Sermon Cloud

Introduction

I want to begin today with a question: Who’s your daddy?  I know that’s probably not the type of question you expect to hear starting off a sermon in a Christian church.  But hopefully by now you’ve learned that I’m not your typical pastor.  I’m much worse.  So I’ll ask you again, Who’s your daddy? 

In many parts of the world your entire future hangs on your answer to that question.  Who your father is is often a very strong predictor of who you will be as an individual, and certainly who you will be in society.  It’s true that we live in a free country, and in theory we have the opportunity to be who we want and do what we want regardless of who our daddy is.  But though this can happen in theory, it happens much less frequently in reality.  Even in America, your answer to the question, “who’s your daddy” is often the greatest indicator of who and what you will become.  

Just ask George W. Bush.  Or any member of the Kennedy family.  Or even Jack Bauer himself, Kiefer Sutherland.  They are where they are, in large part, because of who their daddy is.  The same is true of eighty-five percent of American youth incarcerated in prison.  They are where they are, in large part, because of who their daddy is.  Or, more accurately, where their daddy is.  Eighty-five percent of youth in American prisons come from a fatherless home.  Eight-five percent.

In the world, the question “who’s your daddy” is a very important one.  It is also a very important question in Christian theology.  In fact, the question is much more important in Christian theology than it is anywhere in the world.  Because the world is concerned with questions like these: “Is your father rich or poor?” “Is your father powerful or average?”  “Is your father educated or uneducated”  “Is your father present or absent?”  “Is your father loving or abusive?”  But Christian theology is concerned with just this one question: Is your father God or the Devil?  And there is no third option.  According to the Scriptures every one of us is either a child of the Devil bound in slavery or a child of God freed by grace.  

That’s very offensive isn’t it?  Especially for those of us who have falsely been taught that “we are all God’s children.”  Before you stone me for making such a provocative statement let me make it very clear that it is not my statement.  It is the teaching of Jesus himself.  This is what Jesus said to a group of religious Jews who challenged his authority and plotted to kill him.  Beginning in John 8:37 he tells them, I know you are Abraham’s descendants.  Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.  I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.  The Jews responded proudly, “Abraham is our father!”  And Jesus said this: If you were Abraham’s children then you would do what Abraham did.  As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.  Abraham did not do such things.  You are doing the works of your own father.  Again the Jews responded.  “We are not illegitimate children!  The only father we have is God himself!”  Jesus disagreed.  If God were your Father, you would love me, for  I came from God and now am here.  I have not come on my own, but he sent me.  Why is my language not clear to you?  Because you are unable to hear what I say.  You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is not truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  Jesus then closes the discussion with these words: Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.    

According to Jesus we are either children of God freed by grace or children of the Devil bound in slavery.  And what makes the difference?  How do we know which we are?  Jesus says that everything hinges on how we respond to him.  That is the only difference.  Those who reject Jesus and his words are children of the Devil.  Those who love Jesus, listen to him, and put their faith in him are children of God.  According to Jesus there is no grey area.  This is quite a claim to make about yourself, isn’t it?  A claim that only makes sense if the person making it is God himself.  

The Apostle Paul believed that Jesus was a heretic and went to great lengths to persecute his followers.  But then he saw the risen Jesus with his own eyes and discovered that Jesus was not a madman, he was the One True God.  Paul then literally gave his life for the cause of preaching Jesus and his Gospel.  He preached the Gospel to a group of pagans in the Roman province of Galatia and they converted to Christ and found freedom in him.  But, as we have discussed, they were in danger of returning to slavery by making themselves subject to Old Testament Law.  Paul wrote them a strongly-worded letter, hoping to encourage them to retain their Christian freedom and not exchange it for religious slavery.  Key to this issue is the question of fatherhood.  The Galatians could choose to either be liberated children of God or enslaved children of the Devil.  And the dividing line was Jesus.  Their response to Jesus and his Gospel would reveal who their father was.  Let us read what Paul wrote to the  Galatians in chapter 3, verses 26-29.    

Freedom from Old Identities to New Identity

Central to our identity is the question of fatherhood.  Are we children of God or children of the Devil?  In answering the question, Paul makes the same claim that Jesus made: the determining factor is how we respond to Jesus.  Those who respond to Jesus in faith are children of God.  Anyone who responds to Jesus in faith is a child of God.  

Think for a moment of how revolutionary this claim is.  Remember that Paul, a Jew, is writing this letter to Roman pagans.  And he is telling these pagans -- who have worshiped false gods, lived blatantly immoral lives, and previously shown no reverence for the God of the Jews -- that they are children of God.  They are children of God because of their faith and faith alone.  It does not matter that they are Gentiles, it does not matter whether they are slave or free, rich or poor, male or female -- every one of them who responds to Jesus in faith is a child of God.  And if they are children of God then every other means of measuring their identity or their worth becomes of no effect.  This eliminates every religious and cultural distinction that existed in their time: Jews have no privilege over the Gentiles, the rich have no privilege over the poor, the free have no privilege over the enslaved, and the men have no privilege over the women.  This claim is nothing short of earth-shattering.   It always makes me laugh when I hear people say that Paul was a sexist or intolerant: I wonder if they have ever read these words.  The truth is that these words are actually the first recorded words of equality that we know of in all of history.  Paul says that anyone can be a child of God and be clothed with Christ and that all they must do is respond to Jesus in faith.  All of these other religious and cultural divisions become null and void.       

It’s because of this passage and others like it that you and I sit here today.  We gather together as Gentiles and Jews, men and women, white and black, Latino and Asian, educated and uneducated, middle-class and lower-class, employed and unemployed, young and old, single and married, widowed and divorced, Pentecostal and Baptist, Calvinist and Arminian, Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal -- and not one of those distinctions matters, not one of those distinctions divides us.  Because these things do not describe who we are, they do not determine our identity.  What determines who we are is our response to Jesus Christ.  And those of us who have responded to Jesus in faith have been baptized in his body, clothed with his person, and adopted as children of God.  And in that we are freed from all cultural and religious distinctions and identities. 

This means that as followers of Jesus, as children of God, we have no right to draw distinctions that God does not draw or base our identity on things that God deems irrelevant.  So often we bond with one another because of a common race, or common political view, or common social class, or common stage of life, or common church denomination, or common philosophy of ministry.  And we tend to think that this is virtuous because we do experience a common unity with those who fall into the same category as us.  But it is not virtuous!  I dare say that it is evil.  I dare say that Satan actually loves for us to be unified so long as that unity is based on something other than our identity in Christ.  This goes back all the way to the Tower of Babel, when people were unified in their rebellion against God.  Now we unite based on our race: we have black churches, and white churches, and Mexican churches.  Now we unite based on our church philosophy: we have emerging churches, and emergent churches, and traditional churches, and contemporary churches.  Now we unite based on debatable theological issues: we have pentecostal churches, and charismatic churches, and cessationist churches; we have Calvinist churches, Arminian churches, and churches that take no position.  Now we unite based on our politics: we have conservative churches, and liberal churches, and apolitical churches.  Now we unite based on our socio-economic status: we have upper class churches, and middle class churches, and lower class churches.  

Let me state this again in no uncertain terms: Satan is pleased with this.  He is pleased that we are unified so long as our unity is based on something other than our identity in Christ.  Because though we may be unified with those who share our race, or  philosophy, or class, or politics we are divided against those who differ from us.  We are in opposition to them.  Our unity is actually based on our common enemy rather than on our common Father.  And this is rebellion against God.  The only distinction God makes is between those who respond to Jesus in faith and those who do not.  Those who do are liberated children of God, those who do not are enslaved children of the Devil.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ frees us from our old identities and our old divisions.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ frees us to be children of God and to be united in his body through faith and faith alone.  

Freedom from Slavery to Adoption

As Paul continues to write he goes on to explain this in even more detail.  Let’s read Galatians 4:1-7.  According to this passage all of us have been enslaved by two different masters.  We have been enslaved by the Law of Moses and enslaved by what Paul calls “the elemental spiritual forces of this world.”  This is a nice way of saying that we have been enslaved by Satan and his demons.  I don’t imagine that is a message that any human being wants to hear.  But that is the consistent teaching of the Scriptures, that in some way, all of humanity is (or has been) enslaved by the Devil.  And the worst part of all is that we are entirely unaware of it.  We may even think it’s a ludicrous idea.  This is because Satan does not come upon us in all of his power, speaking in a frightening voice, and commanding us to do things that are against our will.  Instead, he uses our will to serve his will.  We think that we are free people serving ourselves but in fact we are slaves serving the Devil.  There’s some irony here because it is when human beings think that they are most free to think, believe, and do what they want that they are actually most enslaved.   

This slavery to Satan disguised as personal freedom shows itself in a number of ways.  It shows itself in our rejection of Jesus Christ and his gospel.  We may think that we are choosing to reject Jesus and his gospel because we are free to believe and disbelieve whatever we choose.  But the Scriptures tell us that it is because we are slaves to Satan, who has blinded our eyes, and we are doing his will.  This slavery disguised as personal freedom also shows itself in our self-focus.  We may think that we are exercising our personal freedom when we choose to do what’s best for us, or what brings us the most pleasure, or what we find personally rewarding.  But this self-focus is nothing but slavery to Satan masquerading as personal freedom.  We are doing his will by choosing to serve self rather than Jesus.  This slavery to Satan disguised as personal freedom shows itself in our sinful thoughts, words, and deeds.  We think that we are exercising our personal freedom by doing whatever we want and not making ourselves slaves to some religious or moral code.  But the truth is we are anything but free.  We are slaves to the Devil who cannot help but do evil even when we want to do good.  A fourth place that our slavery to the Devil disguised as personal freedom shows itself is in our morality.  Yes, even in our morally good behavior, and thoughts, and words we are doing the will of Satan if we are not in Christ.  We’ll talk about this more in depth in a moment.  

