Galatians For You (God's Word For You) by Keller Timothy

Author:Keller, Timothy [Keller, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Good Book Company
Published: 2013-02-09T16:00:00+00:00

GALATIANS CHAPTER 4 VERSES 8-20

8. Two Religions, Two Ministries

These verses set before us two contrasts. One is between gospel faith and worldly religion (v 8-11), and is one of the most important and remarkable insights of the whole book. The other is between gospel ministry and worldly ministry (v 12-20), and gives us insights into how the gospel practically affects our relationships with others.

And it matters that we understand the contrasts, and learn to see them in our lives and around us. As Paul sees the Galatians failing to do this, he is in “fear for” and “perplexed about you” (v 11, 20 ).

The Idolatry of Biblical Religion

Many of the Galatian Christians had been worshipers at the idol-worshipping temples, and had lived the licentious and immoral lifestyles which went along with those religions. And unless we stop and think, verses 8-11 seem to be a warning to the Galatians not to go back to this kind of pagan idol-worship. After all, before they knew God, they were “slaves to those who by nature are not gods” (v 8 ). And now, Paul says: “you are turning back … Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” (v 9 ).

But then we remember that the whole point of Galatians is a warning not to adopt a biblical legalism . The false teachers were not encouraging the Gentile Christians to ignore God’s law, as they had in their pagan days. Rather, they were urging them to adopt all the Old Testament Mosaic law, in order to be justified and pleasing to God (2:14-16).

Therefore, Paul is saying that earning one’s own salvation through scrupulous biblical morality and religion is just as much enslavement to idols as outright paganism and all its immoral practices! In the end, the religious person is as lost and enslaved as the irreligious person. Why? Both are trying to be their own savior and lord, but in different ways. Both are based on “the basic principles of the world” (v 3)—stoichea tou cosmou, the “principles” of verse 9 , which Paul describes as “weak and miserable”.

What does this term mean? Often, this word in ancient Greek referred to the elements of the material, visible world that make up nature: fire, water, air, and earth. This word also often referred to the pagan belief that spiritual forces or gods lay behind and worked through these elements to control people’s lives and destinies. These beings had to be worshiped and appeased. So farmers sacrificed to a weather-god, lovers to the god of physical beauty, and so on.

In 1 Corinthians 8:4 and 10:19, Paul states boldly that there is no God but the true God. Zeus and Apollos and Poseidon don’t exist. Yet then he immediately says: “But the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20). And he warns the Galatians that they can go back to being enslaved by these things that “by nature are not gods” (Galatians 4:8 ). Why? Because though the “gods”

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