Galatians 3:10-14 Exposition, The Law Was Misunderstood As A Way Of Salvation

Welcome back to our study of the book of Galatians with the late Dr. John Gerstner, today our focus will be on Chapter 3:10-14. And the title of our study is: The Law Was Misunderstood As A Way Of Salvation.

We learned in our previous study that Abraham and his true children were saved not by keeping the commandments of the Law (Torah), but by faith. And Paul spent a lot of time explaining the origins of Abraham’s faith. His ultimate goal was to demonstrate that true Gospel professors would never advocate righteousness apart from faith. In today’s passage, Paul explains why the law was misunderstood as a means of  being made right with God.

The Law Was Misunderstood As A Way Of Salvation

The Passage: Galatians 3:10-14

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[a] 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 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”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit^[b] through faith.

Galatians 3:10-14 Explained Verse By Verse

• Verse 10

Paul is basically telling his readers that if they truly want to be made right with God by obeying the law, they should reconsider. He’s once again making his argument with an Old testament Scripture. He’s quoting Deuteronomy 27:26 right now. The Law was given to the people of Israel by Moses, who sternly admonished them to observe it or face its curse. Why is Paul making mention of this? ‘Cursed be anyone who does not corroborate the words of this law by doing them,’ states the law. ‘Amen,’ all the people will exclaim. 

The people responded with an Amen, indicating that they agreed with God’s word. But I’m not sure that they were aware of what they were agreeing to. In Galatians, Paul makes this point quite plain. God’s law must be followed in every way. In James’ book, we are reminded of this ( for whoever shall keep the whole law and stumbled in one point is guilty of all). By saying Amen, the people of Israel were telling God that if they didn’t follow His LAW to the letter, they would be damned. But the Bible makes it clear that no one is righteous, that no one performs what is right in God’s eyes. This is why Paul is correct when he says that those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because no one ( born under the Adamique nature) can keep the LAW of God perfectly. Paul first makes the observation that those who desire to be made right by observance of the Law are under a curse, and he is going to now prove his point in the next verses.

• Verse 11-12

In this verse, Paul quotes another Old Testament Scripture as a supporting evidence. Those that are to be counted righteous ( made right before God) will attain eternal life because of the faith God granted them .This is in line with what was told Abraham in Genesis 12. He trusted God, and God rewarded him with righteousness as a result of his faith ( a faith that found its root in the word of God). But those who misunderstand the purpose of the  LAW are under a curse because it demands a righteousness that is a result of a perfect adherence to all the commandments of God given to Moses. We need to figure out why Paul has brought this up. Faith is a gift  from God, who works in Man to will and act according to His good purpose.

The principle of faith is completely reliant on God’s grace, which grants righteousness to sinners based on Christ’s perfect obedience of the Law of God and his death on the cross. As we saw in the previous paragraphs, Abraham was the recipient of this righteousness( that comes from faith). Abraham heard the gospel, was amazed by it, trusted God, and was awarded an (alien) righteousness that came from God himself, not from him.

Obedience to the law on the other hand cannot save but brings a curse , not because the Law is bad ( the law is perfect); but because those who try to be made perfect by keeping the law are incapable of meeting its demands because of their wretched and depraved nature. That’s the key. This is why the principle of attempting to keep the Law is diametrically opposed to the principle of faith. Those who were espousing a righteousness by  legalistic observance of the Law were relying on a misuse of the text quoted by Paul -Anyone who does these things will attain life through them. And this is what the apostle was desperately trying to show  the Galatians.  We’ll come to the purpose of the Law later, but let me quickly mention that the Law was given solely to point us to Christ by showing that we were by nature objects of wrath, cursed.

• Verses 13-14

As I previously stated, the main purpose of the Law was to point us to the Messiah, Christ. Paul had already told the Galatians that Christ had been clearly presented before their very eyes as publicly crucified. And the purpose of His (Christ’s) crucifixion was to redeem mankind from the curse of the law. The Galatians had been duped by a false Gospel that promoted a Christless redemption. And a redemption without Christ is no redemption at all. That was something the Galatians had forgotten. As a result, Paul used his argument to try to bring them back to their senses. God poured out His wrath on Christ in order for Him to bear the curse that was supposed to fall on the Galatians and us. One thing the Galatians had overlooked was God’s holiness and justice system. By accepting the traditional Judaizers’ distorted Gospel, they trampled God’s Son underfoot and regarded the blood of Christ that redeemed them as worthless. In verse 14, Paul tells the Galatians why Christ redeemed them ( and us as well): that they and us might receive the blessing promised to Abraham, the promised Holy Spirit . I want to spend a bit of time in this Abraham’s blessing. 

What was promised to Abraham? Did Abraham understand the promise?

First, let us go to Genesis 12:3 to see what God said to Abraham when He called him out of Haran.

 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families(gentiles) of the earth shall be blessed.”[c]

I don’t know if at this point, Abraham fully understood this blessing that God was giving him. The next verse that I want to highlight is Genesis 15:5-6

5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

 I believe that Abraham understood the Gospel he was being preached by God because Scripture even gives evidence to that in Galatians 3:8. Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham was declared righteous and I’m convinced that he knew what that meant ( made right before God). And that was extremely great news for him because other scriptures give evidence to that.

In Hebrews 11:8-10, we read,

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Abraham was looking toward the heavenly kingdom of God, he was looking forward to the city of God.

In Hebrews 11:13-16, we are told,

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Did Abraham understand the Gospel, of course he did and the Scriptures I just cited give evidence to that. He as well as Isaac ( the son of promise) and Jacob were looking forward to the heavenly city of God, and as a result God wasn’t ashamed to be called their God. He prepared for them a city. Do you remember what Jesus told his disciples ( I go to prepare a place for you). Even though  the patriarch Abraham  didn’t have the totality of the Gospel, he received it from afar and understood it. What was the promise God gave him? That through his seed ( Isaac directly but ultimately Jesus) , he was going to receive Sons and Daughters ( as long as they were united by faith with Abraham, connected with Abraham by the same faith that was granted him).

This is why Galatians 3:14 mentions the promised Spirit, that’s the blessing. And we need to know why this is so important. Listen to what the Scripture says in Romans 8:14-16

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons[f] of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The Spirit of God gives us the status as children of God according to the passage above. That’s what I believe Abraham understood and rejoiced, so he was looking forward to the city of God.

Be Sure To Subscribe To Ligonier Ministries on Youtube

PS: All the videos series from RC Sproul and Dr John Gerstner added to the website have been thoroughly listened to by myself. And I highly recommend them to anyone looking to deepen his/her faith in Christ. We live in the age of relativism and now more than ever understanding what we believe, and why believe what believe is not optional.