185: Cast the Bondwoman Out!

How appropriate that today’s “grace nugget” was scheduled for Independence Day ~ it’s all about true freedom.

Have you heard this verse on freedom?

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1, NKJV)

Another version says it like this:

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, NASB)

In my experience, that might be the most abused verse in deliverance ministry. It is often totally taken out of context and sadly doing nothing to set people free from the true bondage that is clearly described in the passage in Galatians 4-5 where we find this statement by Paul.

Most of my years in ministry I heard, and I even taught, that this verse was about being set free from demonic forces and from sin, but the context of “it is for freedom that Christ set is free” is that we are set free from the law and the condemnation that comes from believing that we must achieve our own righteousness to be acceptable to God.

When you have a minute or two, read Galatians 4:21-5:9 for context, and you will see that there is not one word about renouncing demons or sins, but a whole lot about the bondage of trying to establish your own righteousness.

Here’s a quick look at a couple of verses preceding Galatians 5:1:

“Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” (Galatians 4:30)¹

There comes a time when we must stop compromising and cast the law out of our lives and our churches. Strong words? Yes, but this is exactly what Paul, the apostle of grace, instructed the churches of Galatia.

Hagar, the mistress of Abraham, and Ishmael, their son, lived in the house with Sarah, Abraham’s wife, for several years. Hagar was Sarah’s slave. Can you imagine the mistress living with the wife and raising the wife’s child? There came a time when Sarah had to cast the bondwoman out.

The symbolism: the law came alongside the Abrahamic Covenant of grace. However, once the promised child was born, the bondwoman and her child had to be cast out.

The symbolism: when Christ came to enact the New Covenant of grace, the law was fulfilled! Grace and law cannot co-exist anymore after the cross!

It seems like many in the body of Christ love to talk about casting out demons, but why is it that we don’t understand casting out the bondwoman? “Throw her out!” No mixture.

Some in the body of Christ today have bought into the lie that Hagar is better at raising Isaac than Sarah is. In other words, the law will do a better job at creating well-behaved sons and daughters than grace will. What are we saying to God with that mentality? We are saying that Jesus isn’t enough. We are saying that His life in us won’t cut it. The truth is that Sarah (grace) is fully equipped to raise her own child.

“So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. Stand fast therefore in the LIBERTY BY WHICH CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 4:31-5:1)

We are children of the free! Free to love, free to forgive, free to inherit, free to give, free to do good works, free to bear fruit, free from sin, and free to enjoy the presence of Jesus!

Years ago when my eyes were opened to God’s amazing grace, and the paradigm shifted in the “deliverance” ministry that I oversaw, I began to teach that the greatest bondage we are under is the bondage of the law and trying to establish our own righteousness. I taught that true freedom would come when we “cast out the bondwoman,” and we learned to rest in the finished work of the cross. I began to see glorious results – unlike like anything I had seen in the previous decade of ministry.

In those days I stayed in constant prayer knowing that I was teaching against the grain of religion which insisted that we are still under the law. Each moment of each day, I tread carefully, knowing that resistance to grace was mounting even though freedom was spreading like wildfire. Sadly, the day came when the leader of the church where I ministered instructed that he would no longer allow me to teach if I didn’t stop telling people that they weren’t under the Ten Commandments. However, I couldn’t compromise the truth of what I read all through the teachings of the New Testament.

Here are a few:

“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39)

“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)

“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)

It was quite costly to me personally as I had to make the decision not only to lose the ministry, but also tragically along with it, lose most of the relationships that I cherished for many years. Unfortunately, church life can be extremely painful.

Nevertheless, I will never go back to teaching the mixture of law and grace. Why?

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.” (Galatians 5:9)

(from pages 278-279 of Unveiling Jesus)

Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!

Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.

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¹All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.  Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.  Used by permission.”