"Cast Out The Bondwoman, And Her
Son!"
Galatians 4:30
In the inspired
allegory, Hagar represents Mt. Sinai (the law) and her son, Ishmael, represents
all legal works (the works of the flesh). And we are expressly commanded to
cast out both! There is no room in the
Let me be perfectly
clear. As soon as a man declares the believer's freedom from the law, the cry
goes up, "Antinomian! You are an enemy to righteousness and good works, a
promoter of licentiousness." Because legalists scream so loudly and so
constantly, it is necessary for me to plainly declare that I do not say that
believers have no responsiblity to perform good works. We do. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
But I do, most tenaciously, affirm that any "good works" performed to
appease God's wrath, win God's favor, avert punishment, or gain reward, good
works performed for the purpose of affecting God in anyway, to gain his
salvation, or to improve one's relationship with him, are the most abominable
evils in this world. All good works which give a person confidence,
comfort, and assurance before God, assuring him of Divine favor, are damning
delusions. Christ alone is our Atonement for sin. Christ alone is our
Righteousness. Christ alone is our Assurance before God. Christ's obedience
alone is the ground of our acceptance with God. Christ alone merits God's favor
and approval for us. Christ alone makes us worthy of heaven, eternal glory, and
the presence of God's glorious holiness. We must trust Christ alone! To mix our
"good works" with the work of Christ for justification,
sanctification, or assurance before God is to totally deny and make void the
grace of God and the work of Christ (Rom. 11:6; Gal. 5:1-4). The only person in
all the world who will be upset, offended, or enraged
by this plain declaration of gospel truth is one who is yet trusting his own
works. "Am I your enemy, because I tell you the truth?"
Don Fortner