He Became a Curse

Believers receive favor from God. But there is the nasty possibility of rejecting His salvation as a gift and coming under a curse.

We do not like to think about such things, but the Bible tells us that whenever we try to earn something from God rather than receive it as a gift, we put ourselves under the law.

We condemn ourselves when we choose to trust our ability to obey the law. In fact, Paul quoted Deuteronomy 27:26 when he wrote, All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." (Gal 3:10 NIV) And no one can do everything.

This grates against most of us—and even against our upbringing. We want to think we deserve what we have. Many of us are performance oriented. We might look around and think we’re as good as most other people. And to make matters worse, if this is true, even though we can’t possibly fulfill the Law, the Law is still valid—still in effect.

But praise God! We can turn to Jesus. He fulfilled the law for us by always trusting His Father. He lived a perfect life. Yet in the end, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. . . . (v. 13) And that is God''s greatest gift of grace to His children.

Originally published October 21, 1988.
Picture: Commercial display, West Fargo, 2009. Photo by Solveig.