Galatians 3:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

NIV: The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, 'The person who does these things will live by them.'

NASB: However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, 'THE PERSON WHO PERFORMS THEM WILL LIVE BY THEM.'

CSB: But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them.

NLT: This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, 'It is through obeying the law that a person has life.'

KJV: And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

NKJV: Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

The Christians in Galatia are being lured away from the truth. Under pressure from a group known as the Judaizers, they are drifting away from believing they have been saved by God's grace through their faith in Christ alone (Galatians 1:6–9). The Judaizers have presented convincing-sounding arguments that God requires their men to be circumcised (Galatians 2:4). They claim all men must follow the law of Moses to truly be right with God, even after believing in Jesus.

Paul has confronted these false ideas head on, showing from the Old Testament Scriptures themselves that to live under the law is to live under a curse (Deuteronomy 27:26) and that even then the righteous live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Now, before turning to Christ, Paul adds that the law is not of faith, it is of works. Those who live under the law must "do" those works without fail (Leviticus 18:5).

In other words, faith and law cannot be made to work together to be made right with God. Those who live under the law must do what it says. Period. If not—and nobody can perfectly follow the law—they are cursed. Those who live by faith in God are trusting God, specifically Jesus' life and death in their place, to be made right with the Father. The Judaizers were telling people they needed both Christ and the law. Paul insists that the two cannot be merged; they are completely separate.

Galatians 3:10–14 describes Paul's argument that blessing does not come by following the law of Moses. In fact, the rules described in the law bring the threat of God's curse if anyone fails to keep them in any way. Since all fail to keep it perfectly, no one can be justified—made right before God—by the law. Paul quotes three Old Testament Scriptures to show this is true, and that Christ took this curse on Himself when He died for our sin on the cross. That's how the blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles who believe in Christ by faith.

Paul indicates the Galatian Christians are foolish for believing they need to follow the law of Moses to be right with God. He offers three specific arguments to support this. First, they received God's Spirit in a powerful way after believing in Jesus, but before doing any works of the law. Second, Scripture itself shows God's blessing coming by faith, and His curse coming by the law. Christ paid the price of that curse on the cross. Third, God's covenant with Abraham is like a legal document, and it cannot be revoked.

In Galatians chapter 2, Paul declared that we can only be justified—''made right with God''—by faith in Christ and not by following the law of Moses. In chapter 3, Paul offers three arguments for why that is true. He argues from the Galatians own experience, from the Scriptures themselves, and from the legal standpoint of a covenant contract. Finally, Paul answers what the law is for if it cannot save us from our sin. In part, it reveals our sinfulness and convinces us of our need to be saved by faith in Christ. The following chapter will expand on what it means to be an ''heir,'' spiritually.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.