Sermon: Cursed for Us

Let's take a moment. Let's pray. Before we read Galatians three 10 through 14 this morning,

our Father, we are thankful that you've given us your word, and we pray even now that as you've promised that your spirit would attend to the word that it would not return void, but accomplish your purposes in this room, our hearts, our lives outside of this room for those live streaming. We pray that the Spirit by your grace would lift us up into the heavens even this morning that we might gaze upon the beauty of our savior.

We would truly see Christ and all of His glory over these next minutes, stamp his truth upon our hearts,

suffuse our soul, your grace, and help us to stay steadily in mind, spirit upon you over these next minutes. In Christ's name, amen. This morning, Galatians three verses 10 through 14. This is a holy er, sufficient word of God for 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 now. It is evident that no one is justified

before God by the law, but the righteous shall live by faith. But the law is not a faith. Rather, the one who does them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Lord is ridden curse. It is everyone who hangs on a tree so that in Christ Jesus, the blessed of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the Promised Spirit. Through faith, though the grass withers

and the flower fades, the word of God is forever. Thanks be to God. Amen.

We all want blessing. Uh, we all want to consider ourselves blessed. We all want to experience blessing. None of us want the reverse the opposite. None of us want cursing. Uh, this week I was sitting in a chair at home reading and someone was hanging a light for us. And so there was this, this ladder that was spread out and I watched Grayson go right underneath the ladder and go bounding up the stairs. My daughter and I yelled up at her, said,

good thing we don't believe in bad luck. And she did whatever she was doing. Then she came bounding down the stairs and went right under the ladder. And she looked at me and she said, we believe in God. And I said that that is right. There are some things that are laughable in the realm of this brings blessing or this brings cursing. There are other things though that are not so laughable because we do believe as Christians believers in God,

we believe in blessing and we believe in cursing. Paul and our pastors this morning is wrestling with this because the Jews believe themselves to be blessed. And they believed that the Gentiles were cursed and they believed that they were blessed because they had the law and the Gentiles were cursed because they did not have the law. So let me read you Psalm one 19 verses one, two through two. Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. The Jews would say, we, we know his ways and we know his ways because we know his law and we know his law because we have His law. We are blessed. The Gentiles are cursed.

The Pharisees as religious leaders at the time of Jesus in the New Testament, they took this all to heart and they looked back over the history of Israel and they saw that in the first five books of the Pentateuch, the the first five books, the books of Moses, uh, those first five books in your Bible, Genesis X, Leviticus, numbers, Deuteronomy, they, they looked at those five books and they said, look, he if we take these five books

and we try and find every commandment, every law of God, there are 613 of them. And they listed them all out. And then they added to those 613, they said, well, for us to keep that law, we, we need to think through how to do this. And so they added 1500 rules for the keeping of those 613 laws. And they did this purposefully because as they look back over the history of Israel, they said, look, when when Israel was disobedient,

when they did not observe the law of God, when they showed that they were disobedient to the law, God disciplined them and there was judgment upon them. And so if we want the blessing of God, then we must keep the law and we must keep the law perfectly. The law was their great gift if only they would obey it. This is what set them apart from those dirty, unclean, nasty gentiles. We have the law, but Paul points out here that Jews

and Gentiles are equally cursed. Verse 10, for all who rely on works of the law are under a curse. Our first point this morning all have transgressed the law. Thus all are cursed. How can that be? They have the law because he says, everyone who quote does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them is under the curse. The Jews may have the law, but their history shows in every single one of them

as an individual can testify by experience that no one abides by all things written in the law, they are also cursed. In fact, Paul doubles down on it in verse 11. No one is justified before God by the law. No one, not Jew or Gentile. Listen to how he says in Romans 3 22 through 23, he says this, for there is no distinction. He's speaking about Jew and Gentile. For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

There's no distinction between Jew and Gentile in disrespect. Every single person on the face of the earth all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All are cursed because all have transgressed the law all.

I think though that many have this kind of faulty Jewish understanding operative in our minds,

I think of it like, yeah, maybe it was before the 1980s. I remember it in the 1980s. Maybe it developed during the 1970s. I don't know. But do you remember when factories, some of you remember some of you weren't alive, but in the 1980s they they would have in the factories, they would have these, these counters on the wall. So many days accident free 243 days, this GM factory has been accident free. I think some people have,

they think there's a banner over their life that just kinda says 243 days sin free, committed no sin. That's absurd. None live perfectly according to the law. Let's just take one of the 10 commandments, just one to kind of flesh this out and consider this. Let's take one that I think most of us feel the best about. You say, well do not cove, ah, don't feel so good about not coveting. Uh, don't bear false witness. Yeah, I feel like I've lied a few times.

