Isaiah 41-42, Galatians 3: 1-25, Psalm 137
Galatians 3: 13-14 (ESV)
“Christ 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”— so
that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so
that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”
Verses 13 and 14 from Galatians 3 shows Paul reminding the churches
in Galatia that Christ was crucified for our sins so that the whole world (the
Gentiles) could receive the blessings of Abraham through faith. According to several Bible commentaries, the tree
is a reference to verses 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. You shall not defile your
land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” Jesus received
our curses when he was crucified on a cross, which is the same as hanging him
on a tree.
God’s original covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament
was only for the offspring of Abraham but with Christ’s hanging on the cross,
the covenant is renewed and now applies to everyone who believes in Christ. God
will save us not because we live in obedience to his laws, but because we believe
in Christ. I don’t think this means we should not follow God’s laws, because Christ
did not say to not follow the laws. We still need to follow God’s laws because
they show us the standards of behavior that God expects in his people. But with
Christ, we are saved by God’s grace and not by strict obedience to God’s laws. We
will never be perfect in our behavior, but with God’s grace, we do not need to fear
that our human imperfections will prevent us from being saved.
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