For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” – Galatians 3:10
Paul here addressed those who thought that their law-performance could give them a right standing before God. The transition from believing Abraham (Galatians 3:9) to those who are of the works of the law had a purpose. If even the great patriarch was accepted by God only because of his faith, then it follows that lesser mortals will not succeed in producing the good deeds that would allow them to be accepted before God.
The Christians (from a Jewish background) who believed Gentiles should still live under the Law of Moses thought that it was a path to blessing. Paul boldly declared that instead of blessing, living under the works of the law put them under the curse. It isn’t hard to see how these Christians believed that living under law brought blessing. They could read in the Old Testament many passages that supported this thinking. Psalm 119:1 says, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD!” Psalm 1:1-2 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
We must understand how the Law can bring blessing. First, we see that the word law is used in two senses in the Bible. Sometimes it means “The Law of Moses, with all its commands, which a man must obey to be approved by God.” Sometimes it means “God’s Word” in a very general sense. Many times when the Old Testament speaks of the law, it speaks of it in the general sense of God’s Word to us. When Psalm 119:97 says “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day”, the Psalmist meant more than just the Law of Moses; he meant all of God’s Word. Seeing this, we understand how the Bible is filled with praise for the law. Secondly, we are blessed when we keep the law because we are living according to the “instruction manual” for life. There is an inherent, built-in blessing in living the way God says we should live, in fulfilling the “manufacturer’s recommendation.”
When Paul said that as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, he didn’t mean that the law was bad or the Word of God is wrong. He simply meant that God never intended the law to be the way we find our approval before Him. He knew we could never keep the law, and so God instituted the system of ATONING SACRIFICE along with the law. And the entire sacrificial system looked forward to what Jesus would accomplish on the cross for us.
So in the Christian sense, we have already been blessed! Living under the law means we keep track of all our good and all our bad, but living outside the law means we live with Jesus :). Isn’t it better to live with the God/Man who fulfilled the law?