The Curse
Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary
Scripture Text: Galatians 3:10 and Job 19:23–27
Series: Comments on Galatians
I do not need to become holy, to sanctify myself by doing good deeds or by keeping the law. I am already holy. Oh! I know; people are upset with me now. He thinks he’s holy? How dare him? I do not think this; I know it. If I did not know this truth, I would not be able to live a day in peace. I do not need to redeem myself — nor could I do so. Rather, I have been redeemed by Christ Jesus. He has done it for me and all that is left for me to do is believe. “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25) and that I will live forever because he lives. He does all of this in spite of me. Indeed, left to myself, the law declares that I am cursed to die. But he has removed the curse of the law by becoming the curse. What is left after Christ has become the curse for me? The promise of his own Spirit living in me is what remains. And there is my peace.
Through Christ, God has redeemed and sanctified me. He is now the just authority over my sin and my death — and so, my life. He who was made sin so that I might be justified to God has decided for me, and has made me fit for eternity. “My heart faints within me.”
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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