Joel M Bradshaw

8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.–Galatians 4

1. Remember Paul’s tension in Galatians between flesh and Spirit.
2. Before they were saved by God’s grace, the Galatians were slaves to their flesh.
3. Now that they were following God and His Spirit, why would they go back to matters of the flesh?
4. The cult leaders present were aiming have them return to the outward expressions of the law of Moses, as if they could save like God!
5. Compared to God’s grace and salvation by faith in Jesus, any effort on our ends is seen as weak and worthless.
6. So push back against the temptation to add more of you and less of Jesus. As if my accomplishments could ever match up to what Christ accomplished! Never.
7. As followers of Jesus, we have become known by God. There is no greater thing. This is only possible because of the Spirit, and not the works of the flesh. So fight against the temptation to revert back to depending upon your own works and efforts.–JMB