Christ Is The End of the Law For All His People

"For(saith the apostle Paul) Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). To what purpose doth he bring this passage, that Christ is the end of the law; but that by these words he might confute their vanity, who think to establish their own righteousness in the fulfilling of the law? As if he should say, you think by your keeping the law, by your righteousness you perform, you can attain to the end of it, that so you may obtain the grace and goodness of the Lord; but it is in vain, it is not you that can reach the end of the law; neither doth God aim at it that you should reach it, but he hath constituted and ordained Christ to be the end of it. Therefore the righteousness of God must be the righteousness of Christ; the righteousness that God aims at is perfect, a righteousness that reaches to the very end of the law; your righteousness can never reach to the end of it; it is Christ's alone that doth it.

- excerpt from a sermon by Tobias Crisp, entitled, "Men's Own Righteousness Their Grand Idol"

 

Christ perfectly kept the law for all of His people.

"We must have a righteousness, not only in which you and I cannot find a flaw, but in which God cannot find a flaw. And if we ourselves see nothing but sin in our own, and find fault with the very best that we can do and say all our righteousnesses are but filthy rags, how heart-breaking must we feel to present such a one before infinite purity and perfection. We must have a righteousness in which Jehovah himself cannot find a flaw, a righteousness which Jehovah cannot mend, a righteousness which neither sin nor Satan can mar; and unless we have on a righteousness of this nature, we can never enter into the blessedness of the world to come.

Where, then, are we to find it? Eternal praises to the matchless mercy of a covenant God, we have it in the blessed Person, glorious work, and spotless obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ! And, therefore, as it was essential for him to fulfill all righteousness for his people, he loved the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his mind, and with all his strength. He began at the beginning, and went through holily, righteously, and steadily every step of the law of God; and all in justice and righteousness. He fulfilled every iota of it, and gave it immortal glory and honour. The law could only require the perfect obedience of a perfect man, but he gave it the perfect obedience of the God-man, and stamped for ever a holy dignity and majesty on it, in order to manifest that this glorious righteousness is suited to every sinner’s case, to all their needs, and to honour and glorify all the perfections of God; and thus he has “for ever perfected them that were sanctified,”—all those who were set apart for himself. They are perfected for ever in his own blessed obedience and spotless righteousness; and this righteousness which God gives shall endure for ever. As for you who have a righteousness of your own, you never can feel your need of Christ’s righteousness; and if any one should insult you by speaking of it, you are wrapped up so snugly in your own pretty works that it would be an insult to your dignity to have his. The same as it would be an insult to the queen for you to make a basket of bulrushes, and present it to her as something very valuable; she would not receive it at your hands. So it is with you, when we speak of this blessed righteousness. You do not know your need of it, and it is an insult to your pride to mention it. But for the poor creature who feels himself to be a loathsome, vile, and ruined sinner, and is brought experimentally to feel what he is before a heart-searching God, and that every iota of the law is against him—for God to give this righteousness to him, to put it upon him and communicate the power of it to his soul, why it will raise and exalt him to such a blessed enjoyment of God’s righteousness that his tongue will sing aloud and speak forth praise to the honour and glory of his blessed name; and he will say, “My soul shall be joyful in my God; I will glory in the God of my salvation; for he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness; he hath adorned me with the garments of salvation.” And thus his tongue shall speak of God’s righteousness and of his praise all the day long."

- excerpt from a sermon by William Gadsby, entitled, "The Tongue Speaking of Righteousness", preached at Zoar Chapel, Great Alie Street, London, on June 1, 1843

 

The key word in that post is "learning". In our fallen human nature, no mere human being can ever love God perfectly, nor love his neighbor perfectly. Thus, there is no salvation in law-keeping. Thus, God's elect rejoice in the "music of grace".

 

All of Christ's people were chosen by God before the world began.

Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him.

 

All of those whom Christ became the Surety for, whose sins were imputed to Christ and He paid the debt for, and Christ's perfect righteousness was imputed to, were chosen by God before the world began, as were those whom God reprobated.

 

Christ died as a ransom for ALL of those He came to save, and He will save them ALL!

If Christ paid the sin debt for every person who ever lived or will live, then ever person will be saved. The penalty for sin cannot be demanded twice. When it is paid, then it is paid. Think about it - if you paid off a loan(debt) to a bank, the bank cannot require payment for the loan(debt) again.