Tell me, you who
desire to be under the law,
do you not hear the
law? For it is written
that Abraham had two
sons: he one by a
bondwoman, the other
by a freewoman,
but he who was of he
bondwoman was born
according to the
flesh, and he of the bondwoman
through promise,
which things are symbolic.
For these are the two
covenants: the one from
Mount Sinai which
gives birth to bondage,
which is Hagar––for
Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia,
and corresponds to
Jerusalem which now is,
and is in bondage
with her children––but the
Jerusalem above is
free, which is the mother of us all.
Galatians 4:21–26;
(cf. Genesis
16:15,21; 2:3; Isaiah 2:2)
Choices,
that is what life is made and we all are under the consequences of choices:
yours, others, and mine. We are free people we can choose, we can do as we
please; the question is what is pleasing us? We can choose to be under the
bondswoman, or the freewoman. What does it profit to be under the
bondswoman? You are not under the bonds
of horrible living under the pressure of torture, or beatings, and living in
squander. That is what some do as
masters of slaves. A better master of slaves is one that makes things seem so
good, does things for the slaves, and yet the slaves are not free, they just
seem to feel free. True freedom comes
to a person, not in some guise that you are free, but that you are actually
free, and this is what it is to be under the freewoman. The Law, or the
covenant of the Law did not make a person free, even though they could move
about life as a free person. The Law
only pointed to death, and the law could not provide righteousness outside of
performing what the Law declared. Under the freewoman you are a child of
promise and that promise is blessing to you if you live under that freewoman
who is the mother of all of God’s children. The promise stated that all of
God’s children would receive the Holy Spirit to live within them, to guide
them, to pray for them when a person does not know how to pray, and by the Holy
Spirit we are free to do the will of God under all circumstances. We are, as God’s children, adopted sons of
God, and this is to be in bondage to the Jerusalem above and that Jerusalem
makes us free. We live as adopted sons and daughters of God and this by faith
and that faith inspires love of God who placed us under the freewoman making us
free; free to live, free to choose, and our choices are made according to the
One who adopted us. Confirmed will is not to be scorned or overruled. The will
may be altered but the confirmed will is not altered. Why? Because the will is
confirmed after death; therefore the will can no longer be changed. God is
immutable, His will is immutable, His promises are immutable and are confirmed
by death, the death of Jesus Christ: there can be no changes to the will of
God. The promises made to Abraham are therefore confirmed and it was by
Abraham’s faith that was accounted for justice.
God made
promises to Abraham and to his offspring. Not to “offsprings,” plural as to
many, but to one who is Jesus Christ. Paul the apostles makes this clear
(Galatians 3:16) that the promise to Abraham was to “seed” and not “seeds” and
it is that all Christians imitating the faith of Abraham, whom Paul reduces to
a single unit by his comments does so to teach us that it faith is one, and
those who live carnally by works cannot be justified with those who live
spiritually by faith. Abraham was justified by faith and the Law which came
some 400 years later could not justify a person for if the Law could justify a
person then the faith of Abraham would be made of no effect. We must admit this
and by doing so we are admitting the justification is be faith alone. We then can realize the all the ancient
fathers wee justified by faith alone. We who believe in the past, that Jesus
Christ is the Messiah, the promised One, and believe in the future of His
second coming, we then believe the whole story, the Gospel, and this believe in
both advents is by the Holy Spirit working in your lives, your hearts as the
Holy Spirit reveals this to God’s children. “Abraham longed to see my day;
and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).
This by the Holy Spirit operating in Abraham’s life revealing what the
promise pointed towards and this then is what God is doing for you today by the
power of the Holy Spirit, pointing you to the promises of God. That promise is that He saves, not you, not
anyone else, only Him and this He did by sending His Son Jesus Christ are the
propitiation for sin. When we are under the bondage of the bondswoman, we so
often count our service, that what we do in the way of Christian work; Jesus
Christ calls service what we are to Him. As free, under the freewoman we
devoted to Jesus Christ and our discipleship is based on that devotion. So many
Christians today are devoted to creeds, or personal belief or causes and have
substituted them placing them in place of true free devotion to Jesus Christ.
Jesus has become a “comrade” and our obedience is to this “friend” and not to
the Savior. Our will are our wills, our choices, but this was not the way of
Jesus for He came and did the Father’s will.
Jesus did not come to tend to the needs of men, His will was to be
obedient to the Father. We must understand this: if our will, is not to Jesus
to be sold out completely to Him, then any cause that has our devotion is the
not the natural outcome of obedience to the Father. If you, or I love Jesus is
personal, and in passion, you are under the Jerusalem above, then your service,
or works is not done by your free will, rather it is done by your devotion to
Jesus Christ. People love secrets: Let me give you one: the secret of
discipleship is one’s life is converted to Jesus and is under devotion to Jesus
and the character of this life is not works, causes, or personal desire outside
of this devotion; this life is characterized by unobtrusiveness.
Jesus said to Him, “You shall love
The LORD
your God with all
Your heart, with all your soul, and
With all
your mind. This is
The first and great commandment.
The second
is like it; You shall
Love you neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37–39
You are blessed: Heaven is your home
Richard L. Crumb
No comments:
Post a Comment