Bond or Free?

I have been reading in Galatians this week and I thought these few verses were cool!

“Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar… And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does te Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, For the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.’ So then brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.” – Gal. 4:21-31



It’s weird, because I’ve read Galatians many many times but never before had I really noticed these verses before. I just thought it was neat how Paul uses the example of Sarah and Hagar to model the Old law and the New law. So many people were wanting to be justified by the old law when the new law came into effect after Jesus was crucified, and this seems like it would have been a great way to convey to the people the roles and characteristics of the two laws. I love thinking about how we are free under the new law, that we don’t have to be slaves to our pasts sins. Under the old testament, we know that the people’s sins just rolled over to the next year and that animal sacrifices never truly washed people clean. But under the new testament it is different. Jesus was our perfect sacrifice. Have you ever just thought for a minute what that really means? To be perfect? To be so perfect that your death can free people from their sins and mistakes? I can’t imagine what that must have felt like. And have you thought about how we are clean when we ask for forgiveness? It’s an interesting feeling and thought, to think about Jesus taking that sin away and making us new. We should thank God daily that He sent Jesus for us, to free us from the bondage of sin and to be children of the promise. We are children of the free woman. :0) What a nice thought. 

 

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