Rabbi Gamaliel, reading Ezekiel 18:9, wept and said, "He who observes all this is righteous, but not, alas! he who observes only part of it." Rabbi Akiba replied that observing only one part was enough (TDNT, 4:1058). The Rabbinic school of Hillel considered keeping 51% of the law good enough for a passing grade into paradise (Bruce, Galatians, 159). Keeping the law earned merits with God, but what do you need for a final score?
Many think the same way today. We do good works to earn merits with God. If our good outweighs our bad at the end of life, then God rewards us with heaven. Not so writes Paul in Galatians 3:10.
"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law to perform them."
Paul begins with a contrast between those who are living "out of works of law" (ἐξ ἔργων νόμου) in verse 10 and those who are living "out of faith" (ἐκ πίστεως) in verse 9. The contrast is between those who rely on the merits of their good works as a way of life and those who rely on faith in Christ as a way of life (Longenecker, Galatians, 116). Is your spiritual scorecard based on confidence in your works or faith in His work? If your scorecard is based on your works, then you are under the curse. The preposition "under" (ὑπὸ) places humanity under the power of the curse, which means to be surrendered to the judgment of God (NIDNTT, 1:417).
The adjective "cursed" (ἐπικατάρατος) is only used twice in the New Testament and both times are in this passage (Gal. 3:10, 13). Curses played an important role in the judicial procedures of the ancient world. A curse was the sentencing of the person. It was a declaration that the punishment would be executed. To be under the curse often meant to be sentenced to death. The curse of God meant that the judgment had already been initiated. It was already in force (TDNT, 1:449). All humanity is already sentenced to death by God.
Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26 to prove his point. The Israelites had gathered on two mountains, Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim, to affirm allegiance to the Law of God. The people on Mt. Gerizim shouted God's blessings, and the people on Mt. Ebal announced God's curses. This verse is the last of the 12 curses pronounced on the people of Israel if they did not keep the law of God. Paul would have been very familiar with these verses both because of his rabbinic training and because he was whipped five times with 39 lashes (2 Cor. 11:24). According to the synagogue instructions of those days, the whippings included reading aloud the curses of the law as he was whipped (Longenecker, Galatians, 117).
Paul stresses "all" twice in his quote. All (πᾶς) are cursed. All humans are cursed who do not abide by all things (πᾶσιν) written in the Law. The verb "abide" (ἐμμένει) means to persevere or continue in something (BAGD, 255). It is in the present tense, which emphasizes the continuous requirement for keeping the law. All who do not continue to keep the law continuously are cursed. The infinitive "to perform" (ποιῆσαι) is the familiar verb "to do." All are cursed who do not persevere continuously to do all the requirements of the law. If you are going to live by one of the laws, you must do all the laws all the time, or you are cursed (Gal. 5:3). Living by works means 100% perfection or 100% judgment. There is no middle ground. Nobody gets a passing grade of less than 100%.
What's your score?
The solution to our cursing is His cursing. The second time the adjective is used is in Galatians 3:13, where Christ is cursed for us on the cross. We must trust His cursing for us to avoid God's cursing of us. Faith in His work is the only way out of God's judgment of our works. It is not that good works are unimportant, but the good works do not earn any merit with God. The good works we do are the result of His great work done for us. Martin Luther, in his commentary on this verse, writes:
"The apples make not the tree, but the tree maketh the apples. ... So, if the tree be made, that is to say, the person or doer, which is made through faith in Christ, works will follow. For the doer must needs be before the things done, and not the things which are done before the doer" (Luther, Galatians, 147).
