children for slavery. Her son Ishmael was the son of a slave. Paul likens this to Mount Sinai, the location of the giving of the law to Moses. The law represents the old covenant. It convicts us of sin, and therefore enslaves us. We are children of bondage, like Ishmael, when we accept legalism. There is no freedom found in the law.

Let’s continue. Look at verse 25.

 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

Now this allegory gets a little thicker at this point, but we are still travelling down two lines of trajectory. Paul now combines Hagar, Mt. Sinai, the Old Covenant, and also the present Jerusalem with slavery. The present Jerusalem in Paul’s day was the location of the temple. It perpetuated the OT law even after Jesus’s death and resurrection which was the fulfillment of the law. Therefore those who still focus on “the present Jerusalem” are enslaved. 

By the way, Paul wrote Galatians approximately 20 years before his death, and also approximately 20 years before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. The “present Jerusalem” and the way of temple sacrifices was about to be abolished completely. So why would the Galatians be trying to return back to that way of life?  

Look at verse 26.

26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” 

The Jerusalem above is a reference to the “New Jerusalem.” This is the future Mt. Zion, where Jesus will reign for eternity. And Paul says, “she is our mother.” The new Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, was sometimes referred to as “our mother” in Jesus’s day, but this is primarily a reference to Sarah. We are children of promise, children of the free woman, Sarah. We are bunch of little “Isaacs” running around. We reject our own righteousness and legalism and instead embrace Christ! That’s what Paul is communicating in this allegory.

The quotation in verse 27 comes from Isaiah 54:1. The idea here is that the barren one, Sarah, who was barren until very late in life, is not going to remain barren but will have children. And according to the context of Isaiah, her children will even include the Gentiles. Father Abraham has many sons! But so does Sarah. She has many sons made up of both Jews and Gentiles!

Let me just try to help you visualize what’s going on here. Like I said there are two lines of trajectory, two covenants that Paul is typologically interpreting in the OT. First of all there is Ishmael, the son of Hagar. 

Born of Flesh

Born in Bondage 

Hagar 

Old Covenant

Old Jerusalem

Mt. Sinai

Represents “slavery” through legalism 

Now what about Isaac? Let’s contrast Isaac with Ishmael. What does he represent?

Born of Promise

Born to be Free 

Sarah

New Covenant

New Jerusalem 

Mt. Zion

Represent “freedom” in Christ 

Once again: “Freedom is incompatible with legalism.” Freedom and its accoutrements are on one side. Legalism and its accoutrements on the other side. They are mutually exclusive; they are incompatible. As F.F. Bruce puts it in his commentary “Legal bondage and spiritual freedom cannot coexist.”

Now, here’s a question for you. Why did Paul use allegory (or typology) to argue his case theologically? Why not just tell them, “Freedom is by way of promise, not legalism! Don’t trust in works, trust in Christ for freedom!”

Well, Paul did say that. But this allegorical connection to the OT was a valued form of argumentation in Paul’s day. Many people saw this as the best way to hammer home a rhetorical point, or in Paul’s case a theological point. So Paul is putting another bullet in the chamber of his “grace gun” by referencing the narrative of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. 

But I think there’s another reason Paul is doing this. It’s quite possible that the legalists in Galatians were using the stories of Isaac and Ishmael to advance their Judaizing agenda in Galatia. If so, Paul turns the argument on its head. In other words, Paul is out-Judaizing the Judaizers. It’s kind of like the bully at school that would take a person’s hand and hit him with his own hand… all the while saying, “Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself.” Paul is doing something like that here. He’s taking the hand of the Judaizers and hitting them with it. And saying at the same time, “You want to talk OT? Let’s talk OT! You guys are acting like sons of Hagar. We are not sons of Hagar. We are the sons of Sarah; we are Isaacs.”

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Here’s the third point from our message today. Freedom is rooted in God’s promises, freedom is incompatible with legalism, but also…

3) Freedom is accompanied by persecution (4:28–29)

In these last few verses, verses 28–31, Paul is going to transition from an explanation of the allegory itself, and focus more on application. What should we take away from the story of Sarah and Hagar from the OT? Well first of all he says this. 

28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

Notice the use of “brothers” here. They might be brothers behaving badly… they might be backslidden and confused, but they are still brothers. 

These are Christians, and Paul is making clear that they are the children of promise. It’s got nothing to do with being Jewish or converting to Judaism or even Judaizing their Christianity. It’s about Christ. If they know Christ, they are the children of promise. They are Isaacs. And we are Isaacs likewise if we know Christ.

28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 

That’s fascinating. Let’s flesh out the story of Isaac and Ishmael a little bit here. In verse 23, the contrast was between flesh and promise. Now the contrast is between flesh and Spirit. This flesh/Spirit contrast is going to be very important in the last two chapters of Galatians, so keep an eye out for that.

But Paul is saying here that the flesh-born son of Hagar persecuted the Spirit-born son of Sarah, the son of promise. The slave-child persecuted the free-child, if you can imagine that. 

Paul is referencing here an incident from the OT where Ishmael actually “laughed mockingly” at Isaac. Genesis 21 says this, “And the child [Isaac] grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing” (21:8–9). 

The idea here is that Ishmael was mocking Isaac or making fun of him. There’s actually some wordplay here too. When Sarah found out that she was pregnant at 90 years old, she laughed (Gen 18:12). And then she lied to God about laughing (Gen 18:15). 

