Last week we heard that it is those of faith who are sons of Abraham, and these are blessed and justified along with Abraham by faith. This week we hear Paul present the ‘other side’ of the coin – if it is by faith we are blessed, to rely on works of the law only serves to place us under a curse. In fact, Paul tells us no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘the righteous shall live by faith.’ Addressing the Galatians, Paul is still responding to his earlier question – a question still relevant for believers in our own day, ‘Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?’ To do so, is to relinquish the blessing of God, and find oneself under his curse. We all know something of that curse when we strive to live according to the flesh and not by the Spirit, by works of the law and not by faith. Yet, what we know is but a glimpse of the curse. The fullness of it would drive us far beyond despair. The wonderful news of the gospel is that ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.’ We do not need to live in despair any longer! Instead, we can hear this glorious good news of the gospel with faith, and know that God himself has justified us in his Son, and so now live by faith in him, with hope and assurance of his blessing, free from any curse of the law.