Gal 4:9 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?

In this chapter, the apostle discourses concerning the abrogation of the ceremonial Law and reminds the Galatians they were freed from it: “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?” (v.9). The Law made them slaves (v.1-3). The Gospel made them sons of God (v.6-7). The Law placed them under bondage (v.3). The Gospel of Christ freed them (v.7). We recall in one of the discourses of Jesus with the Jews, He said: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). The Jews didn’t understand that statement. Our Lord explained: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Galatians 4 explains further on this statement of Jesus: “The truth shall make you free.” The truth of Jesus Christ frees us from the Law of Moses and sin. Hence, having embraced a better system of justification, Paul was surprised the Galatians wanted to return to the former system of ceremonial cleansing he termed “the weak and beggarly elements”. He said they desired bondage again. Ye desire again to be in bondage – To be in bondage is to be a slave. We may not be slaves to the Law of Moses, but we can be slaves to many other things. Many are slaves to money. We say: “We work for money.” It could mean: we work so that we can have money. It could also mean: We are working for Money. It’s similar to someone saying: “I work for McDonald.” Hence, here, Money becomes our boss. And, this boss doesn’t pay very well. The result is, we have we work very hard and Money pays us little. We become his slaves. We all need money. But, we should never let money becomes the boss of our lives. Paul warns: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). Paul is not saying earning for a living is evil. He refers to those who “desire to be rich”. They love money. To those who desire to be rich, money is never enough. They fall into the devil’s trap. They will find it hard to follow Jesus: “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22). Some are slaves to their families. It’s perfectly well to love our families. A Christian who does not love his family is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8). But, our love for the family should not exceed our love for the Lord. He says: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). How can one become bondage to his family? 1. When his work in the church diminishes after marriage: “But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:33). 2. When his wife replaces Christ as his master: “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up” (1 Kings 21:25). There are many other things we can become slaves to – sins, hobbies, gadgets, etc. Paul, in reminding the Galatians, is also reminding us: Do not become slaves to sin or to any elements of this world; be slaves to Christ. May we be freed from the love of money and the things of this world!