There are two types of Christians, which are you?

(Galatians 4:21-27)

There are two groups of people among the ranks of Christians, and the distinction between them is what Paul discusses in this section of his letter to the Galatians.

The first group are like the Galatians church. They are seeking to be justified under the law. They believe they are under law and must keep the law to stand before God. They believe that when they break the law they are sinners and often self-condemn themselves as sinners. This is a large group people and probably constitutes the majority of Christians in the world today.

The second group however understand the teachings of freedom that we receive from and through Jesus Christ. They believe they are not under the power of sin, they have been set free from law, and in Jesus Christ are able to live without condemnation in the grace of God. They reach the place that Paul reached where he could say that he knew of nothing against himself.

The First Group

The most important question that arises from this section of scripture is: which group are you in?

Are you of those who suffer because you believe you must fulfil the law, even though no man is able to do so, and so suffer under the power of sin and condemnation, or are you of the group who recognises, understands and receives the true freedom open to all believers through grace and faith in Jesus Christ? Look now at the words of this section of scripture.

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law? 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. 24 Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 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.” (Galatians 4:21-27)

The two sons of Abraham, and by extension the two mothers of those two, represent the two covenants.

Hagar, who was the mother of Ishmael, was a slave. She was in slavery and as such represents the covenant of slavery, that is, the law.

Make no mistake, the law as given by Moses is a hard taskmaster and those who live under it are in slavery to it. What is worse, because the law defines sin for what it is, breaking the law is to commit sin and the law condemns those who break the law as sinners.

So ask yourself these questions. Are you a sinner? Do you believe you must keep the law (e.g. the Ten Commandments), to be justified in the eyes of God? Do you walk in condemnation when you do not keep the law or self-condemn if you break the law?

If you answered “Yes” to any (or all) of these questions, then you are in the first group.

The first group bears children that are in slavery. Just as Hagar bore the child of slavery, so too the adherents of the law bear children for slavery under the law. Those churches, teachers and preachers who bind their congregations under the requirements of the law, and condemn as sinners anyone who breaks the law, are bearing children of the slave. They are in slavery just as Hagar was a slave.

Does it matter? After all the law is holy, just and good isn’t it?

Yes it matters, because Jesus came to set you and me free from slavery to the law, slavery to sin and slavery to condemnation. There is a better way and it is the second group who have found the better way.

The Second Group

The second group are likened to Isaac who was the son of Sarah and was free. Sarah was a free-woman and her children are the children of the free. Her children are not born into the slavery of the old covenant of the law.

The second covenant, which we know as the New Covenant, is not about law or condemnation or sin. It is about freedom from sin, freedom from law and freedom from condemnation. This is why Jesus came and died for you and me: to set us free from ALL the things we could not be freed from before He came. As the scripture says:

38 Let it be known to you therefore, brethren, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him every one that believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)

The law sets no-one free because the law defines sin and condemns those who break the law as sinners.

But Jesus came to set us free from sin and to take our sins away through His death and resurrection, so that we could be born anew as new creations in Jesus Christ. He sets us free from all the things the law could not set us free from.

That is why the New Covenant; the covenant of freedom, is so much better than the old covenant of law.

The second group who have found the truth of this freedom in Jesus Christ and who live daily in this freedom do not suffer from sin or condemnation or shame or guilt or fear or any of the other things that life under the law leads a person to. Sarah is the mother of those who are free, just as she was the mother of Isaac who was a freeborn son and not a slave.

And there are preachers and teachers who DO teach these things and understand them today. They have seen and recognised the truth of the New Covenant for what it is. The truth is freedom.

Recall in John 8: 32 where Jesus said, “…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” This is why I can confidently say that the truth IS freedom and there is no freedom except in the fullness of the truth, which is in Jesus Christ.

The Dilemma

Now the dilemma for the church is this. Not many people know this truth. Most of the churches, especially the large organisational congregations, do not teach the truth of freedom or understand it.

Do you find this shocking? You should. And Paul knew this would be the case when he wrote these words almost two thousand years ago. Furthermore, the truth of this matter was given to the prophets long before Paul, because Paul was quoting the words of Isaiah 54 verse 1. Look at what he said in these verses:

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.” (Galatians 4:21-27)

There will be many more who are children of the slave than who are children of the free. Bringing this into our current situation, there are many more in the church who are adherents of the law (children of the slave), than who are adherents of the truth of the New Covenant (children of the free).

There are many more churches, preachers and teachers who preach bondage to law rather than freedom from the law.

Let me give you some examples. If you are being taught that you must keep the Ten Commandments, then you are a child of slavery. If you are being taught that you must tithe, as was required under the law, then you are a child of slavery. If you are being told that you are a sinner for whatever reason, then you are a child of slavery. If you are being told you must keep the Sabbath, you are a child of slavery.

Now if you are also being taught about freedom in Jesus Christ as well as the law, and if you are trying to live under both the Old and the New Covenant, then you are in an even worse position because the two covenants do not mix. You must be under either one or the other. You cannot live under both.

Even from a purely logical perspective it is impossible. How can you be both under law and set free from law at the same time? How can you be set free from sin and a sinner at the same time? It is impossible! And yet that is the message that many of the churches are teaching and preaching today. Is it any wonder so many Christians suffer because of this confusion. They cannot have the victory because of the confusion they are taught.

In truth there are very few who will find the freedom and the truth of the New Covenant in this age. The prophecy of Isaiah quoted by Paul tells us as much. Furthermore, Jesus tells us this too when He said:

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Note the last words in this verse, “…those who FIND it are FEW.” Not many will find the truth of the New Covenant and the way to life that comes through the true path.

Does that mean that all of those who go to churches that teach the Old Covenant and who are children of slavery are lost?

No! Absolutely not! But they are going to do it the hard way because they do not have freedom. They do not have the victory over sin, over the law and over condemnation that Jesus freely gave to all who believe and who seek the truth.

The fullness of this issue is this. There is a better way. If you are caught under the ministry of slavery, you can escape and find the truth of freedom in Jesus Christ. All you need do is seek and ask Him to lead you into the truth.

I can assure you it is quite different in many ways to what is commonly taught as Christianity, but the value and the freedom is worth it.

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