 Today we're in chapter 4 in the book of Galatians. We will be looking at verses 1 through 11, and I want to share with you concerning the fullness of time, and you'll see that as it develops in this passage. So let's begin reading here in Galatians chapter 4 at verse 1. I'll read verses 1 through 11, and we'll get into our study. Paul writes, Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father, even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, father. And therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. But then indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now, after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I'm afraid for you, lest I have labored for you, in vain. Now, as we've been looking at the book of Galatians, remember with me what we looked at last time. Last time we were looking at verses 26, we looked at verses 26 through 29, and I want to use that as a foundation for our chapter 4 study today. But in chapter 3, remember with me in verse 26 how he had said, you are sons of God, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. So I want to lay a foundation. First, I'd like to remind us that we become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. I didn't become a child of God simply because I was involved in any religious rituals. I didn't become a child of God because of my upbringing. I didn't become a child of God, neither did you by your own efforts. You didn't become a child of God in that way. You became a child of God because you have faith. You have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't have faith in your faith. You have faith in God. You have a faith in God, and you've come to faith in God through what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you. And when you embrace that, when you begin to understand that faith is not just some nebulous thing that we have, something that we deposited in something out there with the hope that perhaps we've made a good decision in this. Faith is different than that. Faith is putting your entire rest and trust into Jesus Christ. It's trusting Him. One of the closest words that you can get in the English language as a synonym for faith would be trust. You have trusted Him. You trust Him. Not many of us know how to trust very much. We don't trust other people. We don't trust institutions. We don't trust many things. But that's how you got saved. You trusted God. You put your faith in God. You trusted God because God's word said that He sent His Son. You trusted God because God said He loved you so much that His Son died on a cross for you. You trusted God because God said that Jesus died on the cross was buried, but on the third day He rose from the dead. And you trust that God is telling you the truth, that He can make you a new creation, that all things will be passed away, that you can become the temple of the Spirit of God, that God Himself will dwell within you. You trusted God when He said that's the truth. And that's how you got saved. And you heard that Jesus Christ loved you, died for you, paid the penalty for you, would even reside in you while you trusted Him. It's like what John in 1 John 4 verse 15 says, when he says, if anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in Him and He in God. So this recognition, this putting your full weight of trust in the Lord, has resulted in God residing in you. Those who are entering into the churches of Galatia are saying to them that the only way that they can have a potential for salvation is to come under the bondage of keeping rules and regulations, the law of Moses. Paul is arguing against that and he's saying that's not how you were saved, you were saved by faith in Christ, and that's how you became a Son of God. In Romans in chapter 10 verses 9 and 10, Paul said, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness. With the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Now, Paul in his writings makes it very clear that salvation is through faith and not by the works of the law. Remember in chapter 3 how he had said it verse 6 and 7, he said, Abraham believed God, it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And so we have been saved through faith, and that's how it works in the kingdom of God. Now, when Paul was writing a letter to the church of Rome, it's found in chapter 3 verses 21 through 28, this is what I'm going to share with you, out of a different translation, it's called the New Living Translation. But in Romans chapter 3 verses 21 through 28, this is what Paul writes concerning faith and being saved by faith. He says, but now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God with undeserved kindness declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Well, can we boast then that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. And so all through the New Testament, and especially as you see it revealed in the writings of Paul, we are saved through faith. And that's what he had said in chapter 3 verse 26 when he said you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. There's another thing I want to point out and that is in verse 26 again. Notice how he says you are all sons of God. When he says you are all sons of God, that's really a revolutionary statement. He's saying both Jews and Gentiles become the children of God in the same way, through faith in Jesus Christ. And he's pointing out that Gentiles, non-Jews, can actually become a full heir of God and that's a revolutionary thought. You see in Ephesians chapter 3 verse 6 it says the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel. That is a revolutionary thought because the Gentiles didn't have a relationship with God. The Jews had the covenants and promises. They had the word of God, the prophets, the miracles, the signs. Through the Jewish nation Messiah came. They had those advantages. But God made it clear that he was taking the Jew and he was taking the Gentile and he was making one new man and that would be the person who was a Christian, the one who was saved, the one who