The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

The 2007 New England Patriots are one of the highly decorated teams in sports history.

The are the only team in NFL history to complete the regular season with a 16-0 record

Tom Brady would throw 50 TD’s, breaking the NFL record and winning the MVP

Randy Moss would catch 23 TD’s

They would score 589 points, at the time an NFL record

Highest margin of victory in NFL history

After finishing the regular season 16-0 they went on to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round of the playoffs

They followed that up with a victory in the AFC Championship over the San Diego Chargers

At this point they became the only team in the history of the 4 major sports to start the season on an 18 game win streak

In the Super Bowl they would face the New York Giants, a team they beat in the last week of the season for win 16.

The game would be surpassingly defensive until the 4th quarter.

Entering the 4th quarter the Patriots would be up 7 -3

As the game ticked away, the score was 14-10 when the Giants got the ball back with 2:39 left.

After a few plays the Giants found themselves in a 3rd and 5

Eli Manning, the Giants QB, took the snap, dropped back and was hit by a swarm of Patriot linemen.

With two Patriot’s ahold of Mannings jersey he he fights free to extend the play and heave the ball down field.

If that miracle wasn’t enough, David Tyree, surrounded by 4 Patriot defenders jumps up to secure the ball over his head and pins it against his helmet.

Referred to from that moment on as the helmet catch, this most amazing play put the Giants in position to score 2 plays later and go up by 3.

The patriots got the ball back with 29 second, but were unable to score.

18-1, no Super Bowl

At that time they owned just about every record a team could

They had the longest win streak in NFL history

Tied 4 other teams with the most wins in a season.

But they were not perfect.

This story reminds us how fragile perfection is.

It only takes 1 slip up and perfection is over

In Galatians 3:10-14 Paul reminds us that the law demands perfection

And if the law demands perfection, then we must be perfect.

The question we will answer today is:

If I must be perfect, how can I every be accepted by God?

Let’s take a moment and look at Galatians 3:10-14

Galatians 3:10–14 ESV

10 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.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 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”— 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.

Salvation by Works Requires Perfection

Paul starts verse 10 with an opposite statement to what he wrote in verse 9

In verse 9, we are told those who are faith are blessed, but here we are told those who rely on the law are under a curse

It’s not that the law is a curse, but that the laws demands curse us

Paul does not say to follow the law is a curse, but to rely on the law

What paul is warning about is a reliance on the law for salvation

If we rely on the law and our works for salvation, we end up cursed.

Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 “26 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

If we remember back to our study on Daniel we discussed the Mosaic covenant

The Mosaic covenant was a covenant, or a contract, in place between Israel and God

The terms of this contract were that Israel would keep the law and in return God would bless them

On the other side, if Israel did not keep the law, God would curse them. In Deut 27:26, all the people of Israel “amen’d” the agreement with God

The Mosaic covenant was instituted with the giving of the Law during Moses’ day and symbolized by the events on Mt Gerizim and Ebal

The blessing on Mt Gerizim and the curse on Mt Ebal

Paul, though very well trained, would be especially familiar with the passage of Deuteronomy 27 and 28

When a prisoner was to be lashed they were to also read this passage to remind the prisoner of how important obedience to the law really is

Paul’s reference to the Mosiac covenant is a reminder that the covenant requires following the law in totality

Not only must we keep God’s law, but we must also continue to keep it. God requires consistent, constant obedience to his revealed will. Furthermore, the law must be kept in its entirety. Everyone must continue to do everything written in God’s law, down to the last detail.

Philip Graham Ryken, Galatians, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2005), 107.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

After making it very apparent that we cannot rely on the law, not that the law was weak but that we are, Paul explains that it is by faith we can be righteous

This is the doctrine of total depravity

Total depravity is described in the Shorter Catechism answer 82 this way:

No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed

The doctrine of Total Depravity is found every in Scripture:

1 Kings 8:46 ESV

46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,

Isaiah 53:6 ESV

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Romans 3:10 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Total Depravity is more than just the teaching we sin, it is the teaching that we can do nothing on our own power except sin

Often we discuss Romans 3:23 as if to say “Everyone makes mistakes” but that is not the teaching of Scripture.

The teaching of Scripture is that everyone sins because the not because it is easy to make a mistake, but because we are deeply evil at our heart

But Paul does not leave use there.

He doesn’t tear us down and remind us of our inability to receive salvation by works just to leave us feeling hopeless, but to show us that we should not strive to be righteous by our works.

Paul then quotes Habakkuk 2:4 To remind us of the purpose of this letter

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Again, since Paul is writing to show us that works cannot save, he’s telling us of our weakness to encourage us to live by faith and not by the law

What Paul is saying so far is, “there is no way you can reach salvation by good works, so stop trying and live by faith”

In case we question the relationship between the Law and faith, in verse 12 Paul tells the Galatians “the law is not of faith”

This is to clarify to everyone that a works based salvation and faith cannot co-exist

You either believe the death of Christ was enough, or you believe you need to earn your salvation

There is no in between.

And if you believe you need to earn your salvation Paul finished this thought by reminding us that “The one who does them shall live by them”

It’s not that we should not try to follow God’s law, but that we should not try to live by the law

We should not try to find eternal life in the law or else we must do them; completely

Why Does Faith Alone Save?

The short answer is Jesus.

Beginning in verse 13, Paul moves to explain God’s plan of salvation

This is God’s plan

Christ Redeemed us

To redeem someone is to buy them out of slavery

We were slaves to sin

Christ took our curse

Imputation: The ascription of the guilt or righteousness of one individual to another

Our guilt was given to Christ

We receive the promised Spirit

The promise to Abraham, that the world would be blessed through him

Salvation is the blessing of God