In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Paul has been very direct in telling the Galatians that we are not made righteous through works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Yet then as now, it is tempting to rely on doing good in order to be righteous before God. Paul argues in chapter 4 that we are not slaves, but adopted children of God. If this is true it changes everything about the Christian life.
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4 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,[a] though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles[b] of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.