has a relationship with God. In the Old Testament, humanity is divided into two sections, Jew and Gentile. And throughout the Old Testament, you will see the Jew and the Gentile spoken of. In the Old Testament, humanity is divided into three. You have Jew, you have Gentile and you have the church. And the church is that one new man, whether Jewish or whether Gentile, and they are part of this new nation, if you will, because they committed themselves to God through Jesus Christ. Now, when he says you're all sons of God, you know, it's important to point this out because, I don't know, I'm an old hippie and I used to think in certain ways. In my teen years and all, in the early, in my early 20s, it was still pretty common for people to run around and call each other brother, you know, hey brother, you know, and it was this kind of general humanity that we all considered ourselves to be in some way related to the fact that we were all human beings and so we'd call each other brother and we even went so far as to say that we were all, you know, children of God. Well, the Bible doesn't teach that. The Bible teaches that prior to our coming to a knowledge of God, we're actually, we actually do not know him. We have no relationship with him. Jesus, in Matthew chapter 7, even makes it very clear there when he says, some will say to me in that day that I prophesied in your name, I did many works and wonders in your name, and Jesus said, you're just going to say, depart from me, I never knew you. We didn't have a relationship, even though you may think because you were religious and did things in my name that we somehow were connected, but Jesus makes it very clear, I never knew you. We never had a relationship, I never, never, ever knew you. We never knew each other at all. You thought that you knew me, but I never recognized you. We become children of God, not simply because we go through rituals, not simply because we believe that there is a God. The Bible teaches we become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ and we're born again, but as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become sons of God, even unto those who believe in his name, John says in John 1.12. And so that comes through a relationship with God. We become sons of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And as his children, we are now, because the Holy Spirit lives within us, we are now led by his spirit and led by his word. Romans 8, 14, and 15 says it like this, as many as are led by the spirit of God, they're sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you've received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The word Abba is a diminutive. It means it's like the word daddy. It speaks of when a child would speak to their father. And to this day in Israel, you'll hear a small child speaking to their father and they say Abba. It's another way of saying daddy. And he's saying you have a close relationship with God as a child with their father. And that came when you got saved. And now you have that personal knowledge of God. And by the way, as your father, his ear is always attuned to your voice. Even grandfathers are like that. Your ear is attuned to the voice of your child. I have staff meetings on Tuesday. And my granddaughter, Sophie, was with her mama in her office yesterday. And as I was seated there in my meeting with several of the men, I stopped and I heard, I could hear this voice. And the guys know me. I mean, I get this inclination. I want to get up because she was crying. Because the baby was crying. And my very first thing is, I don't care if we're having a meeting, I'll see you in a moment. It's one of those things where I want to get up and I want to go into the other room and I want to pick up my granddaughter and I want to kiss her and I want to hold her and I want to slap her mom around for a while. Then I want to kiss and hold my granddaughter. My ear is attuned to her cry. And I will hear her. Even if the door is closed and even if my door is closed, I will hear that cry. I can hear it. That's my baby. And if I'm that way as a human father and grandfather, how much more so is God that way on our behalf for us? You don't even have to make the cry out loud. You can have a groaning within your heart that is unutterable, but God hears it. And He knows your tears and He knows your hurt. He knows your voice. And that to me is a tremendous blessing and that's why we can call Him Daddy. That's why we can call Him our Father. Now as we've been looking at this, I want to remind you of a couple other things before we get into chapter 4. I want to remind you, he said in verse 27, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. In other words, when you trusted the Lord you are now in fellowship with Him. You were brought into the body of Christ. You are clothed in Christ. And that demonstrates your salvation. And in that there is neither Jew and there is neither Greek. We are all one in Jesus Christ. We are Abraham's seed. We are heirs according to His promise. There are no distinctions any longer. Again, I was mentioning a moment ago that the Jews had advantages in that they had the Word of God, they had the promises of God, the covenants of God, the prophets of God, had performed, they had all of these advantages and from them Messiah came. It's interesting in the New Testament when Paul speaks concerning the Gentiles, he makes it clear that they didn't know God. Notice how he says it in chapter 4 verse 8. Indeed, when you did not know God. So the Gentiles are not spoken of as knowing God. They're spoken of as not knowing Him. They're spoken of as those who did not know God. You see that in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 5? You see that in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12 where Paul says that you were without God and without Christ in the world. And so before they got saved, before these Gentiles came into relationship with God, they did not know Him, but God revealed Himself to them through the Gospel. And now there's no longer Jew and there's no longer Gentile, that's the promise that they have in Christ and their heirs of the various blessings that God has for them. And so he continues into verse 1 in chapter 4 by saying it this way. He says, Now I say that the heir as long as he's a child does not differ at all from a slave though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until a time appointed by the Father. Now when he speaks of the heir we need to remember that during the time of Christ there was actually a prescribed time when the child would come of age. In the Jewish faith until the age of 12 a Jewish boy was under the direct and he was under the absolute control of a father. But at his bar mitzvah which was observed the first Sabbath after his 12th birthday, he would become a man. And the father would actually pray in that bar mitzvah ceremony, he would pray blessed be thou, O God who has taken from me the responsibility of this boy. And the son would pray and say, oh my God and God of my father on this solemn and sacred day which marks my passage from boyhood to manhood I humbly raise my eyes into thee and declare with sincerity and truth that henceforth I will keep thy commandments and undertake to bear the responsibility of my actions towards thee. I will be responsible for my own life at the age of 12. Now the Greeks were different. The boy was under his father's control until the age 18. And at that time a festival would be held in which the boy was declared to be in training for two years during which he would have special responsibilities to his clan or his city-state. At age 20 the boy's long hair was cut off and offered to the god of Paulos, the god of prophecy, music, medicine and poetry. And he would enter in to manhood. The Romans well at the Roman ceremony boys would take their toys and offer them in sacrifice to the gods as a symbol of putting childhood behind them. That gives us insight into what Paul was speaking about in 1 Corinthians 13, 11 when he said, when I was a child I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child but when I became a man I put childish ways behind me. I got rid of my toys. In our society we get rid of our toys when we die. I don't think we ever do. There was a cut off period where you actually transitioned under the law here in the United States when you're 18, you're an adult. You can go out at the age of 17 years, 364 days and do something and be charged as a minor that if you did the next day you would be charged as an adult. One day difference. At 18 you're recognized as being an adult. And so there was actually transition period and what Paul's speaking about here is he's speaking concerning the fact that sons had periods and so when he says in verse 1 again I say that the heir as long as he is a child does not differ at all from a slave meaning that he was not yet looked at as being an adult and therefore he was not fully under his own control he says he's under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father he's referring to that he's making it clear that he is still cared for by the guardians even if he stands to inherit everything he doesn't receive it until he comes of age and then at that date the father it changes everything and he now is in control of his own life even so verse 3 we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world now he says even so when we were children we were in bondage under the elements that word element that word element is an interesting Greek word what it speaks of is the foundations or building blocks it actually speaks of like the ABC something that is in a line or lined up and when he speaks about being in the bondage of the elements the basic elements of the world system it would be the basic assumptions of human religious systems before you experienced the grace of God you were in bondage to the assumptions of religious systems that told you you have to do certain things to please God every religious system to my knowledge at least the ones that I become familiar with over the years has one thing in common and that is it's all merit driven it's all I have to do something in order to get something that is part of our pagan heritage that is part of our pagan mentality and that if I'm going to get anything from God it's only going to be if I give God something great or something that almost forces him to give me something in return and that's part of the system of sacrifice and when you look into some of the stories in history and mythology of the Greeks you'll see that a king is at war with another king and he's attempting to get into his ships to cross over in order that he might land and take his military force and overcome this enemy but the problem is the waves of the sea and the wind is in opposition to him and he can't sail and so what does he do he takes his daughter and he puts her on a pillar and he sacrifices her to the gods in order that he might have fair sailing in order that he might go out and win this battle and defeat this enemy and you see that in history people like that so for them to satisfy the wrath of a god that was in opposition to them they would actually have to do something great and give it something that meant everything to them but in Christianity we see something entirely different we see a god who's entirely different when you just think just for a moment how if we really had a system that was simply built on only the strong surviving and the weaker always being preyed on by the stronger then if you had a concept at all of a god it would make sense to me that if he's strong and he's god he'd have to be stronger than all therefore he prays on me so how am I going to be able to satisfy a god who's actually out to get me and not help me well I'm going to have to do something to satisfy his anger and therefore I'll give him something that is costly to me whether it's my child whether it's all my wealth what it may be whatever it is I'll give it to him and perhaps he'll be satisfied because if I'm going to follow the logic of the world and if I believe in an evolutionary system then I'm going to have to believe that I'm going to have to believe that if there's a god he's the greatest of all and because the smaller is always preyed upon by the greater that means the god who is of this world in this universe greater of all things must be incredibly powerful therefore he prays on human beings to satisfy that but wait a minute the bible says something entirely different this god who is the creator of all things and his most powerful being that that is did something for me it wasn't a great thing that I did for him it was a great thing that he did for me when he gave his son to die on the cross for me that flies in the face of all logic to be honest with you but that's what the bible teaches pagans have a system that is merit driven if I do things perhaps he'll do something for me god says that's the elementary things you were in bondage to in the world that is not god's way that's deceptive philosophy that will hold you in bondage it's like what he spoke in Colossians 2 verse 8 when he says see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy it depends on human tradition and basic principles of this world rather than on Christ Colossians 2 20 he says since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world why as though you still belong to it do you submit to its rules he's saying don't you understand the grace of god that god sent his son Jesus so that you could be set free from this bondage he says in verse 4 but when the fullness of the time had come god sent forth his son born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons the fullness of time that refers to a completion of the period of preparation in god's timetable in other words when the law fully completed its purpose god sent his son and Jesus Christ provided the righteousness for man that man could not provide for himself again that's how we became children of god sending his son as a father set a time for his son to come of age god set the time for his son to come to earth as our redeemer and so those who were under the law were no better than slaves but now they become god's sons and it's interesting how he speaks about this time this fullness of time because when Jesus Christ came guys it was the right time the Jews had been groaning for messiah and they were under Roman domination it was a right time culturally because during that time there was a common language they had what is called Koine Greek and so this common language that was spread throughout the Roman world made it easier for the gospel to be presented you know English is almost a common language in many places I don't know how many in this room who need to travel internationally but I'm telling you you go to Europe and you can go to any country I've ever been in Europe I've traveled to a lot of countries and I can tell you that I don't even speak English that well let alone a foreign language and so when I go I'll just walk up to whomever and I'll speak English I'll speak English to them and it's always the same thing you probably do the same in a foreign country the first thing you do is you say excuse me do you speak English and if they're in a good mood they'll say yes, if they're in a bad mood they'll just look at you but most of the time you'll find someone who speaks English English is a basic language throughout the world in Japan you will find people who speak English you name the country in Spain you find people who speak English in Israel you speak English it's a common language well during the time of Christ Greek was a common language and so it was right religiously because the Jews the right time religiously the Jews were crying out for Messiah and Jesus came it was right culturally because it was a language that this gospel message could be taken out throughout the world and presented to the world it was right politically because it was during the time of what is called the Roman peace and during that time there were roads that were being built throughout the Roman Empire which made travel on the roads a lot easier and safer there was an economic stability there was political stability and so it was the right time for Jesus to be born because the Jews were crying out for Messiah because a language made it possible to speak this message and the roads and the climate made it safer to take and communicate it and that's what he's speaking about it was the right time at the moment God's timetable and what happened verse 4 he was born of a woman and he was born under the law in other words the Lord Jesus Christ had complete humanity he had human nature this was produced by the power of God and the womb of the Virgin Mary without the intervention of man according to Matthew 1.20 that which was conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit he was born under the law because those who were in subjection to it that the law was fulfilled in him and that through his death the law's power over them would be abolished because Jesus satisfied every requirement of the law perfectly he's the only one who could ever ask this question which of you can convict me of sin Jesus could have said that and did say that but he could have said that to anybody Jesus could look in the face of his mother Mary and he could say mom can you point out one time in my entire life that I sinned one time try that with your mom and when she stops laughing you'll understand what I'm saying say that to your brother or your sister can you convict me of sin yeah where do you want to start say that to your wife if you're married your husband say that to your kids can you convict me of sin absolutely of course I'll live sin and fall short of the glory of God but Jesus Christ is the only person who could ever say I fulfilled the law perfectly not a single thing did I violate and the law standard is perfection the man who does these things shall live by them meaning that if I'm going to enter into the kingdom of God through obeying then I have to live the perfect life the problem is is Jesus pointed