In Galatians 4:29, Paul draws our attention to a powerful spiritual pattern that has persisted since the days of Abraham:

“But just as at that time the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.” (Galatians 4:29, NET)

This verse refers to Ishmael, Hagar’s son, mocking Isaac, Sarah’s child of promise. It didn’t begin as open hostility. Initially, Hagar mocked Sarah while she was still barren (Genesis 16:4). The mockery was subtle, sneering—cloaked in the pride of self-effort. But once Sarah gave birth to Isaac, the tone changed. What began as taunting evolved into persecution.

Mockery often precedes manifestation.

This same pattern repeats in our day. Grace-based believers are often ridiculed in the early stages of their walk. Critics sneer:

“Where’s your fruit?”
“You teach too much grace—what do you even stand for?”
“You’re just passive, soft on sin.”

The spirit of legalism, like Hagar, boasts in what it can produce on its own—through fleshly effort, rule-keeping, and religious performance. And when grace looks barren, when faith hasn’t yet yielded visible results, it seems foolish to those who rely on human strength.

But grace always has its Isaac moment.

When the fruit of God’s promise begins to manifest, when lives are transformed not by striving, but by resting in Christ, persecution intensifies. The critics who once mocked now rise in aggression. They can’t deny the fruit, so they attack the source.

“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? … Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?”
(Galatians 3:1–2, NET)

Paul’s sharp question highlights the tension. Grace-based living is not empty—it’s simply rooted in faith, not performance. It bears fruit in due season, but that fruit is supernatural, Spirit-born, and cannot be controlled or credited to man. That’s precisely what enrages the flesh.

Why the Persecution?

Jesus warned us that persecution would come, not only from the world but even from religious systems:

“They will put you out of the synagogue… indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” (John 16:2, ESV)

Legalism thrives in performance. Grace humbles it. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) cannot be manufactured by flesh. When it appears, it testifies to a better covenant —a covenant not of works, but of promise.

And just like Sarah eventually said:

“Drive out the slave woman and her son! For the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the son” (Galatians 4:30, NET)

So the grace-based believer must learn to stand firm in identity and inheritance:

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, NET)

Takeaway:

Don’t be shaken when mockery comes. And don’t be surprised when it escalates into persecution. If you’re walking in the way of Isaac, born of promise, not performance, then the resistance you face is proof you’re on the right path.

Grace doesn’t just promise fruit. It delivers it—in season. And when it does, it shines so brightly that no mocker can ignore it.

Stand firm in grace. The persecution is proof that you’ve stepped into the promise.