Abraham - Law vs. Grace

Every time we put ourselves under law, it brings out the worst in us. When we put ourselves under grace, it brings out the best in us. Doesn't mean it's wrong to have standards, doesn't mean it's wrong to have ideals for your life, it just means you don't depend on your own flesh to accomplish the will of God.

And now as we open the Word of God, we pause to seek God's blessing. Our Father, our hearts rejoice when we open the Word. Whether the Word convicts us or encourages us, teaches us or reminds us, we are grateful for your Word. And we always need to learn something new and always need to be reminded, and Father, we always need your help in practicing what we learn. And so guide us as we study now today. This is our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Now in Genesis 21:1 and Genesis 22:1, Abraham goes through a series of trials. The life of faith in the school of faith always has to have its examinations. I've attended a number of different schools and in every class, almost every class, we had examinations. And life is this way. Now sometimes you fail the examination and then discover what the test was and what the subject was. Abraham was tested by his family in Genesis 21:1. Abraham and Sarah were having a feast to celebrate the weaning of Isaac. Genesis 21:8. And so the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. However, there were some problems as we're going to discover. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, now that's Ishmael, scoffing. He was mocking little Isaac and making fun of his name, which means laughter. Therefore she said to Abraham, cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac. And Abraham did that. God said to him in Genesis 21:12, do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice, for in Isaac your seed shall be called. And so Abraham gave Hagar some water and bread and kissed them all goodbye and sent them away from the camp.

Abraham immediately obeys God now. It's interesting to notice whenever God told Abraham to do something, Abraham didn't sit around and wait, immediately he obeyed. It hurt, but he did it. Now all this on the surface looks like a family problem, a story about a difficulty at a birthday party, but it's much more than that. There is a spiritual lesson wrapped up in that event. And the commentary is in Galatians 4:21.

First of all, a bit of background about Galatians. The book of Galatians was written to some Christians who had been seduced back into the law. They were being told by a group of false teachers whom we call the Judaizers that it was not enough to trust Jesus Christ for salvation or sanctification, you also had to obey the law of Moses. This goes back to Acts 15:1 where that legalistic group in the church said, unless you are circumcised and keep the law of Moses, you can't be saved. Well the church wrestled with that problem and came to the conclusion that the only way to be saved is by the grace of God, not by keeping the law. However, there is something about human nature that wants to obey rules and regulations and boast and be proud and try to achieve in our own strength. You can't be saved by your own strength and you cannot grow by your own strength.

Now we have Galatians 4:21. 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, the one by a bondwoman, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise. Which things are an allegory, which things are symbolic, for these are the two covenants. The one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this 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. For it is written, and he quotes here from Isaiah 54:1, rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear; break forth and shout, you who do not travail; for the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what does the Scripture say? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Now Galatians 5:1. Here's the conclusion. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Every once in a while I receive a letter from a radio listener telling me that I should observe certain days or I should not eat certain foods. And they want to put me under law. Now if I understand this passage at all, I as a Christian born of the Holy Spirit of God do not belong under the law. This does not mean I am lawless, rather it means that the law is fulfilled in me and through me by the Holy Spirit who has been given to me.

Now let's look at Isaac and Ishmael and then let's look at Sarah and Hagar. Isaac represents the child of God, born of promise, born according to the Spirit. Galatians 4:29. Ishmael represents the flesh, born after the flesh, not a child of promise. You can contrast Isaac and Ishmael in their birth, in their behavior, in their blessing, everything about them is in contrast. You see, Ishmael was born because Sarah and Abraham had a scheme. Isaac was born because God's power came upon two old people who were too aged to have children. Isaac is always presented to us as a child of obedience. Ishmael, we find him mocking Isaac. We find that he is a wild man. God said that in Genesis 17:1, he shall be a wild man. You see the flesh knows no law. There is no law ever given that can change the flesh, that can control the flesh. The old nature knows no law and the new nature needs no law. Abraham and Sarah did not have to pass any laws for Isaac. Isaac brought joy into their home. Isaac represents that new nature within. When I was born the first time, I was born with the nature of Ishmael, a rebel. When I was born the second time, I was born with the nature of an Isaac: laughter, joy, the life of God, the promise of God, the Spirit of God. Ishmael was a slave, the child of a slave. Isaac was a free son, and Isaac was the heir.

You see God is contrasting two ways of life. Are we going to live under the flesh or are we going to live controlled by the Spirit of God? But the main contrast is between Sarah and Hagar. And I want you to notice the contrasts between these two women. Remember Sarah represents the covenant of grace, the Jerusalem which is above. Hagar represents the covenant of law, the Jerusalem on earth, Mount Sinai. Hagar was a bondwoman. She gave birth to a son who was in bondage. Sarah was a free woman. She gave birth to a son who was free and who was the heir.

Let's notice some facts about Hagar. If you are tempted to put your Christian life under the rule of law, you learn about Hagar and you will change your mind. First of all, Hagar was Abraham's second wife. That's important. God did not start with Hagar, he started with Sarah. Remember Sarah represents grace. God did not start with the law. The law was something that was added. Look at Galatians 3:19. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions. God didn't start with the law in the Garden of Eden. God didn't start with the law with Abraham or Isaac or Jacob. The law was not given until the time of Moses and it was added. Hagar was his second wife. Now there was a purpose for the law. The law was a schoolmaster to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. The law reveals the righteousness of God, the holiness of God. The law kept the nation, as it were, in check. It didn't change them, didn't always control them, but it checked them. They knew that they belonged to God through the covenant.

