FOR AS MANY AS ARE OF THE WORKS OF LAW ARE UNDER THE CURSE (GAL.3:10). DOES THIS MEAN AS EVANGELICALS SAY SABBATH KEEPERS ARE CURSED ?

TO UNDERSTAND THIS IS TEXT WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE ISSUE IN THE BOOK OF GALATIANS. THE ISSUE OF GALATIANS IS NOT WHETHER THE LAW SHOULD BE KEPT OR NOT BUT HOW ONE IS SAVED IN JUSTIFICATION (For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, CURSED IS EVERY ONE THAT CONTINUETH NOT IN ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW TO DO THEM." )

Remember what Romans 8:2-4 tells us: "2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." The Law of Spirit of Life (the Divine Nature -See 2Peter 1:3,4) in Christ Jesus makes us free from the law of sin and death.

The issue of Galatians chapter 3 is that of how one is saved or justified through the gospel (i.e. by being justified by faith and not by the works of the law). The issue is not whether the Ten Commandments should be kept or not kept. Many evangelicals seek to use verses in Galatians chapter 3 to prove the law is done away with in an attempt to do away with the Sabbath. However, if any verse in Galatians chapter 3 is taken in context to other verses in the rest of the chapter, or to the rest of the book of Galatians, or to the rest of the Bible for that matter, there can be no such interpretation. Texts for instance like Gal.3:10 and Gal.3:23-26 are misinterpreted by many Evangelicals. As Peter in 2 Peter 3:16 identifies, there are some things in Paul’s writings that are hard to understand which the unlearned and the unstable wrest to their own destruction.

Many evangelicals contend due to a false interpretation of Gal.3:10 that anyone who seeks to keep the law is cursed, this being falsely interpreted from the phrase “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse”. This is really foolishness, for any sincere person would question the validity of such a lawless interpretation. The true context of the statement could be understood by keeping in mind what the contention was about in Galatians and with whom. The contention was with those who were of the works of the law, meaning those who sought to teach that one must be saved or justified by keeping the law (the term law referring to both the moral law and the ceremonial law.) Remember, one is saved by being born again or by being renewed in the heart; this is justification and is solely the work of God in us through the Holy Spirit (See Titus 3:5-7). There is no work that we can do to save ourselves by bringing justification or the born again experience to ourselves. The scripture identifies; a leopard cannot change it’s spots nor can an Ethiopian change the colour of his skin. God who is holy has aught with man or condemns man for two fundamental things; one is the condition of his heart which is sinful and the sinful works which come forth from the carnal/sinful mind/heart. Thus for man to be saved or justified or be right in God’s sight God must renew his heart/mind and this God does with the permission of man when he fulfills the condition of repentance and believing.

Evangelicals also contend due to a misinterpretation of Gal.3:23-25 that the law of the Ten Commandments was given to be kept by man only from the time it was given on tables of stone at Mt. Sinai to Moses, to the time of

 Christ’s first coming. Furthermore it is falsely believed that the law (of the Ten Commandments) was a schoolmaster until Christ came and did away with the law as a way of salvation and established grace through faith as a way of salvation instead. That is, before Christ’s coming men were saved by the law and after Christ’s coming men were saved by grace. In this way evangelicals teach of two ways of salvation; one by grace through faith and one by the law, however this is false. Keeping in mind that Christ was always offered to live in the hearts of men through the Holy Spirit; even today the law is a school master to men to bring them to Christ that they may live in their hearts; in the sense that the law is a school master to all sinners by showing forth their sins (Rom.5:7, 13), and making them aware that they are in need of a redeemer that they may seek Christ’s redemption by repentance. As it is written in 1 Tim.1:9,10 “the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane…. ” . Thus the law is a school master to show sinners in every age their sins that they may see their sinfulness and be lead to accept Christ, that He might justify them, renew their hearts and make them sinfree within. Thus Gal.3:23-25 cannot be genuinely used to prove that the law is done away with and should not be kept.

The issue of Galatians concerns certain men of the Pharisees who are referred to by Paul “as those who are of the works of the law”. These men sought to teach the brethren that in order to be saved they needed to be circumcised (See Acts 15:1 quoted below). However, we ought to know that the issue of salvation is that of a conversion within the heart by the power of God to those that repent and believe the gospel. As it is written the circumcision of God is that of the heart/mind and not of the flesh (See Rom.2:28-29, note circumcision of the flesh refers to the circumcision of the male genitals). God gives a new heart that we may keep the law and not that we may break it.

Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 

 As evidence of the fundamental issue of Galatians we may observe that the book of Galatians begins with the following comment:

Gal 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

As regard the grace of Christ mentioned in the above text, we are told in Eph 2:8-9 that it is this grace that saves us through faith and not the works of the law (See text quoted below). Justification by faith through grace is the application point of the gospel (or the plan of salvation), it is the “point of change” part of the gospel (or the point of the gospel where change takes place).

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” The issue in this text is how one is saved or how one is justified (that it is not by the works of circumcision etc.). 

 The issue of Galatians is not whether the Ten Commandments should be kept or not, since the Gospel which is called the word of truth in Ephesians 1:13 is what frees us from transgressing the commandments of God, as it is written in John 8:32-34 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” Thus it is understood that it is the revealed truths of the gospel (the faith) that frees us from being in bondage to sin or from being enslaved to breaking God’s commandments. Further more it is the faith or the revealed truths of the gospel that establishes our law keeping, and by no means does it (the gospel) abolish the necessity for law keeping. As it is written in Rom 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” In other words the Gospel is not given to man to do away with the law but to establish it.

The issue of Galatians is that of knowing that a man is justified by faith and not by the works of the Law, that is, the issue was about understanding that one is made right in God’s sight through faith or that one is made righteous through faith and not through the works of the law. Keep in mind faith is not believing. We get or receive the faith of God in our hearts by believing the faith. Faith being the word of God or the revealed truths of God. Just as one is to understand that we are born of the word in justification one must understand that we are born of faith (which is the revealed word) through justification.

Further evidence that the Galatians issue is not whether the Ten Commandments should be kept or not be kept, but that of how one is justified can be seen in the texts below:

Gal 2:11-16 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

There were men of the Pharisee sect who were teaching that one must do the works of the law to be justified or to be made right in God’s sight. This shall be shown in the following text:

Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

Acts 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Gal 2:4-5 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

In the above text it is seen that it is the Pharisees who were responsible for the contentions. These Pharisees had a false understanding of how to be saved. Paul, who was formerly a Pharisee, had such a false belief at one time but eventually he came to understand the truth of the gospel. See text below:

Phil 3:5-9 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Amen)