Ron Dunn Podcast - Set Free

Episode Date: March 16, 2016

Pastor Ron Dunn preaches a message from Galatians 4:1-7. This message is focused on the freedom we have in Christ.

You are listening to the Ron Dunn Podcast. Ron Dunn is a well-known author and was one of the most in-demand preachers during the latter part of the 20th century. He led Bible studies all over the United States, Europe, and South Africa. For more information and resources from Ron Dunn, please visit rondunn.com. And I want you to open your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 4. Let me remind you that tomorrow will be our final, well, it's our final everything, actually. I started to say our final noon service, but it'll also be our final evening service. It's amazing how quickly these days go

by, which in a sense is a good thing. I've been in some places where I thought the week would never come to an end, and I prayed and prayed that God would turn it into Wednesday, and I usually prayed that on Sunday night. I've been in those places, and I'm sure you have too. And so I always considered a good thing, a good sign, when the time goes by so quickly, and before you know it, the end is there, because I know for myself then that I'm not, that God is blessing, at least He's blessing me,

and I'm having a good time in the Lord, and the meeting is going along, and so it's hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day. But tomorrow at noon, we've been talking about Wounded by Friendly Fire, and tomorrow at noon, we're going to talk about Surviving Friendly Fire, how we live through it, how we manage to overcome it and survive it.

And as I said, there is another segment of that, and that's returning friendly fire. And I don't have time to discuss that, but the book will be out next year, hopefully. And you can buy the book. Well, Galatians chapter 4. Let's read the first seven verses. What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his Father.

So also, when we were children, spiritual children he means, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. One translation reads the elemental spirits or the elemental principles of the world. We'll discuss that in a moment. But when the time had fully come, in the fullness of time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father.

So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Time runs by heavenly schedule. I don't know who it was that first coined the phrase, timing is everything, but I know who the first one was that ever employed that principle, and it was God. And this phrase that Paul uses is found only here in the book of Galatians,

although there is a similar statement in Ephesians 1, I think, verse 10. But here Paul says, And when the fullness of time had come, or when the number of days had been added up, literally, when the time was right, when the time had fully come, gathered together, God acted. God did something.

God sent forth His Son. God delivered us from slavery. God sent His Spirit into our hearts. All of this in the fullness of time. God works according to a heavenly time schedule. It doesn't work according to man's schedule or when man thinks this ought to be done. We need to keep that in mind when we're praying.

I know that there are often times we say, Lord, I want you to give me patience and I want it right now, you know. Or we're asking God to do something and we expect Him to do it right now because this seems right to us. This is the time for us. But we must remember that God works when the time is right for Him and God's timing is always right. So He says, when the fullness of time was come. Now, why was the time full at this particular moment?

What was it about this particular moment in history that caused it to be the fullness of time that other times were not? Well, there are several reasons for that. Number one actually was the Roman peace. You know, we talk about the Romans and how pagan they were and the fact that they conquered the whole earth, but that was one of the things that made the fullness of time because the world was ruled by Rome. And there was the peace of Rome at that time was all over the world. And at the same time, Rome had built roads. And you know the old saying, every road led to Rome.

And Rome had built roads that led throughout the entire world. And there were Roman soldiers all along the way guarding that. For the first time, for the first time, men and women could travel easily and safely. It was just the right time because of the Roman peace, because Rome ruled the world, and they saw to it that there was peace. And so you could travel easily

because they had built these roads, and you could travel safely because there were guards around it. But another thing that made it the fullness of time was the fact of the Greek language and the Greek culture. Greek was the common language spoken in that day, so language became no barrier you could cross from one country to another and just like English is is our language we can cross from one state to another except when you go up to the main then you have some trouble but but normally when you cross from one state to another. Anybody here from Maine tonight? I didn't really mean that. But, you know, you can cross from one state to another, and language is no barrier.

And it was the same way when Jesus came, that you could travel the whole earth and speak just one language, the Greek language, and the Greek culture spread everywhere. And so it made traveling and the dispersion of good news or the dispersion of bad news that much easier, you see. It was just the right time. Everything was in place.

