When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5).
John Wesley, as a post-graduate at Oxford, was a preacher himself and the son of a preacher. He was orthodox in his Christian beliefs, careful about his moral conduct, and regularly did good works. His biographer writes:
“He and his friends visited the inmates of the prisons and workhouses of Oxford. They took pity on the slum children of the city, providing them with food, clothing, and education. They observed Saturday as the Sabbath, as well as Sunday. They went to church and to Holy Communion.
They gave alms, they searched the Scriptures, they fasted and prayed. But they were bound in the fetters of their own religion, for they were trusting in themslves, that they were righteous, instead of putting their trust in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
John Wesley writes of himself, even after spending years in evangelistic work in the Americas, that he was preaching to convert others while he himself was still not converted. It was not until after these experiences that he, in a relatively small worship service one evening, in his own words, “came to trust in Christ and in Christ only for salvation.”
He later wrote, concerning his previous religious efforts, that “I had, even then, the faith of a slave, and not that of a son.”
It is this transformation from slave to son that Paul is speaking of in Galatians 4. And, as he speaks to these Galatian Christians who are drifting back toward law service, he makes this simple, powerful argument: “We were all once slaves, but now are children of God by faith in Jesus Christ — how could you, why would you, ever go back?”
A slave slaves away trying to earn the Master’s wage or approval. A son works freely in the confidence of the Father’s love.
What about you? Are you drifting back into the bondage of law service? To paraphrase Wesley: Do you have the faith of a son, or of a slave?
Are you living to please God, but not to earn his Fatherhood? To know God better, but not to make Him know you better? To enjoy Him more, but not to make Him love you more?
A slave slaves away trying to earn the Master’s wage or approval. A son works freely in the confidence of the Father’s love.
The slave vainly believes that his or her works will eventually buy freedom and favor with God.
The son rightly trusts that God sent his Son to redeem us from the law and to adopt us as sons and heirs with Christ!