God’s Word for You
Galatians 3:10-12 Imperfection vs Perfection
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Tuesday, July 9, 2024
10 As for all those who want to be made righteous by trying to do what the law requires—they are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.” 11 Clearly no one is declared righteous before God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.” 12 But the law does not say “by faith,” but instead it says, “The one who does these things will live by them.”
First, Paul says, there is a curse. Then, there is another way apart from the curse. And third, the way to heaven is not through the law or the curse at all, because only under the curse is there this obedience to the law that we fail at!
Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26. Near the end of his life, Moses preached a series of sermons about the law (our book of Deuteronomy) to the new generation who had not been around to hear it the first time. He gave them a list of curses and blessings to proclaim once they reached the Promised Land. The final curse was the one Paul quotes here. Paul uses it to prove that anyone who relies on anything he does will be cursed, because God requires that his people must keep the law perfectly, which no one can do. So the only possible way to gain eternal life is by not relying on what we do, but only by relying on what Jesus did for us on the cross. He saved us from our impossible status of being cursed. He took away our sinful condition forever when he was, as Isaiah says, “disfigured beyond that of any man” (Isaiah 52:14).
Paul uses yet another passage from the Old Testament to prove that we are saved only by faith and not by obeying the law, this time Habakkuk 2:4. After saying that “all those who want to be made righteous by trying to do what the law requires—they are under a curse,” he proceeds to the logical conclusion: “no one is declared righteous before God by the law.”
In Habakkuk’s time, the Babylonians were coming to wipe out Jerusalem and carry God’s people away into exile. Actually this siege began about the middle of January in 588 BC. Jeremiah writes about it in chapter 39 of his book. The prophet Habakkuk records a prophetic conversation he had with God concerning this siege. Habakkuk had asked God, “Why do you tolerate violence and injustice?” (Habakkuk 1:1-4). God responded by saying “I don’t. I’m sending the Babylonians to wipe out all of the violence and injustice among my people” (Habakkuk 1:5-11). Then the prophet said: “Oops—that’s not what I meant. We cannot hope to stand against the Babylonians; they will wipe us out” (Habakkuk 1:12-2:1). God replied, “Publish this so everyone will know: Those who are arrogant, who build themselves up through sin, who do not worship me, will certainly not be spared, but the righteous will live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:2-20). God’s word to Habakkuk was a reassurance that although we face difficult times in life, we can be certain of our eternal place with God because of our faith in what Jesus did for us. Yes, in Habakkuk’s times, the prophet was looking ahead to Jesus and not back, on account of when he lived. But that is the beauty and the connection that binds the whole of Scripture; all of the Bible’s 66 books. The Old Testament looks ahead to the promise of the Christ, and the New Testament looks back at the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus.
Finally Paul quotes Moses again (Leviticus 18:5) to finish his point. This time he shows that obtaining eternal life is something we either receive by faith or by the things we do. It cannot be both. The two ideas are the exact opposites. If a man wants to live by the law, he rejects God’s promises and ends up making new laws for himself. He will live under the law’s curse, which is to condemn anyone who cannot and does not fulfill it perfectly. It isn’t even a real question or option, since it is impossible to keep the law. Christ alone kept the law, and everyone who trusts in Christ is covered by Christ’s perfection. Anyone who rejects Christ is condemned by the law. It is as simple as that.
Paul began this letter by talking about being taught by Jesus Christ directly and showing that he had no significant contact with the disciples. Then he showed that his message does not come from men (not even from the disciples of Jesus himself) but came directly from God. Now he is carefully showing that everything he is teaching is also in accord with the rest of God’s Word. What Paul is teaching is not new or unlike the rest of the Bible. What Paul is teaching and preaching is the gospel of Christ crucified for us, which is the only message we need for everlasting life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.