Not only that, the old gods at this time, the old pagan gods that had always been worshipped and held in awe were beginning to lose their grip and were beginning to lose their hold on the people. And they were ripe for the preaching of the true God, you see. And then, of course, the law of Moses had done all that it could do in teaching men about Christ

and leading them to Christ. So all of these things, you see. I mean, Jesus came into the world at the most perfect time because of this Roman peace, because of the Greek language, because of the culture, because the old gods were dying out, Jesus came at the right time.

God sent forth His Son. And when the time was right, God did two things. I've already mentioned one. God sent forth His Son. When the time was right, God sent forth His Son. When the time was right, God sent forth His Son. Now notice how he describes it. Born of a woman and born under the law.

Now interesting thing about those two statements. One means, of course, that He was human, born of a woman. And the other, of course, means that he was humble he was born under the law under the law here was in effect the lawgiver here in effect was the law inventor and yet he came himself and humbled himself under the law that he himself had created and it's akin to what Philippians says that when he came, he became a man and humbled himself unto obedience, even the death of the cross. And so he was born of a woman, indicating his humanity, born under the law, indicating his humility. But what is really interesting here is

that it's not really the word born. Now, it's that way in your translations because the real word would kind of read awkwardly, and the translators sometimes are more concerned with how smoothly a passage reads more than they are about how accurately a passage reads. The word is not born. The word is become. God sent forth His Son, become of a woman, become under the law. You say, now what's the difference? He became, the word was used of transferring from one environment to another.

In other words, this is emphasizing the incarnation, the fact that Jesus Christ preexisted before He ever stepped on this earth, that He's always been. He wasn't just born of a woman. He became of a woman, you see. He made a transfer from one environment to another, and that was by means of a woman's womb, and he became under the law. He was above the law, being God himself, but he transferred from one territory, from one environment to another, and he became under the law.

He humbled himself and became under the law. So God sent forth his Son in the fullness of time, under a woman, under the law. So God sent forth His Son in the fullness of time under a woman, under the law, indicating humanity and humility. Now, why did He send forth His Son? There are two clauses in there, purpose clauses, in that fifth verse. He says he was sent forth his son, number one, to redeem those that were under the law. To redeem those under the law. Now, you've been here each night. We've discussed the law quite a bit.

But what we need to understand, that in the book of Galatians, there are several uses of the word law. It means several things. For instance, we saw last night that it indicated a prison. It also indicated a tutor, a supervisor. And here is another way the law is used. Go back to verse 3. He says, so also when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of

the world, the elemental spirits of the world. And I go to verse 9. He says, but now that you know God or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles, those elemental spirits, those elemental basics of the world. And when he talks about the law here, he is not talking so much about the law of Moses or the law of the Ten Commandments or the law of the Old Testament. Rather, he's talking about the rule

of the forces of this universe. The first century astrologers were the ones to use this phrase, the basic or elemental spirits of the world. And they were referring to the invisible forces that seemed to run this universe. And always it was in an evil connotation. You know, if you turn to Ephesians chapter 6 where he talks about we wrestle not with flesh and blood but with the princes and powers and rulers of this present world, that's the same thing he's talking about there. And if you look in Colossians where he says that God, when in Christ he created the world, both things visible, invisible, both dominions and powers and principalities, those dominions and powers and principalities there are the evil powers and

principalities that rule this world, that try to shape the human destiny. And so basically what Paul is saying is you are not under God's control, but you were a slave, you were slaves to the invisible forces of the universe that seek to control our life, that seek to determine our destiny. I want to tell you that every lost person is under

the control, the rule of those evil forces of this world that are determining their destiny. And of course, that's one of the great deceptions that the devil pulls on a lost person. He gets the lost person to believing that he is free, you know. Thank God I'm free and I can do anything I want to. No, the fact of the matter is that you are under the invisible power of darkness of the rulers of this age and the principalities and the dominions, and they are the ones that are dictating your life to you. They are the ones that are determining your destiny. And so when God sent forth His Son,

He sent Him forth so that we'd be set free from that, you know. Well, let me use this. If you go back to Colossians chapter 1, He says that He is preeminent over all of these things. He is power over all of these things. You know, that means that no Christian has to be under the basic principles or the elemental principles or the powers and principalities, the unseen forces of evil in this world. You don't have to be under that. Every lost person is. Their life is dictated to them

by the prince of the power of the air. But a Christian has been set free from that. And yet Paul is saying, if, why now after having come to know God, or rather, I love this, be known of God, which is more important, knowing God or being known of God? Well, it's being known by God.

That's the most important thing. Paul says the Lord knows those that are his. And so he says we have come to know God. He said then, why in the world are you delivering yourself or turning back to those weak and miserable or beggarly principles? They're weak in the fact that they can't help us, they can't do anything for us, and they're beggarly in the sense that they cannot bless us. Here you are, you're an heir of God, a joint heir with Jesus Christ. Why in the world

would you want to turn back to the forces of this world and put yourself once again under the spirit of this world, which is too weak to help you and is too beggarly to bless you? And so he sent forth his son, first of all, to redeem us, redeem those under the law. And the second purpose clause is that we might receive the full rights of son. and he sent Christ that we might receive sonship, that we might receive the full rights of the Son. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Now, the King James and other

translations use the word adoption here. He has sent to you the Spirit of adoption, which is a good translation, the Spirit of spirit of adoption now Christ came to redeem us from the law the curse of the law and then and by the way let me just throw in here Christ came to redeem us from the curse of the law Paul says over and over again and that's why I take great issue with those who say well you know the reason you're being punished is because and they'll go back and quote some Old Testament Scripture like in Exodus where it says that if you do such-and-so then your children are going to be cursed folks the fact of the matter is God has redeemed us Christ has redeemed us from

the curse of the law when Christ died on the cross but you need to watch out because people are going to say to you, well, the reason that you are like you are is because something your mother did or your grandmother did and you're suffering under the curse of that. And over in Exodus where he says, if you don't obey this, then I will visit this upon the second and third generations.

Folks, that's the curse of the law. But we're not under that. He has redeemed us from the curse of the law. But we're not under that. He has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Don't let anybody try to bring you back into slavery. Redeemed us from the curse and adopted us as sons. As sons. Now, I like the way he puts it here, so that you might receive the full rights of sons.

The full rights of sons. We have been adopted into the family of God. Now, that's interesting. Why God would here and other places use the idea of adoption. Sometimes he says that we're born of God. Sometimes he says we're adopted by God. Now, what is the difference and why would Paul use the difference? Well, in our system, sometimes if you're adopted, you may feel that you're less than the natural-born child.

But in the Roman system of law, an adopted child had equal rights, equal status with a natural-born child. Roman who adopted a son or adopted a daughter could never could never deny them any of the rights that their own natural born children had you see that was the Roman law equal status but here's the best thing under the Roman law I might disown a natural child but under the Roman law you could never disown an adopted child

one speaks of our equal status and then of our eternal security see folks I've got good news for you tonight God God can never disown you. God can never say, I wish I had never adopted you into my family. And you're out. I mean, you're out. After all, you're not a natural born son or daughter. And you don't deserve what they deserve.

You're out. You're finished. Get out. You're out. No, he says, we share. And in Romans he says, we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. in Romans he says we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ now that's something joint heirs with Jesus Christ we share equally with the Son of God can you imagine that when my father died there's just the two

of us my brother and myself and and so dad left a modest estate 15 billion dollars but no it was something less than that quite a bit less than that but but you know my brother is the older brother, and Dad made him the executor of the state because they worked together. But, you know, we shared equally. We shared equally. And Barry, my brother, was so precise, and he had everything written down. Every possession Dad had, everything. And he said, now here's what we'll do.

One of us will choose one thing, and then the next one we'll choose, and we'll go back and forth. Your choice, and then my choice, and your choice. And being the younger son, I told him I wanted him to take first choice, him to have first choice. And so he made first choice. Here's what I

would like of dad's. And then I made the next choice, and he made the next choice, and I made the next choice. And we made certain, and my brother was this way, he made certain that we all came out with an equal share. We had somebody come into the house and put a price on everything, somebody who does that sort of stuff, and put a price on everything in that house. And we saw to it, or my brother saw to it, that no matter what we chose, that we all came out with an equal share. And you just sit down and realize that one day,

God, God, boy, what an inheritance you're going to get from God. But you're going to share equally with Jesus Christ. God's not going to give his son any more than he's going to give you. Can I hear an amen? Amen. Amen. So he sent forth his Son for two reasons, to redeem us from the law and to make us his sons. But then he did something else.

Not only did he send his Son, he also sent his Spirit. He sent his spirit. He sent his spirit. Notice, because you are sons, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts. The spirit who calls out, Abba, Father, so you are no longer a slave, but a son. And since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. First of all, he sent his son to redeem us and to make us sons. And then he sent the Spirit so that through the Spirit we might experience that sonship. That it's not just a fact that we read about in a book, but it becomes experiential. The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and He cries, Abba! And the response is, Father. It's the Holy Spirit who cries, Abba! And we respond by saying, Father.

You see, the Holy Spirit witnesses with my spirit that I am a child of God, and so it becomes an experience. You see, I not only have the fact of my sonship with God, but I have the experience. How do I know? Because of the witness of the Holy Spirit. Doesn't the Holy Spirit tell you that you're a son of God, a child of God? Doesn't the Holy Spirit at many different occasions give you the silent assurance that you belong to Him? And it's as though He was saying, Abba. And of course, you know, the word Abba is a very informal word for God or for Father.

It's almost like saying, Daddy. And the Holy Spirit cries, Abba. And our spirit responds, Father. You see, we experience it. It becomes experiential. But also the Holy Spirit is given not simply to let us experience that sonship, but also to guarantee that sonship, to give us the assurance that we are children of God. That we are. Gives us assurance. Because it is the witness of the Holy Spirit in my heart that makes me to know I am a child of God. That's why Paul says in Romans 8, If any have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

And it's the presence of the Holy Spirit in my heart that helps me to know I am a child of God because only a child of God is worthy to receive the great Holy Spirit to dwell and indwell us. So He is there not only to help us experience the sonship that we have in Christ, but also to give us the assurance that we are the children of God. And you know, I've talked to a number of Christians over the years who don't seem to have their assurance any longer.

Somehow or another they come to the point where they doubt their salvation. Now there are several reasons for that, and I'm not going into those tonight, but there is one reason sometimes that Christians doubt their salvation, and that's because of sin in their life. And you see, when you sin, you grieve the Holy Spirit. You quench the Holy Spirit so that He cannot do the things that He wants to do. And when I grieve and quench the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is not able to give me the assurance. He no longer witnesses with my spirit that I'm a child of God. Why? Because I've quenched him, because I've

grieved him, and so this will oftentimes lead me to think I'm not saved at all. Why? Because that witness is missing. And then when we get right with God and confess our sin and are once again walking in the fullness of the Spirit, there comes that assurance that we are children of God. How many of you got brothers and sisters, older brothers and sisters? How many of you got older brothers and sisters? You don't have an older brother and sister? You're not as young as I thought you were. All right, let me ask you another question.

Have you ever had an older brother or sister, when you all were just kids growing up, tell you you were adopted? That gypsy's left you on the doorstep in a basket has that ever happened to you you know i so many i've talked to a lot of people they said you know when i was just a little kid my brother would get mad at me and he'd say well you know you're adopted you know that mom and dad found you in a basket on the front porch and sometimes maybe the devil will try to tell us us are, you're not really a child of a father.

And the Holy Spirit comes back and says, Abba, Father, time runs according to a strict schedule, a schedule set by God. And when the time is right, He'll do whatever needs to be done in our lives to deliver us. Would you bow your heads with me now as we pray together? Ron Dunn's podcast is available only for personal edification, not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. For more Ron Dunn materials, sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from his study Bible,

please visit rondunn.com.