Galatians Part 6 | Chapter 3:10-29

Last updated on Apr 20, 2026

The Curse of the Law | Galatians 3:10–14

Read Galatians 3:10–14

To violate the law or a command of God will cause one to be put under the curse or penalty of the law. This is also to say when one sins, as we are breaking a command of God when we do this.

Deuteronomy 27:26 — "Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them. And all the people shall say, Amen."

This curse is death — not just a natural death but spiritual. The punishment for sin and breaking any of God's laws is to be condemned to Hell.

And contrary to the wisdom of the Pharisees of the day, no one has ever perfectly obeyed the law (except Christ). Therefore, all are under the curse.

James 2:8–10 — "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it."

This makes perfectly keeping the law of God — to never sin — something that is impossible. It also sheds light on the fact that we cannot go through life thinking that because our sins are "minor" and that if we don't do the big ones, this somehow makes us righteous. Any sin, no matter the "level," is a sin and violates God's laws.

💬 Discussion Questions

Where did the idea come from that as long as you don't do any "major" sins that this is somehow OK? Is this still a popular perspective today?

Perfect Obedience to the Law Could Lead One to Be Justified, But This Is Impossible — Christ Had to Make a Way

While perfect obedience to the law could bring one to justification, it is impossible for us to do so.

Leviticus 18:5 — "You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD."

Our sinful nature guarantees we will sin. We may wonder why it is that we are guaranteed not to be able to perfectly obey God's commands. Because of the fall, we are all born with a sinful nature.

Psalm 51:5 — "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."

We are NOT born righteous — we are born with a sinful nature. This sinful nature is hostile to God and it desires to sin, therefore we all have and will sin.

Romans 8:7–8 — "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

Ecclesiastes 7:20 — "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."

1 John 1:10 — "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Anyone who was trying to be justified or righteous by their obedience to the law were always going to be under the curse, because they could never be justified.

Christ Redeemed Us from the Curse of the Law and Took the Punishment Upon Himself — for Both Jew and Gentile

Everyone is under the penalty of the law — there are no exceptions. Therefore, Christ took the punishment for breaking the law upon Himself, so that through faith we would be justified and made righteous.

Habakkuk 2:4b — "...but the righteous shall live by his faith."

2 Corinthians 5:21 — "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Romans 8:1–4 — "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

The blessing of Abraham (justification by faith) is for all people — both Jew and Gentile. Any who have faith in Jesus Christ have received the Holy Spirit.

💬 Discussion Questions

How would you describe your "sinful nature" as you have experienced it in your own life?

God's Promise of Righteousness Through Faith Is Not Overruled by the Law | Galatians 3:15–18

To give further help with understanding the differences between the intended purpose of the law and justification through faith, Paul reminds us that the law was given 420 years after God's promise of justification by faith — a promise He made to Abraham. The law could not overrule or change the promise that God had already given, which was justification through faith. The law came well afterwards and had a great purpose, but it was not to change how one could be saved.

If the inheritance (blessing of justification) came through the law, then it wouldn't be by faith.

Romans 4:13–14 — "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void."

The Purpose of the Law | Galatians 3:19–29

Read Galatians 3:19–29

Now knowing that the law cannot save you and that justification comes through faith, the next obvious question is "what is the purpose of the law?"

The Law Was Added Because of Our Transgressions and Would Serve as a Guardian Until Christ Came

God knew that they needed a guide — they needed to know how to live a life free from sin and one that glorified God. The law was and is the guide on how to do this.

Galatians 3:19a — "Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made..." (Transgressions = sins against the will of God.)

Galatians 3:24 — "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith."

A guardian was a strict disciplinarian who would care for whomever was in their charge — in this case, escorting us to Christ.

The Law Reveals Our Sin and Our Need of a Savior

The law's purpose was to reveal sin — to point out how we are not holy or righteous on our own. We are not inherently "good" but have all sinned against God. The law, by revealing sin, shows that we need a Savior, because we are all condemned to eternal damnation.

Romans 7:7 — "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.'"

Romans 3:19 — "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God."

💬 Discussion Questions

How would you describe your experience when you were first exposed to the Gospel and realized what sin was?
What about when you realized that you could not save yourself and you needed a Savior?

The Law Might Then Seem "Evil" to Some Since Sin Is Revealed — But Paul Refutes This

Here and in Romans, Paul addressed the question that might be posed next — that somehow the law is evil since it reveals sin.

Galatians 3:21–22 — "Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."

The law is holy, righteous and good.

Romans 7:12 — "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."

When our sinful nature is exposed to the law, sin flourishes and we are enticed to sin. The law, being holy and righteous, shows us how to live a sin-free life. Our sinful nature, when confronted with this, is enticed to sin.

Romans 7:7–8 — "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead."

Romans 7:5 — "For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death."

Paul realized this in his own life — sin even deceived him into trying to earn salvation through his works.

Romans 7:11 — "For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me."

It is interesting that once our sinful nature is made aware of what is a sin against God, it wants to rebel. Our sinful nature, when it sees what is contrary to God and what is a sin, is attracted to doing it. Think of how this works in our world today — there seems to be this natural desire for people to be rebellious. Once they know the rules and what is right and wrong, there are those who are attracted to doing what is wrong.

💬 Discussion Questions

What are some examples of our sinful nature being attracted to rebelling against God's commands?

We Are No Longer Under the Law But Under Grace

With Christ having made the perfect sacrifice for our sins upon the cross, we are no longer under the curse or penalty of the law.

Galatians 3:25–26 — "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith."

Romans 6:14 — "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace."

Having been justified in Christ, sin no longer has dominion over us — we are not bound to the spiritual penalty of death.

However, just because we are not under the law does NOT mean that there are no rules or guidelines to abide by. We still must uphold God's moral law and His teachings on living the Christian life.

Some will take this to mean there are no laws or guidelines since we are under grace and we can sin as we please. This of course is completely wrong, and one who holds that belief won't have the Holy Spirit living within them.

Romans 6:15 — "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!"

Romans 3:31 — "Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law."

While the legal demands have been met and we are no longer bound to the penalty of the law, we are still to abide by God's moral law and the teachings of the Scriptures. Jesus has given us clear guidelines on how we are to live our lives and what constitutes sin — He outlined the ten commandments and showed us what it means to truly love and treat others.

Matthew 5:17–19 — "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (The "Law or the Prophets" is the entirety of the Old Testament.)

As Christians we will desire to live obedient lives, to pursue righteousness and to love others.

Romans 6:17–18 — "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness."

A Christian who has the Holy Spirit living within them will strive and desire to live a godly life that seeks to obey God. The Christian will not want to live a life of sin, but instead one of righteousness — a life that obeys the teachings of Scripture and turns from sin.

The law of the New Testament is one of love — this is how Christians are to live out their lives.

John 13:34 — "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

Galatians 5:14 — "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

To think you can freely sin is absurd — one who believes this does NOT have the Holy Spirit living within them. A Christian with the Spirit will not be perfect but will DESIRE to live a life in obedience to Christ and following His moral law.

💬 Discussion Questions

Being a Christian and having the Spirit living within you, describe how it is you know what is right and wrong.
Describe what it means to be a "slave to righteousness."

We Are in a New Covenant Relationship with Christ

When Jesus sacrificed Himself, we entered into a new covenant relationship.

Luke 22:20 — "And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

Hebrews 9:15 — "Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant."

With this new covenant relationship, we have the Holy Spirit living within us and we live our lives by it. We live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit — He guides and directs our lives.

Romans 7:6 — "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

Galatians 2:19–20 — "For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

When we live by the Spirit we produce fruit which leads to sanctification.

Romans 7:4 — "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God."

Romans 6:22 — "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life."

💬 Discussion Questions

How would you describe what it means to you to live out Galatians 2:19?