GALATIANS 4:12-31
PASTOR’S NOTES
“What happened to you,” is basically what Paul is asking in this week’s passage. Near the end of chapter 4, Paul is speaking of the differences between the first time he encountered the people of Galatia and now. Paul points out that when he first came to Galatia, the people were open and eager to receive him and the good news of Christ. However, now the people seem to oppose him and his word of who God is.
“Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”
In verses 12-20, Paul points out that he sees changes in the peoples’ actions, views, and words from the first time he spent time with them. “What happened to you,” Paul asks them? This text reminds me of a parent speaking to a child as the child grows older in life. For most children, I would venture to say that kids are against harmful “adult” actions that they see from a distance. Children have sinful hearts and prone to walk down roads of evil and pain, but are not really engaged in adult struggles. For example, when children are extremely young, the majority thought is that cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, pornography and other potentially harmful habits are the last thing they would like to be apart of. Most 4 year old children don’t have a desire to smoke or gamble their life savings away. If anything, I would say that children see those issues as even more heightened than anyone else in the world. However, as children age and enter high school and young adulthood, such habits that one day seemed to be such an obvious “no” can quickly change to a “yes.”
Why is this?
Parents struggle as children turn to young adults and certain stances change and the same question is asked, “What happened?” The people of Galatia had abandoned many of the stances that they once professed to be true and important. The abandoned stance changed their actions and words. This also changed their closeness with God and openness to the Gospel.
SCRIPTURE TO GO ALONG WITH THE MESSAGE
Go back and read Galatians 4:1-11 so that the entire chapter runs together from last week to this week’s message.
HIGHLIGHT IN YOUR BIBLES
Highlight verses 12-14 in chapter 4 of Galatians.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
- Has your biblical views ever been negatively swayed by the group of people you were around?
- If so, when your views swayed, how did that impact your actions and words towards people?
- Lastly, was this noticed by yourself or pointed out by others? How did you respond?
