Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another edition of the daily Bible podcast. What's happening folks ESM Monday, November 25th, pastor. I got some news that I think, I think you'll be excited about. Maybe you already know this. Okay. Um, but flame broiler is coming. Oh, I knew about that north, Texas. Oh yeah. I was stoked. Yeah. There. There are a few things. That has made me more happy. And I think it's shows that God's a God who answers prayer. And as is. I mean, I'm pumped. I can't, I don't want to drive on three 80 ever, but for. I would, I would, I would do it. Yeah. I, I'm not a huge flame. Broiler fan. I think I had a bad experience with it early on. I think their sauce is good in good than understatement. Yeah, it's good. Their spicy sauce. It'll punch you in the. In the face it's it's it'll kick you out. So good. Yeah. Yeah. Rice meat. If you're wondering what is flame broiler, that's basically what it comes down to rice and meat. Veggies and veggies. Yeah. And it, and it's not super expensive, which is also helpful too. Um, yeah, I guess I know my community group is super excited about that. That if, if Del taco came to north Texas, they would find there was no reason to ever to leave anymore. Del taco already came and left. Did it come here? Uh, I'm pretty sure there was a Del taco. That was closed down. I think we had this conversation. Yeah, they were here and they, they closed down, I guess, no one cared about them. Well, I can just say good to that. Cause I'm not a big Del taco fan, but my community group, they love, they will drive up to Oklahoma to get Del taco. That's how much they love it. And that's unusual. Yeah, it is, it is for sure. But yeah, flame probably like there's a lot coming, man. There's a new cava. That's opening up, up by the new Costco. That's going into HEB. It. At frontier and the toll road is. Right now. Yeah, I saw the structure. Uh, show up recently and I was surprised by that. Yeah. Yeah. It's a it's rapidly growing. Yep. So, uh, there you go. And in a lot of people are leaving the country because Trump won. So maybe Costco will be a little bit less crowded. A lot of people, I don't know if that's true. I, I know like two. Maybe. Yeah. So maybe not a lot. That's. That's two. That's that's all we know so far. Do. Yeah. Well, we're not we're we're here. He and a flame broiler is coming to join us. Thank you Lord. Yep. Hey, uh, let's jump in Galatians four, five, and six. We'll finish up the book today. Galatians four, five and six. He opens up in verses one through seven here, again, building on this notion that we are now. Uh, sons of Abraham along with the Jews, because it's by faith and not by works. And he says, Hey, you know what, there's been a status change for us. And that is before Christ, Jew and Gentile alike were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Um, and so he compares. An air and a son. And he says an heir, as long as he's still a child is, is just like a slave. In other words, he doesn't have the rights. He doesn't have the access that, uh, that he will eventually have, but once he's grown up and. Steps into the fullness of his inheritance. Then he has that full identity as a son in the sense of being an heir in, in the, in realizing the inheritance that he has. And so we sing before Christ, we Jew and Gentile, like we're enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Now the elementary principles of the world is, is really anything else that we're putting our confidence in aside from Jesus. Um, and so for the Jew that might've been the law for the Gentile. That could have been religious principles that they're living by the false gods that they're worshiping and serving. But it's it's anything other than, uh, than, than faith in Christ. And we're enslaved to that until Christ comes now because of Christ verse five, things are different because he came to redeem those under the loss that we might receive adoption as. Sons and that's, that's stepping into that full fledged. We, we have the, the reality of. Our inheritance with us now. And we have that. And because of that, we have this intimacy with the father Galatians four, six, that we can now approach him, even with that. That familial term of ABA. And approach him as that, that full fledged member of his family. And so our status has changed now because of faith. And yet Paul's concern from here in verses eight through 11 for the Galatians is why would you go back to where we were? And that's kind of where he goes. Why would you go back to legalism? Verse nine. Now that you've 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. We're in a different context. Um, We don't have the law in front of us. We're not necessarily tempted to go back to the principles of the Jewish law, but what might be some threats to the church today that might be some elementary principles that we might be tempted to turn back to. Uh, that, that we should be on guard against is as Christians. There's probably so many, it would be hard to, to narrow down. But most readily, I can think of the ways that people put their hope in their money. I think that's probably the biggest one. People put hope in money to be their security. So if I just have enough money in my 401k, if I just have enough in my. Whatever retirement fund it is. If I just get the crypto, the right crypto currency, if I would get the right presidency. Uh, if I look good enough, I know that. Uh, having the right exterior can be something that people put their hope. And if I'm just healthy enough, if I have the right essential oils, if I have the right holistic medicine practice, if I have. The right physician, who is a naturopathic physician. If I, if I live in the right environment with the right climate, if I live. Can I drive with the right car, with the, with the right safety. Um, measurements and the right safety, uh, con considerations, you know, the Volvos or the Uh, what else is known as being a really safe car? The Tesla, the Teslas. But those aren't safe. I don't know if they're safe, mark. Sorry about that. I don't know if they are. But there's so many things that are subtle and yet powerful. Uh, Power powerful. And they're in their sense to draw us to say, wouldn't it be good for you to just trust this? Even a doctor? You can go to the doctor. You should see the doctor if you're sick, but don't put your trust in the doctor. And I'll put your trust in what he or she prescribes for you. Don't put your trust in the medicine, take the medicine, but trust in the Lord. So the elementary principles may look different to us today in 21st century America. I mean, I mean, think about this. If there was an EMP blew out, our electricity blew out our ability to do Amazon prime. I think a lot of us would feel really threatened by that you would lose electricity fast, that would misspell your food in the refrigerator. Near at your heating would, would not be able to work your, your air conditioning. I mean, that would be seriously threatening and terrifying. But maybe that exposes something that you should not be putting your trust in. Those niceties are nice, but ultimately our trust is in the Lord. So no matter what happens to us, no matter what happens to our country, our trust is in the Lord. And that's where it should be. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just sitting here convicted because it's easy to, I think, say that and. And we need to own that and we need it to have that, that mindset. And yet just thinking about what if that's the reality that some of us face at some point in our life. Yeah, I think that's a real possibility. I'm not a, I'm not a, you know, And of course, Jesus says in the last days, wars, rumors of wars, and that's always going to be the case until he returns. But, I mean, as long as I've been alive, this is probably. It seems like, oh no, we're headed to direction. And this is it. This is seriously threatening. Now I could have been not paying attention as a kid. That's a very strong possibility. Uh, but it seems like now things are ramping up and they don't seem like they're deescalating. And even though I appreciate who's going to be an office soon. Uh, I feel like he might, his mouth might get us into a couple of fights that we don't want to get into. We'll see. That's true. Yeah. Yeah. One verses 12 through 20, then at Paul, his deep concern for the colation people comes out here, um, even just appealing to his personal relationship with these Christians, pleading with them to remember. How eagerly they accepted the gospel when he first came to them. And now that he's writing against some of the teaching that they've got some of the false teaching, the other gospels remember back from yesterday. Uh, these anathema gospels, he's writing against these things and he wants them to remember their affection. They had for him at first and in his affection for them. And basically he saying to them, why would they think now that he's after harming them? Uh, in what he's writing to them here in the letter instead know his intense desire and longing was to see Christ formed in them. And that only comes by faith. And so he's, he's telling them, look. Remember our first encounter with each other when I was with you and understand that I'm writing to you under that same pastoral concern and burden that I had for you at that point. So. As the Judaizers are creeping in the people saying, Hey, you need to have faith, but also you need to do X, Y, and Z. They're going to be trying to undermine Paul at will. Paul didn't have the full gospel. Paul didn't understand it fully. Paul wasn't fully after. You're good here in, Paul's trying to combat that. In this personal section here in verses 12 through 20 of chapter four. I think, no, no, no. Remember when I was first with you here. Versus 21 through 31, then we get into here. Uh, something that is what's defined for us helpfully as a portion of scripture would interpret allegorically. Um, allegorically meaning the one thing means another thing. And so he does this by appealing to the allegory of the two sons of Abraham, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman, the son of Hagar, the slave woman. Represents here in this allegory, the law. The son of Sarah, which would have been Isaac would have represented the promise. And that would have been the freedom that the promise. Of of hate through you will all the offspring of the earth be blessed, right. That that's the promise. And so there's the son of the slave and the son of the free one. And Paul is basically saying, Hey, we are sons, not of the slaves, but sons of the free we. We are sons of the promise. We are sons of Isaac, the offspring of Isaac, and he is the one that through him and through his offspring falling all the way to Jesus is realized this need for the one that would be able to perfectly fulfill what we couldn't on our own. And so remember that, so uses this allegory here. It's helpful that he defines it. This is allegorical here. Again, one thing, meaning another thing. And that's what he's doing here in the end of chapter four. With something that would have been familiar to them with the story of Hagar and Sarah here. Chapter five then, um, he gets into some more practical admonitions and expectations to them saying, Hey, yes, we have been set free, but Hey, you know what? Don't use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. He's going to talk about here. Be aware of submitting to the log-in. And again, here, he's going to say, if you want part of the law, you have to have the whole thing. And if you have the whole thing, you're going to quickly realize you can't do it. And if you're going to trust in the law, verse four, you're going to be severed from Christ. You. You want the law instead of Jesus, you can't have both. Jesus came to say, I've fulfilled the law for you. And if you're going to reject his righteousness and try to have your own righteousness there, you're going to forfeit it all. And so, uh, verses seven through 15, he says, remember your called to freedom. Use your freedom to love one another. Use your freedom for good things. Not antinomianism. Uh, PetSmart, let's talk about antinomianism for a second. Um, antinomianism, antibio, antithetical it's negative. And then no mechanism coming from Namaste or law. And so talk about antinomianism. How might this, the epistle of Galatians lend itself towards that and how Paul kind of combats that idea? It's one of the things that we feel as preachers so often where it's that concept. We want to preach grace. God's grace is a bounding it's full it's free. Covers all of your sin past, present, and future. And some would even take that so far as to say, man, God's grace is so. Uh, so, so generous and so full and so free that I could send with impunity. And it's really not that big a deal because God's grace forgives us. In fact, Paul anticipates that response in Romans chapter six, and he says, shall we continue to sin that Grace May abound? And he says, Megan Noida, the strongest negation available at, at the time in his language to say by no means no way, not a chance. Uh, no way Jose as little house used to say. Or, uh, all that, to say that antinomianism is a real threat to a church that preaches the gospel. Rightly. Antinomianism is that as a concept? Well then if, if God's grace is really as good as it sounds, and it is then certainly what that must mean is I could do whatever I want as a Christian. And it's, it's a, it's a free, it's a free ride. And that's where people get upset with Christians. Like, are you telling me if Hitler became a Christian in his ninth hour before he died? He could go to heaven. And the short answer is yes. Uh, but he, he wouldn't be able to continue the life that he lived before that. Uh, but yes, God's, grace is full and free enough to forgive even that. Uh, antinomianism though, doesn't fit at all within the Christian framework. Doesn't make you right with God, but it does demonstrate your rightness with God to showcase the works and the fruits that God calls us to. Yeah. And that's, that's why he goes in the rest of chapter five to talk about here's how to, to, to use your freedom, use your freedom to grow and holiness. He he's, he's going to talk about some of the good works that we should have some of the fruit that we should see in our life. In fact, the fruit of the spirit comes from this passage as our men's Bible study. And women's Bible study looked at over the last year. That's coming here in this context of him saying, Hey. Remember your righteousness is by faith alone, but then he's, he's going to agree with James here. Hey, faith alone. Doesn't stay alone. It produces things because we're going to walk by the spirit the Spirit's been given to us, and now we're going to grow in Christ likeness. And so rather than being antinomian, he's saying it's now about the law of Christ. It's about producing things that are good and not things that are evil. And so the rest of chapter five, he says, here's the. The fruit of the flesh or the rotten fruit of the flesh here. It's. It's all these things that are bad. And then here's the good, the fruit of the spirit. This is the stuff against which there is no law. Pursue as much of this as you possibly want. And it's going to be good for you. It's right. To do these things. And, and to please the Lord in this way, don't use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but grow in Christ likeness. In other words, And a lot of that comes down to our relationship with each other. And that's where Galatians six goes from this point. And I love. This book more and more because it answers so many of our questions. Okay. But, but what about the Christian that I see, that's not doing this. What about the person that I see? That's professing faith. That's not growing in Christ's likeness that is walking by the flesh. What do I do then? And he answers that in verses one through five. This is a, basically the first steps of church discipline of the Matthew 18 process. If you see somebody in a sin go to that person. And Hey. Love that person enough to, to seek, to restore them in a spirit of gentleness, but, but also be humble enough to watch out yourself last year, you to fall prey to the same thing. And so I'm going to care about you enough. I'm going to love about love you enough to, to. Like he's done with Peter earlier in the book. I'm gonna confront you when you need to be confronted and say, Hey, I'm concerned because what you're doing is out of step with what we are called to be doing here. So he's really cutting the legs out from under any sort of antinomianism here in the rest of the book, is he saying, this is what we're to do. And in, instead of that, Verses six through 10, so good things rather than fleshly things. God's not mocked. If you're going to sow to the flesh. You're going to reap corruption, but if you sow to the spirit, you're going to reap eternal life. Don't grow weary in doing good. He says. And so it's this final push there in Galatians at the end of the, the. The epistle here to say, Hey, don't, don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that. Godliness holiness works. Don't have a place in the Christian's life. If indeed they do. Just not the place of justification, but the place of sanctity, sanctification and growing in Christ likeness. And then. Hey, let's pray. And then we'll be done with this episode. God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for just that. Even this, this study, this, this chronological study to appreciate it. In, in a greater depth as we see it unfolding in the early church, and I'm trying to figure out, Hey, where does the law fit into all this? It's it's been fruitful. It's been helpful. I prayed. And I know it has, for me, I pray it has for others that have been going through this with us as well. And so. Thank you God, for this opportunity to learn more and to be reminded that your word is. It's it's riches are, are, are untapped. There's so much every time we come back to it, there's more for us to learn. And we're so grateful for that reality. We pray that we would take that approach every time we pick up your word and study it together. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. And then. It can bring your Bibles and turn it again tomorrow for another episode of the daily Bible podcast. Only one chapter. We'll see you then. Bye.