We’re continuing our study on God’s blessings and curses and our relationship to them. It will work best for you if you have your Bible open in order to follow the logical discussion that the Apostle Paul is presenting in Galatians 3. According to verse 10, what is the standard for avoiding the curse? The standard given there is that we must continue in all of the things written in the book of the Law. We’re not allowed to deviate from it to either side. We must hit the nail on the head every time. That leaves us in a precarious situation, doesn’t it?
Basically there are two ways to live life. Paul explains this in verses 11 and 12. In verse 11 he tells us that one way is to live by faith. The just shall live by faith. The other way, given in verse 12, is to live by the law. He says very clearly that the law is not of faith because those who does them shall live by them. The “them” I take to mean all of the commandments in the law. So you can live “by faith” or “by them, the commandments”.
What’s interesting to me here is that Paul seems to be saying that these are two mutually exclusive ways of living. We’re not going to get into a long discussion here about whether we should be obedient to the law of God because I think Scripture obviously says we should, but there appears to be a way of living which is law based and it not right for the Christian. I think this will come out as we go along, but you read in verse 10 that those who are of the works of the law are under a curse. So that can’t be where God wants us to be.
Verses 13 and 14 summarize the upcoming argument. This argument is the Christ became the curse so that the blessing of Abraham, which includes the promise of the spirit would be ours through faith.
We’ll pick up here next time.
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