Galatians 4:1-31 KJV 1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 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. 12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all. 13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. 14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. 16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? 17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. 18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. 19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, 20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. 21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

What does it mean to be born free. Everyone of us is born under the law of sin and death. We all sin sooner or later. Adam and Eve were told not to eat the fruit and the law of curiousity will it deceived them with the help of the serpent. The law of disobedience to God existed, but there another law the law of man, the law of humankind. The law of right and wrong. A servant is not born free. Those that are born free are born not by the law of man but the law of God only. Born under the authority of God alone not by enslavement. Hagar was a servant in Abraham's household, the maid of his wife Sarah, who had been given to her probably at the time of marriage if not before. The point being Hagar was not a free woman in the since of choice. She conceived and gave Abraham a son name Ishmael. The father of some of the Arabarian world. There were more people then just Abraham, some had faith in other deities that are consider pagan or occult worship in regards to the Jewish faith. Some religions even sacrificing their children to their gods. Point I am making this illustration of these two groups of people one of Sarah and one of Hagar is to illustrate a point about freedom and bondage to the law. To be free of the law is to be born of God to be enslaved by the law is to be in judgment of law. We all are guilty of some law of God sooner or later. Before salvation we are in bondage to the law. When Christ came He set us free from the law of bondage by his death on the cross and his resurrection. Faith in Christ makes us free from the law of sin. It is like Hagar was given a paper of freedom. In a since Hagar was given freedom when Abraham sent her away. Yet at the same time she was no longer enslaved to Abraham but the elements of the world. Force to forge her own life in the wilderness raising a son by herself. Adam and Eve were under the law, fail the law and was cast out of heaven to face the element of the world. God did not abandon them. Only the reward of obedience was taken from Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were children of God. The devil is cast out of the heaven and roams the earth looking to devour. He is still under the law of God, but he in direct disobedience only limited by the power of God. God has the devil power restricted. It is almost like sanctions against a government. It's power limited by the force of another power. Not a force of complete destruction usually but limited power outside its own habitation. Devil has authority in hell to torment people, but his power is limited on earth on how long he can test or hurt God's people. Hagar has total freedom from her master, total freedom in the wilderness only subject by the laws of the area and God. Yet her sin is what caused her freedom. Adam and Eve had freedom from God but subject to the laws of God still existed. Man is in subject to the law of God and outside the law there is wilderness and enslavement to another law not of God but of man. If we are free from sin, then a price had to be given. A payment for breaking of the law. That price paid by Jesus. He paid the price for the original sin of death caused by Adam and Eve. Because of this payment we see God no longer without his sheep of the world but a pastor or shepherd of many. Meaning we take God at his word that His provision of salvation for eternity and we follow Him. We follow not in small herd, but in a large crowd that desire salvation and gains salvation through faith in Christ. We call God Father. Our hearts declare him as Father or shepherd of our soul. A guardian of our hearts, because without him sin abounds in our life. Many religions are based on works of the law. Doing a good deed might cover a sin debt. In society this is often true. If one does good and one sins publicly then it covered by the good deed and the sin forgiven or over looked. It matters not if the transgression is then corrected, the villian has gotten away with something he perhaps would not have if he been someone else in society. What happens is often times the sin is then justified by giving of a gift. A gift not necessarily owed. Yet it looks good to the public eye. It like saying your sorry or buying your way out of a crime. In recent years more big names are being able to buy their way out of the crime. Where some other big names in Hollywood have fallen. Names that effect most of us through years of television watching as being good moral teachers. The shockwave of sin effecting the judicial laws of our land and the person now being labeled as no longer a person of good moral character. Yet they will be forgiven by society as soon as the crime is paid for. That is life. Some will not even care how many years these names have paid for a crime, they will still be cherished in society. It is a crazy world we live in. Yet God is providing the way out of punishment of the people for sin. He set the captivites free from sin. Jesus lead the army out of jail/hell. They came forth from the grave with Christ death when the graves were open, because of their punishment caused by their sin of disbelief, now they believed. Yet the option of salvation for those caught by the sin of death of unbelief is now destruction for eternity, and no way out. No promise of hope of tomorrow. Yet we know the dead will rise once more to face the eternal judgment of God. Those not saved by God's grace through His Son will face destruction for eternity. Why do God's children cry Abba(Father) because we know and understand that grace God has given us by giving us the knowledge of His Son and the promise of eternal life because of Christ payment for our sins. We are no longer enslaved to the elements of this world or the world to come. We are no longer slaved to sin, only to God's law of faith. God's law of belief. It is like watching a documentary of facts, knowing this must be true, without any other evidence, or not believing because of a lack of evidence. Faith in God takes God's intervention of His Spirit to teach us faith and salvation. The begining of faith begins at the first thing we believe that is true about God. It then continues to grow as we continue to believe beyond that one thing. Today is Father's Day. I did not give a Mother's Day message. I had my reason of not giving an earthly Father's day message. We may be biological the daughter or son of one man, but we are either spiritual child of God the Father, the devil or man alone. Hagar was a daughter of the law of man and God, though she sinned. Sarah a daughter of God, wife of a man and subjected the law of man but free woman only because she was not a servant, she had all the benefits of being a wife to Abraham. She had his money, his tent, his possessions, Hagar had none of these but what Abraham handed her. Are we child of God because of what he hands us, or are we joint heirs through faith in Christ Jesus with His Son. Joint heirs to the hope eternal life in paradise. Hagar had no rights concerning the tents of Abraham. She had no rights to protection of Abraham once cast out. Adam and Eve were not protected from the elements of this world or the world to come once cast out of the garden of Eden. The laws of Abraham's home still existed for Sarah but it was for her protection. Sarah enslavement came with freedom. Not a freedom of no laws. Our salvation is bought with a price, not for a yoke to live in disobedience but a yoke to live as children of promise and hope without sin. God expects better things of his children, though they do fail because of their humanity. Are you enslaved to trying to save yourself, You can not save yourself from God or his wrath. His all seeing eyes even knows your thoughts. The truth be God loving mercy is greater to those that love and serve Him. It is greater because we already know how much He as forgiven for us, from the time of salvation to present time in our life. God's grace and mercy is for eternity. Better to serve a God of forgiveness then one of laws that we ourselves can not obey because of our humanity. We can not hope our deeds are good enough to get us in, because it out weighs our evil. Our sin is not justified in the court of God without belief in Christ. Dear Heavenly Father, I cry Abba, because you are the God and Father of all nations and tongues that believe in your name and salvation plan. I thank you for your grace and protection in the lives of those around us and the hope you can only bring by your Spirit and your Son. In Jesus precious name, Amen. Continual Scripture Study for Devotion: Romans 5:1-21 KJV 1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. http://www.turtle30cshell.com