The Curse is Lifted

"Say to them,

'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:

Cursed is anyone who does not obey 

the terms of my covenant!'"

Jeremiah 11:3 NLT

The curse is on all who don't follow God's moral law to the "t".  What shall we do?  We are doomed for none is perfect, not even one (Ecclesiastes 7:20)!  Thankfully, Jesus Christ changed all that.  Check out the Good News (Galatians 3:10-14):

Law.  It was meant to be followed.  God gave His moral law to Moses on top of Mt. Sinai, spoken with His own voice and written by His own finger on tablets of stone (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 9:9-10) .  These laws are foundational.  These laws are permanent.  These laws are binding.  And according to His own requirement, His people would be cursed if they didn't do as He commanded.  Yet who hasn't broken every one, at least in their heart (Matthew 5:21-48)?

If I expect the commandments of God to save me, that my effort in keeping them can earn me God's favor and mercy, making me good enough to stand up under His perfect standard, then I am under the curse as I inevitably fail.  But if I instead turn from my own selfish ways and trust in Jesus Christ and what He has done on the cross, I'm free from the curse.  For He took that curse upon Himself when He agreed to be punished for my rebellion, my failings, my shortfall, thus lifting the curse from me (Galatians 3:13, Romans 8:1-4).  Now I can live a new way, not by the law but by following the living Spirit of God that is in me (Galatians 5:18).  Praise be to God for Jesus Christ my Lord for saving me from God's curse!

God's law serves to show me how much I need Jesus.

Faith.  I want to be blessed by God, and I'm not so different from anyone else that ever existed.  All of mankind often asks God for His blessing.  He is asked to bless a country, to bless a family's finances, to bless a job search, to bless a new life.  But can He give it to those under the curse, to those who are not even aware of how much they offend God with their own sinful flesh?  To those who try to earn their way into His good graces?  To those who don't yet understand the grace and mercy He offers through faith in Christ?  Good questions.

While I may not know the answers fully, I do know this:  God promised a blessing through Abraham's offspring, a covenental blessing that would stand for all time (Genesis 12:2-3).  And this blessing comes through the person of Jesus Christ and can only be received by faith in Him.  What is this long-promised blessing?  It is the forgiveness of sins that comes by repentance and faith in Jesus,  And furthermore, this faith in Him opens up the opportunity to receive every kind of spiritual blessing that is available from God (Ephesians 1:3).  So by faith in Christ, I can boldly come before the throne of grace and ask for God's blessing (Hebrews 4:16).

I am blessed by God through faith in Jesus Christ, the One who came to restore me in right standing with God, a blessing indeed.

Belonging.  The people of Israel couldn't help but become a bit snobby.  Even though they did nothing special to deserve God's favor, His designation as His people and His most treasured possession, the nation identified by His name, they must have come to believe they were better than anyone else (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).  In His effort to keep them holy, He commanded them to avoid intermarrying with foreigners and that any priest would be defiled by merely touching a dead human body (Deuteronomy 7:3, Numbers 19:11).  While God meant to set His people apart for His own namesake, it would be easy for them to think they were the best thing since sliced bread and begin to look down on anyone not born into the nation of Israel.

Even though it could be argued that God always accepted people by faith not by family lineage or heritage, there was an advantage to being born into the line of Abraham.  Through the new covenant that was established through Jesus Christ, anyone at all can enter into the family of God simply by turning away from their selfish ways and their instinct of self-preservation, and following Him by faith (Matthew 16:24, Galatians 3:26).  Once I take on Jesus Christ as my own righteousness, I belong to Him and inherit the promise given to His people (Ephesians 1:13).  I am God's child by faith and receive all the benefits of His legitimate, well-loved offspring (Hebrews 12:7-8, 1 Peter 1:4, 1 John 3:1).

Through faith in Jesus Christ, I belong to God as His very own treasured possession.

There are so many rules given by God for me to follow.  If I try to save myself by attempting to comply to all of them 100% of the time, I will soon realize how impossible His standard is for me, a mere mortal.  If I expect to earn my way into His favor I'm placing myself under the curse that comes from breaking the law, and break it I will.  Thankfully, God sent His Son to free me from this horrible ordeal of failing to earn my keep.  By taking the curse upon Himself in dying on the cross, I can now receive His blessing by trusting in Jesus as my own Lord and Savior and thus enter into His family by faith.  Praise be to God through Jesus Christ my Lord that the curse is lifted!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to stop trying to earn His favor but simply follow Him.

When do I try to do the impossible and follow the law as a way to make myself right with Him?

How would it change things if I instead trusted in Jesus to be my righteousness?