Cursed be anyone who does not CONFIRM the words of this law by doing them

[tonychanyt]

NIV Deuteronomy 27:

26 "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold [H6965] the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!"

Brenton Septuagint Translation:

Cursed is every man that continues [G1696] not in all the words of this law to do them: and all the people shall say, So be it.

Paul claimed that the law was annulled (Ephesians 2:15). Was Paul cursed?

Paul described his time of life as a Pharisee in Philippians 3:

6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

He was talking about an external/behavioral form of righteousness. He upheld the law and was blameless under the law. As a Pharisee, he was not cursed according to Deut 27:26. Then he met Christ and changed his mind about that in Galatians 3:

2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

How did you receive the Spirit, more specifically the indwelling Paraclete?

You did by faith and not by works of the law. Now, Paul was talking about internal righteousness that guarantees eternal life.

10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by [G1696] all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

If you rely on the works of the law, you are cursed. You are not justified before the eyes of God:

11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

No matter how good you are at keeping the law, you do not have the Paraclete in you. You can only receive Him by faith.

12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Christ became a curse for us, so we are no longer cursed.

Was Paul cursed according to Deut 27:26?

Yes, when he was a Pharisee under the old covenant.

No, he was not cursed because of Christ dying on a tree/cross. Christ redeemed us from the curse under the new covenant.

 

[Soyeong]

In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, in Galatians 3:10-12, he contrasted the Book of the Law with "works of the law", and in Romans 3:31 and Galatians 3:10-12, he said that our fait upholds God's law in contrast with saying that works of the law" are not faith, so that phrase does not refer to obedience to God.

According to Deuteronomy 27-28, relying on the Book of the Law is the way to be blessed while not relying on it is the way to be cursed, so it would be absurd to interpret Galatians 3:10 as Paul quoting from that passage in order to support a point that is arguing against that passage by saying that relying on it is the way to be cursed while not relying on it is the way to be blessed. Rather, cursed is everyone who does not continued to abide by all of the things in the Book of the Law, which is why all those who rely on works of the law instead come under that curse.

In Galatians 3:10-12, Paul associated a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 that the righteous shall live by faith with a quote from Leviticus 18:5 that the one who obeys God's law will live by it, so the righteous who are living by faith are the same as those who are living in obedience to God's law. The context of Habakkuk 2 contrasts the righteous who are living by faith with those who are not living in obedience to God's law. In Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is God's law, and in 1 John 3:4-7, everyone who is a doer of righteous works in obedience to God's law is righteous even as they are righteous, so the righteous living by faith does not refer to an alternative form of living that is not in obedience to God's law.

God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust in God is by obediently trusting in His law, it is contradictory to think that we should rely on God, but not on His instructions, and the position that God is a giver of instructions that are untrustworthy/not of faith is the position that God denies the trustworthiness/faithfulness of God.