Not Under the Curse

I was born under a curse. It was not placed on me by a person. It was placed upon me by my own fallen nature and my inability to obey the law. The truth is, we are all born under a curse. We all have a fallen nature with a tendency to sin and an inability to obey the law. The great news is that none of us has to stay under the curse.

Galatians 3:10

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

If we are going to depend of the Law to save us and justify us, then we have to obey all the law, all the time, perfectly. If we don’t, we are cursed. That means we are all cursed.

Galatians 3:11

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Paul says that something is evident: no one is justified in God’s sight by the law. That is true because no person has ever perfectly obeyed the law. And the requirement is that, to be justified by the law, we have to keep the law perfectly.

Paul gives us the alternative to being justified by the law. It is to live by faith.

There are two ways to become righteous.

One: Obeying the law perfectly. That is impossible.

Two: By faith trusting what Jesus did on the cross.

The first is impossible for us to do and the second has already been done for us.    

Galatians 3:12

But the law is not of faith; rather, “The one who does them shall live by them.”

Paul again lays out the choices.

Live by the law, obey all the law perfectly (an impossibility) or trust Jesus for what He did on the cross.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that we are not capable of obeying the law based upon God standards, and depending on Jesus’ finished work on the cross for our salvation.

How did Jesus redeem us from the curse of the law?

Galatians 3:13

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”

Jesus redeemed us from the curse by becoming the curse.

The curse had to be broken. The curse had been in effect since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and thus rebelled against His authority. Jesus broke the curse by becoming the curse. He became cursed with our curse.

Jesus Himself was not cursed because Jesus obeyed the law perfectly. Jesus didn’t just come on the scene and say, “Oh, just forget about the law, just ignore it.”

Jesus didn’t say, “The time of the law is over,” therefore it has been abolished.

Jesus didn’t say, “God was only kidding with all this law stuff and so just forget it.”

Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 that He did not come to abolish the law, but He came to fulfill it.

Jesus fulfilled it by obeying the law perfectly.

Jesus was not under the curse because He did obey it perfectly. He met all of God’s standard.

Jesus chose to take the punishment, the punishment that we deserved, so we could be declared righteous.

Jesus became guilty of my curse.

I became the recipient of His righteousness.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is depending on Jesus’ finished work on the cross to make us right with God.  

Galatians 3:14

So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

There are two other things that are accomplished by what Jesus did on the cross.

Through Jesus’ death on the cross we receive the blessing of Abraham.

The blessing of being God’s children.

The blessing of God’s protection and provision.

The blessing of knowing God.

Through Jesus’ death on the cross we receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promised that He would not leave His followers as orphans, but would send the Spirit to provide all that His followers needed.

This promise could only be fulfilled by, first, Jesus dying on the cross, and then the Spirit coming.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is through the death of Jesus receiving the blessings of Abraham and the Holy Spirit.

We receive through Jesus’ death on the cross:

Pardon from the curse

The blessing of Abraham

The Holy Spirit

The law cannot make these things happen because we would have to obey the law perfectly and we are not capable doing that.

The cross of Jesus can make those happen because Jesus, who obeyed the law perfectly, gave Himself for us.

We receive that truth by faith.

We live in that truth by faith

We receive the benefits of the cross by faith.

By Faith Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe