VERSE 21. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not
hear the law?
Here Paul would have closed his Epistle because he did not know what else to
say. He wishes he could see the Galatians in person and straighten out their
difficulties. But he is not sure whether the Galatians have fully understood
the difference between the Gospel and the Law. To make sure, he introduces
another illustration. He knows people like illustrations and stories. He
knows that Christ Himself made ample use of parables.
Paul is an expert at allegories. They are dangerous things. Unless a person
has a thorough knowledge of Christian doctrine he had better leave
allegories alone.
The allegory which Paul is about to bring is taken from the Book of Genesis
which he calls the Law. True, that book contains no mention of the Law. Paul
simply follows the custom of the Jews who included the first book of Moses
in the collective term, "Law." Jesus even included the Psalms.
VERSES 22, 23. For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a
bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born
after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
This is Paul's allegory. Abraham had two sons: Ishmael by Hagar, and Isaac
by Sarah. They were both the true sons of Abraham, with this difference,
that Ishmael was born after the flesh, i.e., without the commandment and
promise of God, while Isaac was born according to the promise.With the
permission of Sarah, Abraham took Hagar, Sarah's bondwoman, to wife. Sarah
knew that God had promised to make her husband Abraham the father of a
nation, and she hoped that she would be the mother of this promised nation.
But with the passage of the years her hope died out. In order that the
promise of God should not be annulled by her barrenness this holy woman
resigned her right and honor to her maid. This was no easy thing for her to
do. She abased herself. She thought: "God is no liar. What He has promised
He will perform. But perhaps God does not want me to be the mother of
Abraham's posterity. Perhaps He prefers Hagar for the honor."
Ishmael was thus born without a special word or promise of God, at the mere
request of Sarah. God did not command Abraham to take Hagar, nor did God
promise to bless the coalition. It is evident that Ishmael was the son of
Abraham after the flesh, and not after the promise.
In the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans St. Paul advances the same
argument which he amplifies into an allegory in writing to the Galatians.
There he argues that all the children of Abraham are not the children of
God. For Abraham had two kinds of children, children born of
the promise, like Isaac, and other children born without the promise, as
Ishmael. With this argument Paul squelched the proud Jews who gloried that
they were the children of God because they were the seed and the children of
Abraham. Paul makes it clear enough that it takes more than an Abrahamic
pedigree to be a child of God. To be a child of God requires faith in
Christ.
VERSE 24. Which things are an allegory.
Allegories are not very convincing, but like pictures they visualize a
matter. If Paul had not brought in advance indisputable arguments for the
righteousness of faith over against the righteousness of works this allegory
would do little good. Having first fortified his case with invincible
arguments, he can afford to inject this allegory to add impressiveness and
beauty to his presentation.
VERSES 24, 25. For these are the two covenants; the one from the mount
Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount
Sinai in Arabia.
In this allegory Abraham represents God. Abraham had two sons, born
respectively of Hagar and Sarah. The two women represent the two Testaments.
The Old Testament is Mount Sinai, the bondwoman, Hagar. The Arabians call
Mount Sinai Agar. It may be that the similarity of these
two names gave Paul his idea for this allegory. As Hagar bore Abraham a son
who was not an heir but a servant, so Sinai, the Law, the allegorical Hagar,
bore God a carnal and servile people of the Law without promise. The Law has
a promise but it is a conditional promise, depending upon whether people
fulfill the Law.
The Jews regarded the conditional promises of the Law as if they were
unconditional. When the prophets foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, the
Jews stoned them as blasphemers of God. They never gave it any thought that
there was a condition attached to the Law which reads: "If you
keep the commandments it shall be well with thee."
VERSE 25. And answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with
her children.
A little while ago Paul called Mount Sinai, Hagar. He would now gladly
make Jerusalem the Sarah of the New Testament, but he cannot. The earthly
Jerusalem is not Sarah, but a part of Hagar. Hagar lives there in the home
of the Law, the Temple, the priesthood, the ceremonies, and
whatever else was ordained in the Law at Mount Sinai.
