Do You Remember the Time?
Galatians 4:8-20
Main Idea: The safeguard to falling away is to remember where you strayed.
I. Remember Who You Were (4:8-11)
Our knowing of God will rise and fall depending on many things. But God’s knowing of us is absolutely fixed and solid.
~ Tim Keller, Galatians for You
The Ten Commandments weren’t given to give us life, but to tell us how to live the life that God has given.
- Doug Ponder
II. Remember How You Began (4:12c-20)
Most of us can provide personal illustrations of how God worked in our lives or the lives around us through mistakes, ‘disasters,’ troubles, and thwarted plans, often far more than through our deliberate actions and goals.
~ Tim Keller, Galatians for You
A window into the apostle’s heart also appears as he calls the Galatians his ‘little children.’ We might read Paul’s letter to the Galatians and think that he is quite angry and only interested in right doctrine, in orthodoxy, and cares little, if anything, for the people. Such a conclusion, however, would be a severe misreading of the letter. Paul was deeply concerned for the Galatians. He is like a concerned parent who sees his child in imminent danger. His passion is driven by love and concern for the people, not simply a detached veneration of doctrinal orthodoxy. This is the source of his agitation, but it is ultimately evidence of Paul’s great concern and love for the Galatians.
~ J.V. Fesko, Galatians
III. Remember What I Became (4:12)
As Christians we are hesitant to say, ‘Be like me.’ Naturally all of us think of our many faults. I don't want someone to imitate me in everything! But isn't it also true that if Christ has changed us, that we can and should call upon people to imitate us? If we are following Christ, it is right and proper to call on others to follow Christ as we are (cf. Eph 4:32-5:2). Indeed, God typically uses others to draw us after Christ, so that we love him more. Most of us were converted through the life and words of a Christian we admired. Or, we have grown spiritually through a believer who has invested in our lives. Are you living in a way that you are a godly influence on others?
~ Tom Schreiner, Galatians
One of the marks of a legalistic, works-righteous mindset is that it is inflexible, and obsessed with details. Such a person wants the converts to dress and act “just like us”. Paul, on the other hand, is a model of someone who truly comes close to and enters into the lives of the people he is seeking to reach—just as Christ did in His incarnation.
~ Tim Keller, Galatians for You
