So Paul is in total agreement with what Yahushua had taught on this.*
Continuing in Galatians:
Galatians*3:8-9*And the scripture, foreseeing that Yahweh would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,*saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.*9*So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.*
In keeping with the theme of understanding the true "Good News," Paul begins to explain how the true "Good News" was preached all the way back in the 12th and 22nd chapter of Genesis.*
Genesis 12:3*And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and*in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
And again:
Genesis 22:11-14*And the angel of Yahweh called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here*am*I.*12*And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest Elohim, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only*son*from me.*13*And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind*him*a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.*14*And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said*to*this day, In the mount of Yahweh it shall be seen.
Because of this, Yahweh said to Abraham:
Genesis 22:15-18*And the angel of Yahweh called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,*16*And said, By myself have I sworn, saith Yahweh, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only*son:*17*That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which*is*upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;*18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Because Abraham did not withhold his only son, Yahweh gave him the promises. We read earlier in Galatians 3:8 that the "Good news" was preached to Abraham when he was given this promise. But how was the true "good news" preached in this promise? And does the Torah play a role in the good news at all? That's what Galatians 3 explains in detail, and it is actually quite awesome when fully understood! So let's continue:
Galatians*3:9*So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Because of a misunderstanding of the book of Galatians, there are a lot of people who believe that anyone attempting to obey Yahweh's commandments are "under a curse." But if this was true, we would be cursed every time we tried to honor our parents. We would be cursed for refraining from adultery or even choosing to worship Yahweh alone. But the truth is that we are no more cursed for doing those things than we would be if we kept the Sabbath. So what does verse 10 actually mean?*
We see that he is comparing those "which be of faith" and those which are "of the works of the law". In this is the contrast of the two versions of the "Good news," the 'good news of the circumcision' and the True Good News. The 'good news of the circumcision' says that we do not receive salvation through faith in Yahushua alone, but we receive salvation when learning/keeping the Torah and are circumcised.*
As we said earlier,*if we require Torah obedience as a prerequisite to salvation, none of us would be found faultless before the throne of Yahweh on the day of judgment. We would be relying on the Adam man (self) and his abilities in the flesh to obey the Torah rather than trusting in what Yahushua has already done for us. Anyone attempting to trust in the Adam man for their righteousness are "of the works of the law" and are under a curse because the Torah itself says "cursed is everyone" who has not done the things which were written in the Torah/law! Since none of us has done them, none of us will receive salvation by them. Anyone attempting to be declared righteous (justified) by them will find themselves condemned.*
Sadly though, today many think that we are under a curse if we seek to obey them. But this is not what it says. Paul is quoting from Deuteronomy 27:26 where it says:
Deuteronomy 27:26* Cursed*be*he that confirmeth not*all*the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Does this scripture say that those who do them are under a curse? Certainly not. It is saying those who DO NOT do them are under a curse! Paul is not saying that we should not do them. Paul is saying that no one should submit to the false 'good news of the circumcision' which actually places a person under a curse by trying to insert the works of the 'Adam man' into Yahweh's plan for salvation. Anyone seeking to be justified (declared righteous) by the law is going to be condemned because they haven't kept the law--thus, they are cursed and not blessed with believing Abraham. So Paul says:
Galatians*3:9-11*So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed*is*every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of Yahweh,*it is*evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
No one is justified by the law because the law doesn't declare us righteous. It declares us to be unrighteous. Therefore, the "just" (one who is declared righteous) must live (have eternal life) by faith that Yahweh has mercy and will forgive our sins. Let's look at the scripture quoted here:
Habakkuk 2:4*Behold, his soul*which*is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
One cannot live or be justified by trusting in his own righteousness. This scripture says*"his soul*which*is lifted up is not upright in him."*To claim that we have our own righteousness is to be prideful. Here is how the New King James version translates this:
Habakkuk 2:4*(NKJV) "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.
