Do Not Be Tricked by a Carrot and a Stick
Galatians 4:8-11 (KJV)
8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Here Paul tells the Galatians that they are not acting like heirs of God. They are not acting like who they are. You will find this pattern in many places in the New Testament. Letters are addressed to saints, they are told who they are in Christ, they are reminded of what Jesus has done for them. Then after that you will find passages that talk about the sort of behavior that flows from that.
Notice also, the sort of things Paul points out as bondage here. Days, and months, and times, and years are all references to religious obligations laid out in the Law of Moses.
Paul had earlier preached the Gospel of the grace of God to the Galatians. Now, he has heard that they are beginning to mix that with various forms of obligation. In response, he has spent a lot of effort in this letter reminding them that salvation and ongoing life in Christ about belief, faith in Jesus Christ, and not religious behavior.
I think he reveals a little frustration here when he talks about the possibility that he has labored in vain among the Galatians. It’s like he’s saying, “Don’t you get it!? After all the teaching you have heard from me, do you really still not get it?
We find this same problem today. Many would encourage us to believe that we need God’s grace to be saved, but then we need to be zealous in our efforts to remain in God’s good graces.
When we begin acting morally upright out of a sense of duty or obligation, our hearts are no longer in it. It becomes nothing more than fleshly religion. But Grace is the answer.
Jesus Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness. (see Romans 10:4) Righteousness is a gift. (see Ephesians 2:8-9) We get the righteousness of God when we are placed into Jesus. (see 2 Corinthians 5:21)
In the churches he visited in the first century, Paul was dealing with the same human tendencies we see today. Nothing has changed. There are many who urge us to revert to the Law, but we can be certain that the Gospel has not changed since the time of Paul.
It is still grace upon grace. It is grace for salvation, and grace as the rule of life. When we get that right, we effortlessly obey God’s will from the heart (see romans 6:17) without a carrot and stick to keep us on track.
Grace and peace to you.
--Larry
