Galatians 4: 1-20- Cling to Sonship, Not to Slavery

Preached on October 24, 2021 by Senior Pastor Adam Utecht

Sermon Outline

  1. Redemption leads to ______ (v. 1-7)
  2. It is ______ to desert the gospel (v. 8-20)
    1. It exchanges ______ for slavery (v. 8-11)
    2. It ______ relationship (v. 12-20)
      1.  Once ______ (v. 12-15)
      2.  Now ______? (v. 16-18)
      3.  Paul’s ______ (v. 19-20)

Going Deeper

  1. Galatians 4:1-3 describe life before Christ. What is it like? 
  2. Simon Gathercole describes the elements of the world as: “The elementary principles the Galatians previously followed, which for Jews would be the Mosaic law and for the Gentiles the basic concepts of their pagan religions.”  What are the elements of the world for you?
  3. Why is the Law not enough to make us right with God? Read Romans 8:3-4.
  4. How did the time come to completion to send Christ (Gal. 4:4)?
  5. Why is adoption so important (Gal. 4:5-7)?
  6. We are adopted as “sons” – not sons and daughters – why? In this culture and time, only sons would receive the inheritance. Paul is making a point: spiritually speaking, you are all sons in Christ. Men and women, brothers and sisters are all sons because you will all receive the full inheritance.
  7. Read Romans 8:14-17. How does the Holy Spirit help us who have been adopted?
  8. Slaves in the first century is very different than slavery in the way we might think of it today.
    • Slaves made a salary and would earn enough to buy their freedom.
    • Slavery was not bound to ethnicity. There were Romans who were slaves, Greeks where slaves, Jews who were slaves. In fact, slaves were accounted for on every level – rich and poor.
    • Often when a slave was considered free, he stayed and continued to work for his master and would even adopt the family name as their own.
  9. Why did the Galatians’ rejection of Paul’s gospel cause such relational damage?
  10. Why is it so important that our closest friends are believers? Read 2 Cor. 6:14-18.
  11. In what ways do you find yourself trading sonship for slavery? What steps can you take this week to cling to sonship?