Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1Brothers, the pleasure of my heart and the prayer toward God of them are into salvation, 2for I testify to them that they have zeal of God, but not according to knowledge, 3for, being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they were not submitted to the righteousness of God, 4for Christ [is the] end of law into righteousness to everyone believing.
Verse 4 is really the key to understanding all of this business about Legal vs. Grace righteousness: “For Christ is the end of law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” As John said, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (1:17). Truly knowing and understanding Jesus is the key to understanding it all.
As we noted in the last post, Legal righteousness makes perfect sense to our fallen minds: You have to do right to be right. On the other hand, anyone who is truly born-again understands we cannot be saved by our works. We all know that “the wages of sin is death,” and that “there is none righteous, no not one,” that salvation can only be through faith in Jesus, that it is, “by grace, through faith.” Paul already very clearly established all of this in the first three chapters of Romans.
Born-again people understand this, when it comes to their salvation itself. What I’m suggesting is that the problem comes when we are considering the whole business of living life. In other words, we understand grace and faith when it comes to our salvation, but what about our daily lives? Now that we’ve been saved by grace, do we then return to law-keeping for our lives every day? Do we not see that “do right/be right” is the same Legal righteousness which the Israelites pursued – and got it wrong?
As we would think about this passage, right off the bat, I want to acknowledge again that Grace righteousness makes no sense to our fallen minds. “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to him. Neither can he understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:14). Only truly born-again, Spirit-indwelt people will understand Grace righteousness. The problem is – but do they? Do I? Do you? Have you ever stopped to seriously consider what is going on in your head all day every day? Is it Legal righteousness – the “Do right/be right,” or is it Grace righteousness – “Be right/Do right”?
“Christ is the end of the Law.” Scholars argue whether that means He brought an end to the Law, or if it means “end” in the sense of “goal” or “fulfillment.” Personally, I think the simple answer is that it means both. The Greek word for “end” means the same thing as our word “end.” It can either mean “end” in the sense of completion, like the end of the journey, or it can mean goal, as when we might say, “The end I’m shooting for is to…” So, in Greek or English, “end” means both.
Think about it: The whole universe is under God’s Law. He is the King and to displease Him is literally an act of cosmic treason against our King! Apart from Jesus, you and I are 100% under that Law and obligated to fulfill its every demand. Our natural minds grossly underestimate the enormity of our sins – not realizing they are offenses against the infinite, holy God! And what does that mean? It means that every sin is an infinite offense. It is God we have offended! He is the infinite King and we are rebels against His rightful rule. Again, every sin is literally an act of cosmic treason and therefore, it is punishable by an infinite death. That introduces a terrible consequence for each of us, as us finite creatures can never repay the price of an infinite punishment. That is precisely why hell is forever!
If Law-keeping is required, you and I are abjectly hopeless! Enter Jesus. “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” and “by His stripes, we are healed” (Isa. 53). Jesus, by the Cross, brought an end to Law in exactly this sense. Without Him, there is only Law – and us cosmic rebels are doomed. However, as Paul already showed in Romans, “But now, a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known…this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (3:21-26).
For those who believe, Jesus is the end of Law as the standard by which we please the King. However, He was also, from the beginning, the “end” of Law, in the sense that He was the very goal to which Law was pointing us. Col. 2:17 says, speaking of Law, “These are a shadow of the things that were to come, the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Everything about the law of Moses was supposed to point people to Jesus. As Paul says in Gal. 3:24, “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ…”
When the Risen Jesus spoke to the two disciples on the Emmaus Road, it says “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Lk. 24:27). For the Jews to have not seen Jesus “in all the Scriptures” meant they’d missed the point of it all! And for you and me, even in our daily lives, what is “the point of it all?” What is the good for which all things “work together?” Is it not “that we should be conformed to the image of Christ?” The “end” we’re aiming for is Jesus!
Even Law itself points us to Jesus. Our hopelessness and guilt ought to point us to faith in Jesus. And having been born again by that faith, the whole point of it all is for us to become more and more like Jesus. “Beholding His image, we’re changed into that image, even from glory to glory” (II Cor. 4:18). He is the end of law as our schoolmaster and saves us by faith, then He Himself and His likeness become the end or goal of that faith. Christ truly is “the end of law.” To know Him is life itself! “For this is eternal life, that they might know You and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (Jn. 17:3).
I guess we’re back to “zeal without knowledge.” How sad that people can be “zealous for God” and yet miss Jesus – which means in reality they missed it all! The challenge comes back to you and me and I would suggest that is true particularly in our daily lives. “The just shall live by faith.” Christ is “the end of law for righteousness for everyone who believes.” Are we filling our hearts and minds with Him and sincerely seeking to let Him be the reason for all we do – Grace righteousness – or “seeking to establish our own” – Legal righteousness?
It doesn’t make sense, but then it does – in Jesus.
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