Uh, honor your mother and father. I can remember the time I rebuked dad or I yelled at mom, thou shall not murder. Ah, feeling pretty good about this one. But let's think about what Jesus said and the Sermon on the Mount. He said, you've heard that it was said to those of old you shall not murder and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.

Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says, you fool will be liable to the hell of fire, thou shall not. Murder is more than just forbidding outward action that transgresses the law,

our Lord and Savior, the great prophet, the great king says that it is also your inward thoughts. It's also your inward feelings. It's also your inward inclinations.

It's even more than that. It's not just what you do, but also what you don't do. That violates the commandment. You realize that every commandment has both a positive and a negative side. So thou shall not murder, it's in the negative, and so you should murder, but it's also true. There's a positive side of it. Just as the commandments, you shall honor your mother and father. It's in the positive. So there's a negative side of it.

You shall not dishonor your mother and your father. There are both sides of it. There is that which is prohibited, and there's that which is required, that's attached to every single commandment. So let me read to you how the Westminster larger catechism answers question 1 36, what are the sins forbidden? In the sixth commandment, thou shall not murder the sins. Forbidden in the sixth commandment are all taking away the life of ourselves

or of others except in case of public justice, lawful war or necessary defense. The neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means of the preservation of life. Sinful, anger, hatred, envy, desire for revenge, all excessive passions, distracting cares I moderate use of meat, drink labor, recreations provoking words, oppressions, quarreling, striking, wounding and whatsoever else tends to the destruction of the life of any.

That's what you shall not do. Thou shall not murder, But It also answers in question 1 35 what you should do. What are the duties Required in the sixth commandment? The duties required in the sixth commandment are all careful studies and lawful endeavors to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes. Subduing all passions and avoiding all occasions, temptations and practices which tend to the unjust, taking away

of the life of any by just defense thereof against violence. Patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of mind, cheerfulness of spirit, a sober use of meat, drink physical sleep, labor, and recreations by charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, kindness, peaceable, mild and courteous, speeches and behavior, forbearance readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries and requiring good for evil, comforting

and suckering the distress and protecting and defending the innocent. Ah, You see, Thou shall not murder us much more than Don't just Stab Somebody to death it. You shall be courteous, you shall be kind, you shall be loving, You shall be encouraging, You shall be cheerful.

And that's only one of them.

Every moment For 243 days, you've not transgressed that commitment. Not in action, not in thought, not in word. Always courteous, Always kind, Absurd.

None. Keep the law perfectly. Let's even Grant, let's do it for the sake of argument that someone says, I've been sinned free for 243 days. Let's grant It for the sake of argument. What about before Those 243 Days?

He said, well, I I I've I've been sin free ever since I became a Christian. Hmm. All right, let's grant it for the sake of argument. What about before you were a Christian? Well, I don't ever remember a time when I wasn't a Christian. In my earliest of youth, I I've, I've always known Christ. Okay, let's grant that you don't remember a day that you weren't living without Christ. And here's the million dollar question for you.

Why do you have need for a savior if you were never a sinner?

It's absurd. And every parent in this room can tell you that their toddler is cute and they will equally tell you that their cute little toddler is a sinner. They are 24 7 about themselves. Give me food, give me sleep. Give me mommy, give me my blankie. And if you withhold any of those things from them that 18 month olds wrath descends upon the house. No one had to teach them to be selfish, to be self-centered, to be un charitable towards others.

They just are. They're sinners.

All are cursed. Here's the issue. Paul is pointing out no one can rely upon works of the law. And he quotes the law in verse 10 from Deuteronomy 27, 26, cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them. And that is why he says in verse 11, it's evident you can see it. It's right there before your naked eye that no one is justified before God by the law. It isn't possible you can't do it.

Which leads to our second point. Not only have all transgressed the law, thus all are cursed. Our second point, all are by nature sinners and can't help but transgress the law. Thus all are cursed. That is this. Let me put it very simply. You, you, you are a sinner and I know that and I'm a sinner

and I know that because every single person who has been born in this world by ordinary generation as the catechism says, and there's only one that was not born by ordinary generation, Lord Jesus Christ, when the spirit came upon the Virgin Mary, everyone by ordinary generation is born into this world, a sinner.

It isn't possible for you or me to live according to the law.

Not only have we committed Sins to our very nature to sin, But to be very clear, I want you to get your minds fixed on this. It is so very important. We aren't Sinners because we Sin. We Sin because we are Sinners.

We sin because we are sinners. It's not just that you commit sins, You sinful. That's who you are. That's who I am born into this world. One of the great lies of our age is that Man is basically good. No, No he is not. No, no, she is not. We are not basically Good. We are evil. We are born in this world with fallen minds and with fallen hearts and with fallen affections and with fallen Wills. I sin because I'm a sinner.

It is not what you so often hear from pop psychology or even from modern medicine or you hear on talk shows or you hear in education. It is not because of my environment or your environment. That man does evil though that can influence. It is not because we have an adversary, though he contempt. It is not because of other people. Though They May encourage. I do evil. And you do evil because we are Sinners. I choose it. You choose it and we do it.

Listen to the scriptures, speak about us. Going Back to the Old Testament, Psalm 14, The Lord looks down from the heaven, from heaven on the children of man to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God. They have all turned aside together. They have become corrupt. There is no one who does good. No, not even one. Proverbs 20 verse nine, who can say, I have made my heart pure. I am clean from my sin. It's a rhetorical question.

'cause the answer is no. One job answers this as he asked in job 14 four, who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? And then he answers, there is not one. Our hearts are unclean. We're sinners. We sin.

Now it does not mean that all of us are as bad as we could be. Some of you're in the room are better than the rest of us. Some of you are worse than the rest of us. But the truth is we're just on one continuum. It's the same continuum of sinner. We're all there. We're all fallen in every part of our being.

Paul's point in verse 11, it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law here. Here's the logic that he's, he's working them through and working. You and I through the law does offer blessing because the law is good.

It offers blessing. It's it's good. In fact, righteousness can be obtained by the law. That's possible. But his point is you have to keep the law perfectly to obtain that righteousness.

And you have to keep the law perfectly doing all of its commands. Because once you break one command, then you've broken the law

and the righteousness that is offered by that law you can no longer receive. And here's the problem, Paul's point. Every single one of us break the law

saying to these Jews, you want to boast in the law. Don't you understand? You're equally cursed because you're equally sinners. You have the law but you don't keep it and you won't keep it

be the end of the road. That's all he had for us. You look at that and you say, what? What do he do with that? What, what, what do you go from there?

And it gives us all hope. It gives us the glorious answer of the gospel. And this is our third. And just, oh wonderful point. Christ redeems us from the curse of the law. Christ redeems us from the curse of the law. Paul goes back to ABA two, four. It seems to be one of his favorite passages when he is writing These letters. And he says, the righteous shall live by faith. He's saying, look, this righteousness can be Yours.

The righteousness that the law promises, it actually can be yours, but you can't work for it. How do you get that righteousness that the law grants? Because the law is good. He Says, well, you receive it by faith.

Verse 13, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law of verse 14. So that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the Promised Spirit through faith. You can't be justified by obeying the law you, Jews and Gentiles because you will never do it. That path leads to cursing. But by faith, by by faith in Jesus blessing instead of cursing can be yours. Why? Why In Jesus?

Because he takes The curse Of the law and he fulfills the law and grants blessing.

He takes the curse of the law and he fulfills the law. And I wanna close by thinking through those things together. First, that he, he fulfills the law. Jesus came Not only to die for Us, he came to live for us.

He not only came to die upon the cross, But he Came to live a perfect Life according to the law, which he did what we Could not Do, he did. He fulfilled the law for us. And that's absolutely necessary. If Christ simply died For us, then your sin and the guilt of your sin is forgiven. The penalty has been paid. But now you're just kind of in a neutral limbo Land.

You have to Be Righteous To stand before his throne Righteous.

And so he not only needed to die for you, he needed to live For you. He needed to fulfill Every JT and every tittle of the law. He needed to do everything that was positive and abstain from everything that was negative. He Needed to perfectly obey it. This is what we call in theology, the act of obedience Of Christ. He actively obeyed the law. Every part of it had kept it. And his passive obedience, his willingness and his true suffering for you sinner upon the cross

and in life, his active and passive obedience.

And here's the beauty of the gospel, and we call the Great double Imputation.

Christ takes that perfect righteousness. He's fulfilled every aspect of the law. He, he's never strayed from it. He never did a a sinful action. Never had a sinful thought, never had a sinful impulse, never had a sinful feeling.

