Free From the Curse.

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.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 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” —  so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. – Galatians 3:10-14 ESV In Paul’s own inimitable style, he begins to weave Old Testament Scripture into his defense of justification by faith. First he quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26 using the Greek Septuagint translation: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.” And he concludes that those who attempt to keep the law to achieve justification before God are cursed because they are incapable of keeping ALL of the law perfectly and completely. So for Paul, “it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law.” And it is clear to him that even the Old Testament Scriptures teach that “the righteous shall live by faith.” Here he quotes from Habakkuk 2:4. In Paul’s understanding of the Old Testament, even the great saints of the past achieved righteousness before God through faith in Him. The passage from Habakkuk that he quotes could better be translated: “The one who is righteous by faith will live.” In other words, our righteousness is achieved by faith in the Word of God and, as a result of our faith, we live. It is NOT our living that produces righteousness. That was the false message of those who were troubling the Galatians and distorting the gospel of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:7).

Once again, Paul appeals to the Old Testament Scriptures, this time quoting from Leviticus 18:5: “The one who does them shall live by them” (Galatians 3:12 ESV). Here Paul addresses the problem with law-keeping. If you’re going to use the law as your basis for justification before God, you will have to spend your entire life keeping them. It will be a never-ending task of trying to live up to and keep every single command given by God. There will be no room for mistakes. You can’t afford to have an off-day. Every single sin will count against you. In fact, the apostle James puts the gravity of this point in fairly disturbing terms: “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” (James 2:10 NLT). So if you want to make law-keeping your preferred method of restoring your relationship with God, you will have your work cut out for you. And that work will never achieve its desired goal.

Paul brings out an important point. The law is not of faith. Keeping the law has little to do with faith in God. It is all about faith in self. It is based on self-reliance and depends upon self-sufficiency. God has given the rules, now it is up to man to live up to them. And in order to make the task more attainable, man, in his law-keeping, begins to justify or rationalize his law-breaking. Sin becomes subjective. Man develops loop holes and work-arounds to somehow make his sin seem less sinful. He begins to compare his sins with those of others. He attempts to find others whose sins are more egregious than his own. It becomes a case of righteousness by comparison. Somehow we convince ourselves that God will grade on the curve and excuse those sins we’ve committed. He will simply reward us for having tried hard. But Paul would have us remember that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 ESV). Our sin demands a payment. Our rebellion against a holy God brings us under His wrath and condemnation and, in His justice, He must punish our sin.

This is where Paul brings in the good news. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13 ESV). In other words, Jesus took our place on the cross and suffered in our place. The punishment for man’s sins fell on Him. The prophet Isaiah predicted the death of Jesus and the impact it would have on mankind:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5-6 ESV

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV). It is interesting to note that the Mosaic law had a requirement regarding the death of a law-breaker. “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23 ESV). Paul refers to this passage when he says, referring to Christ’s death on the cross, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Galatians 3:13 ESV). Even the method by which Jesus died illustrated the curse of God He took on in order that men might be made right with God. He endured what we deserved and did for us what we could never have done for ourselves. His death gave us access to life. Our death would have led to eternal separation from God.

We are made right with God through faith and faith alone. Law-keepers don’t live by faith, they attempt to live by keeping the law. Their hope is in themselves and their ongoing efforts to live up to God’s holy standard, rather than in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Faith requires dependence upon God. We must accept His means of salvation rather than attempting to rely on our own. We must recognize our incapacity to live holy lives and place our trust His Son’s death on the cross in our place. He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities. And by His wounds we are healed.

Made Alive in the Spirit.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. – 1 Peter 3:18-22 ESV This is one of the most obscure and difficult passages found in the Bible. In fact, Martin Luther once described it as, “a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament” and he concluded, “so I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” Keep in mind that Peter has been discussing suffering for righteousness sake. He has talked about being zealous for doing what is good, and enduring the consequences of our actions. “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:17 ESV). Now he uses Christ as an example. He suffered for doing good, having died for the sins of mankind, the righteous for the unrighteous. All so that men might be made right with God. His suffering included being put to death in the flesh, but it culminated with God raising Him from the dead. He “has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:22 ESV). Jesus’ suffering was followed by glorification. His death was followed by life. His defeat was followed by victory.

But this is where Peter seems to get a little bit difficult to understand. He mentions Jesus, in the spirit, going and proclaiming to the spirits in prison. Who are these spirits? When did Jesus do this? What did He proclaim? Why did Peter bring up Noah and what does he have to do with the spirits in prison? Why does Peter seem to indicate that baptism saves, when elsewhere in Scripture it is not a requirement for salvation? There are many different interpretations and opinions regarding these questions and their answers. While it is impossible to completely solve the mystery surrounding these verses, it would seem that Peter is making a point regarding Jesus’ resurrected state, post-crucufixion and death. Jesus suffered and died, but He was raised again by the power of the Holy Spirit and received a new body. He was no longer restricted by the limitations of His former earthly body. He still appeared the same, as He was readily recognized by His disciples when He appeared to them after His resurrection. But His new body allowed Him to do things He could not have done before. John records, “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them” (John 20:19 ESV).

