THE CURSE OF THE LAW by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Feb 3, 1887

THE CURSE OF THE LAW.

By Editor

A BROTHER in the State of Minnesota asks the question, "What is the curse of the law?" and wishes an answer through the SIGNS. We could give a categorical answer in one word, and say, "Death," but this would not relieve the brother's difficulty, as he wants better authority than our unsupported word. We will therefore take a little more space and let the Bible answer. We cannot refrain, however, from expressing our astonishment that such a question should be asked, because a knowledge of what the curse of the law is almost necessarily precedes the acceptance of the gospel.

The only place where the term "curse of the law" occurs in the Bible is Gal. 3:13, which reads as follows: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." The text itself contains the answer to the question asked. For since Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us, if we know what Christ suffered for us, we shall of course know what is the curse of the law. It is hardly necessary to quote Scripture to prove that Christ suffered death for us, yet in order to make the argument complete we will quote a few texts. Paul says (Rom. 4:25) that he "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Isaiah says (chap. 53:8), "He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken."

Again Paul says (Rom. 5:6-8): "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Death, then, is what Christ endured in order to redeem us, and that this is the curse which he suffered and from which he redeemed us, is plain from the last clause of Gal. 3:13: "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." This refers to Christ's death by crucifixion, as Peter says in Acts 5:30: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree." The argument then

stands thus: Men were under the curse of the law; Christ came to redeem them from this curse; in order to redeem them from this curse, he had to endure the same curse; what he endured was death; death, therefore, is the curse of the law.

This is a sufficient answer, but we will give further Scripture evidence to prove the same thing. Paul says in Rom. 8:7 that "the carnal mind is enmity against God," for the reason that "it is not subject to the law of God." But "to be carnally minded is death" (verse 6), therefore we must conclude that death follows the violation of the law; and this is only what Paul expressly declares in Rom. 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Now in Deut. 30:15-20, death is expressly shown to be the curse which God pronounces against sinners. We quote verse 19: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." We read also (Rom. 5:12) that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Thus we know that death is the curse that follows sin. But "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4); therefore death is the curse for transgression of the law; or, in other words, it is the curse of the law.

Once more; Paul says that the doers of the law shall be justified; that is, if men never violated the law they would have the favor of God. But the favor of God is life (Ps. 30:5); therefore obedience to the law would secure life. Compare Matt. 19:17. But "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23), and "therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified." Rom. 3:20. This means that the law condemns everybody, since all have violated it; and since justification by the law means the favor of God and life, it follows that condemnation by the law means the wrath of God and death. And this argument is summed up in one sentence, thus: "The commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death." Rom. 7:10.

Scripture proofs on this point might be multiplied indefinitely, but we think these are sufficient to establish the almost self-evident fact that the curse of the law is death.