The Only Way: The Curse and the Cross
By Jeff Bayard, Content Manager, Virginia Christian Alliance
The Text
“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 all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” — Galatians 3:10
“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.’” — Galatians 3:13
Paul is not floating a theological idea for discussion. He is stating the condition of every human being and the only remedy God has provided. Notice the force of his language — “all who rely on works of the law are under a curse.” Not some. Not the worst offenders. All. And the standard is total obedience to everything written in the Law.
Two categories. Under the curse or redeemed from it.
No third option.
The Reality
The curse Paul describes is not abstract. It is the just sentence of a holy God against every person who has failed to keep His law perfectly.
“Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Not most things. All things. One failure — and the curse stands.
We want categories. Mostly good. Trying hard. Better than average. God’s law does not grade on a curve. It demands perfection, and what it does not receive, it condemns.
Paul reinforces this in Romans 3:10: “None is righteous, no, not one.” He is describing the universal condition of humanity apart from Christ. Every mouth is stopped. Every person stands accountable before God. No exceptions.
The Witnesses
The men who shook nations with their preaching understood this weight and did not flinch from it.
George Whitefield (see video documentary) insisted that no amount of church attendance, moral behavior, or religious profession could substitute for the new birth. Jesus said, “You must be born again.” Without regeneration by the Holy Spirit, a person remains dead in sin no matter how religious they appear.
Jonathan Edwards (see video documentary) preached the holiness of God and the reality of judgment because people who do not know they are in danger will never seek rescue.
Charles Spurgeon (see video documentary)pointed to the cross as the only place where the curse was answered. Christ became a curse so that cursed people could go free.
What Has Changed
Something has shifted in how the gospel is commonly presented. The shift is what makes it dangerous.
The curse is rarely mentioned. Sin is reframed as brokenness. Judgment is replaced with disappointment. Repentance becomes self-improvement. And the cross becomes an act of affirmation rather than substitution.
This is no longer about style preferences in preaching. It’s about whether the actual gospel is being delivered.
When the problem is softened, the solution is softened with it. If man is merely broken, he needs repair. If man is under a curse, he needs redemption. These are not the same thing.
Jesus said in Mark 2:17, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” The physician is only sought by those who know they are sick. If the sickness is never named, the Physician is never sought for the right reasons.
The Question
This brings the matter to you directly.
Not to a theological concept. Not to an audience in the 1700s.
To you.
Have you ever stood under the weight of Galatians 3:10 and let it speak? Have you ever considered that the law you have broken — even once — carries a curse you cannot lift by effort, sincerity, or religious observance?
Are you righteous by God’s standard? Not by human comparison. By His.
If the Spirit of God is pressing this on your conscience right now, do not push it aside. That is not condemnation — that is mercy. The Holy Spirit does not convict to destroy. He convicts to bring you to the only One who can save.
The Only Way
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”
This is the gospel. Not advice. Not inspiration. Substitution.
Christ kept the law perfectly and took the full weight of the curse that belonged to lawbreakers. He hung on the tree so that the condemned could be set free. This is Calvary — God’s Son bearing the wrath owed to sinners.
How is this received? Paul answers in Galatians 3:11: “The righteous shall live by faith.” Not by works. Not by moral effort. By faith — trust placed entirely in Christ and what He accomplished on the cross.
You cannot earn what Christ already purchased. You cannot add to what God has declared finished. You receive it by faith, or you remain under the curse.
The Call
You are either under the curse of the law or you have been redeemed from it by Christ. There is no partial redemption. No provisional standing.
If you have never turned from sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ — in His perfect life, His sacrificial death, His bodily resurrection — the curse still stands. Because it is true, and because the remedy is available to you right now.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16
That is not comfort for the comfortable. That is rescue for the condemned.
Do not wait. The Spirit who convicts is the same Spirit who gives new life. The curse Christ bore was meant for you — and He bore it willingly so you would not have to.
Are you still under the curse, or has Christ borne it for you?
For more articles confronting the responsibility of today’s pulpits, see our series: The Pulpit Is Responsible.
