How Turn Ye Again

2018-05-06

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. (Galatians 4:8-11)

Before they received Christ, the Galatians were pagans, as we see in Galatians 4:8. They likely came from Gaul, or modern France, but were at the time in Asia Minor. They worshipped false gods, which are no gods at all (1 Chronicles 16:26; Psalm 96:5). Though an idol is really nothing and can do nothing (1 Corinthians 8:4), often demons get involved in the evil practice of idolatry (Deuteronomy 32:16-17). When we get saved, we turn from that false belief system; why would we ever want to go back? The Galatians, though they did not return to false gods, were turning to “weak and beggarly elements” that are of the world. Let us look at what was going on:

  1. As Christians, the Galatians were known of God. Being known of God as sons, they were saved from the condemnation of law and the world system of sin, Satan, death, and hell. Galatians 4:9
  2. They returned to weak and beggarly elements. If they were saved by grace, why did they want to return to a performance-based salvation plan, just as their pagan past? Notice the elements are “weak” and “beggarly.” Whatever religious system they subscribe to that has the dos and don’ts, they will always find it wanting, and will have no place for Christ crucified. They have returned to bondage. Galatians 4:9
  3. They were involved in Jewish festivals. Observing days, weeks, times and years likely suggests that they observed the sabbaths and the festivals of the Old Testament. There are churches out there today that subscribe to all these things, though these festivals all point to Christ. Galatians 4:10
  4. The Galatians’ behavior caused Paul great concern. Maybe he thought they were never truly saved, or perhaps that they would never bear fruit. Either way, the Galatians were not walking in the freedom they received in Christ. He loved them so much, so he told them the truth. Galatians 4:11

Once receiving Christ and all the blessings that comes with that, why would we want to return to the dos and don’ts? When we do this, we do not remember the severity of sin and our real need to have a Savior. We can never measure up to God’s standards in the flesh.