Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Bible tells us that man has been under the curse of sin since the sin of Adam. In Deuteronomy 27-28, God pronounced a curse upon different sins, 18x. There are false religions that claim they can cast off the curse of God upon man in the name of “Jesus”. The fact is that the only way for a person to be free from the curse is to actually know the Lord Jesus Christ. A person cannot know the Lord Jesus Christ unless he first of all humbles himself in repentance toward God. A person that wants to keep his sins and claim to be “saved” is making a mockery of God’s salvation. That person is using a corrupted understanding of “grace” to skirt around the importance of forgiveness and a new nature.
Paul reminded the Galatians of that fact, once again. God had already made it clear that the person who wants to use law keeping as his standard of righteousness, is cursed if he does not keep the law 100 percent of the time. You cannot slip up even once, if law keeping is your salvation.
No person can keep the law perfectly. Any person who even sets up their own standard of “righteousness” will fail to keep that standard. We have a P.M. who is a living example of the hypocrisy of self-righteousness. He sets up standards and goes in front of the cameras and puts on his drama acts and tries to make his statements the law, and then he promptly breaks the very claims he has made. He is not alone in that, but he has chosen to put himself in a public position that is open to scrutiny.
In verse 11 God directed Paul to remind us all that it is evident that a man cannot be justified by law keeping. “The just shall live by faith.” That is the reality of life. The just person is the one who turns to God in repentance and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as his only hope. He knows he cannot keep the law perfectly. That does not mean he does not care. It means he knows his frailty. I John 1:9 was written into that chapter to remind us of where the child of God turns when he sins. I John 1 reminds us several times that no man can claim to be without sin. Fellowship with God is designed to be for those who are without sin. If God did not make provision for His children to confess their sin and be forgiven, we could never have fellowship with Him.
God’s Word makes it abundantly clear that no true child of God can make provision for the flesh. No true child of God can plan on sinning and then think they can be forgiven. The true child of God has been changed by God.
Psalm 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
God directed the Psalmist to write those words. They are true. The true child of God gets understanding of God’s holiness and His righteousness and His mercy and grace and love, etc. through the Word of God called “precepts”. As the child of God grows in his understanding of God’s precepts, his hatred for false ways grows. He does not hate people, but he hates false ways.
There is a difference. Our P.M. hates the people who openly disagree with him. He uses the full force of the police and others to go after those who expose him for the wicked man that he is. He claims to love everyone, but he demonstrates an increasing hatred for those who will not accept his lies.
There are four men in an Alberta jail that have been in that jail for over 500 days. They were involved in the demonstrations held at Coutts Alberta curing the Trucker Freedom Convoys. I have mentioned before that I do not support the protests that took place at that time or at any time. Having said that, when we look at the case outside of Toronto where a woman was walking her dog and was shot by a stray bullet from a gun held by a man who had a long criminal record and should not have been out on the street, these four men do not have a criminal record. They have not even gone to trial yet. However, they are being held without bail for over a year now. It is clear that the government is skirting around the law to send a message that there is a certain behaviour that will be punished and will not be allowed in this country.
The B.C. ports strike has cost Canada billions of dollars. We do not know if that strike is truly over or not as of this writing, but no one there has been arrested. They are allowed to disrupt commerce in this country and also stain the international reputation of this country as a trustworthy trading partner. That is acceptable, but to meet in defiance of a wicked and corrupt mandate imposed upon society without any just cause, is not allowed.
The just shall life by faith. Not faith in a corrupt secular, humanistic system. Rather, faith in the true God Who is trustworthy. In verse 12 we read that the law is not of faith. If I trust in my efforts, I am not trusting in God. That is why I do not support the protests. That was a human effort and it was often a corrupt human effort to make a point. It did not make the desired point. It just infuriated the dictator and his ilk.
The person who wants to live by law keeping, is in bondage. He knows he cannot keep the law so he has to make excuses for his failures. He does not like to be exposed as a law-breaker and so he gets upset and angry and uses vengeance to try to silence those who would dare to point out his lawlessness.
The Pharisees hated Jesus. They became more vicious toward Him as time moved on. They eventually had Him nailed to the cross. They assumed they had won. They failed to understand that Jesus Christ was made a curse for them, so that they could be set free from the curse. They defiantly refused His offer of mercy and grace and they died in their sins.
They chose to reject Him, and they are still living under the consequences of their defiance. The consequences of defying God are extremely dire. The consequences of living under the curse of God ends up in an eternity without hope in hell and the lake of fire. There is no escape from that judgment, after death. The time for salvation and forgiveness is now and in this life. God is merciful and He is gracious. He is loving and He is kind. He is also holy and He is righteous. Those who choose to defy Him have no hope.
The Galatian saints needed to stop and think. They had been given a changed heart and mind. They knew better than what they were doing. They needed to realize just how foolish they were in waffling in their faith. There was no justification for what they were doing. They were putting themselves under condemnation rather than choosing God’s blessings.
Paul reminded them and us that Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. He was made a curse for us. Paul quoted from Deuteronomy 21:23 here. Hanging was a vile form of death. It was needed in some instances to drive home the vile nature of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ had no sin. However, He was willing to take upon Him the sin of mankind, in order that man could be delivered from the curse of sin. Only those who repent toward God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation are delivered from the curse. It is a personal choice that a person must make. Those who reject God’s offer of salvation are still under the curse and the end of that is everlasting damnation in the lake of fire.
The consequences of rejecting God’s provision for salvation are extremely dire. Man would be wise to consider this in a much more sober manner. We have talked of some evil things in our world. They are evil but they are nothing in comparison to the prospect of an eternity separated from God and in the lake of fire. That is something the saints in Galatia needed to take note of and that is something that we need to take note of as well. We cannot change God’s terms of righteousness. We can make His truth clear before man. Jesus Christ was an offence to His own people while He was on this earth. He stated that those who would follow Him would be hated by the world. Today there is an unjustified fear of being hated just as it was unjustified for Peter and for the Galatian saints. We do not go out seeking hatred. We go out seeking to help people to know the love of God. The lost take their lead from the devil, who hates God. The mercy and grace of God is greater than the hatred of the devil and thus those who are directed by him, can be delivered and saved. The purity of the Gospel is essential in setting the captive free.
Let us not cheapen that Gospel. Let us honour God and make His name known in truth and in righteousness as we who are saved, walk by faith.
In verse 14 Paul reminded the Galatian saints of the blessing of Abraham. He was counted righteous because he believed God. Paul was chosen to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He wanted the saints in Galatia to be a blessing to the Gentiles as well. That blessing is through Jesus Christ. He is the only Saviour. Abraham chose to believe the promises of God which are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Galatian saints needed to do the same. We need to do the same today as well. Notice that we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Not through works, but through faith. The saved person demonstrates that faith and those blessings by living a life that pleases God.
Pastor Bartel