So just because a person claims to be "upright" does not mean he is. We cannot be justified before Yahweh by our claims of righteousness because all men have sinned at some point in their life. We are left with no choice but to "live" (have eternal life) by faith!* We must come to Yahweh and trust in Him to forgive us of our sins and make us righteous through Yahushua the Messiah if we expect to have any hope whatsoever. Any other claim to righteousness is pure pride! The 'good news of the circumcision' minimized the sufficiency of our righteousness in Yahushua.*
Galatians*3:11-12*But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of Yahweh,*it is*evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
This is once again a quote from the law. Let's examine it:
Leviticus 18:5*Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall*live*in them: I*am*Yahweh
If a man has done the law, he will certainly LIVE and have eternal life. This man would be justified by the law. But NO MAN has ever done this except Yahushua the Messiah. Therefore no man can LIVE or have salvation because they kept them. We all must rely on Yahushua!*We cannot rely on our own obedience to the law to save us.
Galatians*3:13*The Messiah hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:
Is the law a curse? Some would love to quote this verse to you to tell you that. But as we learned earlier, it isn't those who KEEP the law that are under the curse, but those who have BROKEN it. Yahushua redeemed us from the curse that came when we disobeyed the law, For He was cursed for us by being hung on the tree.
Deuteronomy 21:22*And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: 23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged*isaccursed of Elohim
that thy land be not defiled, which the Yahweh thy Elohim giveth thee*for*an inheritance.
Yahushua was hanged on a tree, yet He committed no sins. It was for our iniquities and our transgressions that He was put to death, just as the prophets foretold:
Isaiah 53:5-6*But he*was*wounded for our transgressions,*he wasbruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace*wasupon him; and with his stripes we are healed.*6*All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Yahweh hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
We have committed sins (transgressions of the law, 1 John 3:4) that are worthy of death (the wages of sin IS death, Rom 6:23). Yahushua has redeemed us from this curse by becoming a curse for us when Yahweh laid on Him the iniquity of us all. So for anyone to claim that they have salvation because they have done the law, they cannot be speaking the truth. None of us has done them, so none of us will live (have eternal life) by them. Anyone saying that you aren't saved unless you are first circumcised and keep the law is seeking salvation by their own works and are under a curse. Such a one has not submitted to the truth that Yahushua's righteousness is sufficient to bring a sinner the cleansing he needs to be a child of Abraham:
Galatians 3:13*The Messiah hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Yahushua the Messiah; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
We see this promise fulfilled when we saw how the Gentiles received the Spirit in Acts 10. So now the blessing of Abraham (eternal life in the promised land) would also come to the Gentiles when they receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The Spirit of Yahweh was poured out on the Gentiles when He purified their hearts by faith in Acts 10 and other scriptures, proving that He had accepted them in their uncircumcised state when they believed in Yahushua. For Jews to refuse fellowship with Gentiles (Galatians 2, Acts 11, 15) until they were circumcised and kept the law was hypocritical, was a misrepresentation of the true good news, and denied the power of Yahushua's blood as being sufficient to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.*
Next Paul begins to explain how the good news was preached to Abraham in the Genesis 12 & 22 promises, and how that applies to us today as well:
Galatians 3:15*Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Thoughit be*but a man's covenant, yet*if it be*confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Even in covenants of men, no one can take away or add to that covenant. Therefore the same is true of Yahweh's covenants.
Galatians 3:16*Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And*to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is the Messiah.
Notice carefully that Paul makes an important point regarding Genesis 22. Yahweh did NOT mean "To seeds" (all descendants of Abraham) but rather "To his SEED" (Yahushua the Messiah). Thus, the promise is made to two people: Abraham and Yahushua. For "He saith not, And*to seeds, as of many".*
Not everyone is going to inherit the land promised to Abraham. The wicked among the literal children of Israel will not inherit it. The wicked among the Gentiles will not inherit it. Only the righteous will inherit the land. In order for one to be righteous, they need to be a part of the body of Messiah, the "Seed" to whom the promises are made. Thus, Yahweh said to Abraham:*
Genesis 12:3*And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and*in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed