Are You A Child Of Hagar?

Once again the Apostle Paul defends salvation by grace against those who add works to the redemption found in Christ Jesus. This is his final argument. It is quite complex and yet profoundly simple. It is so simple that Paul is surprised that the Judaizers haven’t seen this. He says to them, “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?“

On the other hand, this argument is so complex that scholars have written whole volumes trying to understand the similarities and comparisons found in his analogy. Today we will do our best to glean the spiritual truth from Paul’s allegory. 

Though not strictly an allegory, the point that he is making is that like as Hagar’s children can only be the children of a slave, so also those who seek salvation through obedience to the law can only ever be slaves to their sins.