Breaking the Curse of the Law – Galatians 3:10-14

Topic: Breaking the Curse of the Law

Reading: Galatians 3:10-14

10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law; for “He who through faith is righteous shall live”; 12 but the law does not rest on faith, for “He who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree” — 14 that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Introduction and Overview

Everyone who is under the law is under a curse. Many Christians today believe that they are still under the law, and so they remain under the curse of the law. And it is a curse because no person ever has been able to keep the law, with the obvious exception of Jesus Christ.

But Christ came to establish a means for breaking the curse of the law. In fact it is important that the curse of the law be broken for those who come to Christ. The law binds people in bondage to sin. But Christ came to take away the sins of the world, as the scripture tells us in John 1:29. And in the death and resurrection of Jesus He took away our sins, and set us free from the law, thus breaking the curse of the law.

You cannot be truly free in Christ until you have all forms of bondage removed. Breaking the curse of the law removes the bondage of the law and takes away the power of sin, because sin is made powerful under the law.

This scripture today talks about these matters as we look to the truth of the freedom in Jesus Christ. Breaking the curse of the law is a big part of that freedom and goes to the heart of the issue Paul was writing to the Galatians church about.

Key points from reading:

• Those who seek to live under the law are under a curse.
• The curse of the law requires that those under the law must live by it, doing everything it requires without exception or variation.
• Jesus came to offer salvation by taking away our sins and breaking the curse of the law.

Discussion:

1. Scripture: Galatians 3:10

• The first thing we see in this verse is the statement of the curse of the law. It says, “Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.” Every person who is under the law is required to keep the law and do the works of the law. And they cannot just pick and choose which laws they may follow and which ones they might reject. The curse of the law is that no matter how small, trivial, or repugnant the law, it must be kept. This includes all of the laws of blood sacrifice and the slaughter of animals that many today would find abhorrent. It also includes those laws that say you can’t eat pork, bacon, shellfish, lobster, oysters, and many other things eaten today. Every law had to be meticulously followed because to do otherwise was sin.
• Needing to follow the works of the law was a great burden. It was even described as such by the apostles when it was suggested that the new Gentile churches ought to be circumcised and follow the law. In rejecting this idea, Peter said, “Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10) Furthermore, we find that if anyone fails to keep one law, even if they keep all of the rest, they are guilty of having broken it all. As James wrote, “10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” said also, “Do not kill.” If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.” (James 2:10-11)
• And yet today all of these things are happening in our churches. The churches require people to keep some laws while they reject others. For example, many churches require their members to tithe and fast, but reject other laws. And if they are subject to one law, they are bound to keep them all, as Paul wrote here, “I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law.” (Galatians 5:3) Circumcision was one point of the law. So too tithing, fasting, food and clothing laws are all just points of the law. If a person keeps any one point, they are required to keep it all.
• This is why it is so wonderful that Christ came to set us free completely by breaking the curse of the law.

2. Scripture: Galatians 3:11-12

• No person has ever been able to keep the law, with the exception of Christ Jesus. So, if no one can keep the law, then no one can be truly righteous under the law. And if no person can be righteous under the law because they can’t keep the law, then no one can be justified in the sight of God. Keeping the law does not make us righteous in the sight of God. This is the effect of the curse of the law. And this is why Jesus came to establish the process for breaking the curse of the law.
• The law was based upon works. Those under the law had to do what the law said. If they didn’t, they were condemned as sinners. But it is clear that if we seek to be righteous in the eyes of God, then there has to be a way to achieve that through some other method, apart from the law.
• God established that way by the process of faith. He gave us certain things to believe and by that faith we are saved. First, God established righteousness by faith through accepting Christ and believing God raised Jesus from the dead, as it says in this verse. “…if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) When we believe this single, simple statement, we receive righteousness by faith as a free gift from God, and we are saved.
• This is the beginning, but there is more. In the death and resurrection of Jesus God has redeemed us from sin and broken the curse of the law by removing the law from those who believe. When we believe we have died, been buried, and resurrected with Christ through water baptism, our sins are washed away and the curse of the law is broken. The law is taken away by the death of Christ. We believe we have died with Him, and so are set free from the law because the law is binding on a person only while they are alive, as this verse says. “Do you not know, brethren–for I am speaking to those who know the law–that the law is binding on a person only during his life?” (Romans 7:1) So, when we believe we have died with Christ, we are no longer alive and citizens of this world, but are alive in and citizens of the kingdom of God. Our life is hid with Christ seated at the right hand of God in His kingdom.
• This does not come through keeping the law and living under it. It comes by faith in the working of God. And breaking the curse of the law was a major part of God’s plan as we see now.

3. Scripture: Galatians 3:13

• There were a number of blessings and curses written in the Old Covenant. We have seen one in this section which states that every person under the law is cursed. “Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.”
• There were other curses too, and among them was this one mentioned in this verse. “Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree” I don’t doubt that one of the main reasons this curse was written in the days of Moses, was to preempt the process by which God would redeem us from the curse of the law.
• Just as we noted that anyone who broke on of the laws was guilty of all of them, so too it makes sense that anyone cursed under one of the curses is cursed under all of them. I mean, a curse is a curse no matter what it may have been that caused them to be cursed. So, anyone who is cursed under one curse, takes on the curse of any and all the curses.
• Jesus was put to death by hanging on a tree, and in that manner He took the curse and all of the rest of the curses including the curse of the law. He bore those curses, even though He should not have been cursed because He had done nothing wrong. He was condemned and killed as a sinner even though He had never committed a sin.
• So, in His death He has taken all of our sins, but also taken the curses, and especially breaking the curse of the law, so that we would not be cursed who are set free from the law. When Christ set us free from the law in His death, if the curse of the law was not also removed, we would be cursed. But by removing and breaking the curse of the law we are truly set free.

4. Scripture: Galatians 3:14

• We have been set free from sin, from the law, from the curse of the law, and the path was established for us to receive the Holy Spirit who would give us the victory over the passions, lusts and desires of the flesh. All of these other preconditions needed to be established before we could receive the Holy Spirit from God.
• For the Holy Spirit to give us the victory over the flesh, we needed to be set free from sin and the law, as well as breaking the curse of the law. It is the law that condemns people as sinners, but there is no sin where there is no law, as the scripture says. “For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15) It is also the law that causes the passions of our flesh to well up that lead us to sinfulness. As Paul wrote, “7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. (Romans 7:7-8)
• When the law is removed, the curse of the law that leads us to sinfulness is also removed. And when these are removed, the law can no longer cause our sinful passions to become excited and to overwhelm us leading to sin. This had to be dealt with before the Holy Spirit could commence His work in and on us. The work of the Holy Spirit is to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ, who had all of His human passions, and yes, He had passions since He was made a man, by bringing them under control. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to overcome the passions of the flesh be learning to walk in the Spirit, especially when we are weak through passion.
• And in breaking the curse of the law the way was established for all mankind to receive the promises of salvation, life and eternity in the kingdom of God that were promised to Abraham. These promises did not and still do not come by works of the law, but only through the power of faith. Breaking the curse of the law is also received by faith.

Prayer Points:

• Pray and ask the Father to give you a full insight into these things so that you can understand and receive the breaking of the curse of the law in your own life and walk with Christ.
• Pray and seek the understanding of this freedom that we have in Christ Jesus that eradicates all barriers between us and God.