out that the law is spiritual that's why he said if I just have a lustful desire in my heart to be with another woman I have broken the law if I have anger in my heart in an unjust fashion for somebody I've broken the law there's nobody who's ever lived who has kept the law 100% it actually is not possible there's only one who did and that's Jesus Christ he was born under the law and fulfilled that law perfectly that we might have relationship with God in Romans chapter 8 verses 3 and 4 Paul writes for what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering and so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the spirit and so Jesus Christ imputes to us he gives to us something we don't have he gives to us imputes to us his righteousness we are made the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ that's what enables you and me to stand before a holy God Moses on one occasion and he was very close to God God spoke to him in a way that he didn't speak to just anybody Moses said to God show me your glory and God's response was I can't no man can look upon my glory and live but now we have Jesus Christ God in the flesh clothed in human flesh dwelling amongst men perfectly fulfilling all of the rules, regulations, obligations of the law doing what you and I can't do never having a bad thought never doing a bad thing living in 100% obedience to the will of the Father 100% and then as he fulfills that will he becomes that sacrificial lamb he dies on that cross he's buried and he's resurrected he imparts to us through our faith in him his own righteousness but I'm clothed in the righteousness of Christ so that when God looks at me he sees the righteousness of his son and rather than me trying to earn heaven I receive it as a gift the law cannot do that for you only Jesus could now he says in verses 5 and 6 because you are rather verse 5 to redeem those who are under the law receive the adoption of sons and become and because you are sons God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying out so again I'm not naturally his child I receive this relationship through adoption and I become a son and God confirms that I belong to him by giving me his spirit and he indwells me again we refer to him as Abba Father the spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God's children we belong to him therefore verse 7 you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir of God through Christ a son and an heir I was watching a show recently I'm trying to remember who this person was I don't know they were saying he had his personal worth was something like 50 some billion dollars 50 some billion dollars does anybody understand the word billion because I don't I don't I don't have a clue what that word means it's so huge but this man's personal worth is more than many countries he has more money see again you know it sounds like I'm fascinated with money but I'm actually like blown away by it and I hear this guy's got 50 dollars and and you know that when you when you've got that that kind of money none of us none of us in this room know what that means if you do know what that means talk to me afterwards and share with me and if you've got that kind of money will you adopt me you know can you imagine what that means you guys ever wonder where your next dollar's gonna come from ever do you ever drive by a car lot and look at a nice car and say man that is a beautiful car I would love to have that have you ever seen like that for me it would be like seeing a cool hot rod of some sort because I like cars I like to look at cars and you know man that is a beautiful 32 man look at what they've got in that I can't believe it what a beautiful 55 that's a beautiful 56 that Nomad is just so cool I man you know look at that that Mercedes what a beautiful BMW I can't believe and you'll see these cars and you look at them there works of art my son David said dad if you had all this money would you buy one the answers no I wouldn't I really wouldn't well why wouldn't you dad well because I don't ever want to drive something that I'm gonna want to kill somebody for swinging the door and hitting it you know I don't I don't want to get mad over a material thing so no but I want that I think the works of art some some cars or whatever beautiful I saw a show where this guy has his own private plane he's out there looking for a car he's gonna buy a car he's bidding on the car and he stops at $300,000 for this particular car a car that he's gonna drive around for a little while and then put in his garage $300,000 he's got his private plane flying from up north down south doesn't think about it all the maintenance of the plane how much it costs to put fuel in do you think he thinks about those things didn't think about that at all not at all it's just not something you'd even worry about you think he thinks about can I afford to go to McDonald's tonight no he didn't think about that either does he ever think about any of no for him money is no object for these these guys you know these billionaires you know what do you want to do today you know and I'm so bored why don't we go to Paris for it we'll just go for a few days and then we'll go down to Madrid and we can stay there for a few days and when we're through hanging around in Madrid let's go up to Barcelona because Barcelona is so beautiful and it's the right kind of time of the year and then from there let's go to Tokyo because I really like Tokyo because there's a real cool you know right now the cherry blossoms are you know they think that way see that's something you and I we just uh I don't know why am I saying all this I don't really know I just because I wish I was a billionaire I don't know because a lot of times value is really material some of these fellas when they die some of these ladies when they die leave their money to their children money that the children did nothing to earn deserve they simply receive God has made me an heir of of heaven but heaven to me is such an obscure it's difficult to envision heaven see us