Galatians 3.10-14
“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ But the law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ — so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.’”
The book of Galatians deals with the fundamental question of the Christian faith: How do we establish a right relationship with God? Paul first tells us how it doesn’t happen: “No one is justified before God by the law.” Then he tells us how it does happen: “The righteous shall live by faith.”
When Paul says “those who rely on works of the law are under a curse,” he is referring to people who rely on works of the law for salvation. He is pointing out the error of thinking that the law was a system for making people righteous before God. The law was not intended to make people righteous. Yes, it provided the standards for righteous living, and yes, the Lord expected people to strive to obey the law. But the Lord knew that no person was capable of being 100 percent obedient to the standards of the law.
For this very reason, the law gave instructions for animal sacrifice as a temporary provision for sin. The animal sacrifices covered the sin of OT believers, but did remove sin. In fact, the animal sacrifices of the OT law were a foreshadowing of the coming Lamb of God who would die on the cross as the sacrifice to remove sin. Here is how the book of Hebrews says it:
“For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1-4)
The point is that the law does not save, cannot save, and was not intended to save. As we have said several times, the purpose of the law is to provide standards for living. It gives directions and commands for how to live, but it does not provide commandments that must be obeyed in order to be saved.
The gospel message is that Jesus paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross. He became a curse for us. Peter teaches this in his first epistle: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24).
It is for this reason that salvation comes through faith in Jesus.
