This paper proposes that Paul, in Gal 3:10-14, indicates that righteous standing may be attained by a faith that is exhibited in keeping the spirit and intent of the Law of Moses, and that reflects “faith working by love” (5:6). Such obedience stands in marked contrast to an effort to secure righteous standing “by works of law,” a phrase used by Paul in 2:16 (3x), 3:2, 3:5, and 3:10, as a reference to a formalistic misuse of the Law. While this proposal is not an entirely new idea, it warrants fresh consideration as an alternative to be preferred over the prevailing analyses of Gal 3:10-14. The traditional reading holds first that righteous standing must be attained by faith apart from obedience to God’s Law, and second, that any attempt to attain justification by faithful obedience to the Law results in one falling under the curse of Deut 27:26. This widely held analysis, however, features at least three significant vulnerabilities.
First, the traditional reading rests upon the presumption that the phrase “works of law” serves as an equivalent to “doing what the Law requires.” Such a reading, however, renders Paul’s claim in 3:10a (“As many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse”) incompatible with the plain sense of Deut 27:26 (“Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them”), which Paul cites in 3:10b in support of his assertion in 3:10a.
Second, in order to overcome the incompatibility just noted and craft coherency between 3:10a and 3:10b as typically read, the traditional reading requires the insertion of an inferred and unexpressed clause at the end of 3:10, to the effect that “no one can do everything written in the Law.” However, it is a serious matter for a reader to infer an entire clause that a writer does not express and that presents an idea never found in any other text of Scripture. Furthermore, the inferred clause fails to reflect the Law’s own perspective on faith, grace, atonement, and forgiveness, when it comes to faithful obedience to the commandments (as seen in Lev 4:1-6:7 and Num 15:22-29, for instance).
Third, according to the conventional analysis, Paul, in Gal 3:11, uses Hab 2:4 (“The righteous man shall live by faith”) to refute Lev 18:5, which appears in 3:12, and which reads, “He who practices [my statutes and judgments] shall live by them.” Thus, according to this view, Paul sets a passage from the Prophets against a passage from the Law, even though it seems implausible that Paul would set Scripture against Scripture. This would imply further that, while one part of Scripture teaches against reliance upon “works of law,” another portion of Scripture actually commends “works of law” as a means of justification, thereby compromising biblical unity and authority.
The reading proposed in this paper avoids the pitfalls noted, takes all of Scripture at face-value, and trusts in the competence of the God-directed writers.