Stay Simple in the Gospel: God Is Our Father (Galatians 4:8-11)

We are in the middle of Paul's theological case to the Galatian church. After he had brought them the gospel, they had begun to drift from it. False teachers were telling them they needed to attach the practices of Judaism to their new faith in Christ. Soon, these brand-new Gentile Christians were acting out Old Testament practices in an attempt to become accepted in God's sight. All this was abhorrent to Paul—he referred to it as a gospel contrary to the one they had received, a distorted gospel, a different gospel, one worthy of a curse on all who proclaim it (Galatians 1:6-9). Here, amid his scriptural teaching, Paul made a loving appeal. This section is one of the most intimate in Galatians. He will only refer to the false teachers twice. But he will use personal words like I, me, and you forty-five times. With a bleeding heart, Paul will beg the Galatians to stay firm in the gospel of grace. And, as he expressed his heart to them, it was also the Spirit expressing his heart for all of us. This passage, in other words, shows us God's desire that we stay firm in the gospel of grace. And, as I hope to show, he longs for us to stay simple in our relationship with him, free in Christ, and focused on Him being formed in us. Today, let’s look at Paul’s exhortation to stay simple in our relationship with him.

Stay Simple: God Is Our Father (8-11)

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. (Galatians 4:8-11)

Dead Legalism Is Slavery to False Gods

This paragraph of Galatians 4 shows that God wants us to stay simple in our relationship with him. What I mean is that he doesn't want us to make our relationship with him complex but to relate to Him as our Father. Paul has just taught them that God was their good Father through the power of the gospel (Gal. 4:1-7). So Paul is saying here, "God is your Father. You are now in a relationship with him. Don't add the legal code of the Old Testament. You don't need to. Stay simple."

Notice how Paul viewed their current actions. Before Jesus had saved them, before they knew God, they were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods—false gods like Zeus and Hermes (8). But now, the Galatians were going back to those days of slavery! As they did, Paul thought of them as turning back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, becoming slaves of those principles once again (9).

But here's where Paul's words become shocking. He called out these Galatians for observing features of Judaism that were rooted in the Old Testament law. They kept the special days of the weekly Sabbath. They observed the monthly new moon celebration and seasonal festivals like Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. They were even inclined to keep the sabbatical and jubilee years (10). When Paul witnessed all this, he concluded that they were going back to their old life—slavery to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world.

Zeus. Hermes. Dead religions. False gods. These Galatians were in danger of being enslaved to all that again! It made Paul fearful that they had not understood the message of grace he had proclaimed to them (11).

The Galatians were trading sonship for slavery. And the version of legalism the Galatians were submitting to is a pervasive and significant problem for people who are sensitive to God. We love God. We want to honor him with our lives. And slipping into a works-based relationship with him, what Paul called slavery to the elementary principles of this world, is all too easy. As Pastor Tim Keller wrote about this passage:

"The idolatry and slavery of religion is more dangerous than the idolatry and slavery of irreligion, because it is less obvious. The irreligious person knows he is far away from God, but the religious person does not." [1]

Keller went on to utilize—as he often does—the example of the two brothers in the story of the prodigal in Luke 15. The immoral prodigal enjoyed his father at the end of the story, but the moral son distanced himself from his father. Because he wanted his good works to give him a high standing before his dad, he was demoralized and angry when they didn't. He preferred servitude over sonship, works over grace, and law over the gospel. The point is clear: God wants us to remember we are sons.

Remember Who You Are

The key to all this is always to remember who you are. Paul told the Galatians, "But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God..." (9). This is what they had forgotten. Had they kept it simple and remained forever conscious that they knew God and, more importantly, God knew them, they would have been protected from legalism.

If you've trusted Christ, stay current in the simple truth that God is your Father. No earning. No works. Don't let your Christian life devolve into anything less than a relationship with your Father in heaven. Christ shed his blood to win you that position. Cherish it! Don't allow external forms of Christianity to replace joyful communion with the living God.

"We are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its place are programs, methods, organizations, and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all." —A.W. Tozer, 1948 [2]

Ruth is an excellent example of a biblical character who stayed simple in knowing God as her Father. She was not an Israelite but had come to faith through the witness of her Jewish husband's family. When both her husband and her father-in-law died, she and her mother-in-law Naomi found themselves in a vulnerable position. But, throughout her story, she did not waver in simple trust in God. To her, he was Father, provider, protector, guide, and friend. She knew who he was and who she was in his sight, so she kept it simple and walked by faith. May we do the same.

[1] Keller, Timothy 2013. Galatians For You. New Malden, England: Good Book Company. [2] Tozer, A. W. 1969. Pursuit of God. Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins Distribution Services.