Coffee Shop Chapel

September 26

Romans 10:4, “ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

Jesus Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf. Our Savior is not only the source of our righteousness, He is also “the righteousness of all who are joined to Him by faith.” (Boice) Paul confirms that Jesus is the source of our righteousness in 1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul tells us that Jesus is the righteousness of the believer, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” This is the crux of justification, that we are made right before God. This is the message of Romans 9 and 10.

In the latter part of Romans 9 and in the verses preceding our Romans 10 text, Paul left a major question unanswered. What has the apostle shown us so far? First he contrasted the righteousness that is “by works” with a righteousness that is “by faith, Romans 9:32, “Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” Second, he defined the righteousness he was talking about as “God’s righteousness,” showing that it comes “from God” as opposed to the righteousness that comes from ourselves, Romans 10:3, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” But Paul has yet to tell us outright where this righteousness that is “by faith,” can be found. Boice writes, “If righteousness is to be received ‘by faith’ and faith has content, as it must if it is true faith, what is faith’s object?”

We have the answer in our text. Romans 10:4 introduces us to the name of Christ for the first time since Romans 9:5. Jesus Christ is faith’s object. He is the one in whom is located the righteousness we need to be saved.

“This justification, by which we stand or fall in the sight of the holy God, involves two corresponding transactions.” (Boice) First, if we are believers, our sin has been transferred to Jesus Christ. Sin must be punished, and for the believer, sin was punished in our Savior when He died in our place on the cross.

My sin – O the bliss of this glorious thought!–
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Second, the righteousness of Jesus Christ was transferred to the believer at the moment of salvation. The result of this transfer, we stand (are counted) as being righteous in Him.

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
‘Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.


The transfer of our sin to Christ, and the corresponding transfer of His righteousness to us are part and parcel of justification. If you have turned from your sin and trusted Jesus Christ by faith, your sin, all of it, has been placed on Him, and His righteousness, all of it, has been placed on you. When the Father looks at a believer, He sees Christ’s righteousness, not our own filthy-dirty rags self-righteousness. The believer is clothed in Christ’s righteousness. This indeed is a “glorious thought!”

“So justification is another meaning of our text: ‘Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.’” (Boice)

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

September 28

Romans 10:4, “ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

Jesus Christ is the “end of the law,” in that He fulfilled (was completely obedient to) the entire law of God, something that none of us can accomplish. Jesus Christ is also “the end of the law,” in that He fulfilled the law on our behalf, He took our sins upon Himself, and at the point of salvation, He gives us His righteousness. There is a third way Jesus Christ is the “end of the law.” This time, instead of thinking of the word “end” as fulfillment, we will look at “end” as termination. Boice writes, “It teaches that Christ has ended the law as a system by which we are supposed to attain to righteousness. Or, to put it in other language, He has freed us from the law’s bondage.”

As we consider that our Savior terminated the law, we must be careful not to be misunderstood. One commentator wrote, “Christ put a stop to the law as a means of salvation.” That statement is an unfortunate misunderstanding of the purpose of God’s law. Why? Because God’s law was never the means of salvation. The true purpose of the law was to “reveal the nature and extent of our sin, and to point us to Jesus Christ as the only place salvation can be found.” (Boice) Paul’s treatise on the law can be found in Romans 7. Paul amplifies this truth in Galatians 3:24, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The “end of the law” does not mean that Christ terminated it as a way of getting saved.

Neither does the termination of the law mean that there is no value in the law. The law is part of Scripture, and 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” In fact in Romans 3:31 Paul asked and answered a question regarding the law, “Do we then make void [nullify] the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish [uphold] the law.” In Romans 7:12 Paul states, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”

In Acts 15, there was a Council at Jerusalem, which gathered to decide whether or not the Gentiles needed to submit to the law of Moses, a submission that the church at Jerusalem held to at that time. The focal point of the debate was circumcision. Was it necessary for Gentile males to be circumcised to be Christians?

The council decided that it was not necessary. Peter argued that God saved the Gentiles without their becoming Jews, giving the Holy Spirit to Gentile believers, as He had to Jewish believers. Then Peter made this statement, “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (Acts 15:10) The “yoke” was the law. “So Peter was admitting that the law had been a burden for the Jews in the past and was arguing that it should not be imposed on the Gentiles, since even the Jews had been unable to sustain that harsh burden.” (Boice)

Did Peter’s statement encourage lawlessness? NO! Peter encouraged righteousness. “The council’s decree reiterated some of the law’s moral absolutes, but Peter was acknowledging that righteousness is not attained by legalism.” (Boice) Friends, we do not become better followers of Jesus Christ, nor do we become more holy by adhering to a list of rules. What we need to understand is that the moral end of the law is attained by Christians, but it is attained by a different principle. That principle is the life of Jesus Christ within the believer.

As we apply these truths to our lives, we need to be aware that God’s ultimate goal, in saving us, is that we are to be a holy people. Paul stated in Romans 8:1-4, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus ... For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

“We are neither justified nor sanctified by the law. But those who are justified will also be progressively sanctified by the Spirit of Christ who lives within them, and this means that they will inevitably and increasingly live righteous lives. If they do not, they are not Christians.” (Boice)

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

September 30

Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

There are three practical applications that we want to draw from the study of this verse:

1. Christ is everything. It is difficult for us to comprehend just how important the Mosaic Law was to the Jewish people living in Paul’s day. That is not to say that the law is not important to religious Jews today, because it is important to them, even though tradition has tended to replace a thorough knowledge of the law. Boice writes, “It was more so then. The law was the very essence of Jewish religion. Yet Paul, who was himself a Jew, is telling us that Christ is the culmination, fulfillment, and (in a sense) termination of the law. For He ‘is the end of the law.’ It is a way of saying that everything that matters in salvation and religion is in Him.”

Donald Grey Barnhouse, Boice’s predecessor at Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia, PA, wrote in his commentary on Romans, “Instead of the temple it is to be Christ; instead of Moses, Christ; instead of Aaron, Christ; instead of the law, Christ; instead of ceremonies, Christ; instead of worship localized in a building, there is to be the eternal, omnipotent Christ.” I believe what Dr. Barnhouse was trying to tell us is, that it is impossible to exalt the nature and place of the Lord Jesus Christ too much!

2. If I am in Christ, I will never be condemned for breaking the law or be rejected by God. How is this possible? Jesus fulfilled the law on my behalf, and He bore the punishment that was due me for breaking that law! Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, has become my righteousness, He is the righteousness of all who have placed their faith in Him as Lord and Savior.

3. To be “in Him” I must believe on Him. The verse says, “Christ is the end of the law .... to every one that believeth.” Boice writes, “For everyone? Yes, but for everyone who believes. The promise is universal and specific.”

In one of his books, Dr. H. A. Ironside tells of a young woman whom he led to the Lord. She had received a Christian upbringing, but as young people often do, she forsook her upbringing and had lived a worldly life. Now she was dying of tuberculosis, and she sent for Ironside. She had been given but three weeks to live. “Do you think there is any hope for a sinner like me?” she asked Dr. Ironside.

Ironside led her through the gospel, coming at last to John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “Are you included in that ‘whoever’?” he asked the young woman.

The young woman was ready to trust Christ, and she did so. Ironside assured her that if she was truly in Christ that there was no condemnation for her, even though she had led a very sinful life, and was coming to the Lord Jesus at what was the end of that life. John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already ...”

Ironside concluded his meetings in that area and moved on to another location. About a month later, Ironside was told of her passing. Her minister had been there with her, and had asked her if she believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Her answer was “Yes.” The minister replied, “What does He say about you?”

“Not condemned,” she replied. And then, uttering her last words, she said, “If you see Mr. Ironside, tell him it’s all right.”

Boice concludes, “It is all right, and will be. ‘For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.’”

Are you in Jesus Christ? Have you put on His righteousness? Scripture tells us that “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Romans 10:9-10, 13 tell us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd