Paul's Points - Galatians 3:10

3:10 - The Galatians are being doctrinally torn apart by two groups. The first group is trying to convince them that in order to be true Christians, they must not only obey Jesus' teachings but they also must keep the law of Moses and be circumcised. The other group, which Paul is a part of, is teaching that just obeying the laws of Jesus are sufficient and that reverting to the law of Moses would not only not help them spiritually, it would set their progress back. Paul had just reminded the people of Abraham, the "father" of Israel, who had not had the law of Moses during his lifetime. There is an excellent summation of Paul's position in the article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com which says, "Paul's logic in support of his position is simple and direct. First, he shows that righteousness is obtainable without the Law of Moses. He uses the example of Abraham, who lived centuries before the Law was even given to Moses, yet who, even without the Law, was still accounted righteous through his faith. If Abraham could be counted righteous because of his faith, then those who follow his example can also be accounted righteous through their faith-even (like Abraham) without the Law of Moses." This was my point last week, that through history the gospel has been taught to many different people and even the Jews during the time of Paul would have had access to some of that history, such as Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. all lived before the time of the law of Moses. So either, their great prophets and forebearers were damned because they didn't live a law that they didn't have, or following the law of Moses isn't the only way to righteousness. So the first point is that righteousness can come even without the Mosaic law. The second point is that salvation does not come through the Mosaic law anyway. In verse 10, Paul references Deuteronomy 27:27 which says, "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them." The article continues explaining, "Paul then goes on to show that, in fact, righteousness is not possible by the Law of Moses alone. He points out that those who would rely on the Law for justification, instead of on the atonement of Christ, must keep the Law perfectly, for the Law of Moses provides no means of atonement for intentional sins. Rather, it curses those who fail to live it perfectly… In other words, Paul saw the Law of Moses as an all-or-nothing contract. In order for a Jew to be theoretically 'just' as far as the demands of the Old Testament Law were concerned, he would have to live the entire Law perfectly. If he were to fail in the smallest detail to live all the precepts of the Law, he would fall under the curse of the Law and under the power of sin." When I was thinking about the concept of living he Law of Moses perfectly, I thought, it might not be that hard because you can't "accidentally" commit adultery. And you don't "accidentally" murder, though that might be a little tricky when it comes to war and self-defense. But there is the whole lying part that we can absolutely be guilty of without actually thinking "I'm going to tell a lie," or the jealousy thing, because that is a natural human emotion. And it would seem cruel to punish someone for experiencing a natural feeling that they didn't choose, but that would only be the case if they didn't accept the atonement in their lives. The only reasons someone would be punished or not forgiven for experiencing something that comes so naturally would be because they choose not to be forgiven, or repent.