THE BOOK OF GALATIANS – CHAPTER 3:10-12 - MESSAGE 7 – THE LAW WILL NOT JUSTIFY BUT FAITH WILL
These messages in Galatians continue as we see the opposing sides of Law, and faith alone without the Law.
[A]. THE LAW BRINGS A CURSE
{{Galatians 3:10 As many as are of the works of the Law are UNDER A CURSE, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by ALL THINGS written in the book of the law, to perform them.”}}
We have been looking at the blessings Abraham received through faith. We saw how all nations were/are blessed through the father of faith in this section where Paul is contrasting Law and faith. Paul is still in the area of the Law and Abraham and there is a distinct contrast here. The Law brings a curse for all who think they can keep the Law. That is the problem, for the Law can not be kept by sinful men and women. The Law is God’s perfection; His yardstick for righteousness. If one breaks the Law then one is under the penalty of the Law and the penalty is a curse, to use Paul’s word in verse 10. That curse is death.
In verse 10 there is the word “ALL” as in “ALL THINGS”. This is like a chain of links. All links must hold in place or you will fall to your doom. In fact, just one slip and the attempting keeper is condemned by the Law. If I was a perfectionist building contractor, and said to my subcontractors, “If you work for me I will pay you 10 times the award wage and provide you with a free house as well while you are employed by me, but I will supervise carefully and if I find any defect in your work, you will no longer be with me and you lose everything you could have had.” That is what the Law was like. The condemnation came through the inability of man to ever keep the Law.
“Why then,” you may ask, “why did God give the Law for man to keep when He knew that would be impossible. Was God being mean?” The point is, it was necessary for all men to know what it was to achieve the righteousness of God, and sinful man failed in that. Did that mean that all were condemned because they were unable to keep the Law?
Well, yes, all were condemned, but God’s graciousness made provision for that until the better way came in. God provided a means of forgiveness and acceptance through the Law. The sacrifices for sin were all outlined in Exodus and Leviticus. It was a temporary provision as repentant man had his sins covered but not righteously or legally expunged. That could only happen through the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The Law was applicable to Jews, not Gentiles.
The Law was Jehovah’s covenant with Israel but in time a better covenant would come in that guaranteed all sin would be cancelled out. That means that the ones declared righteous before the cross, and after the cross, would know the full justification of God. For all in heaven in a coming day when the whole Church is raptured to that glorious scene in Revelation chapters 4 and 5, every single one of them there from Adam onwards will be there because of Calvary. Jesus Christ became the curse for all so that the curse of sin would be removed.
One came to Jesus with a question – {{Matthew 19:16 Behold, one came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”}} Of course Jesus knew his problem and said to him, “but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments,” and Jesus mentioned a few of them to him and an astounding answer came from the man – {{Matthew 19:20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept. What am I still lacking?”}} Mark adds that the man said he had kept all those commandments from his youth up.
Jesus ignored that reply and put his finger on the real problem – {{Mark 10:21 and looking at him, Jesus FELT A LOVE FOR HIM, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me,”}}. Actually the man was not truthful even though he thought he was. No one was able to keep the commandments, so his “all these things” was not correct.
The Apostle James the Less elaborates on this even more – {{James 2:10 “for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, HE HAS BECOME GUILTY OF ALL.”}}
Here is a note for preachers. Often it is said in speaking/preaching about the Law, “We were not able to keep the Law and so the Law condemned us.” That is not really true because you are speaking as a Jew before the cross! That statement can not be applied to Gentiles who were never under the Law in the first place. Gentiles had creation to recognise a Creator according to Romans 1, and a conscience to guide them. The Law did not apply to Gentiles. Say, “The Jews under the Law were not able to keep the Law.”
[B]. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH – NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW
{{Galatians 3:11 Now, that NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW before God is EVIDENT, for “The righteous man shall live by faith.”}}
Paul’s bold statement is very precise by the use of “evident”. It means the Galatians should have known this. I suppose it presumes a lot mainly that these Christians in Galatia had a good grounding in the contents Paul expresses in Romans. During his time with the Galatians Paul must have taught a lot concerning the gospel and that would include Law and grace. That would have to be true for him to say that this teaching is evident.
It also presupposes that justification by faith was known to them. Remember in Galatians 3:1 Paul had to chastise them with these words, {{“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?”}} Early in the letter Paul was very firm about this – {{Galatians 1:6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel. . . .”}}
Those verses suggest that the Galatians were grounded in the framework of the gospel so it came as a surprise to Paul that they were being hoodwinked by the false teaching Judaisers into a gospel that was a mongrel gospel, that is, not of full grace and not of full Law. It was a compromised gospel. There are those around today who preach this very think. The have mongrelized the gospel – some of grace and some of Law.
Christians are not to keep the Law or the Sabbath because all of it is under the Law. We are not under Law but under grace. Any demand that we keep the Law undermines the faith and consequently adulterates the cross work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a serious thing.
What these Judaisers did was to wait until a small assembly or church was established and then they would move in and say something like, “Well what you have done is good but there in just something extra you need to do.” (That is start adhering to the Law). There is a group around today that operates in exactly the same way. They get into existing churches for they very rarely do any pioneering work themselves, and start to infuse their Law keeping. What does God say about those false teachers doing that? This is what He says – {{Galatians 1:8 Even though we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, LET HIM BE ACCURSED.”}}
Have you ever thought how and why people (I am speaking of Christians too) get deceived? When you think about it, the answer is not that difficult. Satan is the great deceiver and liar. He deceived Eve and deception is his chief weapon allied with delusion. So many in public office are deceived, doing bad things and thinking they are fine. That is why we have homosexual “marriage” and the destruction of sexuality and gender. These deluded people thing it is correct. {{Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”}}
Christians in churches are deceived. Ministers are deceived but how does it happen? Why was Eve deceived? The reason was she doubted what God said to her and that was because she did not have God’s word exactly in her grasp. God said Adam and Eve were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When Eve was communicating with the serpent/Satan, she added to what God said with these words, “neither shall you touch it.”
You will find where a church has let the enemy in with false teaching, it has departed from the bible. It may be only small at first but once the leaven has been applied it will permeate the whole lot. God has warned us about this, and just one departure from the bible will begin this slippery slope.
I wrote to a church last night upbraiding them because they have departed from the faith. They claim to uphold the bible but in fact teach that homosexuals and any type of sexuality is welcome to worship jointly with them. It is an impossibility. {{2Corinthians 6:14-15 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness, or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”}}
I had to speak in England a few years ago about the growing liberalism in the churches in that nation, but it continued and churches are fracturing all over the place. England is not alone. What I am learning about the state of churches in the United States is horrifying. Churches need a very severe shakeup and it is going to come if the Rapture is delayed. The refining of the church is a painful procedure but take a look at Christians in Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan and other parts of Africa and the Middle East and China and areas where persecution is severe; there you find refined believers who hold on to the Lord and have nothing to do with trendy WOKE rubbish and pretend Christianity that is taking over our lukewarm western churches.
[D]. IF YOU WANT TO HOLD TO THE LAW THEN PRACTISE IT PERFECTLY WITH NOT ONE SLIP UP
{{Galatians 3:12 “However, the Law is not of faith. On the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTISES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”}}
In verse 11 Paul established that the righteous man shall live by faith and that separates faith from the Law. The opening word is “however” in the NASB, but the conjunction can be “But”, “And”. The construction is showing a contrast here – Law and faith are separate. Law is a rigid keeping of commandments and obedience to a set of principles. Faith is freedom from commandments and principles and rituals. It has its anchor is what God says and confirms.
Those who want to keep to the Law have to LIVE BY EVERY ASPECT OF THE LAW, all the rituals, but if one commandment is broken the sacrifice is needed. However there is no more sacrifice for sin remaining so that means the Law is invalid. There is a group that claims to follow the Law, especially the Sabbath and some of the food laws, but there is no way they can keep the Law because they can not sacrifice animals for sin. It makes a mockery of everything. It is a false cult. Beside, the Law was given to Israel and the Gentiles have no right to be engaging it.
[E]. A SUMMARY AT THIS POINT ON THE LAW - WHAT PAUL SAYS ABOUT THE LAW IN EIGHT FACTS
Some of this will be taken from verses not yet done but this is only a point summary. We will do those verses when we meet them.
Those who are trying to live by the Law are placing themselves under a curse. That’s because no one can keep it.
1. The Law is God’s standard of holiness and is perfect. Galatians 2:16. (Justification can’t come through failure to keep perfection.)
2. It can not bring justification Galatians 3:11. (It is now superseded by the law of faith, the principle of faith and the life lived by faith and not by works.)
3. It is not based on faith Galatians 3:12. (based on keeping rules and regulations)
4. It obliges you to keep the whole Law if you want to practise it. Galatians 3:12 (This is what it had to mean to the Galatians. If they wanted to start keeping the Law they had to keep the whole Law and be obligated to it. They then had to throw the Christ out.)
5. It does not invalidate previous promises given - Galatians 3:17 (Covenants to Noah and Abraham. See verse 18 as well. They surpass the Law. They are based on promises. See also v 15 and 16.)
6. It is not against the promises of God Galatians 3:21 (great contrast between Law and Promise.)
7. It kept its keepers in custody - Galatians 3:23 (The Law kept its keepers in custody, that is, it safeguarded them against idolatry and sinful practices of the world. In another sense, they were locked up in Law’s prison and kept from faith. Mr faith comes to visit the prison and he would not be admitted. When the prison walls were be broken down – Calvary – then Mr Faith would be able to gather the prisoners.)
8. It was the tutor Galatians 3:24 (A child-conductor, schoolteacher [KJV] instructor pointing to Christ in veiled display but in open display when Christ came and then the tutor had completed his job. He fulfilled the Law for ALL His own so they could have the righteousness the Law demanded.)
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
