Today’s sermon audio can be found on Castbox at 176 “The Righteous Shall Live by Faith” Galatians 3:10-14. This post contains my sermon notes; it is not a manuscript or transcript of the sermon. Our first reading for September 27th was Romans 2:12-16. Our text for September 27th was Galatians 3:10-14. We read the verses from Romans 2:12-16 because they reinforce what Paul wrote in Galatians 3:10-14 about the scope of the curse of the law.

Today's First Reading

12For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. Romans 2:12-16, ESV 1

Today's Text

10For 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.” 11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13Christ 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”— 14so 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

Sermon Outline

"The Righteous Shall Live by Faith" Galatians 3:10-14

  1. The Righteous Shall Not Live by Law
  2. Everyone Is under a Curse (10)
  3. No One Is Justified by the Law (11)
  4. The Law Is Not of Faith (12)
  5. Christ Redeemed Us from the Curse (13)
  6. So We May Receive the Promised Spirit (14)

Scripture References: Romans 2:12-16; Galatians 3:10-14; Deuteronomy 27:26; Habakkuk 2:4; Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 21:22-23;

1. The Righteous Shall Not Live by Law

6Just asSo also Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”. 7Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Galatians 3:6-9, ESV

10For 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.” 11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13Christ 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”— 14so 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 our previous paragraph, 3:6-9, Paul argues for justification by faith2. In today’s paragraph, 3:10-14, Paul argues against justification by works (10-12)3 and then summarizes his assertions (13-14). In both paragraphs Paul quotes Old Testament passages to support his argument.

In verse 10 Paul, quoting Deuteronomy 27:26, asserts that if we rely on the works of the law for justification we will inevitably find ourselves under a curse instead because we would have to keep all of the commands all of the time to be justified. In verse 11 Paul, quoting Habakkuk 2:4, asserts that the only way to be declared righteous by God is to do so by faith. In verse 12 Paul, quoting Leviticus 18:5, asserts that relying on the law for salvation is completely distinct from relying on God for salvation. In verse 13 Paul, quoting Deuteronomy 21:23, asserts that Christ by His crucifixion became a curse for us to redeem us (save us from our sins). In verse 14 Paul asserts that in Christ Jesus true believers receive the justification that Abraham received and furthermore they receive the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Restating verses 10-14:

  • 10, Relying on justification by works leaves us under a curse.
  • 11, Nobody can be justified by works.
  • 12, Justification by works cannot be mixed with justification by faith.
  • 13, The only way out of the curse associated with our own righteousness is redemption by Christ who became a curse for us.
  • 14, If we are in Christ through faith we do receive the blessing of Abraham and we do also receive the promised Spirit.

Interpretative Principle: The Law/Gospel distinction can help us to understand Paul’s argument here in Galatians 3:10-14.

2. Everyone Is under a Curse (10)

26“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Deuteronomy 27:26, ESV

10For 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.” Galatians 3:10, ESV

In Galatians 3:6-9 Paul defends justification by faith. In Galatians 3:10-14 Paul refutes justification by works. In verse 10 Paul, quoting Deuteronomy 27:26, asserts that if we rely on the works of the law for justification we will inevitably find ourselves under a curse instead because we would have to keep all of the commands all of the time to be justified.

‘10aFor all who rely on works of the law are under a curse;’.
The conjunction ‘For’ at the beginning of this verse links this paragraph to the prior paragraph. By it Paul indicates that he is continuing his argument that justification is received by faith alone. As we have said, Paul now argues for justification by faith by showing that one cannot receive justification by works. There is considerable debate about the scope of the word ‘all’. There is a tendency to limit ‘all’ to Jewish people thereby excluding Gentiles. We have seen from our earlier reading of Romans 2:12-16 that Paul clearly asserted that any people without access to the law nonetheless have ‘Romans 12:15…the work of the law written on their hearts’. We can also see from, for example, verse 14 that this whole argument includes the Gentiles. The words ‘rely on’ in this case indicate the means of receiving justification. We can either rely on God for justification by faith or else we must rely on ourselves. Those are the two choices that Paul (and the rest of the writers of the New Testament) give us. We can be God-righteous or we can be self-righteous. If you do not agree with this assertion you are arguing with God Himself. Of course you could say that you are not even trying to be self-righteous. This attitude is a special species of self-righteousness. Either you will appear at the judgment with the imputed righteousness of Christ or you will be condemned. The ‘works of the law’ means obeying the law of Moses. What is this ‘curse’? It is the opposite of the ‘blessing of Abraham’. In other words, this curse is eternal spiritual death. So Paul is asserting that everyone who relies on himself or herself for justification faces the curse of eternal spiritual death.

