Acerbic would be an apt description of Paul’s terse comment here, as he comes to the crux of his argument; he pulls no punches. There is a fundamental problem with human efforts at keeping the Law of Moses. The stakes are extreme (cursing if you fail) and the bar is set impossibly high (you must keep “all” of the law (Deut 27:26)! James put it this way, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). This is a problem for people who assert that a person must keep certain moral or legal standards in addition to faith in order to be saved and go to heaven. Paul wrote to the Romans, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).

Now the problem is not that the law is unreasonable, but that humans are sinners who cannot meet God’s standards. The law reflects God’s perfect holiness and it demonstrates human sinfulness. It is like a tape measure, sizing us up to see if we meet up to God’s standard. Since His standard is perfection, the law measures us as coming up short. How ironic attempt to justify themselves by the very measuring tape that God uses to show them they fail. Their attempts are self-incriminating. One can imagine a soul standing before God insisting that the Eternal Judge and Law giver use the law to judge him. For all those who reject Christ, that is essentially what they are doing. One can imagine God saying, “If you insist … therefore you have failed and are cursed.”

Today, various Christian denominations assert things necessary to be in right standing before God, including baptism, keeping the “ordinances,” attending church, giving indulgences, avoiding “mortal” sins and various other “do’s and don’ts.” They think these things earn them good standing with God and entrance to heaven. I grieve to think what it will be like when they realize that the curse of God is what they have earned!

To say such things is not callous fear-mongering. Some resist teaching the “harsh” things of Scripture. However, this forms the basis for teaching the grace of God. Salvation is a free gift, given through the work of the Holy Spirit, based on the Lord Jesus Christ who was “publically portrayed as crucified” (Gal 3:1). To warn someone of the danger of a works-based justification is to show them grace in preventing disaster in their lives.