“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us for it is written, “‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”’
—Galatians 3:13
IN THE BOOK of Galatians, the Apostle Paul addresses the heresy of the Judaizers. The Judaizers were men who tried to lead believers in Galatia into bondage by teaching that a person could only be justified by their obedience to the works of the Law. But Paul resisted this false teaching when he wrote, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘“Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”’ Paul is saying that if you are going to trust in your own obedience to the Law as your righteousness before God, then you must perfectly obey every jot and tittle of the Law every moment of your life, otherwise you are under the curse of God as Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 27 & 28. So, Paul writes, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them.”
THE CURSE IS that whoever breaks God’s Law falls under God’s wrath, and the curse is not empty words, but a declaration of condemnation upon all sinful men. It’s the curse of temporal and eternal death. And Paul says that the curse of God’s wrath is upon anyone who thinks their obedience to the Law is their righteousness before God. Paul calls such people those who “are of the works of the Law” and these people are still with us today. They think their eternal destiny rests upon how good a job they do at keeping the Law, but Paul says, “that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “‘the just shall live by faith.’”
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you trusting your obedience to God’s Law or your morality as your righteousness before God? Paul’s whole point in the book of Galatians is that God will never accept the sinner’s attempt at obeying the law for righteousness. As much as we try, we can never meet God’s standard of perfection because of our sinful nature. Therefore, if we are trusting in our works we are still under the curse and wrath of God. Scripture is clear— the only way a sinner can be justified or declared righteous before God is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the perfect work of Jesus Christ alone! John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” So, I ask you, once again, what are you trusting as your righteousness before God: your works or Christ’s works? Our ONLY hope, according to God’s Word, is Jesus. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Trust in Jesus for there is no other way to be cleansed from sin and made acceptable in God’s sight but by the perfect sin-atoning death and law-abiding life of Jesus Christ. He is the Good News of salvation. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Friday Devotional: January 30, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
