“Christ Is The End Of The Law”

How And To Whom? Romans 10:4

Knowing something of the just severity and strict demands of God’s holy law, --Knowing that the law demands, “The soul that sinneth it shall die”, --Knowing that the law demands, “It must be perfect to be accepted”, --Knowing the utter terror of the law, - When I read this great and glorious statement, “Christ is the end of the law,” I immediately want to know, How and to whom? Don’t you? The Holy Spirit tells us exactly how Christ is the end of the law, and to whom he is the end of the law.

How?

How is Christ the end of the law? Hear what God says. – “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.” Fallen man cannot obtain righteousness of any kind, of any merit before God by the works of the law (Gal. 2:21). But God requires perfect righteousness in and from us all (Matt. 5:20; Heb. 12:14). It is written, “It must be perfect to be accepted.”

Though we have no righteousness of our own, and we have no ability to produce righteousness (Isa. 64:6), we are not without hope. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Surety, Representative, Mediator, and Substitute has established righteousness which fully meets and satisfies all the law’s demands (Phil. 3:8-10). And that righteousness demanded by the law is found only in Christ. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.” Christ is made of God unto us righteousness, both for justification and for sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30).

To Whom?

To whom is Christ the end of the law? “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Do you see the stress of the text? It is just this - “To everyone that believeth.” This is one issue of vital importance - “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” If you believe, Christ is the end of the law to you. If you do not believe, you are yet under the curse of God’s holy law.

If we would be saved we must submit to the righteousness of God. We must trust Christ alone for righteousness. Our sins cannot be put away except by his blood atonement. We cannot be made holy before God except by Christ. All who refuse to submit to the righteousness of God in Christ, must forever perish.

What Now?

Being convinced that “Christ is the end of the law to everyone that believeth,” what now must we do? We must never attempt to serve God upon a legal principle. All legal religion is banned by the express statements of Holy Scripture (Col. 2:16-23). We must never allow anyone to bring us back into bondage, no not for a moment (Gal. 5:1). We must never trust our own righteousness (Gal. 5:2). Self-righteousness sticks to human flesh like leaches. Shake it off. Flee from it. Cling to Christ alone for all your hope before God. He is “The Lord our Righteousness.”

Don Fortner