Terry Johnson on the true descendents of Abraham (Galatians 3:29)

 

I paraphrased this illustration in Sunday’s message from Terry Johnson’s new Galatians commentary (Mentor/Christian Focus, 2012) on Galatians 3:29 where Paul reflects on who are the true descendents of Abraham:

“And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).

"Let us use a secular analogy to illustrate.  Imagine, on the one hand, a direct descendent of James Madison, architect and signer of the U. S. Constitution, who is a member of the Communist party, and, on the other hand, a recent immigrant from Poland who fully embraces the U. S. Constitution.  Which of the two is the truer American, the one who shares belief in Madison’s system or the one who, though a direct descendent, wishes to overthrow it?  Of course it would be the former, not the latter" (p. 99).