The curse of the law (1)

Resolving Personal & Spiritual Conflicts
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.Ignorance is not a crime but it is also not a credit. In fact, ignorance of the spiritual transactions that took place on the cross of Jesus Christ is the main reason why many believers continue to live in bondage even after salvation. In resolving personal and spiritual conflicts I have found that the explanation of what Christ has done for us on the cross, who we are as a result of his death and resurrection, and what we can do as a result of being in Him, is the basic cure.
This week we will unravel the origin of the curse of the law mentioned in the book of Galatians. Understanding the history, the elements of the curse and Christ redemption should result in your freedom from that curse of the law. Galatians 3:13 reads, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Jews in the old dispensation were under the tutelage of the law. But living under the law was very difficult because the law, though perfect, only stated what was morally right and wrong without empowering people to obey it. As a result, the Jews continually failed to satisfy the demands of the law. Their failure was met with divine punishment for sinning or missing the mark. Punishment caused them to repent and cry out to God for mercy. And God would have mercy on them and restore them. This vicious cycle of sin-captivity-repentance-restoration went on and on throughout the history of Israel till the advent of Christ Jesus.
Under the law, righteousness in the sight of God was based on obedience to the law. If you obeyed the law you would be deemed righteous. And if you disobeyed the law you would be regarded as unrighteous.
The divine rewards for obeying the law were called blessings. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says, “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God”.  The list of the blessings was very long but it can be compacted into fruitfulness, prosperity, divine protection from all evil and enjoying perfect fellowship with God.
On the other hand, all forms of punishment for disobeying the law constituted curses. Deuteronomy 28:15 reads, “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee”. And the long list of curses that ensued disobeying the law included poverty, lack of fellowship with God (spiritual death), and sickness. These divine curses became known as the curse of the law.  Regrettably, the children of Israel constantly and dismally failed to obey the law. And accordingly, they also constantly incurred the curse of the law. It was a hopeless case not only for the Jews but also for Gentiles (everyone else who is not of Jewish descent) who wanted to serve God. Remember, Israel was to act as a representative of the whole human race.
What God required from Israel, He required from everyone else who was to serve Him.
Both Jews and Gentiles could not please God by obeying the law. The law as the standard of life was too high and too difficult for people to live by. Therefore none was justified by the law as everyone was sinning against God and falling short of the glory of God. The book of Romans presents this spiritual conflict and universality of guilt, “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:9-10).
Because none successfully obeyed the law none was justified. And because none was justified by the law everyone was under the curse of the law. And the curse of the law manifested itself in sickness, poverty, death, pestilence, defeat by enemies and all kinds of bondages.
This left God without fellowship and without representatives on earth. So He unravelled the plan of redemption that He had planned even before the fall of man. This plan of redemption that set believers free from the curse of the law will be explained in detail in the next instalment.
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