The Great Exchange: From Curse to Blessing Text: Galatians 3:10-14
Introduction: The Two Religions
There are, at bottom, only two religions in the world. They are not Christianity and Islam, or Christianity and Buddhism, or Christianity and secular humanism. No, the two fundamental religions are grace and works. They are the religion of divine accomplishment and the religion of human achievement. One says, "I obey, therefore I am accepted." The other says, "I am accepted, therefore I obey." One is a ladder you try to climb up to God, and the other is a cross that God came down on to get to you. Every false religion, every heresy, every bit of spiritual foolishness that has ever afflicted mankind is simply a variation on the theme of works. It is the native religion of the fallen human heart.
The Galatian churches were in deep trouble because they had begun to mix these two religions. They had started with the pure, high-octane gospel of grace, but some Judaizers had come along behind Paul and were trying to cut the gospel with the polluted water of law-keeping. They were telling these Gentile believers that faith in Jesus was a good start, but to be truly right with God, to be truly part of the covenant family, they needed to add circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic code. They were trying to put new wine into old wineskins, and the result was a theological explosion that threatened the very souls of the Galatians.
Paul's response is not one of gentle correction. He is astonished, bewildered, and righteously angry. He calls them "foolish" and asks who has "bewitched" them. This is not a minor disagreement over secondary issues. This is a frontal assault on the gospel itself. To add works to faith as a condition for justification is not to supplement the gospel, but to subvert it. It is to trade the liberty of sonship for the slavery of bondage. It is to abandon the finished work of Christ for the futile works of the flesh. In this passage, Paul lays out the stark contrast with devastating clarity. He shows us that the way of the law is the way of the curse, and the only way out from under that curse is through the substitutionary, curse-bearing death of Jesus Christ.
The Text
For 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 DO THEM.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident, for “THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” However, the Law is not of faith; rather, “HE WHO DOES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.” 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”, in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
(Galatians 3:10-14 LSB)
The Unyielding Demand of the Law (v. 10)
Paul begins by dropping a theological bomb. He tells us what the religion of works actually gets you.
"For 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 DO THEM.'" (Galatians 3:10)
Notice the phrase "as many as are of the works of the Law." This describes a person whose standing, whose identity, whose hope before God is based on their performance. They are "of" the works of the law; it is their source, their foundation. And what is the result of this standing? It is not blessing, but a curse.
Why? Paul immediately quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 to prove his point. The law is a package deal. It is an all-or-nothing proposition. God does not grade on a curve. The standard is not "do your best" or "have a good heart." The standard is perfect, perpetual, and personal obedience to "all things written in the book of the Law." You must do it all, and you must do it all the time, without a single slip. The moment you fail in one point, you are guilty of breaking the whole thing. It is like a window pane. If you throw a small rock and make one tiny crack, the window is broken. You have not partially kept the law; you have broken it.
This is the glory and the terror of God's law. Its glory is that it reflects the perfect righteousness of God. Its terror is that it demands that same perfection from us, and we cannot produce it. So, for any sinner to place himself under the law as a means of justification is like a man with no arms trying to climb a perfectly smooth, infinitely high wall. It is not just difficult; it is impossible. And the result of that failure is not just disappointment; it is a curse. The law, when approached as a ladder to salvation, does not give you a boost. It pronounces your doom.
The Alternative Principle: Faith (v. 11)
Having established the law's function for a sinner is to curse, Paul now shows the alternative principle that God has always used to justify men.
"Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident, for 'THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'" (Galatians 3:11)
This is a direct quote from Habakkuk 2:4. It is one of the cornerstone verses of the Reformation, and for good reason. Paul says it is "evident," it is plain as day, that justification does not come through law-keeping. The proof is that Scripture itself provides a different way. God's designated method for a man to be declared righteous and to truly live is by faith.
What is this faith? It is not faith in your faith. It is not a vague optimism. It is trust. It is reliance. It is looking away from yourself and your own pathetic resume of failures and looking to another. It is resting wholly and entirely on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Faith is the empty hand that receives the free gift. Works-righteousness is the clenched fist, trying to offer God the filthy rags of our own performance.
This principle did not originate with the New Testament. Paul is arguing from the Old Testament to show that this has always been God's way. Abraham was justified by faith. David was justified by faith. Habakkuk preached justification by faith. The Judaizers were the innovators, the ones peddling a new-fangled religion of performance. Paul is the traditionalist, standing on the ancient paths.
Two Mutually Exclusive Systems (v. 12)
In case anyone was tempted to try and blend the two systems, Paul makes it clear that they are mutually exclusive. They operate on entirely different principles.
"However, the Law is not of faith; rather, 'HE WHO DOES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.'" (Galatians 3:12)
The law and faith are like oil and water. You cannot mix them. The operating principle of the law is "doing." The operating principle of faith is "trusting." Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5 to show the law's own terms. If you want to find life through the law, the condition is "do them." The system of law promises life, but only on the condition of perfect performance. It is a covenant of works.
The system of faith, on the other hand, operates on the basis of promise. It is a covenant of grace. It does not say, "Do this and live." It says, "Christ has done it, now live." The Judaizers were trying to create a hybrid religion: "Christ has done His part, now you do your part by getting circumcised and keeping the rules." Paul says this is impossible. You must choose your system. You can either stand on the foundation of your own doing, or you can stand on the foundation of Christ's doing. You cannot have one foot on each, because they are two different mountains separated by an infinite chasm.
The Great Redemption (v. 13)
So, if we are all under the curse of the law because of our sin, how can anyone be saved? Paul provides the glorious answer. God has executed a rescue mission.
"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', " (Galatians 3:13)
This verse is the heart of the gospel. The word "redeemed" is a marketplace term. It means to buy back, to purchase a slave out of the market in order to set him free. We were enslaved to the curse. We were on death row. And Christ came and paid the price to set us free. What was the price? He became a curse for us.
This is the great exchange. This is substitution. He did not just remove the curse; He absorbed it. He took it into Himself. On the cross, the full, undiluted wrath of God against our sin, the very curse that the law pronounced upon us, was poured out upon Jesus. He stood in our place, as our representative, and took the blow that we deserved.
To prove this, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23. In the Old Testament, a criminal who was executed was sometimes hung on a tree as a public sign of his accursed status before God. The cross was a tree. And when Jesus hung there, He was publicly displayed as the one who was bearing the curse of God. He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us. The beloved Son, in whom the Father was well-pleased, was treated as an enemy, so that we, who were enemies, might be treated as beloved sons. This is the central miracle of our salvation. He took our record of law-breaking and our punishment, and He gave us His record of perfect law-keeping and His reward.
The Intended Result (v. 14)
Why did Christ do all this? What was the ultimate purpose of this great exchange? Paul gives us two reasons, which are really two sides of the same coin.
"in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3:14)
First, it was so that the "blessing of Abraham" might come to the Gentiles. What was the blessing of Abraham? It was the promise God made to him that through his seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). That blessing was justification by faith. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Christ, by removing the curse of the law, opened the floodgates of grace so that this blessing of being declared righteous by faith could flow out to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, without distinction.
Second, and flowing from the first, it was so that "we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." The ultimate gift of salvation, the down payment of our inheritance, is the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the one who applies the work of Christ to us, who gives us new life, who unites us to Christ. And how do we receive this promised Spirit? Not by works of the law, but through faith. It all comes back to faith.
The curse is taken away by Christ's substitution. The blessing of righteousness is given through faith. And the seal of that blessing is the gift of the Spirit, also received through faith. It is a complete and perfect salvation, accomplished by God from start to finish, and received by us through the simple, empty hands of faith.
Conclusion: Live in the Blessing
The choice before the Galatians is the same choice before every person. Will you live under the system of the law, which demands a perfection you cannot achieve and therefore places you under a curse? Or will you live under the system of grace, which offers a perfection achieved by Christ and received by faith, thereby bringing you into the blessing of Abraham?
To try and mix them is to misunderstand both. It is to insult the cross. If your righteousness could come, even in part, from your own efforts, then Christ died for nothing. But if He became a curse for you, then your only proper response is to abandon all trust in yourself and cling to Him alone.
This is the freedom of the gospel. You are not on probation. You are not trying to earn your place in God's family. Christ has earned it for you. He took your curse so you could have His blessing. He was cast out so you could be brought in. Your part is to believe it, to rest in it, and to live out of the glorious freedom that He has purchased for you with His own blood.