Abraham did the same thing when God told him he was going to have a son in his old age (Gen 17:17). The verb for “laughs” in Hebrew is צָחַק. And the Hebrew name “Isaac” is יִצְחָק which means “laughter” or “he laughs.” Sarah and Abraham laughed because it was utterly ridiculous that they would have a child in their old age. And so God, who has a sense of humor, calls the baby יִצְחָק or “laughter.” 

Well later, when the two boys were young, Ishmail was found laughing at Isaac. He laughed at “laughter boy.” He צָחַק -ed יִצְחָק. Perhaps he was mocking his little brother because that’s what big brothers do. They mock their little brothers. 

But this was so upsetting to Sarah, and it must have been something severe, because Sarah wanted to banish Hagar and Ishmael both because of this. Genesis 21 says, “So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac’” (21:10).

 Alright, so that’s the backstory for Galatians 4. And Paul just assumes that his readers are familiar with that story. And the application that Paul draws from this OT story is this. Just as Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael, so you children of promise will be persecuted by children of the law. The Ishmaels persecute the Isaacs of this world. 

And for the Galatians, the Judaizers were their Ishmaels. They were slighting the Galatians for not being circumcised. They were treating them like second-class citizens and weak Christians because they didn’t observe the OT law. This persecution probably was the original cause of the Galatian backsliding. Who wants to be looked down upon because you are considered a sub-par Christian?

But Paul is saying here, “Don’t think that persecution means you are in the wrong.” Isaac, the son of promise was persecuted. Jesus the Messiah was persecuted. And so it shouldn’t shock you that you are being persecuted as well. 

Listen, here’s what’s applicable for us. Freedom might be incompatible with legalism, but it is not incompatible with persecution. We need to realize that freedom in the Christian life does not mean that we will be free from persecution. In fact, based upon this passage, and I would say the entirety of the NT, freedom is very much akin to persecution. 

So let me just encourage you in this. If you have suffered insult or ridicule because of your faith in Christ, consider yourself blessed. If you have missed out on a job advancement because of your faith in Christ, consider yourself blessed. If you have been ostracized by your family as a result of your commitment to Christ, be of good cheer. That doesn’t mean that you have made a mistake somewhere along the way. In fact, it actually reflects the freedom you have in Christ. 

I think that some of the attacks that Christians receive are actually a response to our freedom. The devil resents the freedom that we have in Christ, and so he will attempt to turn up the heat on us in order to push us back into slavery. Martin Luther says it this way, “As soon as the word of God appears, the devil becomes angry; and in his anger he employs every power and wile to persecute it and wipe it out completely… If someone does not want to endure persecution from Ishmael, let him not claim that he is Christian.” Jesus himself said, “In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

 One of the reasons that God allows us to suffer persecution at the hands of the enemy is because he wants us to depend upon him in a deeper way. Whenever we are ridiculed or persecuted in this world, it is an attack on our “self.” But that’s okay. We need less of “self” and more of Christ. 

So in those moments of difficulty, we actually have an opportunity to depend upon Christ in a deeper way, and that leads to freedom. So don’t be surprised if God allows you to feel a little pressure in your life. Don’t be surprised if God puts you through a little bit of suffering to refine you and make you more dependent on him. That’s a good thing. 

And on the other side of a difficult season of suffering or persecution, there is a deeper experience of joy, peace, and freedom that awaits you. So don’t get discouraged. Don’t give up. Persecution is your lot in life, if you are an Isaac, a son of promise.  

Dwight D. Eisenhower said this about freedom, “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” I agree. And I would add to that the author of history, God Almighty, does not entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. Freedom in Christ requires courage. It’s not for the pathetic babies in the world who keep whining about how hard life is. God gives us freedom in Jesus Christ, and that freedom will bring us persecution by those who begrudge us. 

Here’s another reason that God allows us to be persecuted. It’s so that we don’t get soft and start taking our freedom for granted. When freedom isn’t valued and protected by those who are free, it is taken for granted. I think that our country today is probably the best illustration of that. 

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Speaking of taking things for granted, here’s my last point.

4. Freedom is worth protecting (4:30–31)

We need to endure persecution in order to experience freedom, but we also need to be proactive protecting our freedom from those who sneak in and try to steal it.

Paul says in verse 30, 

30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 

In other words, get rid of legalism. Kick it to the curb. Protect your freedom. Don’t let these goofball legalists come in and steal your freedom. Get rid of their legalism, and get rid of them while you’re at it. Chase them out of the church!

And finally as a summary of this passage, Paul says in verse 31,

31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. 

We are Isaacs not Ishmaels. So think like that. Live like that. 

1. Freedom is rooted in God’s promises (4:21–23)

2. Freedom is incompatible with legalism (4:24–27)

3. Freedom is accompanied by persecution (4:28–29)

4. Freedom is worth protecting (4:30–31)

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Albert Einstein said once that “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.” I agree with that statement. I think that this is especially true of God who lives with absolute and total freedom. It’s also true of God’s people who God allows to taste of his absolute freedom. 

And it’s because of that sweet taste of freedom that we are willing to endure a little bit of persecution in this world and fight to protect the freedom we have in Christ. If you are looking for freedom today, let me assure you, you are only going to find it in Christ. No Christ, no freedom. 

Maybe some of you have been steered off-track in your Christian walk and have tried to adopt self-reliant legalism or self-indulgent hedonism. If that’s the case let me encourage you, right now, to recommit yourself to Christ and embrace the freedom that only he can give. No Christ, no freedom!