Lewis likened it like this he said it's like telling a child the wonders of a beach speaking of the wonders of a beach to a child who has never been to the beach and whose form of recreation is opening up a fire hydrant and playing in the water there in the gutter which a lot of children do even to the stay when it's hot they open up the fire hydrant the water pours out and that's their pool because they'll they'll never go to a beach they're not they don't have the money they play in gutter water and see us Lewis that that's what people are like they're content playing in gutter water because they don't have an idea of what a beautiful pristine beach is what I'm trying to say is most human beings have such a low view of heaven there's no real longing for it there's no real imagination of God to be with you and to hear the heavenly choir and to see Jesus and to be in perfection with no tears no sorrow no pain only joy I don't know very many people who actually dwell on that aspect of our faith you see but God is saying I have made you an air of all that I have heaven has gold for paving it's the streets the pictures that God gives to us of heaven and the glories are beyond imagination and so we have become heirs of God through Jesus Christ we are his children so we ought not to be so caught up with the here and the now because we can become entangled with the acquisition of things that perish with the using and never bring ultimate satisfaction and are always left behind for somebody else to use and abuse that's why the Lord would say why don't you lay up your treasures in heaven moth doesn't destroy it and rust doesn't corrupt it it's safeguarded no thief will break in and steal it lay your treasures up in heaven but we so very often really don't meditate on that while Paul is saying listen you become an air in Romans 8 17 if we are children we are heirs heirs of God co heirs with Christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory so we are heirs because he's our father and he's giving to us these things he says in verse 8 indeed when you did not know God you served those which by nature are not gods but now after you have known God or rather are known by God how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggily elements to which you desire again to be in bondage you observe days and months and seasons and years I'm afraid for you unless I've labored for you in vain before you came to faith in Christ before you heard that gospel to man made regulations and salvation by works so how is it that you are returning to the world's ABCs of righteousness because not only are you enslaved by works but this is an interesting thought but the religious systems of the world are actually filled with idolatry and you're going to be taking captive by the idolatry of the system you go into India the most religious country in the world and Hinduism the dominant religious faith there is completely idolatrous even forms of Buddhism with that huge statue of Buddha and the offerings and prayers that are made they're filled with idolatry and people have a tendency of moving towards the ABCs of the world that is once again based on man made regulations so he's asking the question why do you want to return to bondage because those things in the law were fulfilled in Jesus Christ they were only foreshadowing Jesus those sacrifices and offerings so that when Jesus died on the cross he would fulfill those things and you would be able to have a relationship with God through faith in him now what is interesting and I'll close with just one thought in verse 11 is this I'm afraid for you lest I have labored for you in vain unless you're a minister like Paul or a pastor teacher that might just go right past you but I can tell you I understand somewhat of what Paul is saying I can tell you that because over the years of ministry I've been ministering for a long time now I can tell you that there have been times when I've been greatly concerned with the spiritual condition of the fellowship because it seems that sometimes those who profess know Christ have really never embraced the freedom that truly does come through faith in him and what happens is people are not free they actually get turned away and go in directions that take them away from God I've seen that many times in this fellowship over the years but one person was even on staff who got turned away and moved off in a direction that was nothing but hurtful for him and I've seen that and so Paul's concern here I'm afraid for you lest I've labored for you in vain I'm afraid that you have not really fully embraced and understood the grace of God because if you had why would you want to substitute the love and grace of God for bondage and do that why do you not want to just enjoy Jesus and the freedom that comes through him and the love that comes through him and the mercy that comes through him and the power that comes through him and the joy that comes through him the peace that comes through him the mercy that you enjoy in him why would you exchange that I'm worried I'm afraid that perhaps I've poured into you something that you have rejected. What a word to say, I'm concerned for you. That's the kind of word that over the years when I've read the scripture and read scriptures like it I've asked the Lord, God I want to make sure where I stand with you. You haven't labored in vain in my life. I want your spirit to be fully in control of me so that I can walk in a way that pleases you but I also to be honest Lord I just want to be in the center of your will and enjoy you and so I'm asking that I might not find my way entering into bondage but that I might learn how to walk in freedom. A freedom that comes through Christ that is not a freedom to go back to sin or to continue in sin but a freedom that comes from being set free from the bondage of sin and religion and gives to me an opportunity to have fellowship with the God who loves me and cares for me as my father so that I might look at him as being Abba, that I might look at him as being my dad.