The point is this: all of us either have been or currently are slaves to the Devil himself.  But...we don’t have to remain slaves.  We can be free.  We can become sons and daughters of God, chosen and adopted by God into his family.  This freedom and adoption is made available to us through Jesus Christ.  The Scripture says that God sent his Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.  He became a curse for us so that we might have the blessing of freedom.  We cannot break free from the law or from Satan through any amount of strength or effort of our own.  All we have to do, and all we can do, is respond to Jesus in faith.   When we respond to Jesus in faith we are liberated from the Law and the Devil.  The Scriptures tell us in the Book of Colossians that when Jesus died on the Cross the law that condemned us was killed with him and the Devil and his demons were defeated and publicly shamed.  Jesus triumphed over the law and over the Devil in his triumphant death and resurrection.  In Christ we are now freed.  We are not only freed, we are adopted as God’s sons and daughters.  Through faith we become children of the living God.  Through the work of the King, Jesus Christ, God has adopted us and has filled us with his Holy Spirit.  And now you and I -- without any merit of our own -- can truly call God “Father.”  

Freedom from Slavery Forever                    

Which brings us back to why Paul wrote this letter in the first place.  The Galatians were former slaves who had become liberated sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  But now they were in danger of voluntarily trading their sonship for slavery.  They were privileged children but they were willing to exchange their freedom and inheritance as children for the curse and bondage of slavery.  Remember that they thought they could earn God’s favor by obeying the Law of Moses, following Jewish custom, and keeping Jewish feasts and holy days.  And this is what Paul says about that.  Read Galatians 4:8-11.

Paul is perplexed.  The Galatians knew the horrors of slavery.  They also knew the joy and liberty they had as adopted children of God.  Yet they are voluntarily  turning back to the same slavery that used to hold them in bondage!  Paul says that they are turning back to the same weak and miserable forces.  In verse 8 and 9 he is talking about returning to slavery to Satan and in verse 10 he talks of their return to slavery to the Law.  Paul is equating the two as one and the same.  To return to the Law is to return to slavery to Satan.  This is shocking!  How can it be serving Satan to serve the Law of Moses?  How can it be serving Satan to live a morally upright life?  Here’s how: because morality and law are not Christ.  

The truth is that Satan would love it if everyone on earth kept the 10 Commandments, just as long as we take the credit for it, just as long as our faith is in the Law or in morality instead of in Christ.  Satan doesn’t care if you go to church, or lead a small group, or pastor a church, or vote a certain way, or are sexually pure, or if you give all your money to the poor, or do any other beautiful moral thing so long as you are not in Christ.  The Devil is more than happy to produce moral and religious people so long as they are not free people.  Satan is not opposed to morality or religion, he is opposed to Christ.  And the truth is that when religious and moral people turn to the Law or turn to morality they tend to put their faith in those things rather than in Christ.  They tend to think that they can earn favor with God through those things rather than being given it through Christ.  They tend to think they are serving God through their religion and morality but they are actually serving Satan, because they are leading others to religion and morality instead of to Christ.  The Bible says that Satan loves to present himself as a minister of the light.  That is precisely what he does when he convinces us that our morality and our religion are effective in bringing us nearer to God.  Satan wants you to be religious.  Satan wants you to be moral.  God wants you to repent and worship Jesus.  

Conclusion

This is how we tell the difference between the children of the Devil and the children of God.  This is how we know if we are enslaved or liberated.  So let me ask you again: Who’s your daddy?  Who do you rely on for redemption?  Who do you rely on to reconcile you to God? To your fellow humans?  To creation itself?  In whom to you put your hope for this world?  In whom do you put your hope for your own life?  In whom do you put your hope for fulfillment?  For sanctification?  For salvation?  Where is your hope for the end of racism, and poverty, and rape, and murder, and injustice?  

If your answer to even one of the above questions is yourself, or another human being, or politics, or money, or any person or thing other than Jesus Christ then you are enslaved by your father the Devil.  If your answer to all of the above questions is Jesus Christ; if your answer is the King of the Universe who left his throne in order to live the righteous life we could not live, absorb the punishment we could not pay by dying the death we should have died, and defeat death and the devil by raising from the dead; if your answer to the question is Jesus who will return to judge the earth and set up his eternal kingdom, then you have been liberated by your father God.  

This is the important question to answer.  It does not matter who your human father is.  I don’t know if your human father was a success or a failure.  I don’t know if he loved you well, or if he neglected you, or abused you, or abandoned you.  Maybe he was just an average guy who did the best  he could.  Either way your human father does not have the power to enslave you nor to liberate you.  Only Satan can truly enslave you and only God can truly liberate you.  Trust in Jesus and the freedom he brings, trust in his righteousness and not your own, trust in his power and no one else’s.  Respond to Jesus in faith and celebrate your adoption into the family of God where people as different as those of us in this room become united in one Body.