Topic · Galatians 4 — two women, two covenants

The Two Covenants in Galatians 4

A sermon by Henry Marte on Galatians 4:22–31, walking through Paul's argument to the Galatians.

Paul tells the story of Abraham's two sons — Ishmael (by Hagar, the bondwoman) and Isaac (by Sarah, the free woman) — and calls it an allegory of two covenants. The shocking point: the two covenants are not a matter of time (Old Testament vs. New Testament) but of the condition of the heart, right now.

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Sam says Friend, this one surprised even me. Most folks think "Old Covenant = the Jews back then, New Covenant = us now." But Marte (following Paul and EJ Waggoner) shows it's not about time at all — it's about your heart. You can be living in the Old Covenant today without knowing it. Let's find out which one we're in.

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📖 The Sermon

Henry Marte's walk through Galatians — Paul's argument, the two women, EJ Waggoner's key insight, and the "ropes of sand."

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⚖️ Old vs. New

The two covenants side by side: man's empty promise to obey vs. God's promise to give a new heart. Bondage vs. freedom.

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❓ Covenant Quiz

Which covenant are you living in today? Seven heart-checks — and where you slip into the Old, Sam points you back to the New.

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☀️ A Day in the Life

The same day under the Old Covenant ("ropes of sand") and the New Covenant (a new heart). Tap to compare.

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🎵 Sam Sings

"Two Covenants" — songs in favor of the New Covenant gospel of the changed heart. Play them in your browser.

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🛤️ vs. LGT & cheap grace

Marte himself says the Old Covenant amounts to both legalism and cheap grace. Here's how both extremes are really the same old covenant.

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The message in one breath

The Old Covenant Man's promise to God: "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do" (Exodus 19:8). Sincere, but made with an unchanged heart — and so it is only empty human promises. as one well-known Christian author put it: without the new heart, "our promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand." It always amounts to self-effort — whether it shows up as legalism or as cheap grace.
The New Covenant God's promise to us: "A new heart also will I give you… and I will put my spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:26). It is "all of God" — He writes the law on the heart, and the obedience follows as fruit. This is the covenant Abraham lived under (he "saw Christ"), long before Sinai. Not a matter of time — a matter of the heart.
Sam says Here's the test, friend, straight from the sermon: is your Christian life built on your promises to God, or on God's promises to you? One is sand; the other is rock. The whole topic comes down to whose promise you're standing on.

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