Yet Jesus was NOT a Spirit. He said to His disciples, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:38-39 ESV). Jesus had died, but He was alive. And His new life was distinctly different from the life He had had before. He had a resurrected body. And His resurrected state was a loud statement regarding God’s redemptive power. I believe what Peter is saying is that, with His resurrection, Jesus proclaimed the long-awaited salvation of God. It was like a message blasted over a loud speaker, heard even by those who were imprisoned for their disobedience to God, years before. Even those who lived during the days of Noah. God had instructed Noah to build an ark, intended as a means of salvation from the coming judgment. Those living in Noah’s day saw the ark being built, day after day. But they were corrupt. They were sinful and disobedient to God. Genesis describes the situation in very stark terms:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. – Genesis 6:5-6 ESV

And God destroyed the earth. But He saved Noah and his family, eight people in all. The ark became their rescue from the flood. Peter says that they “were brought safely through the water” (1 Peter 3:20 ESV). God cleansed the earth with water. He purified it from the sin that had contaminated it. But we know from the Genesis account, that sin remained in the world after the flood. Noah’s own family regenerated the earth, but they carried the sin of Adam with them. It would not take long for it to infect that human race again. But Peter's point seems to be that the water was used by God to save a remnant from destruction. The water did not cleanse them from their sinfulness. It saved them from destruction. God is the one who saved them. It was He who gave Noah the idea to build the ark. He sent the means of salvation. Just as God sent Jesus to be the means of our salvation. And baptism, Peter states, plays a similar role in our lives as the flood waters did in the days of Noah. The waters brought death to many, but also life to Noah and his family. When we go through the ordinance of baptism, it is a statement of the change that God has brought about in our lives. He has saved us from death by allowing us to vicariously experience the death of His Son and receive new life, resurrected life, just as He has. Paul describes it in these terms: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 ESV).

Baptism does not save us. But it is a public declaration of the salvation provided for us by God through His Son. We have been buried and raised to new life. We have been cleansed and forgiven. We are new creations. Like Jesus after His resurrection, we are no longer what we once were. Our consciences are clear. Our sins are forgiven. We are no longer under condemnation. Jesus has been raised from the dead and sits at the right hand of God, a reminder of our future state and a guarantee of our eternal hope. The ark provided Noah and his family with a brief respite from death. But what Jesus has provided for us is victory over death for all time. Jesus Himself reminds us, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26 ESV). We have new life in Christ, now. We are new creations, now. We have been made alive in Christ, and that speaks of a newness of life that is to be distinctly different than the life we had before Christ.

While We Were Sinners.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. – Romans 5:6-11 ESV Peter tells us, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18 ESV). The sinless one died for sinners. The innocent died for the guilty. The righteous for the unrighteous. And not after we got our act together. Paul emphasizes the out-of-the-ordinary nature of this event. He says, “most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good” (Romans 5:7 NLT). As human beings, we would find it difficult, if not impossible to give our lives even for someone who deemed as righteous. We might do it, but we would have to give it some serious thought. But Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. He didn't die for us because we were righteous, but so that we might become righteous. In fact, when Jesus was asked why He hung out with tax collectors and sinners, He replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12, 13 ESV).

The implications of this are staggering. We live in a world where we believe everyone gets what they deserve. We are taught that any good we experience in this life is ultimately earned and a direct result of our good behavior. But Paul turns that philosophy on its head by saying that our salvation was the result of God's mercy and love as expressed through the sacrificial death of His own Son. Rather than giving us what we deserved: death, God gave us what we did not deserve: life through faith in His Son. We deserved condemnation. He provided pardon. We deserved alienation from Him. He made us sons and daughters. We had earned His wrath and judgment. He poured out His grace and forgiveness. And the amazing thing is that “God shows his love for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 ESV). Christ died for the ungodly. But man's biggest problem is coming to grips with his own ungodliness. We struggle believing that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We hate the idea of being helpless and weak, incapable of saving ourselves. We want to desperately believe that we can somehow earn our way into God's good graces. But Paul will have none of it, because God refuses to grade of the curve or lower His standards in order to allow men to squeeze in under the bar.

It was the death of Jesus, His shed blood, that makes our right standing with God possible. We have been right with Him and are free from ever having to face His righteous, holy wrath ever again. As Paul will say later in this same letter, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV). We have been reconciled with God. At one point we were His enemies, but now we are His children. Because of Christ's death, we have been made right with God – in this life. Because of Christ's resurrection, we are assured a permanent right standing with God – for eternity. We are saved from the eternal wrath of God that is the eventual lot of all men who refuse to accept His gift of salvation made possible through the death and resurrection of His Son. And Paul tells us that this reality should produce in us a joy right here, right now, because “we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:11 ESV). It was the ancient writer, Origen, who said, “Paul stresses the now in order to indicate that our rejoicing is not merely a future hope but also a present experience” (Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans). We are reconciled with God. We are free from His wrath. We are righteous in His eyes. We are no longer His enemies. We are justified by God.

I love this quote from Ambrosiaster, a Christian writer who lived in the middle to late fourth century. He wrote, “If Christ gave himself up to death at the right time for those who were unbelievers and enemies of God … how much more will he protect is with his help if we believe in him! He died for us in order to obtain life and glory for us. So if he died for his enemies, just think what he will do for his friends!” (Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul's Epistles). God loved us in the midst of our sin. Christ died for us because we were sinners. And we can trust God's love to carry us through to the very end. We can rest of the fact that “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT).