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The Curse of the Law
Galatians 3:7-18 Know ye therefore that they
which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham [Gal. 3:7]. God did this for Abraham
before the Law was ever given. God did not make the covenant with him
because of Abraham's good works. He told Abraham, "I'll do this for you if
you believe Me." Abraham said, "I believe You." God wants your faith to
rest on a solid foundation. But, if you come to God, you must come to Him by
faith. He has come to the door of your heart. He cannot come any farther. He
will not break down the door. He will knock and say, "Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in
to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20). Only you can
open the door by faith. When you and I trust Christ as Savior, we are saved
the same way that Abraham was saved -- by faith. And the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before
the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed [Gal.
3:8]. "God... preached... the
gospel unto Abraham." When did He do that? Paul refers to an incident near
the end of Abraham's life of faith recorded in Genesis 22. It was after
Abraham had offered Isaac upon the altar. Notice God's response to Abraham's
act of faith: "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven
the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for
because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only
son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea
shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my
voice" (Gen. 22:15-18). Apparently at this time God preached the gospel to
Abraham, because the offering of Isaac is one of the finest pictures of the
offering of Christ. Although God spared Abraham's son, God did not spare His
own Son but delivered Him up for us all. The important thing that
Paul wants us to see in Abraham's life is that he obeyed the voice of God.
Abraham was willing to offer his son when God commanded it, and when God
said stop, he stopped. He obeyed the voice of God. He demonstrated by his
action that he had faith in God. Again he believed God and He counted it to
him for righteousness. Some people are troubled
because they feel that there is a contradiction in Scripture between what
Paul says about Abraham and what James says about him. Paul says that
Abraham was justified by faith. James says, "But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by
works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?" (James 2:20-21).
However, James goes on to say, "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works,
and by works was faith made perfect?" (James 2:22). John Calvin said it like
this: "Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone." In other
words, saving faith is a dynamic, vital faith that leads to works. Faith
produces works. This idea of saying that works will save you is putting the
cart before the horse -- in fact, some men put the horse in the cart! So then they which be of
faith are blessed with faithful Abraham [Gal. 3:9]. The word faithful in this
verse is "believing" -- believing Abraham. God asked Abraham to believe that
He would do certain things for him. God asks you and me to believe that He
already has done certain things for us in giving His Son, Jesus Christ to
die for us. Faith is the modus operandi by which man is saved today. 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 [Gal. 3:10]. The important word here is
"continueth." I might have a really good day once in a while, but not a
perfect one. Even if I did, what
about the next day? Do you keep the
law day and night, twenty-four hours every day, seven days a week, fifty-two
weeks out of the year in thought, word, and deed? If you are a human being,
somewhere along the line you let down. You are not walking on top of the
world all the time. When you let down, the law can only condemn you. They do not give medals for
keeping the law in our town. If I had kept every law for twenty years and
then stole something or broke a speeding law, I would be arrested. You see,
the law does not reward you. It does not give you life. The law penalizes
you. Faith gives you something.
It gives you life. But that no man is
justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall
live by faith [Gal. 3:11]. Even the Old Testament
taught that man was saved by faith. It does not say that anyone was saved by
keeping the law. In Habakkuk 2:4 it says that "...the just shall live by his
faith." And the law is not of
faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them [Gal. 3:12]. Faith and law are contrary
principles for salvation and also for living. One cancels out the other.
They are diametrically opposed to each other. If you are going to live by
the Law, then you cannot be saved by faith. You cannot combine them. They
are contrary. 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 [Gal. 3:13]. "For it is written, Cursed
is every one that hangeth on a tree." This is a quotation from the Old
Testament, as we shall see, and is a remarkable passage of Scripture for
several reasons. One reason is that the children of Christ was "made a curse
for us." The question is: When did Christ become a curse? Did He become a
curse in His incarnation? Oh, no. When He was born He was called "...that
holy thing..." (Luke 1:35). Did He become a curse during those silent years
of which we have so little record? No, it says that He advanced "...in
favour with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Did He become a curse during his
ministry? Oh, no. It was during His ministry that the Father said, "...This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). Then He must
have become a curse while He was on the cross. Yes, but not during the first
three hours on the cross, because when He offered up Himself, He was without
blemish. It was during those last three hours on the cross that He was made
a curse for us. It was then that it pleased the Lord to bruise Him and put
Him to grief. He made His soul an offering for sin (see Isa. 53:10). "Cursed is everyone that
hangeth on a tree." The Greek word for "tree" is xulon, meaning "wood,
timber, or tree." Christ was hanged on a tree. What a contrast we have here.
He went to that cross, which was to Him a tree of death, in order that He
might make it for you and me a tree of life! That the blessing of
Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith [Gal. 3:14]. Brethren, I speak after the
manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no
man disannulleth, or addeth thereto [Gal. 3:15]. Suppose you make a contract
with a man to pay him one hundred dollars. Then about a year later you
decide you will pay him only fifty dollars. You go to him and say, "Here is
the fifty dollars I owe you." The man says, "Wait a minute, you agreed to
pay me one hundred dollars." You say, "Well, I've changed that." He says,
"Oh, no, you don't! You can't change your contract after it has been made." Now to Abraham and his seed
were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of
one, And to thy seed, which is Christ [Gal. 3:16]. God called Abraham and
promised to make him a blessing to the world. He made him a blessing to the
world through Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham. Christ is the One who
brought salvation to the world. The word seed refers
specifically to Christ (see Gen. 22:18). Christ said, "Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56). And this I say, that the
covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was
four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make
the promise of none effect [Gal. 3:17]. God made a promise, a
covenant, with Abraham. When the Law came along "four hundred and thirty
years" later, it didn't change anything as far as the promises made to
Abraham were concerned. Actually, God never goes back on His promises. God
promised Abraham, "I am going to give you this land. I am going to give you
a son and a people that will be as numberless as the sand on the seashore."
God fulfilled that promise and brought from Abraham the nation of For if the inheritance be
of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise
[Gal. 3:18]. The promise concerning
Christ was made before the Mosaic Law was given, and that promise holds as
good as though there had been no law given. The promise was made
irrespective of the Law. The question arises: Why
was the Law given, of what value is it? Now don't think that Paul is playing
down the Law. Rather, he is trying to help the people understand the purpose
of the Law.
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