To Barry Amendment “Abrahm losing faith is an allegory for us to learn from"

 

Greetings Barry,

I’ll answer this directly, despite the fact you wrote it before receiving my response to your earlier letter, even though you’ll find some things overlap.

 

I certainly agree with you that it “was part of God's plan to instruct us in faith vs. works of the Law” and it was indeed one of Paul’s allegories. If you could bear with me, since it is such a misunderstood passage, I will cover in detail the verses you quoted and address your statements at the end.

 

Gal 4:21 Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?

Tell me, you who want the law to justify and save you, don’t you realize what the law says?

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise.

Ishmael was born because Abraham for a time (actually 14 years or more) lost faith in God’s promise of an heir. Instead of having a son through faith in the promise he relied on his flesh to hurry the process along because his faith lapsed (Gen 17:17) during this period.

24 Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.

Remember, it’s an allegory. The women are not actually covenants and Sarah is not Jerusalem and Hagar is not Sinai.

25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

Hagar is like the Mount Sinai covenant because it has bound those in it to sin. Whether Paul says those seeking justification through the law are held by the law or bound by the law or under the law he means the same thing, they are subject to its curse or penalty, which is death. Because the law had/has no escape hatch (2Pe 2:19; Joh 8:34; Ro 7:6; Ga 3:23 & 4:5). Take note that Jerusalem was, at the time Paul was writing, not free but under foreign occupation.

26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

We are free because Jesus provided a way out from under the curse of the law.

Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. 24 and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling.
 
27 For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in travail; for the children of the desolate one are many more than the children of her that is married."

This quote from Isa 54 speaks of the woman with no husband. God had divorced Israel and the Gentiles never had a husband but both would be brought in through this promise to Abraham (2Ki 17:18). Paul’s question is: Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision (Jews) only, or upon the uncircumcision (Gentiles) also (Rom 4:9)? And the answer of course is “both”.

28 Now we, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.

In Romans, Paul explains how we all are free through the promise to Abraham.

Ro 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law (Jews), but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.

29 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.

Ishmael (born according to the flesh) persecuted Isaac (born according to the Spirit). Now, all we’re told is that he mocked Isaac but whether that was the last straw for Sarah which lead her to have Abraham expel them we are never told the details. And so it is in Paul’s day, as the Jews (which he used to do himself) persecute the believers in Jesus.

30 But what does the scripture say? "Cast out the slave and her son; for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman."

If you are going to remain bound to the law or under the law, as Paul often puts it, you cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Unless you pay the debt you owe, the death sentence under the law, you can never be free.

31 So, brethren, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

If we believe on Christ and use the escape hatch he provides we walk out of the prison the law held us in free men and women.

Ga 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.
Ga 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

We are free through the promise that was Messiah.

5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

The yoke of slavery or bondage is dependence on the law for salvation or justification. Peter said (Acts 15:10) this yoke no one can bear because as great and holy as the law is it does not include a provision for escape. Love and obey the law but don’t expect it to do what it was not designed for. Jesus is our escape to freedom and the law points us in his direction.

 

3. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

No wonder Peter and Paul called this the yoke of bondage “no one can bear.”

De 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

 

One lie or one moment of coveting and the law is obligated to arrest you and hold you under its authority until your penalty is paid. Remember the penalty is death. Now the law can’t pay your penalty, it wasn’t designed to do that, you have to pay it yourself or have someone else pay it for you.

4.  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

 

There he goes again just like he said earlier, “For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal 2:21). If God had put in the law a provision (escape hatch I call it) to release or pardon sinners what a waste of time Christ’s life and crucifixion were.

You wrote: We learn from this that if we are under the Law we are still in bondage and can not free our self.

I couldn’t agree more but what it seems to me we disagree on is obedience.

 

Ro 3:31 Do we then make void (katargeo) the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish (histemi) the law.  

 

#2673 ~ katargeo KJV-destroy 5, do away 3, abolish 3, cumber 1, loose 1, cease 1, fall 1, deliver 1, misc 11; total 27, Definition: to render idle, inactivate, to cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish.
#2476 ~ histemi -KJV - stand 116, set 11, establish 5, stand still 4, stand by 3, misc. 17, vr stand 2; total 158. Definition: to cause or make to stand, to place, to make firm, fix, establish; to cause a person or a thing to keep his or its place; to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything.

After being saved by Christ’s wonderful sacrifice do we go out and sin (sin is the transgression of the law - 1Jo 3:4) again? Paul would be dumfounded, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound” (Rom 6:1)? His answer and Christ’s answer are the same – No, we absolutely do not disobey but we obey the commandments that we “May have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev 22:14).

Blessings,

David
 
P. S. You wrote: “David, if your issue is that you work with drug/alcohol abuse victims who have become Christians and you are afraid to allow them any excuse to slip back into temptations of their addictions that is understandable.”

I don’t understand what you mean by this as I don’t work in any such related field.

Blessings,

David S