In the beginning of the early church, it consisted of Christian Jews only. Thus, it was influenced by the Jewish culture and customs. The false teachers who crept into the church taught that Jewish sacraments were necessary for salvation, eg: one must be circumcised or participate in the Passover in order to be saved. As such, the Apostle Paul used an “allegory” (Gal 4:24) to illustrate the choices the Jewish Galatian Christians had and to persuade them of the correct choice. (Note: Paul’s use of an allegory here is not a licence for us to allegorise the whole Bible.)

1. The choice between bondage and free (Gal 4:22-26)

In the Jewish culture, there are three ways to have a child: by adoption, by prayer and by a handmaid. Sarah chose the third method and offered her handmaid Hagar (or “Agar,” Gal 4:24) to Abraham. Abraham failed to wait upon the Lord, and went along with the plan. Thus, Hagar gave birth to a child (Ishmael), “born after the flesh” (Gal 4:23). But the child (Isaac) that was to be born of Sarah years later was “by promise” (Gal 4:23), by God’s promise. Two covenants are covered here.

The “mount Sinai” (Gal 4:24) represented the whole Jewish system of the moral, civil and Levitical laws. It was meant to highlight the sinfulness of man, not a means of salvation. And Paul pointed out that, as a result of the false teachers’ teachings, “mount Sinai in Arabia…answereth (i.e. corresponded) to Jerusalem” (Gal 4:25). This means that the false teachers had distorted the law by teaching that one can be saved by the law. Thus, “Jerusalem which now is (i.e. during Paul’s time)…is in bondage” (Gal 4:25); while “Jerusalem which is above (i.e. in heaven) is free” (Gal 4:26).

2. The choice between flesh and promise (Gal 4:27-29)

As Ishmael (“born after the flesh,” Gal 4:29) mocked Isaac, Sarah was concerned for Isaac’s safety. Thus, she told Abraham to send Ishmael away. Abraham sent Ishmael away remembering God's promise that Ishmael would be a great nation too. Paul pointed out that believers are “the children of promise…born after the Spirit” (Gal 4:28-29). We must choose to be “the children of promise.”

3. The choice between acceptance by God and rejection by God (Gal 4:30-31)

Participating in the Lord's Supper, serving in church, etc do not make us a Christian. The way of the law is the way of bondage, which leads to rejection by God. The way of the free is to believe in Christ's salvific work, which leads to acceptance by God. Choose the way that is accepted by God. (The ways that are rejected by God are the ways of the Roman Catholics, the Charismatics, the Neo-evangelicals, etc.) May God help us to make the right choice.