Galatians 3:10-18

Galatians 3:10-18New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ. My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

This is one of those meaty passages from Paul that could really be sliced and diced and dug into theologically to parse out to make some sense of it.

But that doesn't seem really devotional to me.

Instead, when I read this passage, I look at what jumps off the page and for me it is this:

That God is and has always been in the habit of making and keeping promises.

Long before the law was given, God promised Abraham life. That life came to fruition through Christ.  The law does not undo or change that in any way, and when we focus too heavily on the law, we miss that glorious promise of life that is right there in front of us.

Can the law save? Paul says here we are cursed when we rely only on the law. If you are going to rely on it, you rely on all of it. Who among us does that? Picking and choosing which of God's laws are right, and yet ignoring the laws we break ourselves gets us into a tangle.

We see this curse played out in media all over: in both mainstream and social media. How many condemnations have been lobbied by one group of Christians against another that you've seen lately? Whether the issue is LGBTQ rights, taxation, abortion, racism, or any other ism you can think of, the law is used to back up one understanding of it against another. When we live by the law, we die by it.

But it is Christ who gives life. Not because of law. But through faith. Through God's promise.

Can we rely on that promise more than any of our supposed understandings of the law?

God you have set us free. Help us to remember to live into that freedom.  Amen