Galatians 4:8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
The Jews did not have a very uplifting history. They spent many years chasing after false gods. They had kings that obviously did not write themselves a copy of God’s law and then read it and meditate on it day and night. They forsook God and when punished by Him, they looked to pagan nations for help, rather than back to God. They had far too many false prophets and their priesthood was largely corrupted.
While the apostle Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, it did not mean he could not love his fellow Jews. God directed him in his work, and in these verses he pointed out that prior to the saints knowing the true God, they did service to false gods.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
This is of course true of all people, whether Jew or Gentile. In verse 9 Paul reminded the saints that things had changed for them. Now they knew God, but more importantly were known of God. God knows every person, but Paul is speaking of those who are known through the new birth. We have already talked about the adoption that takes place when a person is truly born again.
The concern that God directed Paul to address was this turning back to the weak and beggarly elements of law keeping. The Galatian saints were not well grounded and they were being lured back into law keeping, rather than walking in the Spirit.
In verse 10 Paul addressed some of the same issues still facing Christians today. Secular calendars set dates for the birth of Jesus Christ and for His death and resurrection. There is also a date for His ascension. Many religions hold to these dates, but they are just a ritual. They think they are gaining spiritually by observing them, but they ignore the truth. We do not know the date of Jesus’ birth. The Bible does not give that to us. God does not want us to dwell on that. God directed two of the Gospel writers to write about His birth specifically. The Old Testament prophets spoke of His coming. The apostles also mentioned it in the epistles.
We do not help people to know the Lord with all the license that is taken when the story of Jesus’ birth is presented in December. I know there are claims of people getting saved through those events. That may be, but how spiritually healthy are those people over the years?
We have already noted that we are to remember His death through the Lord’s Supper. Jesus implemented that prior to His crucifixion. Again, we do not help God with the imaginary practices many observe around the pagan Easter celebrations.
One danger we face is that we can put on our theological glasses and we only view certain Scriptures with those glasses on. We refuse to let the Holy Spirit move us into a closer walk with God. The fruit of those glasses is that the high standards that God has for His people and His churches are being eroded because once we allow human traditions to take over, there is no way to stop them from continuing to evolve. By the way, evolution is not an upwards progression, but a downward decay.
In verse 11 Paul pointed out the grave nature of his concern for them. He was concerned that his time spent with them had been in vain. He had worked hard and spent countless hours teaching them. Yet they seemed to be willing to cast that off for worthless traditions.
In verse 12 he reminded them that they were his brethren. They were not strangers to the faith. He encouraged them to be as he was. He was a Jew just like they were. He had been poisoned by the Pharisee’s religion. He had been a proud Pharisee. He had been in the law-keeping mode. However, he had been redeemed from that. Unlike them, he was not going back there. He had burned those bridges. He was not about to rebuild them. These saints needed to understand they were not hurting Paul as a person. They were hurting the Gospel. Their turning away from the truth was an affront to God.
The same is true today. When a person rejects a Godly preacher’s ministry, they are not just rejecting a man’s teaching. They are rejecting God’s Word. A Godly preacher is one who preaches the Word in season and out. He is not a politician. He is not in a popularity contest. He does not adjust his message to please the flesh. He honours God in his ministry. He is not perfect, but he is a humble servant of God who seeks to please his heavenly Master.
In verse 13 Paul reminded them that he had preached to them in the midst of physical troubles. We know that Paul was stoned on more than one occasion. He had eye problems and he had a thorn in the flesh that he sought healing from. Unlike the heresies of the Charismatics, Paul suffered health issues and God did not heal him. Paul did not lack faith. He understood that sickness and physical weaknesses are part of the fallen nature. Salvation does not remove that from us. Salvation removes the curse of sin from us. Thus we have eternal life and we can weather the storms of life successfully when we walk in the Spirit.
Paul was not complaining about his lot in life. He was reminding them of his love and concern for them. He was willing to minister to their needs even though he had personal health issues.
In verse 14 Paul pointed out that when he first met them, they were not offended by his health issues. As noted, there is speculation that he had some type of eye disease that affected his appearance. This had not stopped them from hearing him and responding favourably to the message he had preached. The message was not his. He was simply the vessel that God chose to use to reach out to them.
The saints had a great respect for Paul because they understood the message he preached was not his own. There is Spiritual power in God’s Word. That power is still there today. God’s Word will pierce to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit. It will get right down to the root of the issue. It will point out what is needed and will also show how to fix the situation.
Too many people reject God’s Word and choose an ungodly “shrink” to try to solve their problems. That is costly and very ineffective. God’s Word brings good results every time it is heeded.
Today is the Lord’s Day. It is the day the Lord has given us to stop our busyness and go to a good local church where we can be taught the truth. It is the right place to be on the Lord’s Day. We welcome those in our area, who do not have a good church, to come visit us. We pray for those reading these devotionals. We want each one to know God’s blessing and His peace.
Pastor Bartel