I would have been tempted to call Jerusalem, Sarah, or the New Testament. I
would have been pleased with this turn of the allegory. It goes to show that
not everybody has the gift of allegory. Would you not think it perfectly
proper to call Sinai Hagar and Jerusalem Sarah? True, Paul does
call Sarah Jerusalem. But he has the spiritual and heavenly Jerusalem in
mind, not the earthly Jerusalem. Sarah represents that spiritual Jerusalem
where there is no Law but only the promise, and where the inhabitants are
free.
To show that the Law has been quite abolished, the earthly Jerusalem was
completely destroyed with all her ornaments, temples, and ceremonies.
VERSE 26. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is
the mother of us all.
The earthly Jerusalem with its ordinances and laws represents Hagar
and her offspring. They are slaves to the Law, sin and death. But the heavenly
Jerusalem is Sarah, the free woman. This heavenly Jerusalem is the Church,
that is to say the number of all believers throughout the world, having
one and the same Gospel, one and the same faith in Christ, one and the
same Holy Ghost, and the same sacraments.
Do not mistake this one word "above" to refer to the triumphant Church
in heaven, but to the militant Church on earth. In Philippians 3:20, the
Apostle uses the phrase: "Our conversation is in heaven," not locally in
heaven, but in spirit. When a believer accepts the heavenly gifts of the
Gospel he is in heaven. So also in Ephesians 1:3, "Who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Jerusalem here
means the universal Christian Church on earth.
Sarah, the Church, as the bride of Christ bears free children who are
not subject to the Law.
VERSE 27. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not;
break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many
more children than she which hath an husband.
Paul quotes the allegorical prophecy of Isaiah to the effect that the
mother of many children must die desolately, while the barren woman shall
have an abundance of children. (Isaiah 54:1.) He applies this prophecy
to Hagar and Sarah, to the Law and the Gospel. The Law as the husband of
the fruitful woman procreates many children. For men of all ages have had
the idea that they are right when they follow after the Law and outwardly
perform its requirements.
Although the Law has many children, they are not free. They are slaves.
As servants they cannot have a share in the inheritance, but are driven
from the house as Ishmael was cast out of the house of Abraham. In fact
the servants of the Law are even now barred from the kingdom of light and
liberty, for "he that believeth not, is condemned already." (John 3:18.)
As the servants of the Law they remain under the curse of the Law, under
sin and death, under the power of the devil, and under the wrath and judgment
of God.
On the other hand, Sarah, the free Church, seems barren. The Gospel
of the Cross which the Church proclaims does not have the appeal that the
Law has for men, and therefore it does not find many adherents. The Church
does not look prosperous. Unbelievers have always predicted the death of
the Church. The Jews were quite certain that the Church would not long
endure. They said to Paul: "As concerning this sect, we know that everywhere
it is spoken against." (Acts 28:22.) No matter how barren and forsaken,
how weak and desolate the Church may seem, she alone is really fruitful
before God. By the Gospel she procreates an infinite number of children
that are free heirs of everlasting life.
The Law, "the old husband," is really dead. But not all people know
it, or want to know it. They labor and bear the burden and the heat of
the day, and bring forth many children, children that are bastards like
themselves, children born to be put out of the house like Ishmael to perish
forever. Accursed be that doctrine, life, and religion which endeavors
to obtain righteousness before God by the Law and its creeds.
The scholastics think that the judicial and ceremonial laws of Moses
were abolished by the coming of Christ, but not the moral law. They are
blind. When Paul declares that we are delivered from the curse of the Law
he means the whole Law, particularly the moral law which more than the
other laws accuses, curses, and condemns the conscience. The Ten Commandments
have no right to condemn that conscience in which Jesus dwells, for Jesus
has taken from the Ten Commandments the right and power to curse us.
Not as if the conscience is now insensitive to the terrors of the Law,
but the Law cannot drive the conscience to despair. "There is now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1.) "If the Son shall make
you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36.)
You will complain: "But I am not doing anything." That is right. You
cannot do a thing to be delivered from the tyranny of the Law. But listen
to the glad tidings which the Holy Ghost brings to you in the words of
the prophet: "Rejoice, thou barren." As Christ is greater than the Law,
so much more excellent is the righteousness of Christ than the righteousness
of the Law.
In one more respect the Law has been abolished. The civil laws of Moses
do not concern us, and should not be put back in force. That does not mean
that we are exempt from obedience to the civil laws under which we live.
On the contrary, the Gospel commands Christians to obey government "not
only for wrath, but also for conscience sake." (Romans 13:5.)
Neither do the ordinances of Moses or those of the Pope concern us.
But because life cannot go on without some ordinances, the Gospel permits
regulations to be made in the Church in regard to special days, times,
places, etc., in order that the people may know upon what day, at what
hour, and in what place to assemble for the Word of God. Such directions
are desirable that "all things be done decently and in order." (I Cor.
14:40.) These directions may be changed or omitted altogether, as long
as no offense is given to the weak.
Paul, however, refers particularly to the abolition of the moral law.
If faith alone in Christ justifies, then the whole Law is abolished without
exception. And this the Apostle proves by the testimony of Isaiah, who
bids the barren to rejoice because she will have many children, whereas
she that has a husband and many children will be forsaken.
Isaiah calls the Church barren because her children are born without
effort by the Word of faith through the Spirit of God. It is a matter of
birth, not of exertion. The believer too works, but not in an effort to
become a son and an heir of God. He is that before he goes to work. He
is born a son and an heir. He works for the glory of God and the welfare
of his fellowmen.
VERSE 28. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
The Jews claimed to be the children of God because they were the children
of Abraham. Jesus answered them, John 8:39, 40, "If ye were Abraham's children,
ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that
hath told you the truth." And in verse 42: "If God were your Father, ye
would love me." In other words: "You are not the children of God. If you
were, you would know and love me. Brothers born and living together in
the same house recognize each other. You do not recognize me. You are of
your father, the devil."
We are not like these Jews, the children of the bondwoman, the Law,
who were cast out of the house by Jesus. We are children of the promise
like Isaac, born of grace and faith unto an everlasting inheritance.
VERSE 29. But as that he that was born after the flesh persecuted
him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
This is a cheering thought. We who are born of the Gospel, and live
in Christ, and rejoice in our inheritance, have Ishmael for our enemy.
The children of the Law will always persecute the children of the Gospel.
This is our daily experience. Our opponents tell us that everything was
at peace before the Gospel was revived by us. Since then the whole world
has been upset. People blame us and the Gospel for everything, for the
disobedience of subjects to their rulers, for wars, plagues, and famines,
for revolutions, and every other evil that can be imagined. No wonder our
opponents think they are doing God a favor by hating and persecuting us.
Ishmael will persecute Isaac.
We invite our opponents to tell us what good things attended the preaching
of the Gospel by the apostles. Did not the destruction of Jerusalem follow
on the heels of the Gospel? And how about the overthrow of the Roman Empire?
Did not the whole world seethe with unrest as the Gospel was preached in
the whole world? We do not say that the Gospel instigated these upheavals.
The iniquity of man did it.
Our opponents blame our doctrine for the present turmoil. But ours is
a doctrine of grace and peace. It does not stir up trouble. Trouble starts
when the people, the nations and their rulers of the earth rage and take
counsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed. (Psalm 2.)
But all their counsels shall be brought to naught. "He that sitteth in
the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." (Psalm
2:4.) Let them cry out against us as much as they like. We know that they
are the cause of all their own troubles.
As long as we preach Christ and confess Him to be our Savior, we must
be content to be called vicious trouble makers. "These that have turned
the world upside down are come hither also; and these all do contrary to
the decrees of Caesar," so said the Jews of Paul and Silas. (Acts 17:6,
7.) Of Paul they said: "We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and
a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader
of the sect of the Nazarenes." The Gentiles uttered similar complaints:
"These men do exceedingly trouble our city."
This man Luther is also accused of being a pestilent fellow who troubles
the papacy and the Roman empire. If I would keep silent, all would be well,
and the Pope would no more persecute me. The moment I open my mouth the
Pope begins to fume and to rage. It seems we must choose between Christ
and the Pope. Let the Pope perish.
Christ foresaw the reaction of the world to the Gospel. He said: "I
am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled?"
(Luke 12:49.)
Do not take the statement of our opponents seriously, that no good can
come of the preaching of the Gospel. What do they know? They would not
recognize the fruits of the Gospel if they saw them.
At any rate, our opponents cannot accuse us of adultery, murder, theft,
and such crimes. The worst they can say about us is that we have the Gospel.
What is wrong with the Gospel? We teach that Christ, the Son of God, has
redeemed us from sin and everlasting death. This is not our doctrine. It
belongs to Christ. If there is anything wrong with it, it is not our fault.
If they want to condemn Christ for being our Savior and Redeemer, that
is their lookout. We are mere onlookers, watching to see who will win the
victory, Christ or His opponents.
On one occasion Jesus remarked: "If ye were of the world, the world
would love his own, but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen
you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:19.) In
other words: "I am the cause of all your troubles. I am the one for whose
sake you are killed. If you did not confess my name, the world would not
hate you. The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted
me, they will also persecute you."
Christ takes all the blame. He says: "You have not incurred the hatred
and persecutions of the world. I have. But be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world."
VERSE 30. Nevertheless what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman
and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son
of the free woman.
Sarah's demand that the bondwoman and her son be cast out of the house
was undoubtedly a blow to Abraham. He felt sorry for his son Ishmael. The
Scripture explicitly states Abraham's grief in the words: "And the thing
was very grievous in Abraham's sight, because of his son." (Gen. 21:11.)
But God approved Sarah's action and said to Abraham: "Let it not be grievous
in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that
Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy
seed be called." (Gen. 21:12.)
The Holy Ghost contemptuously calls the admirers of the Law the children
of the bondwoman. "If you do not know your mother, I will tell you what
kind of a woman she is. She is a slave. And you are slaves. You are slaves
of the Law and therefore slaves of sin, death, and everlasting damnation.
You are not fit to be heirs. You are put out of the house."
This is the sentence which God pronounces upon the Ishmaelites, the
papists, and all others who trust in their own merits, and persecute the
Church of Christ. Because they are slaves and persecutors of the children
of the free woman, they shall be cast out of the house of God forever.
They shall have no inheritance with the children of the promise. This sentence
stands forever.
This sentence affects not only those popes, cardinals bishops, and monks
who were notoriously wicked and made their bellies their Gods. It strikes,
also, those who lived in all sincerity to please God and to merit the forgiveness
of their sins through a life of self-denial. Even these will be cast out,
because they are children of the bondwoman.
Our opponents do not defend their own moral delinquency. The better
ones deplore and abhor it. But they defend and uphold their doctrine of
works which is of the devil. Our quarrel is not with those who live in
manifest sins. Our quarrel is with those among them who think they live
like angels, claiming that they do not only perform the Ten Commandments
of God, but also the sayings of Christ, and many good works that God does
not expect of them. We quarrel with them because they refuse to have Jesus'
merit count alone for righteousness.
St. Bernard was one of the best of the medieval saints. He lived a chaste
and holy life. But when it came to dying he did not trust in his chaste
life for salvation. He prayed: "I have lived a wicked life. But Thou, Lord
Jesus, hast a heaven to give unto me. First, because Thou art the Son of
God. Secondly, because Thou hast purchased heaven for me by Thy suffering
and death. Thou givest heaven to me, not because I earned it, but because
Thou hast earned it for me." If any of the Romanists are saved it is because
they forget their good deeds and merits and feel like Paul: "Not having
mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ." (Phil. 3:9.)
VERSE 31. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
but of the free.
With this sentence the Apostle Paul concludes his allegory of the barren
Church. This sentence forms a clear rejection of the righteousness of the
Law and a confirmation of the doctrine of justification. In the next chapter
Paul lays special stress upon the freedom which the children of the free
woman enjoy. He treats of Christian liberty, the knowledge of which is
very necessary. The liberty which Christ purchased for us is a bulwark
to us in our battle against spiritual tyranny. Therefore we must carefully
study this doctrine of Christian liberty, not only for the confirmation
of the doctrine of justification, but also for the comfort and encouragement
of those who are weak in faith.
