Redeemed from the Curse of the Law

Transcript

GR 1152
05-16-1999
Galatians 3:10-14
Redeemed from the Curse of the Law
Gil Rugh

You know sometimes as we read the Bible our first reaction is it doesn’t seem pertinent and relevant to me. Here is Paul writing a letter almost 2000 years ago and he’s doing battle with a group called Judaizers. And these were Jews who had come to profess faith in Christ but were trying to convince the churches in Galatia that in addition to believing in Christ they needed to submit themselves to the Mosaic law of the Old Testament Scriptures. And at first it might seem that’s not really relevant. When is the last time we had to do battle as a church with Orthodox Jews who tried to infiltrate this church and convince us we needed to keep the Mosaic Law? It hasn’t happened in my 30 years here. You say, “It’s just not a battle we have to fight.”

And yet I remind myself that the Scriptures are first and foremost, a revelation of the mind of God. And He is never out of date. He is never irrelevant. So as I work through some of the historical settings, some of the specific details that were related only to Paul’s time and those churches, I realize what God is saying is very relevant and pertinent to me. And certainly this is true in the book of Galatians where the issue is: How can you be saved from an eternal hell and enjoy the eternal blessings of God?

And you know what? The issue really hasn’t changed at all. You, this afternoon, ask a person whose been in a Protestant or Roman Catholic church this morning, how do they think they’ll get to heaven? And one of the most common responses will be, “I try to keep the Ten Commandments.” Well, you know what the Ten Commandments are? They are part of the Mosaic Law. You know what they are telling you? “I am trying to be saved the way the Judaizers said I have to be saved almost 2000 years ago.” And I’m reminded, nothing changes.

One writer said that the common thought among people today is “God helps those who help themselves.” And that expresses, if you will, this kind of theology. Yes, you have to believe in Christ. Yes, faith is important and necessary. But you realize that’s not enough. You have to work at it. And it’s as you believe in Christ and work as hard as you can, then God can bestow His salvation on you. And yet the Book of Galatians makes clear, that is an heretical doctrine and anybody who believers it is under the curse of God and thus on their way to an eternal hell.

In chapter 3 of Galatians, in the first 5 verses, Paul reminded the Galatians that they had received the Holy Spirit of God by believing the Gospel. He’s going to come back to the provision of the Holy Spirit at the end of the section we’ll be considering together in a few moments. But the fact that they received the Holy Spirit by faith ought to settle the issue, “How are you justified before God?” By faith! Because when I believed God gave me the Holy Spirit, the seal of my redemption, the guarantee of my justification.

Then in verses 6 to 9 Paul used the example of Abraham, the father of the nation Israel, as evidence that justification is by faith alone. He quoted from Genesis 15:6 in verse 6 of Galatians 3, “Abraham believed God, and God credited it to Abraham as righteousness.” And verse 7, “It is sure that all who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” So you come in to the spiritual line of Abraham by believing in the promise of God even as Abraham did. And God also anticipated His gracious salvation of the Gentiles when He entered in to covenant relationship with Abraham and Abraham’s physical descendants. Because in that same Abrahamic Covenant God promised the good news of justification by faith for the Gentiles. And in verse 8, “the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel (the good news) beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’” That blessing is the blessing of salvation by faith. “So then, those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.” What is the outstanding characteristic of Abraham? He believed God. And if you will believe God, you will be blessed with the same righteousness that Abraham was blessed with.

Now in reality verses 6 to 9 presented a very positive argument. It is by faith that we are declared righteous, which is what justification means: to be declared righteous by God. Now in verses 10 to 14 he turns, if you will, to the negative side where he declares very clearly, “By the works of the law, no one will be justified.” In fact, everyone who is trying to be justified by the law is under the curse and the law, itself, declares them under the curse. So what futility! Here, teachers have come into the church and are trying to get people to submit themselves to the Mosaic Law for salvation. When Paul will say, “If you put yourself under the Mosaic Law, you put yourself under a curse and are condemned.”

What do the people realize? They say, “I’m trying to keep the Ten Commandments.” Your response needs to be, “Do you realize you are cursed of God for that.” “Why, no, I thought that was pleasing to God. Doesn’t God want me to keep His Ten Commandments?” You can’t be righteous by keeping the Ten Commandments. If you’re trying to be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, God says you’re cursed and there’s no hope for you in the keeping of the Mosaic Law.

Look at verse 10. “For,” and that “for’ that begins verse 10 in our English Bible indicates that what follows in verses 10 to 14 are a further explanation and contrast to what he said in verses 6 to 9. Verse 9, “Those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse.” So you see a contrast here. There’s blessing in believing as Abraham did, but if you are trying to be saved by keeping the Law, you are under a curse.

“That as many as are of the works of the Law,” stands in contrast with verse 7, “those who are of faith,” contrast with “those who are of the works of the Law.” So two kinds of people Paul’s dealing with: those who are trying to be righteous before God by keeping the Mosaic Law, those who are desirous of being righteous before God by believing the gospel concerning His Son.

Look at verse 9, “those who are of faith,” again contrast with “those who are of the works of the Law.” (Garble) Those who are of works of the Law, those who are of faith. Those who are of faith, are sons of Abraham in verse 7. They are blessed with Abraham in verse 9. But those who are of the Law, cursed. Clear and strong contrast between the two groups of people that he is dealing with.

Well, that’s one thing to say it. Prove it, Paul! And Paul is going to prove his argument by repeated reference to the Old Testament Scriptures to show that he is not saying anything new or anything different than what the Old Testament Scriptures, including the Mosaic Law, declared. You know that the Old Testament never said that you could be righteous before God by keeping the law. In fact, the Old Testament Scriptures said just the opposite, that it is impossible to be righteous before God by keeping the law.

So he quotes when he says, “for it is written,” prepares the way for the quote from Deuteronomy chapter 27 verse 26. “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Deuteronomy 27 is in the context; God had Moses put Israel on the sides of two mountains that opposed one another. Mount Gerizim had some of the people. And they declared the blessings promised in the Mosaic Law. Then on Mount Ebal there was a group of the people and they declared the curses that were upon those who did not obey the law. And then in Deuteronomy 27:26 at the conclusion of that list of curses is the summary one here that Paul has referred to.

And you’ll note, “Cursed is everyone (so, includes all the people in this group) who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them. “Who does not abide,” that word means to remain, to live in something. “Who does not abide in all things written in the book of the law to do them.” The law is one entity. People have developed the idea they can pick and choose from the law. “Oh, I try to keep the Ten Commandments. I try to obey God’s law (referring to the Mosaic Law).” And the idea, well, nobody’s perfect, but God will understand that. You must understand, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to do them.” There’s no leeway here. You have to be perfectly obedient. Failure in one area brings guilt and condemnation.

Turn over to the Book of James, toward the back of your New Testament, the Book of James, just after the Book of Hebrews, James, then a series of smaller books or letters before we get to the Book of Revelation. James chapter 2, verse 10. What happened is, James is having to deal with people who thought they could be justified by the law, but it’s all right if you don’t keep every law perfectly, cause nobody’s perfect. And in verse 9 an example, “if you show partiality, you are committing sin, you’re convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he’s become guilty of it all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you commit murder, you become a transgressor of the law.” Or if you show partiality, as verse 9 said. Now, in other words, I can’t say, “Well, you know, I haven’t broken the law. I’ve just broken one or two commandments.” You say, “Wait a minute. When you break one or two, you break the whole law because the whole law was given by the lawgiver, God.”

People think, oh, I’m going to be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments. You understand the rabbis, Jewish teachers, had taken the Mosaic Law and broken it down into all of its commandments and come up with 613 commandments in the Mosaic Law. And then they divided those into so many positive and so many negative. I don’t think there’s anyone sitting here, I hope not, who could recite all 613. And if you do I won’t be able to check you because I can’t. Now how are you going to say I’m going to be saved by keeping God’s law when you don’t even know what the law is? It’s an impossibility and no one can do it. And even the Judaizers that Paul was opposing didn’t claim to keep the law perfectly. They had developed the same kind of thinking people have today. You know, I do my best, God will put my good works on the scale, my bad works, my failures. But I think the good will outweigh the bad and God will accept me. They didn’t even believe the Old Testament Scriptures that they claimed to be teaching.

Turn back to the Book of Psalms chapter 14, Psalm 14. David is the writer of this Psalm and he begins in Psalm 14 verse 1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” I don’t know whether the figure’s right or not but I believe it was in the morning paper where it said the majority of scientists do not believe in God. They didn’t substantiate it in the article, but that was the statement. Chapter 14 verse 1 then has something to say about the majority of scientists, doesn’t it?

“They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; (note this) There is no one who does good.” Now here is David, a man writing within the confines and under the Mosaic Law. In a sense the Mosaic Law was in force and here is the statement of David under the inspiration of the Spirit. “There is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.”

Now what does the Law say? Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all things written in the book of the law to do them. And here’s God’s evaluation. He looked down to see, among the sons of men, if there was anyone. No one! Paul quotes from this passage in Romans chapter 3 as part of the series of Old Testament quotes to demonstrate the sinfulness of all humanity.
Turn over a few pages from Psalms, Psalms, Proverbs, to the Book of Ecclesiastes. Just one other reference on this. There are numerous in the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and look at verse 20. Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 20, “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.” So the Old Testament Scriptures are clear are they not? Everyone is under the curse of the law. Why? Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all things written in the law to do them. So even the Judaizers had to acknowledge, “Yes, I’m under the curse of the law.”

How do we get out of this? You talk to people who admit, “Yes, oh, I know I’m not perfect. I know I’m a sinner.” How do they think they are going to enter the heaven of an infinitely holy and righteous God? “I’m going to give it my best shot. I’m going to do the best I can.” Well, why would you do that? The Judge has already rendered the verdict. Cursed! That obviously is not going to do it.

Come back to the Book of Galatians chapter 3. Not only does the Old Testament make clear that everyone who is under the law is under the curse; cursed is everyone who is under the work of the law. All who are under the work of the law are under the curse. But the Old Testament Scriptures also make clear that justification is by faith, not by keeping the law. So verse 11, “Now that no one (you ought to underline that – no one) is justified by the Law before God is evident.” No one is justified before God by the Law. And that’s what counts. You know, you have to become righteous before God. “Oh, my church says I’m OK.” Yes, but your church is not the Judge of all mankind. “My pastor says he thinks I’m OK.” But your pastor’s not the Judge of all mankind. You see we need to be justified in the court of God. He is the Judge. He is the One before whom all will stand. It is only His verdict that matters.

If you’ve been arrested for speeding and you’re on your way to the courtroom, and I say to you, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t think you’re guilty.” I don’t think that makes much difference. And you stand before that judge and he says, “Guilty!” You say, “What do you mean, ‘Guilty’? My pastor said he didn’t think I was.” I doubt if that judge cares a whole lot about what I think about it. That doesn’t come in to play in his courtroom.

Understand the seriousness of this matter. God has already told us the verdict. “No one is justified by the Law before God.” And there is no excuse for ignorance on this subject because he says this is evident. This is not a secret. This is not something hard to find out. This is something that is evident.

“For, the righteous man shall live by faith.” Habakkuk, the prophet, in chapter 2 verse 4 of his prophecy, six hundred years before Christ, declared, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:4 becomes a very key verse, quoted again in Romans chapter 1 verse 17 and again in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 38.

The context here makes clear the point that Paul is making. He’s talking about how are you justified before God? That’s the first part of verse 11. No one is justified before God by works of the law. For Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” He is talking about how you have life before God. “To live” “to be justified” are used interchangeably here. When you are justified by God you are given life. And you have righteousness by faith before God, not by works.

Now that picks up, Genesis chapter 15 verse 6 was quoted in verse 6 of chapter 3. “Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness.” Abraham was about 2000 years before Christ. Now 1400 years after Abraham, as the Southern Kingdom of Israel is following the Northern Kingdom into captivity, Habakkuk prophesies and in his prophecy he declares, “The righteous man shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith.” It’s by faith that we have life from God, that we have righteousness from God.

So this is not new truth. This is Old Testament truth. No one was ever saved, at any time in history, by keeping the Mosaic Law. No one was ever saved, at any time in history, by their good works. Salvation has always been by the grace of God through faith in the promise of God. That has always been. It is the only way anyone ever will be saved in any place in the world at any time in history. Paul said, “This is evident.”

We say, “Well, what about people with good intentions that thinking keeping the Mosaic Law or the Ten Commandments will make them acceptable before God? Or they don’t believe that’s all you have to do. They believe you have to believe in Christ, too.” Paul says, “No. No.”
Look at verse 12. “However, the Law is not of faith.” Now we have a problem. That you’re justified by faith is clearly stated in the Scripture. That you’re not justified by law is clearly stated in that same Scripture. Because to declare that you’re justified by faith is to declare that you are not justified by law.

“However, the Law is not of faith.” This is an important verse. You can’t mix the two. This is where Protestants and Catholics alike are in a realm of spiritual confusion, heresy, and are accursed. “Well, I believe you have to believe in Christ. But I don’t think that’s enough. It’s your faith in Christ plus your good works that will enable God to save you.” And we are back to the thinking, incidentally that’s not a Scripture verse, just the thinking of people. “God helps those who help themselves.” So God doing what He does and me doing what I do, and together I end up with salvation. No, you understand the Law is not of faith.

“On the contrary, ‘He who practices them shall live by them.’” You can’t mix law and faith. That just can’t be done. The law operates on a whole different principle, a whole different foundation. The law operates on “he who practices them shall live by them.” That’s Leviticus chapter 18 verse 5. That’s not faith. That’s works. That’s doing. “He who practices them shall live by them.” The point is the Law’s concerned about works, not with faith. Law, the law means you do something. Faith means you believe what God has done. That’s unchanging. This quote at the end of verse 12, “He who practices them shall live by them,” is quoted by Paul in his letter to the Romans.

Turn back to Romans, chapter 10. Romans chapters 9, 10 and 11 deal with the sovereignty of God in salvation, particularly focusing on the salvation of the nation Israel. And Paul opens up chapter 10 by saying the desire of his heart is for Israel’s salvation. Romans 10:1. “For I testify about them, that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.” You note: zeal is not enough. Israel is still lost, Paul says. “I’d like them to be saved. They’re so zealous!” “But not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by that righteousness.” Leviticus 18:5 is the reference. Same one we have in Galatians. The law operates on works righteousness. But the righteousness, which is based on faith, is focused on Jesus Christ and what He has done.
Jump down to verse 9, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness.” How do you get justified? You believe in your heart that Christ died for your sins. That’s what I’m believing. That’s what I’m trusting.

“With the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” With my mouth I give testimony that I agree with God. I have believed in my heart that His Son is the Savior and there is no hope for me but by believing in Him. “The Scripture says whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. There is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The Lord, same Lord, is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Down to verse 17, for time. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” One way of salvation for Jew and Gentile: by faith. That is a whole different foundation than works. So the person who thinks they’re mixing faith plus works has really canceled out faith. Remember, the Judaizers, according to Acts 15, said you had to believe in Christ. But they said you also had to keep the Mosaic Law. And in doing so they canceled out faith.

Come over to Galatians, chapter 3. Two approaches to righteousness before God: works righteousness and faith righteousness. Now let me tell you, if you can’t become righteous by the works of the Mosaic Law, you can forget all other works as well. Because the Mosaic Law was given in explicit detail by the sovereign God and yet you cannot become righteous before God by doing those works. That has an abundance to say about all the works that have developed since then whether they are baptism works, church membership works, doing your best of any kind. It just leaves you cursed.

Back in Galatians, chapter 3 verse 13. How do we deal with the curse? The Jews were under the law. The law, the Mosaic Law, was given to the nation Israel. The nation Israel lived under the Mosaic Law. Well, you’re cursed if you’re trying to be righteous by keeping the law. Well, the answer was already found in Abraham. It was declared by Habakkuk. You believe God and that’s how you are saved. God has made provision to deal with the curse of the law.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law; having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” Christ redeemed us. Word, the basic Greek word comes from the Greek word for a marketplace. You go to Greece; you can go to the agora, the marketplace. Well that’s the Greek word for redemption: agoradzo, to purchase in the marketplace. It’s where you bought goods. It’s where you would buy slaves. Well, it becomes a basic word for redemption. Here we have that word with the preposition “out of” on the front of it. It means you purchased out of the marketplace something for yourself. You deliver by the paying of a price. And this particular word, it’s you deliver it out of that marketplace for yourself. That’s what redemption is. You have delivered by paying the price. Christ delivered us by paying the price from the curse of the Law. That’s what we were delivered from Paul says. He delivered us by paying the price.

Now in the context, I take it the “us” in verse 13 is referring to Jews. It would include Gentiles from the standpoint of those who were being drawn to the Law as a means of righteousness. Over in chapter 4 verse 21, “Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to law?” So some Gentiles had converted to Judaism. Some of these Gentile believers in Galatia were thinking that they had to submit themselves to the Law for righteousness. But the “us” here, “Christ redeemed us” the law was given to Israel. Israel lived under the Law and its demands. How would that be taken care of?

“He delivered us from the curse of the Law.” How? “Having become a curse for us.” Now again, here, the “us” we’re used to quoting this for ourselves. And in the context he’s going to include Gentiles in a moment in verse 14. But primarily first focuses on Israel. Remind these Judaizers this makes no difference because we Jews lived under the Law and its curse and we needed to be redeemed out from the law and it’s curse. And now you want to come and tell Gentiles they put, should put themselves under the law. What? So they can be cursed! I mean, what sad theology.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us.” Here we go with the Old Testament Scripture again. “For it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” Quoting Deuteronomy chapter 21 verse 23, quoting from within the Mosaic Law itself.

Now in the Old Testament they didn’t practice crucifixion as a means of execution. But where a person who was being executed was particularly cursed, after they had stoned him to death they would hang his dead body from a tree. And the hanging of that dead body on a tree was a statement to all that this person is cursed of God. In fact, God said it was necessary to take that body down from the tree before night, otherwise it would defile and pollute the land. And those are factors that come with the crucifixion of Christ. Remember they took His body down from the cross and buried it before the evening? Specific fulfillments here. Because Christ was fulfilling the curse required of the Old Testament law for disobedience.

“Having become for us.” He stood in the place of the condemned, of the cursed. II Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 Paul says a similar thing in different language where God “made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” He took our place, paid our penalty. “He took the curse of the Law,” Paul said, for us Jews, we who are under the Law, and so cursed because we didn’t keep the Law. He bore that because “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

You know in I Corinthians chapter 1 verse 23 Paul says, “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block.” That word translated stumbling block is the Greek word scandalon. You recognize it in English? We’ve just carried it over into English: scandal, scandalous. We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews, scandalous. I mean this was an offense to the Jews that you would tell me my Messiah was hung on a tree. That would mean He was cursed of God. That’s a stumbling block for the Jews, it was scandalous to the Jews. And yet New Testament preaching is characterized by this emphasis.

A passage, well turn to Acts chapter 5. I was going to quote it to you but you should see it. Acts 5 verse, verse 30. Here Peter is before the council of Israel; the High Priest is putting the questions to him. And note what Peter says. Verse 29, “Peter and the apostles answered and said, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers (verse 30 of Acts 5) raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross,’” or literally on a tree. You see confronting the Jews right away; He was hung on a tree. He was cursed.

Same thing is said in chapter 10 of Acts verse 39, Acts 13 verse 29. Repeated emphasis: You hung Him on a tree, He was hung on a tree. Peter writes to the Jews of the dispersion in I Peter chapter 2 verse 24 and says referring to Christ, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” That emphasis on the tree, the cross, He hung there, a constant reminder He was cursed of God. For He was bearing our sin. He was paying our penalty. He was taking the curse of those who had violated the Law. And so Paul said “I determine to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

The message is the same, in that sense, for Jew and Gentile. He’s bearing the curse pronounced by the Law on those who were under the Law. But those who were Gentiles and not living under the Law were still cursed of God because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And there is none righteous. The Apostle Paul writing to the Romans says, “And we have concluded that all are under sin, Jew and Gentile alike.” There is no difference. So what I say here when He was redeeming from the curse, in Galatians 3, of the Law, verse 13, primarily Jews, I want you to understand, he’s coming to this in verse 14, He’s also paying the penalty for Gentiles.

So come back to Galatians chapter 3, verse 14. And they were reminded that the death of Christ was not only to pay the penalty for sin for Jews, but also for Gentiles. And we can be glad because the vast majority of this group here this morning are Gentiles. How miserable we would be if we could say Christ died for Jews. Don’t you wish you were a Jew? No! He died for Jews and Gentiles. So verse 14, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law; cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” So in His death to be the curse to pay the penalty for the Jews, He was also bearing our sins in His body on that tree. God was making Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, as Gentiles as well, because the penalty for sin for Jew and Gentile alike is death. “The wages of sin is death.” And so as Jesus Christ hung on that cross bearing the curse of the Law He was also bearing the penalty for my sin. Romans 2 made the point that those who are under the Law, judged under the Law. Those who weren’t under the Law, Gentiles, are judged not under the Law but both are found to be condemned sinners. “We already charged, both Jew and Greeks alike. All are under sin.” That’s Romans 3:9.

So, Christ died as that curse on the tree to redeem Israel from the curse, Jews. But also that “in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham”, what is the blessing of Abraham? Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness. Verse 8, “that the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the good news to Abraham, saying, ‘In you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.’” So verse 14, “in order that in Christ the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” One way of salvation: That way of salvation is faith in the Messiah, the Savior of the world. There’s two parallel purposes expressed in verse 14. You note verse 14 begins, “in order that (that’s the first purpose) that in Christ the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” Then you have the same expression translated a little differently, but in English, but it’s the same expression. “In order that we would receive the promise of Spirit through faith.” Not only that we would be declared righteous by God but that we would also receive the promise of the Holy Spirit who would regenerate us, seal us, for God.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in chapter 1 verse 13 he said this: “In Him, (Christ) you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” In Galatians chapter 3 verses 1 to 5 Paul had drawn the attention of these Gentile believers to the fact they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. That Holy Spirit is the seal of God that we have been declared righteous by Him, that we have become the spiritual sons of Abraham by faith, that we have entered in to the promised good news of justification by faith for all the Gentiles in Abraham. So God has done a marvelous work of salvation, for Jew and Gentile alike in the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross.

Let me walk through four points covered in these verses. Number one: Those relying on the Law are cursed. That’s verse 10. “As many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse.” Those relying on the Law are cursed. Keep in mind this means those who think they can be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, which are part of the Mosaic Law, are cursed.

Number two: The Old Testament declared that justification was by faith, verse 11. There’s no excuse for confusion on this. The Old Testament as well as the New Testament declares that justification is by faith.

Number three: The Law and faith cannot be mixed, verse 12. “The Law is not of faith.” You cannot mix the Mosaic Law for righteousness and faith for righteousness. They do not mix.
Number four: Christ died on the cross to redeem Jew and Gentile alike. That’s verses 13 and 14. We are all sinners, Jew and Gentile alike. We are all under the curse and condemnation of our sin, Jew and Gentile alike. And there is one way of salvation for all, Jew and Gentile alike: faith in the death and resurrection of the Son of God, faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the promise of God.

One passage in closing. Go to the Book of Revelation chapter 5. Here we are transported to heaven itself. And in Revelation chapter 5 we are in the very presence of God before His throne in heaven. And here we hear the redeemed singing the song of their redemption. Remember the word redemption? Here’s the same basic word used in Revelation chapter 5 that we will declare before the throne of God in glory. Look at Revelation chapter 5 verse 9, “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book, and to break its seals; for You were slain, (referring to the death of Christ) and You purchased (there’s our word—agaradzo, you redeemed by paying the price) You purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’” You see in heaven everyone who is there, redeemed by the grace of God, will have gotten there the same way, by faith in the promise of God, who in grace had His Son hung on a tree, crucified on a cross, that He might redeem, purchase for God, with His blood, by His death people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

What a beautiful salvation! How simple that salvation. The question is will you be part of this group? Will you be part of this group in the future glory of heaven to declare the wonder of your redemption because you were purchased by Christ and you believed that He had died for you?

Let’s pray together. Thank You, Father, for Your greatness as our God, Your wisdom and power in planning and carrying out the salvation of sinful humanity. Thank You for Jesus Christ, the One who was cursed of God, the One who bore our sins in His body on that tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, so that by Your grace we might believe in Him and be forgiven, be cleansed, be justified before You, the Judge of all men. And, Father, You know the true heart condition of each person gathered here today. And I pray by Your grace You will bring conviction of sin and that we in our stubborn pride might humble ourselves before You and receive by faith the free gift of life in Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.