Romans 9:30-10:13: Christ Is the End of the Law

Romans 9:30-10:13: Christ the End of the Law

Please turn with me in your Bible to Romans 9. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 783. We’ve been working our way passage by passage through Paul’s letter to the Romans, and this morning we come to Romans 9. And we’ll go from chapter 9 verse 30 to chapter 10 verse 13. So beginning at Romans 9:30:

30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” As much as we might appreciate all of the new inventions and products that become available to us each year, sometimes we have to admit that, for some things, it’s just hard to beat the classics. Take movies for example. For a lot of people, there are movies that may have been around for many years but that are still, in their opinion, the best movies ever made. I know a lot of people who absolutely love the original Star Wars movies or the Rocky movies or, on TV, the Andy Griffith Show. There are some classics that are just hard to beat. And I’ve come to have a similar kind of appreciation for a certain question that many evangelists of years past have asked as they talked with people about Christianity. That question is this: “If you died today and were standing in the presence of God and he asked you why he should let you into heaven, what would you say? What reason would you give God as you tried to convince him to let you into heaven?” I think that’s a great question that will almost always give you a really good idea of how well or how poorly someone understands the gospel.

And from what I’ve seen, most people unfortunately don’t have a very good answer to that question. Of course, someone who doesn’t believe in God at all is just going to blow the question off. But even among those who do have a general belief in God, when they’re asked why they think God should let them into heaven, most of them will start talking about various things they do and various virtues they have that they believe make them a pretty good person. They’ll talk about how they attend church perhaps and give money to the church and other charitable organizations. They’ll talk about how they always try to treat people fairly and be kind to people and help people. And maybe if they think their qualifications are a bit on the weaker side or lacking in some way, they might say something about not being as bad as this person or that person. And the thing all these answers have in common is that they all assume that our entrance into heaven is ultimately dependent on how good of a person we are here on earth. If we’re a good person, we’ll make it to heaven, while if we’re not a good person at all, we may not make it to heaven. Our entrance into heaven depends on our goodness. That’s what I’m afraid the majority of people believe—and probably a pretty strong majority. This mindset is so prevalent in our society that you could probably call it pervasive. 

And honestly, that’s heartbreaking. How tragic that so many people are so wrong about something so important. It reminds me of something I heard about many people in Africa and what they believe about HIV/AIDS. I’m sure you’re aware that HIV has been and continues to be out of control in Africa. It’s killing countless people. And one of the reasons it continues to spread so rapidly is that there’s this widely-held myth in Africa that the way to cure HIV is by having sex with a virgin. So if a guy has HIV, he thinks he can just find a virgin and sleep with her—either with or without her consent—and that he’ll be cured of his HIV. Obviously, that’s an idea that’s not only ridiculous but also unbelievably harmful. It’s tragic! It’s heartbreaking! Yet when you think about it, the idea that many in our society have that we enter heaven by being a good person is an error that’s just as tragic and just as heartbreaking as that myth in Africa. In fact, it’s even more tragic because we’re not just talking about earthly consequences but about eternal consequences. 

And in case that sounds a bit extreme to you or a bit alarmist, just look at our passage of Scripture this morning. As we go through this passage of Scripture, we’re going to see that those who believe we go to heaven by being good people aren’t just a little mixed up or mildly confused. No, they’ve totally missed the essence of the gospel and essence of Christianity. How do we know that? Well, this passage shows us that Israel had that same mindset. And Paul says that their mindset amounts to a rejection of the gospel. Look what he writes, beginning in chapter 9, verse 30: 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. So why does Paul say the Israelites haven’t obtained righteousness—that is, the righteousness God requires to enter heaven? Why does Paul say they haven’t obtained that? “Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.” So rather than looking to Christ in faith to receive that righteousness, they made the tragic mistake of trying to earn it through their works. 

Paul then continues, They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” That’s a quote from Isaiah 28:16. So the Israelites have stumbled over the stumbling stone. Something came up that was totally contrary to their thinking and that they weren’t expecting at all, and they stumbled over it. And we see in that verse from Isaiah that this stumbling stone is actually a person. “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So who’s the stumbling stone? It’s Jesus. Jesus is the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense because the way of salvation he offers is totally contrary to the works-based, merit-based mindset of just about every human being. Just about everyone thinks that we have to earn heaven. That’s our natural mindset. But Jesus offers a way of salvation that totally different than that. And most people—such as the Israelites Paul was describing—just don’t have a mental category for that or perhaps don’t want to humble themselves in that way. 

Then Paul writes, in chapter 10, verses 1-3: 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Then we come to verse 4, which is the key verse of this entire passage. Paul declares, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” And it’s from that verse that we get our main idea this morning: Christ is the end of the law and offers righteousness to everyone who believes. So let’s look at those two ideas this morning. First, that Christ is the end of the law. And second, that Christ offers righteousness to everyone who believes.

Christ Is the End of the Law

So first, Christ is the end of the law. Now what is “the law”? Well, Paul isn’t just talking about any law here. He’s talking about a very specific law—the law God gave to the Israelites through Moses. You can read about it in the first five books of the Old Testament. And this law contained hundreds of instructions for how God wanted the Israelites to live in the land he was going to give them. However, the Israelites at the time of Paul’s writing were still trying to follow this law even though Jesus had already come. And even worse, they were trying to follow it as a means of salvation, which it was never intended to be in the first place.

Therefore, Paul reminds his readers that “Christ is the end of the law.” And I believe there are two ideas bound up in that original Greek word translated as “end.” The first idea, which doesn’t come across quite as much in the English translation, is the idea of goal. Christ is the end of the law in the sense that he’s the goal of the law. All of the law points to him. For example, the animal sacrifices commanded in the law pointed forward to Jesus dying on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Also, Paul says in Colossians 2 that the Sabbath, the day of rest commanded in the law, pointed forward to Jesus as our ultimate Sabbath rest. And I love the way Paul phrases it in that passage. After listing a few of the Old Testament laws, including the Sabbath, Paul writes in Colossians 2:17, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” So the Old Testament laws were a shadow, whereas Jesus is the substance. So Jesus is “the end of the law” in the sense that he’s the goal of the law. However, he’s also the end of the law in the sense that he’s the point at which the law terminates. That’s the other meaning contained in this word “end.” Jesus is the point at which the law terminates. Now that Jesus has come, the law is no longer in effect. God only meant for the law to be observed for a temporary period of time—the period between Moses and Jesus. So now that Jesus has come, we’re not under the law any longer. In Ephesians 2:15, Paul writes that God has “abolished” the law. So Christ is the end of the law both in the sense that he’s the goal of the law and the point at which the law terminates. 

And really, the former leads to the latter. The goal being reached is what causes the law to come to an end. Kind of like a marathon. If you’re in a marathon, your goal is the finish line. That’s what you’re running toward. And once you get there and cross that finish line, what do you do? Unless you’re crazy, you stop running. You don’t just blow right through the crowd at the finish line and then keep right on running like Forrest Gump, right? You stop running. The race is over. So the finish line is both the goal of the marathon and the point at which the marathon terminates. And it’s the same way with Jesus. He’s both the goal and the terminating point of the law. 

So keep that in mind the next time you encounter a skeptical person or read an online article written by a skeptical person and they’re trying to make a mockery of Christians by asking why we don’t follow some obscure law they pull out of Leviticus. That’s one tactic I see a lot when secular writers are criticizing conservative Christians for their position on homosexuality, for example. Even though homosexuality is prohibited in numerous places throughout the Bible, these secular writers will find the place where it’s mentioned in Leviticus and then take another verse out of Leviticus like the one that prohibits wearing clothing that has two kinds of materials in it, and they’ll ask why Christians teach against homosexuality but at the same time wear clothing with two kinds of material. Aren’t we being hypocritical and picking and choosing which commands we follow? Well, the answer as to why we wear clothing with two kinds of material is that we’re not under the law’s authority. Christ is the end of the law. So when we teach against something like homosexuality, we’re leaning not on anything Leviticus says but on other passages in the Bible, including two very clear passages in the New Testament. 

Now I do want to point out that Christians can benefit immensely from reading the law. There are timeless moral principles in the law that are relevant for us not because we’re under the law but because those principles express the unchanging character of God. Let me say that again. There are timeless moral principles in the law that are relevant for us not because we’re under the law but because those principles express the unchanging character of God. So there is a lot of benefit in reading the law as long as we extract those timeless moral principles very carefully and remember that we’re not under the law as Israel was. Christ is the end of the law.

And so, back in our main passage of Romans 10, to try to live under the law after the coming of Jesus, as the Israelites were trying to do, is a really bad idea. In fact, it amounts to a denial of the gospel and results in God’s judgment. The law can’t save—nor could it ever save. You see, the law never had the power to address the real issue we have, which is a heart set in rebellion against God. The law might have been able to regulate external behavior, but it couldn’t change the heart. You know, I read a story not too long ago about a man who raised a lion from the time it was born, feeding it with a bottle and caring for it as if it were a human. However, after he had owned this lion for 10 years, the lion one day turned on him. There was actually a rather graphic video of the lion grabbing him by the neck and pulling him into some nearby bushes as he weighed nothing. Now, thankfully this man did survive. They ended up having to shoot the lion unfortunately. But what went wrong? Well, the lion may have been bottle-fed and raised in a loving home, but he still had a lion nature. The predatory nature of a lion was still in him, and nothing done to him or for him externally could change that. And in the same way, the law may be able to regulate our behavior, but it can’t change our heart. However, Jesus can. Jesus changes us from the inside out. So what we need is a righteousness that comes not through the law but through Christ. 

Christ Offers Righteousness to Everyone Who Believes

And that brings us to our next point. Now that we’ve seen that Christ is the end of the law, we see, point number two, that Christ offers righteousness to everyone who believes. And again, we get that from verse 4: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Then Paul elaborates on that in verses 5-8. He says, 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); So what does this “word” or message of faith teach? Verses 9-11: 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 

So according to Paul, two things are necessary for salvation: confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart. Now when Paul talks about confessing with your mouth, he’s not teaching that we have to say certain magical words in order to be saved. If that were the case, I suppose someone who had laryngitis would have to wait for their laryngitis to clear up and get their voice back before they could be saved. Thankfully, I don’t think that’s what Paul’s saying here. Rather, the outward confession of Jesus as Lord is simply a manifestation of the inward belief in the heart. That’s what ultimately saves a person. Paul says you have to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, which implies believing that Jesus died on the cross. And the reason he died was to pay for our sins. You see, our sins deserved and demanded God’s judgment. But when Jesus died he took that judgment in our place. Instead of God’s judgment coming down on us, it came down on Jesus. Then Jesus resurrected from the dead as a picture of what can happen to us as we put our trust in him to save us. 

So I’d like to invite you to do that even today. Maybe you’ve been trying to earn entrance into heaven by being a good person or going to church or treating people well. And maybe you’ve seen for the first time this morning that none of those things can ever make you acceptable in the eyes of God. As Isaiah 64:6 says, even the most righteous acts we can perform are nothing but filthy rags. So maybe you see that and you see how desperately you need the rescue Jesus offers. If so, let me encourage you not to wait another moment to cry out to Jesus and be saved. In verses 12-13 we read, 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” What a promise! “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That includes you. 

In addition, this passage has relevance not only for those who haven’t yet believed in Jesus and been saved but also for those who have. How often are we tempted to revert back to our old mindset of earning God’s favor through our own goodness? How often are we tempted to think that God loves us and accepts us based on how well we perform? Maybe you’ve been functioning with that mindset without even realizing it. Think back to the last time you really blew it as a Christian. When that happened and in the immediate aftermath, what was going through your mind? Were you thinking, “God must love me less because I failed in this way”? That’s not the gospel. That’s not Romans 10. Or have you ever thought to yourself, even subconsciously, “If I could only achieve a certain level of performance in this area or accomplish this, then I’d really be acceptable in God’s eyes”? That’s not the gospel either. It’s an anti-gospel. You’re actually, in a subtle way, reverting back to the legalistic error of the Israelites Paul describes in this passage. 

So let me encourage you to rest in the finished work of Christ this morning. Believe that when he said, as he hung on the cross, “it is finished,” that it really was finished. You don’t have to add anything to what Jesus did on the cross. And in fact, you can’t add anything. No achievement can make God love you more, and no failure can make him love you less. God loves you the way any good parent loves their child. You know, as a father, I love my kids unconditionally. Regardless of how they act, I still love them the same. Now, I may be more or less pleased with their behavior in various situations, but my love for them and my acceptance of them don’t change. And that’s the way God loves us. No achievement makes him love us more, and no failure makes him love us less. And once you really understand that, let me just say: it’s the most liberating thing in the world. You’re now able to live a godly life not because you feel the pressure of earning something or because you have the fear of losing something but simply out of a heart of gratitude. You’re free to give generously and to serve other people and to dedicate your life to spreading the gospel not because you feel pressured or fearful but because you’re so profoundly grateful for what God has done for you in the gospel. What an amazing and liberating way to live!