Freedom from the Curse

Galatians 3:10-14

Have you ever played Jenga? This game doesn't have a board, play money, or a pair of dice. It's a game that challenges everything you thought you knew about physics. The concept of the game is that players take turns pulling out pieces from a wooden tower and placing them on top of the tower. The game ends when a player removes a piece that causes the tower to collapse.

If you have played the game before, what pieces do you avoid taking out? The bottom ones, especially on either side (even removing the middle piece can be a risk). The game is easy until you reach the point where the only pieces you can move may collapse the tower. Once the foundation of your Jenga tower is unsteady, it all comes tumbling down.

In Galatians, we have seen how the legalistic Judaizers built their own Jenga tower on the foundation of the law. They believed that in order to have God's favor they needed to observe the customs and practices of the Mosaic Law, including circumcision and kosher laws. In their teaching, they claimed to accept the sacrificial work of Christ, but in reality, they taught that his death and resurrection were not sufficient for salvation. They believed that God would only be pleased with Christ's work and human observance of the law.

We receive the gospel and its benefits by faith alone.

In the first nine verses of chapter 3, Paul cross-examines the Galatian believers, those who have been hoodwinked by the Judaizer's teachings. He questions why they have forgotten so quickly that their salvation came by faith in Christ through the work of the Spirit. He reminds them that their own human efforts were inadequate for salvation. He even introduces a revered OT figure, Abraham, as a key example of justification by faith alone.

So far, Paul has made the positive case of why the gospel which he preached was ultimately effective for salvation. In verses 10-14, he makes the negative case against the law. Why is it inadequate to justify sinful people? It is at this point in Paul's argument that he takes the most critical piece out of the Jenga tower of legalism. The Judaizers have argued that the works of the law are necessary for both salvation and the Christian life. But Paul has already demonstrated that a person receives salvation by faith and not works.

This means legalism cannot tell you how to be saved or how to live as a Christian. It has no leg to stand on. It can only stand if the gospel is based on works. In this passage, Paul demonstrates that we receive the gospel and its benefits by faith alone. He already cross-examined the Galatians earlier in the passage like an attorney in order to prove this point. Now, he wants them to consider the opposite side of the argument. What if we believed the law could justify us? Does it have that power? Using the OT, Paul will build his case that the law cannot save and, therefore, a legalistic gospel cannot stand.

Paul presents four key arguments to demonstrate the law's inability to justify sinners. He primarily uses passages in the Mosaic Law to support each argument. By doing so, he uses the texts that the Judaizers accept as Scripture in order to prove his point, that the law is inadequate to justify anyone in the sight of God.

Following the Law Brings You Under Its Curse

Paul's initial argument connects back to what he just said in verse 9. He has made clear that faith is the only means acceptable to God for declaring guilty sinners righteous. This was how Abraham, a former pagan and Gentile, was justified. It was not by his circumcision or his adherence to any divine law; God would not reveal the Mosaic Law for another few centuries. He was accounted as righteous because of his faith. Anyone who follows in that same pattern of faith by trusting in the finished work of Christ for salvation receives the same blessing as Abraham - a justified, righteous standing before God.

Paul describes the people who have depended on Jesus for salvation as people "of faith." They are in the category, group, or community of people who have exercised faith in the Messiah. Paul contrasts this group with those who are "of the works of the law." These are people who depend on their strict obedience to the law's demands in order to receive God's approval. They trust in the works of the law for their righteousness.

This would describe the Judaizers and the Galatian believers they have influenced. Paul addresses his first argument to these people. Anyone who rests their salvation on the law, in addition to faith in Christ, is under a curse. Paul is not thinking of these believers as being under some kind of magical spell. His concern is that by wedding their Christian growth - and by implication, their salvation - to the works of the law, they have placed themselves under God's judgment.

We see this kind of judgment referenced in the OT law. Under the Mosaic Covenant, the people of Israel pledged their loyalty to Yahweh and agreed to observe the stipulations of the covenant. This included obedience to the law. In Deuteronomy 27-28, God promised certain material blessings to the nation if they kept his covenant. But the punishment for persistent disobedience would be a curse - on the people and their political stability, as well as on the land and its material resources.

Israel experienced the consequences of God's judgment as a result of their continued rebellion against him. They suffered his curse and paid dearly for it. Paul uses the language of the Mosaic Law to prove a broader point. Those who do not abide by the law are under God's curse. But his judgment is not on a seat of government or a political territory. His judgment extends to all people, Jew and Gentile, because they fail to meet the law's righteous standard.

Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26 to show that siding with the law brings God's curse rather than his favor. The law can only demand full obedience to itself, but it cannot justify the person who breaks it. So, if you want to make the law your standard for salvation, you will only bring on yourself God's displeasure rather than his approval.

Does this imply that if a person could fully obey the law, they would be justified? No, the law cannot justify anyone, even someone who could obey it perfectly. We know this is not possible (only Jesus fulfilled it perfectly), but even if it was, the law is not capable of declaring anyone innocent of sin. Nothing about the law, neither its moral demands nor its sacrificial system, could do that. Even a perfect record of law-keeping cannot keep a sinner free of the law's curse.

The curse of the law is our natural state. We are born under its curse. As we experience life and make moral choices, we learn how far from God's standard we fall. We do not come close to his glory and holiness. Christians who rely on the works of the law for their righteousness must reconsider. The law itself condemns their righteousness if they do not "continue in all things." None of us can do this, and we never will.

The Law Cannot Make You Righteous

Since he has already identified the curse of the law, Paul now states the obvious conclusion: the law cannot justify guilty sinners. It should be evident to the Galatians that if the law brings a curse, then it has no power to declare innocence. It is insufficient to do so because it sits in the judge's seat and condemns me for my sinful choices and rebellion against God.

While the works of the law cannot justify, faith in God can. Paul presents the prophet Habakkuk as his next witness to make the case for the law's inadequacy. In his prophetic message, Habakkuk told the people of God, "The just shall live by faith" (Hab 2:4). In this concise statement, we have the whole gospel message summarized. Faith is the key for guilty sinners to access God's life and righteousness. His righteous people can experience his life and blessing when they exercise faith in him.

Faith has always been the human response that pleases God and brings salvation. He is not impressed by our human efforts or appeased by our religious observance. Instead, when we believe on him, he justifies us. Abraham lived by this truth. Habakkuk boldly proclaimed it in his prophetic message. The writer of Hebrews confirms it in his chapter of faith (Heb 11:6). Salvation has never come by human performance; it has always been by faith. OT Jews were not saved by circumcision, the sacrificial system, or the works of the law. They were saved by believing in Yahweh.

This is what the Judaizers failed to understand. They sought life and righteousness in the law, but Paul shows them they can only be found in the gospel of grace. The Galatians should have realized that faith in Christ alone was sufficient for salvation. Abraham's example and Habakkuk’s teaching together show us that this is the case. Not only does the response of faith predate the law in Abraham, but it stands as a timeless principle for how God responds to his people in the words of the prophet.

The Law Is Not Based on Faith

Since faith is the timeless principle, the only human behavior that leads to salvation, Paul dispenses with the law as a legitimate means of salvation. It cannot justify because it is not grounded in faith. We know this because of the law's testimony to itself: "the man who does them shall live by them" (Lev 18:5). By its own admission, the law is totally opposite to faith. They are mutually exclusive. You cannot be justified by faith and works at the same time; it's one or the other.

In the Leviticus passage, we see what God expected of his chosen people. If the nation of Israel wanted to live peacefully and prosperously in the Promised Land, then they had to remain loyal to his covenant. That included obedience to his laws; disobedience would bring his curse. So, if a sinner wants to find God's life and blessing under the law, then he can only rely on his performance.

Jews of the OT understood that they could only be acceptable to Yahweh by faith in him. They showed their faith by their observance of the law and its mandates. The Jews of Paul's day mistook their strict devotion to the traditions and customs of the law as their justification before God. As a former Pharisee himself, Paul sympathized with that perspective. But he realized the error of that belief. He realized that if he stood on his own righteousness as the ground for his justification, then he would not meet the fully righteous standard of the law. Since the law is not of faith, it cannot save.

Paul is not saying that you can’t have faith and follow the law at the same time. Any believing Israelite would have lived this way - Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, etc. But trusting in one means that you cannot trust in the other. Justification only happens by faith, which is why Paul quotes this verse. He reminds the Galatians that under the law, life is only found in absolute obedience. No one can accomplish that; that's why it must come by faith.

Christ Freed You from the Law's Curse

In order for faith to save, it must have a source. In verses 13-14, Paul tells us that source is Christ and his redeeming work. In his death on the cross, we have the answer to the curse of the law, the appeasement of God's wrath, and the removal of his judgment. The law can claim none of these spiritual benefits. Paul has shown that it can only condemn us because it is not based on faith. Since faith is the only means of receiving a righteous standing before God, then I cannot depend on the law to do this for me. Based on Abraham's example and OT revelation, we can rest in God alone for our justification.

How does Christ’s work remove the curse of the law? In Paul's words, he became a curse for us. Think of redemption as a purchase. When Jesus redeemed us, he made us his own; we belong to him. To make that purchase, he spent the most precious thing anyone can give: his own life, signified by his shed blood. By giving his life for guilty sinners, he took on himself the guilt, shame, and condemnation that we deserve because of sin. He placed that weight on himself and bore all of its consequences on the cross. The same curse of God's judgment we deserve because of sin, Jesus took that and carried it on our behalf.

What Jesus did for us would be like putting your name at the top of a school exam that you know your classmate cheated on. Instead of your classmate getting sent to the principal's office, a phone call to his parents, and a failing grade, you receive it instead. You and I have cheated God by our repeated offenses against his holiness. But Jesus put his name on our record so he would receive the punishment instead of us. He became a curse on our behalf.

Once again, Paul uses the OT to prove this. In the law, Moses gave instructions about how the nation would deal with criminals. For any crimes punishable by death, the law would often require stoning. When a criminal was stoned and his body lay dead, the people were instructed to tie the body to a wooden post in a prominent place in the community (Deut 21:22-23). That way anyone who walked by would be reminded of the horrific consequences of breaking God's law and being under his judgment.

Paul references this OT practice to show how Christ became a curse. As the one who took all of our sins on himself - its guilt, shame, and judgment - Jesus already bore God's curse in our place. The Jewish leaders and Roman officials who placed Jesus on a cross did not realize their punishment of choice for Jesus actually fulfilled the law. Criminals in the OT were already cursed; being tied to a stake just made it obvious to everyone. As the one who bore our sins in his body (1 Pet 2:24), Jesus was already a curse. But in the providential plan of God, he died on a cross to make it evident to the world.

The Blessings of Redemption

The Lord's death on the cross not only secured our redemption and freedom from the law's curse. It also guaranteed significant spiritual blessings. These blessings we receive represent Christ's purpose in his death. He died in order to secure these blessings for us. He loved his chosen people so much that he laid down his life and placed it under divine judgment so we can experience the benefits of eternal salvation.

The first benefit we receive is the blessing of Abraham.

We have seen already that anyone who is justified by faith is one of Abraham's spiritual children. We are his sons, meaning, we are like him in our dependence on God for his righteousness. Jewish Christians readily understood this reference, but Paul wanted the Gentile Christians of Galatia to know that this benefit was theirs as well. Like Abraham and their Jewish brothers, they belong in the family of God because they sought his righteousness by faith. Jesus made this possible through his death on the cross. In him, Jews and Gentiles find redemption and freedom.

The second benefit we receive is the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this blessing. Through faith in Christ, God gives us not just his salvation and righteousness, but himself also. He gives us the third Person of the Trinity to dwell within us. He not only seals us eternally as God's inheritance, but he also guides and equips us to live the Christian life. God no longer holds us responsible to the dictates of the law. Instead, we follow the Spirit's guidance in cooperation with Scripture to live as God's people.

Both of these benefits of redemption run directly contrary to everything the Judaizers taught the Galatians. Instead of teaching a gospel that embraced Jews and Gentiles through the cross, the Judaizers insisted on the exclusivity of the Jewish law. Instead of offering hope for holy living through the indwelling Spirit, the Judaizers taught that God accepted our human performance of the law. Paul has made his case clear against these false teachers and legalists. Their gospel cannot justify or give guidance for Christian living. Only the gospel of grace in Christ Jesus can do that.

Lessons for Believers

In this passage, Paul has shown the OT arguments for why the law is insufficient for righteousness. It brings a curse on anyone who relies on it, it has no grounding in faith, and Christ already removed that curse by taking it on himself. Anyone who will come to him in faith will not only be justified, but will also be free of the curse of the law. How should we respond to the rich theological arguments Paul presents in this passage?

Believe in Christ to justify you rather than your works.

No matter how well you obey the moral laws of the Bible, you will never do enough to earn your place before God. Your sin and rebellion against him must be accounted for. Jesus already dealt with your sin on the cross. In his body, he took all the horror and ugliness of your bad choices. He paid the awful price you deserved to pay. He became a curse, and now he offers you deliverance from that curse. If you will believe in the sufficiency of his death and resurrection to forgive you and justify you, then he will do just that.

Legalism has no basis in Scripture.

The Judaizers tried to prove their teaching by using the OT. Paul's arguments in this passage show that their arguments do not hold up. If the law brings a curse, then trusting in the law cannot save you or help you live for Jesus. If the law is not of faith, then no amount of law-keeping can make you favorable to God; only faith can do that. If Christ took on himself the law's curse, why should any believer go back to it? The Judaizers built their Jenga tower on the law, and Paul pulled out the one piece that held it all together.

Evaluate your Christian life in light of Scripture.

The Judaizers could not ground their teaching in the Bible. As Christians, we must examine our lives and make sure our decisions are being made in dependence on God and his Word. That will give us confidence that our choices are biblically based and divinely sanctioned.

We must avoid the two extremes of self-evaluation. On the one hand, we cannot be careless and cavalier about our decisions as if the Bible has nothing to say about our life choices; that is pride. On the other hand, we cannot be introspective and micro-manage every insignificant choice we make on a daily basis; that is misguided humility. We must learn the balance of humbly submitting our practices, behaviors, and preferences to the Word of God, then confidently living out his truth and holiness according to our conscience.

Worship God for his salvation blessings.

Because of his Son's death on the cross, we have the privilege of being his children. Like Abraham, God accepts us as his beloved sons and daughters because of our faith in him. He has also given you his Spirit's presence so that you may have direct access to him at all times. Whenever you need his help, guidance, or strength, ask him for it and he will grant it generously (Jam 1:5). As we continue to study Galatians, we will see the important role the Spirit fills in our lives. Daily place your faith in his power and wisdom to live as a child of God.

If you struggle with legalism in your heart, I hope you see now that it is a Jenga tower that has already collapsed. It cannot stand on its own because it has a false trust in the law. Don't build your Christian life on practices and traditions that have no firm grounding in Scripture. Don't impose on other believers in the church a set of religious behaviors and expectations that do not come from the Bible. Instead, carefully evaluate your choices as a Christian. Compare them to Scripture, depending on the Spirit, then live in the freedom Christ has given you to worship him and live for his glory.