‘10bfor it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”’. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 to support his assertion. Notice that Paul indicates that Moses asserts two things here that must be done to avoid a particular curse: (1) ‘abide by all things written in the Book of the Law’; (2) ‘and do all things written in the Book of the Law’. By using two verbs (‘abide by’ and ‘do’) Moses indicates that obedience goes beyond just doing things. Obedience also includes living and thinking in a way that is consistent with the Law. Paul is, I believe, arguing here from the lesser to the greater. Moses wrote of the promises made by God to Israel that would be forfeited if Israel did not obey the Book of the Law. But Paul applies that curse to the much more important eternal consequences of disobedience to God that apply to everyone.

We know that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). Therefore, we are all under the curse unless we have received the blessing of Abraham.

3. No One Is Justified by the Law (11)

4“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4, ESV

11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” Galatians 3:11, ESV

In verse 11 Paul, quoting Habakkuk 2:4, asserts that the only way to be declared righteous by God is to do so by faith. Paul has implied that no one can keep the Law perfectly in the prior verse. That is why Paul does not have to qualify his assertion in verse 10 that everyone is under a very serious and consequential curse of eternal spiritual death. Everyone who was ever conceived except the God-man Christ Jesus inherited a sin nature from Adam. Now in verse 11 Paul shows that justification cannot be gained by the law because God has stipulated a different and exclusive means of justification.

‘11aNow it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law,’.
Paul considers his assertion to be obvious because he precedes his assertion with the phrase ‘Now it is evident that …’. The assertion begins with the words ‘no one’. Of course Jesus Christ does not need to be ‘justified before God’. Everyone else must either be ‘justified before God’ or else receive the wrath of God eternally. Those are the two choices. The full assertion is ‘that no one is justified before God by the law,’. The verb ‘justified’ means ‘declared righteous’. The phrase ‘by the law,’ indicates as above the means of being justified. It seems obvious to me that Paul’s assertion can be restated as follows: ‘no one can earn their justification’.

‘11bfor “The righteous shall live by faith.”’.
You may encounter scholars who claim that Paul misuses this verse from Habakkuk. Or that the early Protestant scholars misused it. It is certainly possibly to interpret Habakkuk 2:4 differently than Paul did. But that means you are arguing with Paul and therefore with God. Paul has here in Galatians 3:11 inversely correlated being ‘justified before God by the law’ with ‘the righteous’ living ‘by faith’. In other words, Paul is writing that there are two disjoint ways of being justified: ‘by the law’ or ‘by faith’. And only one of these two ways can be the means of actually receiving righteousness.

This whole paragraph (Galatians 3:10-14) is much debated. I am concerned that the motives of many who criticize Paul flow out of self-righteousness. But the key point is that no one can earn their justification.

4. The Law Is Not of Faith (12)

5You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. Leviticus 18:5, ESV

12But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Galatians 3:12, ESV

14aBut when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, 14bI said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” Galatians 2:14, ESV

Some scholars think there is a contradiction between Habakkuk 4:2 and Leviticus 18:5 and therefore think that there is a contradiction or other problem in Paul’s argument. Do you live by faith or do you live by works? How can it be both, these people ask. Other scholars note a difficulty but go to great lengths needlessly to defend Paul. The simplest, most Biblical solution to this so called contradiction is the Law/Gospel distinction. Habakkuk 4:2 relates especially to the Gospel in Paul’s argument. Leviticus 18:5 relates especially to the Law in Paul’s argument. Recall that we have said that when Luther reached Galatians 2:14A in his lectures on Galatians he stressed the importance of the Law/Gospel distinction:

Everyone who is able to rightly judge between the law and the Gospel can give thanks to God and know that he is a theologian.4

We must distinguish these two categories of Scripture. The Law tells us what to do. The Gospel tells us what God has done. If we are to save ourselves we must personally, perfectly, and perpetually obey the Law.5 If we are to be saved by God we must savingly ‘believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God’ (John 20:30f).

