Galatians 3:12-14
"And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 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: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith," Galatians 3:12-14.
To say that someone is cursed by God today is not popular. Society is very easily and quickly offended by anything that sounds harsh. For someone to be cursed by God is unthinkable in most minds, but the biblical fact is that this is how all of us are born. We are born doomed to punishment. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned," Romans 5:12. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord," Romans 6:23. This death is not just physical death, but eternal death which is eternal separation from God in a literal hell. When we are born, we inherit original sin handed down by Adam. We are born sinners, and we are born sin lovers. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil," John 3:19.
So, we are born as law breakers. The question is asked, Whose law are we breaking? We are breaking God's Law. Even though the written Law was given to Moses, from the beginning God wrote His Law on our hearts. Even the remotest tribe in a jungle somewhere knows what is right and what is wrong. Turn to Romans 2:11-16. "Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another," Romans 2:15. No one will be able to stand before God on judgement day and say they did not know they were breaking His law. You know when you break God's law, and your flesh loves it. We rebel against, and at times vehemently rebel, against the law written upon our hearts. There are those who try to keep the law to earn their salvation. They will never succeed. They will always feel like a failure, because they will always fail.
When people say they are trying to keep the law to earn their salvation I like to ask them, which laws are you keeping? Are you trying to keep the moral law, the civil or judicial law, or the ceremonial law? Let us look at these different laws. The first law given is the moral law. It is the law that is written upon our hearts and is a perfect rule of righteousness. This law was delivered by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, written in stone tablets. We know this as the Ten Commandments. Our conscience bears record of this biblical truth. All of mankind has the moral law written on their hearts, which is further reason why all are without excuse. All are given the moral law, but only Israel was given the civil and ceremonial laws. By and through these laws Israel was supposed to proclaim the coming Promise of God to the world. They failed miserably. With Israel it was their four and no more. They became very legalistic, and instead of loving and having compassion on the world, they hated anyone who was not of Israel. This led them to even hate the One whom they were to proclaim to the world (John 1:10-11).
The ceremonial laws were to be in use until Jesus Christ, the true Messiah and only law-giver, was come. Christ came to fulfill this law, along with the obligations of the moral law. This He did completely (Hebrews 10). The ceremonial law ended when Christ died on the cross (Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14). The judicial law finally and ultimately ended with the nation of Israel in 70 AD. The moral law continues to bind all. Since the moral law continues to bind all, we must proclaim what the Scripture says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
We may say that is not that bad, after all, God is love. God is love, and He is also Holy, and Just. God requires the person living under the law for salvation to keep it perfectly. How many of you can say that you have never broken God's law, yet you are still trying to do good enough to get to heaven? Listen, God requires perfection! You have missed the mark. Please understand, you are under the Divine Curse! God's perfect and holy wrath is pointed at you. Listen law breaker, as soon as you die God's wrath will be unleashed upon you. Are you not concerned about your eternal state? Are you not fearful to take another step, or another breath? Please listen, the law is not of faith. The law is not able to save you. If you live by the law you will die by the law. In order for you and I to enter into the presence of God in heaven, we must be without sin. This leaves us in a shape. We look at ourselves according to the Word of God and we agree with the bible in that we are lacking that which we need. We look at others, at the ordinances of the church, at church membership, etc. and all we find is that we are not sinless. We look at others for help, but no mere man can help us. We are cursed by God! Where will we look, to Whom shall we go? How can we be made holy?
"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," Galatians 3:13. God's plan from before the foundation of the world was to send His eternal Son to die for all who have and will believe. Christ's atonement was definite; it was particular. God never intended for the law to save anyone. When Christ saves our souls, we are eternally secure in Christ, and our lives will show it. While Christ was on that cross, He became sin. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," II Corinthians 5:21. Christ redeemed us. He bought us by His death on the cross. He saves us from our sins. No one whom Christ died for will suffer the wrath of God. We receive this promise by faith.
"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith," Galatians 3:14. The blessing of Abraham is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures for the glory of God alone.
Since the bible clearly states that no one can earn their own salvation, why would you continue to try? I beg you to look off everything else, and simply look to Jesus Christ to save your soul. Trust Christ. Trust Christ. Believe what the bible says about Christ. Trust Christ's finished work on that cross. Trust that Christ has taken the Divine Curse from you, and placed it on Himself. How wonderful it is to know that Christ has saved your soul and that you are no longer under the curse of God. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