He did everything that was in the positive, not just abstaining, but everything in the positive. He completely fulfills it. And so that righteousness fully fulfilling the law, he takes that righteousness and he imputes it to us. It covers Us. And our guilt and our shame and our sin, it is imputed To him.

And what is The result of righteousness? It is blessing. What is the result of sin and guilt? It is cursing. It grants us the blessing as he takes the cursing.

This is why Paul says in verse 14, In Christ Jesus, we receive the blessing. He lived for you

and he died for you to double imputation His righteousness to us and our sin to Him Christ redeemed us. Verse 13, from the law, by becoming a curse force that the curse Had to be endured. God has to punish sin. There's been transgression of his law. Wrath has to be poured out. The penalty had to be paid. The law has been broken. Verse 13, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 21. Let me read to you all of those two verses that he's quoting from 22 and 23

From Deuteronomy 21. And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, his 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. An individual who committed a capital crime was hung on a tree and he was hung on a tree as a true sign of being cursed. But then he was not left there all overnight. No, He had to be taken down so the land would not be cursed.

And you see this in the gospels. Jesus has hung upon a tree. And you'll see the religious leaders, they are busy. They find out he has died and they need to take him down from the cross before it turns. Evening

in the New Testament, the apostles will speak of Jesus, not just dying on cross, but upon a tree. In Acts five, Peter stands before the high priest and the council. And he says this, the God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. Peter will say again in one Peter 2 24, he himself bore sins in his body on the tree. Cursed is everyone who hangs on the tree.

He received the curse of the law for us.

Our sin to him, his righteous to to us, our cursed to him is blessing to us.

Verse 13, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. You can, you can hear Isaiah 53 in the background, can't you? He bore our griefs. And our sorrows was pierced for our transgressions, was crushed for our iniquity. E for us,

for you and me,

you and me.

'cause go back. You're a liar.

You're an adulterer, you're a fornicator. You're a thief and a robber. You're a coter.

And the penalty is cursing.

But he becomes sin for us upon that tree so that he takes the curse and close you with his righteousness so that you receive the blessing.

A blessing of Abraham. We might be righteous before his throne filled with the spirit of Christ that we simply receive by grace through faith. Not a result of our works, but a result of Christ's work for us

this morning, we're going to come to the Lord's table. And there's, it's an interesting scene when Jesus celebrates the last Passover with the disciples in that upper room. And Paul picks it up in one Corinthians 10, uh, verse 16. And Sinclair Ferguson pointed this out to me once. It's an interesting scene there in the gospels that you have Christ there in the upper room. He, he, he takes that final cup of the three cups

of the Passover meal and he takes that cup and he gives it to the disciples. And, and Paul will call that in one Corinthians 10 16. He will call that the cup of blessing.

What's fascinating in the upper room is that Jesus doesn't drink from the cup of blessing.

He gives it to the disciples and they drink of it.

And yet later that evening, when he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, you may remember it's a reason he doesn't drink the cup of blessing because there's another cup that he has to drink. And you remember in the garden of Gethsemane, he, he is sweating drops of blood out of anguish and he cries out to the Father. If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. And what is that cup? It's the cup of Cursing. It's the Cup of God's wrath.

Jesus Does not drink the cup of blessing, but gives it to his disciples and he drinks The Cup of cursing all the Way to the bottom

E for us.

What A savior. I how You can't read this and think about this. You know, like those disciples on the Emmaus road, how your heart be burning within you. If not, you gotta take your spiritual pulse and temperature.

What? What a gospel. Why would we try Any other means to be reconciled with God? Why would we think that there's possibly anything better?

All we can do is just receive it By faith. He, for me, he curses. So I'm blessed. He takes my sin, gives me his righteousness. It should be slack, jaw, mouth, wide open. I This is unreal. It would be. It wasn't so Real,

a glorious savior. What an unfathomable gospel. All we can do is just receive it with thanksgiving and then turn to him and praise.

I hope you know that truth today. You pray for us.

Yes.

Uh, a good word. We are thankful for Joe. Good man. Let me pray for us. Our Father, we are thankful for your many mercies to us answered prayers we've just heard about the faith that you give as a gift. We're thankful. Most importantly, for the great gift of a savior, he's willing to take the curse that we might receive. The blessing truly become a curse for us. What an incredible gift. So great to salvation, so great to Savior.

And we all know him, that we all know this salvation. And we find ourselves rejoicing in Christ this morning in Christ's holy name. Amen.