In verse 12 Paul, quoting Leviticus 18:5, asserts that relying on the law for salvation is completely distinct from relying on God for salvation. Paul insists that there are two distinct, disjoint means of being justified before God. We will either save ourselves through the means of the personal, perfect, perpetual obedience we just mentioned or we will be saved by God through the means of God-given faith.

‘12aBut the law is not of faith,’.
Paul has just written that ‘11bfor “The righteous shall live by faith.”’. Now in verse 12a he asserts that ‘the law’ (i.e., ‘the works of the law’) is a completely different means of being saved. Either we are saved by means of works or we are saved by means of faith. We cannot mix them together.

‘12brather “The one who does them shall live by them.”’.
Paul then in verse 12b documents the contrast between living by faith and living by works. In verse 11b we are told that ‘11bfor “The righteous shall live by faith.”’. in verse 12b we are told that ‘12b“The one who does them shall live by them.”’. In other words we either receive the righteousness of Christ by faith or we make ourselves righteous by works. Of course, the latter is impossible for us to do.

We cannot mix self-righteousness with Christ-righteousness.

5. Christ Redeemed Us from the Curse (13)

22“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23his 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. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21:22-23, ESV

13Christ 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”— Galatians 3:13, ESV

In verse 13 Paul, quoting Deuteronomy 21:23, asserts that Christ by His crucifixion became a curse for us to redeem us (save us from our sins). Now Paul gets to the solution to the problem that all mortal humans are under a curse and therefore face eternity under the wrath of God. In verse 13 Paul clearly teaches substitutionary atonement. We all come under the curse by our sins. But Christ became a curse for us without having ever sinned Himself. Christ did this by willingly being crucified. That caused Him to be cursed as per Deuteronomy 21:23.

‘13aChrist redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us’.
The phrase ‘Christ redeemed us’ applies to both Jews and Gentiles. The verb ‘redeemed’ here means to pay the price of freedom from sin for us. The ‘curse of the law’ is eternal, spiritual death for our sins. Jesus, as planned from eternity past, willingly went to the cross so that, among other things, He ‘became a curse for us’. Jesus took our punishment for our sins to Himself. Jesus Himself never sinned. So His righteousness is acceptable to God. For us who have savingly believed God does the following (and much else): (1) God imputes our sins to Christ; (2) God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us.

‘13b—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—’.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which Paul quotes here, originally addressed what had to be done with the corpse of a criminal who had earlier in the day been executed and then subsequently ‘hanged on a tree’. In Israel the corpse had to be buried on the same day as the execution and subsequent display ‘on a tree’. Evidently, once rabbis became aware of Roman crucifixion the same principle was applied to it; The body had to be removed and buried that same day. The Romans had no such qualms but respected Jewish regulations when Christ was crucified. Moses wrote that ‘a hanged man is cursed by God’. Of course this was all part of the plan of redemption that the Trinity had agreed to before the creation of the universe.

That ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us’ is a crucial aspect of the Gospel.

6. So We May Receive the Promised Spirit (14)

14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:14, ESV

In verse 14 Paul asserts that in Christ Jesus true believers receive the justification that Abraham received and furthermore they receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul has already written (3:8-9)
‘8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.’ But now Paul indicates that verses 10-13 further explain that blessing.

‘14aso that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles,’.
Paul uses ‘so that’ twice here in verse 14. The phrase could mean ‘in order that’. So verse 13 enables these two clauses. The fact that ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us’ makes both clauses possible. We can receive the blessing that Abraham received (1) on the basis of Christ’s substitutionary atonement for us on the cross and (2) by means of the gift of faith God gives us.

‘14bso that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.’.
Paul also mentions a second blessing obtained for us by Christ on the cross: ‘the promised [indwelling Holy] Spirit’. As with the first blessing, the blessing of Abraham, this second result is received ‘through faith’.

Jesus, by His sinless life, by His atoning death, by His vindicating resurrection, by His whole sinless conception, birth, life, death, resurrection, appearances, ascension, intercession, and His sending of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us through faith to receive the many blessings of God.

The Gospel

3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:3-10, ESV

Footnotes

© 2026 Christian Life Church.

  1. ESV: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ©2011 Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ↩

  2. Timothy George, Galatians, CSC, 2020, kp 308. ↩

  3. ibid. ↩

  4. Martin Luther on Galatians 2:14A, from Martin Luther’s Commentary on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. ↩

  5. An allusion to the answer to the Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 20. ↩