Christ Is the End of the Law

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:4

Romans 9:30–10:4 – Romans: The Righteousness of God
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 2, 2023 (am)

We’ve heard some amazing promises in Romans regarding the benefits of our salvation. The Spirit helps us when we don’t know what to pray (8:26-27). Jesus is interceding for us at [the Father’s] right hand (8:34).

God will not withhold any good thing from us (8:32). Indeed, He’ll work all things together for His good (8:28). It’s only natural to sense some need for reassurance that these promises can really be trusted—that they’re not too good to be true! And that’s especially so when they resonate so closely with God’s promises made to Israel, which it could easily seem like He’s not keeping.

As we’ve mentioned before, this is the key reason why Paul has headed off into the deep theological waters of Rom.9-11. And what we’ve heard so far is that God’s word has not failed (9:6a) in any way, to anyone, ever! Not only did He not promise to save everyone in the physical line of Abraham (9:6b-13), He was explicit in His plan to save only a remnant of the sons of Israel (9:27; cf. Isa.10:22).

And yet, now, once their Messiah has been identified, many Gentiles are receiving Him, but most from Israel are not! What in the world is going on here? How are we supposed to understand that? Well, there’s a key part of the answer that we won’t hear until c.11 (in short, God is hardening their hearts in judgment [11:7-10] not unlike what He did with Pharaoh [9:17]). But there’s another part of the answer that Paul has just finished explaining here. First, unless God intervenes and saves by His sovereign grace, no one will believe at all (9:15-18, 27-29). And second, it was always His plan to save Gentiles in addition to Jews (9:22-26; cf. Gen.12:3). But then, yet another key question remains, and that one leads off our passage today.

Before we get to that, though, we need to comment on where we are here in Romans. Today’s section really continues through 10:13; the salvation of the Gentiles is in the crosshairs as it both opens (9:30) and closes (10:11-13), each including a quote of Isa.28:16 (9:33; 10:11). But we’re going to take this section in two parts because of the very rich biblical and theological material it covers. The first four verses (9:30-33) are really an introduction to the whole of c.10 (Moo 2018 640), establishing the contrasting righteousness of Israel and the Gentiles. Then the second part (10:1-4) identifies what Israel is missing with regard to Jesus and the law. Then the remainder of this paragraph (10:5-13) is given to explanation. Let’s look at the two parts of today’s section.

A Contrast in Receptivity to the Gospel – 9:30-33

Now to that next question that Paul poses: 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it…; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? … That is a great question at this point in Paul’s argument. For those who want to affirm that God’s sovereignty in salvation logically removes human responsibility for sin and unbelief, this is a great chance to say: It’s because God has chosen the Gentiles at this time and place but hasn’t chosen the Jews. It’s on Him. But that’s not how Paul answers here.

He’s actually expanding on the answer he gave to his question back in 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! He’s already explained that God is not unjust because, unless He opens the eyes of our hearts, no one at all will savingly believe. Now he’s explaining the other side of this work, namely, what the unconverted are bent on doing instead of receiving and believing in Christ.

So: Why have Gentiles who didn’t pursue righteousness attained it; but Israel who pursed a law that leads to righteousness didn’t attain it? 32 … Because [Israel] did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. … There’s the problem. Paul foreshadowed it as he described what the Gentiles attained: a righteousness that is by faith (30). Israel hears God’s righteous standard and says: I can do that. The Gentiles hear it and say: I can’t do that. God help me!  

There’s the whole difference. Israel pursued the law as if the righteousness it promised were attained [by] works (32). We know from earlier in this letter that this approach will never work! But even so, Paul finishes this transition into c.10 with a composite OT quotation which shows that this response from Israel is no surprise at all. It was foreseen by the OT prophets. 32 … They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written in Isa.28:16 together with 8:14, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; then from Isa.10:11, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” But whoever believes they can attain the righteousness the law promises [by good] works, or in any other way apart from faith in Christ, will surely be put to shame! These quotes could fuel a rich, complementary study but, in short, and for our purposes here: Christ is that “stone” which God… placed in Zion: the foundation for the new people of God; the keystone in [His] plan of salvation. Yet rather than building on that stone, putting their faith in it, Israel… stumbled over it (Moo 2018 647), fully missing the fact that 1Co.3:11 … no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The Difference-Maker in that Contrast – 10:1-4

That’s what leads Paul into the thought progression that unfolds in the second part of this three-part paragraph (9:30-10:13), the last part we’ll look at today (10:1-4). It opens with an emphasis similar to that which opened c.9, reminding his readers that he hasn’t wandered from his point even while navigating some deep theological waters since that last time he made this statement. 1 Brothers [and sisters], my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [Israel] is that they may be saved. Then he proceeds to explain exactly what’s gone wrong. We already know from his introduction to this section (9:30-33) that the Gentiles placed their trust in Christ to attain the righteousness of God where Israel didn’t. But we’ve not yet heard how that happened. What made the difference between them? Paul lays that out in a series of for statements (2, 3, 4), each explaining a bit more fully the statement made just before it.

So, what has impeded Israel’s salvation that has Paul praying for it so earnestly? 2 [He himself can attest to the fact] that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. And what a scary possibility this is! It’s possible to be zealous for God even without understanding Him in the most basic of ways, meaning, without receiving His salvation, without being reconciled to Him by faith in Jesus Christ!

Israel is proud of their heritage, proud of their blessings from God, proud of being chosen by Him as the line through which the promised Messiah would come (9:5). They are zealous for God in clearly identifiable and fully understandable ways! And yet, by and large they’ve not received His righteousness by faith in their [Messiah]!

What a warning this is to us! Too many Gentile believers are concerned to make sure we don’t teach that the church has replaced Israel as the recipients of God’s promised covenant blessings. But more of us need to be concerned to make sure the church hasn’t replaced Israel as ones who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (3). In the new covenant community, we enjoy so many blessings from God. We sense them here in our fellowship as we gather week by week. Over time it can become quite easy for newer ones among us, for our children, even for those who’ve walked with us for an extended season, to enjoy these blessings without truly surrendering in repentance and faith to the One Who’s given them—through the means He’s provided!

Back to Israel, what knowledge did they lack, specifically? 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. They missed exactly what we just identified. They missed what Paul has affirmed very clearly in this letter (3:24; 5:15-17): the righteousness of God is given to us by his grace as a gift (3:24). They missed the very truth to which the law had been pointing all along, the simple principle of great profundity expressed so clearly by the prophet Habakkuk (2:4): those who are righteous by faith will live.

Now we come to the final for in today’s text, the very hinge affirmation on which this whole paragraph (9:30-10:13) turns—a foundational theological principle that reverberates with a significance that’s heard well beyond the already ample parameters of this passage to the very shores of the deep waters Paul’s been navigating throughout this section. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The Greek word behind end (τέλος) could mean termination, finish, or it could mean goal, [outcome], result (Moo 2018 656) (the English word end has a similar range). In this context, it’s not at all clear which meaning is meant (termination or goal [Moo 2018 657]). But it actually seems best to understand both as being present here (Moo 2018 658-659). The analogy of a race course… is helpful: the finish line is both the “termination” (finish) of the race… and the “goal” (aim) of the race…. [Similarly]…, it seems Paul is implying here that Christ is the “end” of the law (he brings [the] era [of the law] to a close) and [he is also the] “goal” [of the law] (he is [that which] the law [anticipates] and [to which it points…) (Moo 2018 659).

Bottom line, what Paul is telling is here (4) is that: Because [Israel has] generally not understood that Christ has brought the law to its culmination, they [haven’t] responded [to Him] in faith; and they have therefore missed the righteousness of God that is available only in Christ on the basis of faith. At the same time, [by ending the era of the law during which God was dealing mainly with Israel, Christ is now making] righteousness more readily available for Gentiles (Moo 2018 659).

Conclusion

So, what is our takeaway this morning? We need to recognize that reconciliation with God is available only in Christ, and that only by faith. We know that we can never deserve God’s saving grace. We know that we can never earn it. We know that in our own strength, we can never live in a manner worthy of it even after we do receive it. We know all of this. But in our lives, we still tend to read times of suffering and hardship, times of struggle, as God’s disapproval. And often at those times we believe if we were just more consistent in our obedience, more faithful in our prayers, more diligent in our service, more loving in our relationship, etc., we may not be suffering under the hardships we’re facing.

It’s like we’ve never understood the book of Job that we used as a touchpoint last Sunday. It’s like we believe, right along with Job’s friends, that innocent suffering isn’t really possible—like our suffering is always tied in some way to our unfaithfulness or our disobedience.

And if we believe that, it’s even easier to fall into the trap of believing that when we’re experiencing times of God’s blessing, when corporate worship is meaningful and deep, when fellowship in the body is marked by unselfish love, when our study of God’s Word is yielding deep insight, then somehow that’s happening because we’re deserving it, we’ve found our way into the depths of God’s heart and discovered the combination to the vault of His blessing.

But that’s just not the way it works. We don’t earn God’s saving grace by our good works before we’ve trusted Christ as Savior and we don’t retain it by our good works afterward. No, we look to God in humble repentance and faith, knowing that His righteousness, which His Word promises, is given to us by his grace as a gift (3:24) which is receive by faith (1:17). Israel stumbled over this simple truth (32). And so can we, still, today.

I believe we’re especially vulnerable to it seasons of blessing just like we’re enjoying here at GCD, even though we’ve been touched by much suffering. And as I said earlier, I believe our children are uniquely vulnerable among us, enjoying the blessing of such times but without understanding that they are fully just a manifestation of God’s grace. They’re not just the norm that’s happening in every church everywhere.

Hearing that, though, the answer is not to worry a fret about this misunderstanding in our children or our newcomers, any more than the answer would be to whisper among ourselves to make sure no one messes it up! Rather, the answer is to give praise to God for His grace, and to teach our children what it means to trust Him, and to walk with Him in the obedience of faith (1:5; 16:26), and to entrust ourselves to Him in times of blessing just as we do in times of trial. Borrowing from the writer of Hebrews, 3:13 [we] exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of [us] may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. There is a good closing charge for today!

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Resources

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NEXT SUNDAY: With Heart and Mouth, Romans 10:5–13