Living a Blessed Life in a Cursed World
galatians 3:10-14
Main Idea: Jesus became our curse so that we are free to live a truly blessed life.
I. The Content of the Curse (3:10)
In a blessed life, the law graciously shows us the gap between God’s holiness and our sinfulness.
In a cursed life, we are deceived into thinking the gap between God’s holiness and our sinfulness isn’t that big.
To Paul’s mind (The Galatians) had not rightly grasped the significance of Christ’s death. That death was not to be understood as atoning for the inevitable shortcomings of those, who because of their basic commitment to observe the law, were otherwise righteous, rather, it showed that there can be no righteousness based on the law’s observance-for otherwise Christ would not have had to die.
~ Stephen Westerholm, Perspectives on Old and New on Paul: The "Lutheran" Paul and His Critics
II. The Course of the Curse (3:11-12)
In a blessed life, we follow the course of a system of grace, which leads us to joyful obedience.
In a cursed life, we follow the course of a system of self-righteousness, which leads to anxious despair.
Freed from sin by Christ, we are brought back into right relationship with God in that we are freed to become more like him as the image-bearers that he created us to be. In Christ, we are restored to the joyful task of knowing Him and making Him known. In Christ, we are restored to worshiping him and extending that worship to the ends of the earth and every people, tribe, tongue, and nation.
~ Mark D. Liederbach, Ethics as Worship
What we learn from the whole Old Testament, as well as from this passage, is that God has posted a gigantic “Dead End” sign over the path of the Law. The Law Cannot give life. Apart from the grace of God, the Law of God will only stir up the sin within you, ultimately choking you to death.
~ Todd Wilson, Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living
Life in Myself
Approval seeking. I tailor my actions to try to win the praise of others.
Selfish agenda. I keep trying to earn God's love, so my motive to "love" others is actually self-serving.
Self-power. I look to myself for the strength to love God and others, and I often sense the power is lacking.
Bitterness and self-hatred. I find it hard to forgive others or to enjoy God's forgiveness of me.
Anxiety. Fears and risk-avoidance tend to dominate my decisions in life.
Prayerlessness. Prayer often feels unnecessary, fake, condemning, or boring to me.
Cross-lessness. I have little daily appreciation for what Jesus has done for me (I "nullify the cross"), but a big awareness of what others think of me.
Christ Living in Me
Secure in God's approval of me, am able to live for his glory, not my own.
My love for God and others is able to be genuine, anchored in my Father's love for me.
I know that the power in me comes from none other than the Son of God, so l confidently step out in love.
The core truth of my life is that my Savior gave himself for me; forgiveness runs through my veins.
Knowing I belong to Jesus in life and in death frees me to take some risks to serve him and love others.
My life comes from God, and I am learning to pray to him in all my struggles and needs.
I find ways to be encouraged daily by the gospel, which God uses to help me live for him rather than for worldly goals.
~ McKay Caston, Galatians: Navigating Life in View of the Cross
III. The Christ Who Became the Curse (3:13-14)
In the blessed life, Jesus becomes the curse we earned so we can receive God’s promised blessings.
In the cursed life, we reject Jesus’ curse reversal and receive God’s promised judgment.
Jesus is nailed to a tree of death-the cursed tree, the tree of the law which gives us the knowledge of good and evil-but by doing so in our place, he turns it into the tree of life. The tree which was designed to dehumanize and bring death now makes us more alive than we ever dreamed and more fully human than we ever hoped. So the cross is not dead wood. It is a living and life-giving tree.
~ Andrew Wilson, The God of All Things