Now when you were saved, you were married to grace, not to law. How was Isaac born? Isaac was born of Abraham and Sarah. What does Abraham represent? Faith. What does Sarah represent? Grace. How was Isaac born? By grace through faith. How were you and I born again? For by grace are you saved through faith. You were not born through the law. Hagar was his second wife.

Secondly, Hagar was a servant. Now the law is a servant. The law is God's servant to accomplish certain purposes in history. Notice again Galatians 3:19. What purpose then does the law serve? The law is a servant. Now the law could not change Ishmael. Everybody got a new name except Ishmael. Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Isaac was the new name that was given for the baby. Ishmael's name was not changed. The purpose of the law is to reveal sin. The purpose of the law is to convict and to condemn. The purpose of the law is to let me know what a sinner I am. Hagar was his second wife and Hagar was a servant. Now Sarah was not a servant, Sarah was a princess. The name Sarah means princess. It was a relationship of love, not a relationship of law.

Thirdly, Hagar was never supposed to bear a son. That's important. God never said, Abraham, you go marry Hagar and have a son by Hagar. That was purely his own idea. Hagar was never supposed to bear a child. There are some things that the law cannot do. Now you tell me I should go back under the law if I don't worship on certain days, if I don't follow certain diets, if I don't go through certain routines and rituals I'm not going to go to heaven. I want to point out to you in the book of Galatians what the law cannot do. Galatians 2:16. I want you to notice these verses in your Bible. Galatians 2:16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. The law cannot justify you. The law cannot give you a righteous standing before God. Galatians 2:21. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. You see those who want me to get under the law can't explain: how do I get righteousness? The law doesn't give righteousness. The law reveals righteousness and shows me what a sinner I am. If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. We don't need Calvary, we have Mount Sinai. Why do we have to worry about Calvary? These legalists were sewing up the veil in the temple that God had rent in two. They are putting back up all of these things that God destroyed when Jesus died on the cross. The law cannot justify, the law cannot give righteousness. Galatians 3:2. This only I want to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? The law cannot give the Holy Spirit. How do you receive the Holy Spirit? You hear the Word of God, you believe, and God gives you the gift of the Spirit. Galatians 3:18. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. The law cannot give you an inheritance. The law will strip everything away from you. We are condemned under the law. God did not give Abraham the law, God gave him a promise, and through that promise an inheritance. The law can't give you an inheritance. Galatians 3:21. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. The law cannot give life.

Now the Senate, Parliament can pass all the laws they want to, they can't raise anybody from the dead. The mayor can go down to the cemetery and say we have just passed a law you must be alive, the corpses will not come out of the ground. Why? The law kills, the law slays, the law condemns. Now we receive justification and righteousness and the gift of the Spirit and our inheritance and all of the life that we have, we receive it by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hagar was his second wife, the law was added. Hagar was a servant, not a master. Hagar was not to bear a child. The law cannot justify, the law cannot give righteousness, the law cannot give the Spirit, the law cannot give an inheritance, the law cannot give life.

I notice something else, that Hagar gave birth to a slave. She did not give birth to a free son. And legalism always gives bondage. You get into a legalistic situation where you are trying to please God or save yourself or be more holy by obeying certain rules and regulations and you will end up in bondage. This is why Paul writes, stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. The only yoke we're supposed to wear is the yoke that he gives to us when he says my yoke is easy, my burden is light.

I would have you notice something else, Hagar was cast out. Who cast Hagar out? Sarah did. Grace leaves no room for law. Now this doesn't mean that grace is against the law. Grace helps us to fulfill the law through the power of the Holy Spirit. Hagar was cast out completely, finally, permanently with Ishmael. Now remember Ishmael represents the flesh. Has it ever dawned upon you that the law and the flesh work together? 1 Corinthians 15:56. Many people don't even know this verse is in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 15:56. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Now you'd think according to some of the legalists that I hear from that this verse should read the control of sin is the law. Doesn't say that. It says the law gives strength to sin. You say I'm not going to break my diet, I'm not going to do this, I'm not going to do that, but you do it anyway. Why? Because every time we put ourselves under law, it brings out the worst in us. When we put ourselves under grace, it brings out the best in us through the Holy Spirit of God. The old nature knows no law, the new nature needs no law. Law brings out the worst in our flesh, grace brings out the best through the Holy Spirit of God.

A lot of folks are still living with Hagar. They don't realize that the law is supposed to be cast out. Finally, Hagar was never married again. We have no record that Hagar ever remarried. Once the law was taken care of at the cross of Calvary, God did not marry the law to anybody or any group. I'm glad that we have freedom in Christ. Not freedom to sin, of course not. Freedom to do the will of God and to live for His glory. By the way, when you were born again, you were born rich. You've been born again unto a living hope to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled that fades not away. 1 Peter 1:3. You've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:3. You were born rich.

Now this is a good thing to know because the Christian life means drawing upon the resources of God, not drawing on my resources. I don't have any. Ishmael was born a slave. My first birth made me a poor slave. My second birth made me a son of God who was born rich. We've been brought into the family of God and all the resources of God are available to us. Well Isaac tells us what it's like to be born again. Maybe you've never been born again. Maybe you're like Ishmael, all you have is your first birth. Well you don't have any inheritance, you don't have any of these blessings we've talked about. Why don't you put your faith in Jesus Christ and be born into God's family and like Isaac experience a miracle and bring joy and have the delight of drawing upon all of the riches and the wealth of the Lord Jesus Christ.