Jesus was the end of the law

JESUS WAS THE END OF THE LAW
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
New InternationalVersion
Christis the culminationof the law so that there may
be righteousness for everyone who believes.
New Living Translation
For Christhas alreadyaccomplishedthe purpose for
which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in
him are made right with God.
Christ The End Of The Law
BY SPURGEON
“ForChrist is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone that
believes.”
Romans 10:4
YOU remember we spoke lastSunday morning of “the days of the Son of
Man.” Oh that every Sunday might be a day of that kind in the most spiritual
sense!I hope that we shall endeavorto make eachLord’s Day, as it comes
round, a day of the Lord, by thinking much of Jesus, by rejoicing much in
Him, by laboring for Him and by our growingly importunate prayer that to

Him may the gathering of the people be. We may not have very many
Sabbaths together–deathmay soonpart us–but while we are able to meet as a
Christian assembly, let us never forget that Christ’s Presenceis our main
necessity. And let us pray for it and entreat the Lord to grant that Presence
always in displays of light, life and love!
I become increasinglyearnestthat every preaching time should be a soul-
saving time. I can deeply sympathize with Paul when he said, “My heart’s
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” We have had
so much preaching, but, comparatively speaking, so little believing in Jesus.
And if there is no believing in Him, neither the Law nor the Gospelhas
answeredits end and our labor has been utterly in vain. Some of you have
heard, and heard, and heard again, but you have not believed in Jesus!
If the Gospelhad not come to your hearing, you could not have been guilty of
refusing it. “Have they not heard?” says the Apostle. “Yes, verily,” but still,
“they have not all obeyed the Gospel.” Up to this very moment there has been
no hearing with the inner ear and no work of faith in the heart in the case of
many whom we love. DearFriends, is it always to be so? How long is it to be
so? Shall there not, soon, come an end of this receptionof the outward means
and rejectionof the inward Grace? Will not your soul, soon, close in with
Christ for present salvation? Break!Break, O heavenly day, upon the
benighted ones, for our hearts are breaking over them! The reasonwhy many
do not come to Christ is not because theyare not earnest, aftera fashion, and
thoughtful and desirous to be saved, but because they cannotstand God’s way
of salvation!
“Theyhave a zealfor God, but not according to knowledge.”We getthem by
our exhortation so far on the way that they become desirous to obtain eternal
life, but, “they have not submitted themselves to the righteousnessofGod.”
Mark, “submitted themselves,” forit needs submission! Proud man wants to
save himself! He believes he cando it and he will not give over the task till he
finds out his own helplessness by unhappy failures. Salvation by Grace, to be
sued for in forma pauperis–to be askedforas an undeserved blessing from
free, unmerited Grace–this it is which the carnal mind will not come to as long
as it can help it!
I beseechthe Lord so to work that some of you may not be able to help it. And
oh, I have been praying that, while this morning I am trying to setforth
Christ as the end of the Law, God may bless it to some hearts that they may
see what Christ did, and may perceive it to be a greatdeal better than
anything they can do! May they see what Christ finished and become wearyof
what they, themselves, have labored at so long and have not well commenced

at this day. Perhaps it may please the Lord to enchant them with the
perfection of the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. As Bunyan would say, “It
may, perhaps, set their mouths a watering after it,” and when a sacred
appetite begins, it will not be long before the feastis enjoyed!
It may be that when they see the raiment of workedgoldwhich Jesus so freely
bestows onnaked souls, they will throw awaytheir filthy rags which now they
hug so closely. I am going to speak about two things, this morning, as the
Spirit of Godshall help me. The first is, Christ in connectionwith the Law–He
is “the end of the Law for righteousness.”And secondly, ourselves in
connectionwith Christ–to everyone that believes Christ is the end of the Law
for righteousness."
1. First, then, CHRIST IN CONNECTION WITHTHE LAW. The Law is
that which, as sinners, we have, above all things, cause to dread, for the
sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law. Towards us the
Law darts forth devouring flames, for it condemns us and in solemn
terms appoints us a place among the accursed, as it is written, “Cursed
is everyone that continues not in all things that are written in the Book
of the Law to do them.” Yet, strange infatuation! Like the fascination
which attracts the gnat to the candle which burns its wings, men, by
nature, fly to the Law for salvationand cannot be driven from it!
The Law cando nothing else but reveal sin and pronounce condemnation
upon the sinner. And yet we cannotget men awayfrom it, even though we
show them how sweetlyJesus stands betweenthem and it. They are so
enamored of legalhope that they cling to it when there is nothing to cling to–
they prefer Sinai to Calvary, though Sinai has nothing for them but thunder
and trumpet warnings of coming judgment! O that for awhile you would
listen anxiously while I setforth Jesus, my Lord, that you may see the Law in
Him!
Now, what has our Lord to do with the Law? He has everything to do with it,
for He is its end for the noblest object, namely, for righteousness!He is the
“end of the Law.” What does this mean? I think it signifies three things. First,
that Christ is the purpose and objectof the Law. Secondly, that He is the
fulfillment of it, and, thirdly, He is the termination of it. First, then, our Lord
Jesus Christ is the purpose and object of the Law. It was given to lead us to
Him. The Law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, or rather our
attendant to conduct us to the schoolofJesus. The Law is the greatnet in
which the fish are enclosedthat they may be drawn out of the element of sin.

The Law is the stormy wind which drives souls into the harbor of refuge. The
Law is the sheriff’s officerto shut men up in prison for their sin, concluding
them all under condemnation in order that they may look to the free Grace of
God, alone, for deliverance!This is the objectof the Law–it empties, that
Grace may fill–and wounds that Mercymay heal. It has never been God’s
intention towards us, as fallen men, that the Law should be regardedas a way
to salvationfor us, for a wayof salvationit can never be. Had man never
fallen. Had His nature remained as God made it, the Law would have been
most helpful to Him to show Him the way in which He should walk. And by
keeping it He would have lived, for, “He that does these things shall live in
them.”
But ever since man has fallen, the Lord has not proposed to him a way of
salvationby works, forHe knows it to be impossible to a sinful creature. The
Law is already broken and whatever man cando, he cannotrepair the
damage he has already done. Therefore he is out of court as to the hope of
merit. The Law demands perfection, but man has already fallen short of it
and, therefore, let him do his best, he cannot accomplishwhat is absolutely
essential. The Law is meant to lead the sinner to faith in Christ by showing the
impossibility of any other way! It is the black dog to fetch the sheep to the
shepherd. It is the burning heat which drives the traveler to the shadow of the
greatrock in a weary land.
Look how the Law is adapted to this, for, first of all, it shows man his sin.
Readthe Ten Commandments and tremble as you read them! Who can lay his
own characterdown, side by side, with the two tablets of Divine Precepts
without at once being convinced that he has fallen far short of the standard?
When the Law comes home to the soul, it is like light in a dark room revealing
the dust and the dirt which otherwise had been unperceived. It is the test
which detects the presence ofthe poisonof sin in the soul. “I was alive without
the Law, once,” saidthe Apostle, “but when the Commandments came, sin
revived and I died.”
Our comeliness utterly fades away when the Law blows upon it. Look at the
Commandments, I say, and remember how sweeping they are, how spiritual,
how far-reaching!They do not merely touch the outward acts, but dive into
the inner motives and deal with the heart, the mind, the soul! There is a
deeper meaning in the Commandments than appears upon their surface. Gaze
into their depths and see how terrible is the holiness which they require! As
you understand what the Law demands, you will perceive how far you are
from fulfilling it and how sin abounds where you thought there was little or
none of it. You thought yourself rich and increasedin goods and in no need of

anything, but when the broken Law visits you, your spiritual bankruptcy and
utter penury stare you in the face. A true balance discovers shortweight and
such is the first effectof the Law upon the conscienceofman.
The law also shows the result and mischief of sin. Look at the types of the old
Mosaic dispensationand see how they were intended to leadmen to Christ by
making them see their uncleancondition and their need of such cleansing as
only He can give. Every type pointed to our Lord Jesus Christ! If men were
setapart because ofdisease oruncleanness, they were made to see how sin
separatedthem from God and from His people. And when they were brought
back and purified with mystic rites in which were scarletwooland hyssop and
the like, they were made to see how they could only be restoredby Jesus
Christ, the greatHigh Priest.
When the bird was killed that the leper might be clean, the need of
purification by the sacrifice ofa life was setforth. Every morning and evening
a lamb died to tell of daily need of pardon, if God is to dwell with us. We
sometimes have been accusedofspeaking too much about the blood, yet under
the Old Testament, the blood seemedto be everything and was not only
spokenof, but actually presented to the eyes. What does the Apostle tell us in
Hebrews? “Whereuponneither the first Testamentwas dedicatedwithout
blood. For when Moses hadspokenevery precept to all the people according
to the Law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, scarletwool
and hyssop, and sprinkled both the Book and all the people, saying, this is the
blood of the Testamentwhich God has enjoined unto you. Moreoverhe
sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels ofthe ministry.
And almost all things are by the Law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no remission.”
The blood was on the veil and on the altar, on the hangings and on the floor of
the tabernacle!No one could avoid seeing it. I resolve to make my ministry of
the same characterand more and more sprinkle it with the blood of
Atonement. Now the abundance of the blood of old was meant to show clearly
that sin has so polluted us that without an Atonement, God is not to be
approached. We must come by the wayof Sacrifice ornot at all. We are so
unacceptable in ourselves, that unless the Lord sees us with the blood of Jesus
upon us He must put us away. The old Law, with its emblems and figures, set
forth many truths as to men’s selves and the coming Savior, intending, by all
of them, to preach Christ. If any stopped short of Him, they missedthe intent
and designof the Law. Moses leads up to Joshua and the Law ends at Jesus.
Turning our thoughts back to the moral, rather than the ceremonial, Law, it
was intended to teachmen their utter helplessness. Itshows them how they

fall short of what they ought to be and it also shows them, when they look at it
carefully, how utterly impossible it is for them to come up to the standard.
Such holiness as the Law demands no man canreachof himself. “Your
Commandments are exceedinglybroad.” If a man says that he cankeepthe
Law, it is because he does not know what the Law is. If he fancies that he can
ever climb to Heaven up the quivering sides of Sinai, surely He cannever have
seenthat burning mountain at all.
Keep the Law? Ah, my Brethren, while we are yet talking about it, we are
breaking it! While we are pretending that we can fulfill its letter, we are
violating its spirit, for pride as much breaks the Law as lust or murder. “Who
can bring a cleanthing out of an unclean? Not one.” “How canhe be clean
that is born of a woman?” No, Soul, you cannot help yourself in this thing, for
since only by perfection you canlive by the Law, and since that perfection is
impossible, you cannot find help in the Covenant of Works. In Grace there is
hope, but as a matter of debt there is none, for we do not merit anything but
wrath! The Law tells us this and the soonerwe know it to be so, the better, for
the sooner, then, we shall fly to Christ.
The Law also shows us our greatneed–ourneed of cleansing, cleansingwith
the waterand with the blood. It shows us our filthiness and this, naturally,
leads us to feelthat we must be washedfrom it if we are ever to draw near to
God. So the Law drives us to acceptChrist as the only Personwho cancleanse
us and make us fit to stand within the veil in the Presence ofthe MostHigh.
The Law is the surgeon’s knife which cuts out the proud flesh so that the
wound may heal. The Law, by itself, only sweeps andraises the dust–but the
Gospelsprinkles cleanwaterupon the dust–and all is well in the chamber of
the soul. The Law kills, the Gospelmakes alive!The Law strips and then
Jesus Christ comes in and robes the soul in beauty and glory. All the
Commandments and all the types direct us to Christ, if we will but heed their
evident intent. They weanus from self. They put us off from the false basis of
self-righteousnessand bring us to know that only in Christ can our help be
found. So, first of all, Christ is the end of the Law, in that He is its great
purpose.
And now, secondly, He is the Law’s fulfillment. It is impossible for any of us
to be savedwithout righteousness.The God of Heaven and earth, by
immutable necessity, demands righteousness ofall His creatures. Now, Christ
has come to give to us the righteousness whichthe Law demands, but which it
never bestows. In the chapter before us we read of “the righteousness whichis
of faith,” which is also called, “God’s righteousness.”And we read of those
who “shallnot be ashamed” because they are righteous by believing, “for with

the heart man believes unto righteousness.” Whatthe Law could not do Jesus
has done! He provides the righteousness whichthe Law asks for, but cannot
produce!
What an amazing righteousness itmust be which is as broad and deep and
long and high as the Law itself! The Commandments are exceedinglybroad,
but the righteousness ofChrist is as broad as the Commandments and goes to
the end of them. Christ did not come to make the Law milder, or to render it
possible for our crackedand battered obedience to be acceptedas a sortof
compromise. The Law is not compelled to lowerits terms, as though it had
originally askedtoo much. It is holy, just and good–andought not to be
altered in one jot or tittle–nor canit be.
Our Lord gives the Law all it requires, not a part–for that would be an
admission that it might justly have been content with less at first. The Law
claims complete obedience without one spot or speck, failure, or flaw. And
Christ has brought in such a righteousness as that, and gives it to His people.
The Law demands that the righteousness should be without omissionof duty
and without commissionof sin–and the righteousness whichChrist has
brought in is just such an one that for its sake the great Godaccepts His
people and counts them to be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
The Law will not be content without spiritual obedience–mere outward
compliances will not satisfy. But our Lord’s obedience was as deepas it was
broad, for His zeal to do the will of Him that sent Him consumedHim. He
says Himself, “I delight to do Your will, O My God, yes, Your Law is within
My heart.” Such righteousness He puts upon all Believers. “Bythe obedience
of One shall many be made righteous.” Righteous to the fullest–perfectin
Christ! We rejoice to wearthe costlyrobe of fair white linen which Jesus has
prepared and we feelthat we may stand arrayed in it before the majesty of
Heaven without a trembling thought! This is something to dwell upon, dear
Friends. Only as righteous ones can we be saved, but Jesus Christ makes us
righteous and, therefore, we are saved!
He is righteous who believes on Him, even as Abraham believed God and it
was counted unto him for righteousness. “Thereis, therefore, now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,” because theyare made
righteous in Christ. Yes, the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of Paul challengesall
men, angels and devils, to lay anything to the charge ofGod’s elect, since
Christ has died. O Law, when you demand of me a perfect righteousness, I,
being a Believer, present it to you. For through Christ Jesus, faith is
accountedunto me for righteousness.The righteousness ofChrist is mine, for

I am one with Him by faith and this is the name with which He shall be
called–“TheLord our Righteousness.”
Jesus has thus fulfilled the original demands of the Law, but you know,
Brothers and Sisters, that since we have brokenthe Law there are other
demands. For the remission of past sins something more is asked, now, than
present and future obedience. Upon us, on accountof our sins, the curse has
been pronounced and a penalty has been incurred. It is written that He, “will
by no means clearthe guilty,” but every transgressionandiniquity shall have
its just punishment and reward. Here, then, let us admire that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the end of the Law as to penalty! That curse and penalty are awful
things to think about, but Christ has ended all their evil and thus discharged
us from all the consequencesofsin!
As far as every Believeris concerned, the Law demands no penalty and utters
no curse. The Believer can point to the GreatSurety on the tree of Calvary,
and say, “See there, oh Law, there is the vindication of Divine Justice which I
offer to you! Jesus pouring out His heart’s blood from His wounds and dying
on my behalf is my answerto your claims! And I know that I shall be
delivered from wrath through Him.” The claims of the Law, both as broken
and unbroken, Christ has met–both the positive and the penal demands are
satisfiedin Him. This was a labor worthy of a God and lo, the Incarnate God
has achievedit! He has finished the transgression, made an end of sins, made
reconciliationfor iniquity and brought in everlasting righteousness!All glory
be to His name!
Moreover, not only has the penalty been paid, but Christ has put greatand
specialhonor upon the Law in so doing. I venture to say that if the whole
human race had kept the Law of God and not one of them had violated it, the
Law would not stand in so splendid a position of honor as it does today when
the Man, Christ Jesus, who is also the Son of God, has paid obeisance to it.
God, Himself, Incarnate, has in His life and yet more in His death, revealed
the supremacyof the Law–He has shownthat not even Love nor Sovereignty
can setaside Justice. Who shall saya word againstthe Law to which the
Lawgiver, Himself, submits? Who shall now say that it is too severe when He
who made it submits Himself to its penalties?
BecauseHe was found in fashion as a Man and was our Representative, the
Lord demanded from His ownSon perfect obedience to the Law, and the Son
voluntarily bowedHimself to it without a single word, taking no exceptionto
His task. “Yes, Your Law is My delight,” He said, and He proved it to be so by
paying homage to it even to the fullest! Oh wondrous Law under which even
Emmanuel serves!Oh matchless Law whose yoke even the Son of God does

not disdain to bear, but being resolvedto save His chosen, was made under
the Law, lived under it and died under it, “obedientto death, even the death
of the Cross!”
The Law’s stability has also been securedby Christ. That, alone, canremain
which is proved to be just, and Jesus has proved the Law to be so, magnifying
it and making it honorable. He says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the
Law or the Prophets:I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say
unto you, till Heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass
from the Law, till all is fulfilled.” I shall have to show you how He has made
an end of the Law in another sense, but as to the settlementof the eternal
principles of right and wrong, Christ’s life and death have achieved this
forever. “Yes, we establishthe Law,” said Paul, “we do not make void the
Law through faith.” The Law is proved to be holy and just by the very Gospel
of faith, for the Gospel which faith believes in does not alter or lowerthe Law,
but teaches us how it was to be fulfilled the uttermost!
Now the Law shall stand fast foreverand ever, since even to save electman,
God will not alter it. He had a people, chosen, beloved and ordained to life–yet
He would not save them at the expense of one principle of right! They were
sinful and how could they be justified unless the Law was suspended or
changed? Was, then, the Law changed? It seemedas if it must be so if man
was to be saved, but Jesus Christ came and showedus how the Law could
stand firm as a rock and yet the redeemed could be justly savedby infinite
Mercy! In Christ we see both Mercyand Justice shining full orbed, and yet
neither of them in any degree eclipsing the other. The Law has all it ever
asked, as it ought to have–andyet the Father of all mercies sees allHis chosen
savedas He determined they should be through the death of His Son!
Thus I have tried to show you how Christ is the fulfillment of the Law to its
utmost end. May the Holy Spirit bless the teaching. And now, thirdly, He is
the end of the Law in the sense that He is the termination of it. He has
terminated it in two senses.Firstof all, His people are not under it as a
covenantof life. “We are not under the Law, but under Grace.”The old
Covenant, as it stood with father Adam was, “This do and you shall live.” Its
command he did not keepand, consequently, he did not live, nor do we live in
him, since in Adam all died. The old Covenantwas broken and we became
condemned, but now, having suffered death in Christ, we are no more under
it, but are dead to it.
Brothers and Sisters, atthis present moment, although we rejoice to do good
works, we are not seeking life through them! We are not hoping to obtain
Divine favor by our own goodness, noreven to keepourselves in the love of

God by any merit of our own. Chosen, not for our works, but according “to
the eternalwill and goodpleasure of God,” we are called, not of works, but by
the Spirit of God. We desire to continue in this Grace and return no more to
the bondage of the old Covenant. Since we have put our trust in an Atonement
provided and applied by Grace through Christ Jesus, we are no longerslaves
but children, not working to be saved, but saved already, and working
because we are saved!
Neither that which we do, nor even that which the Spirit of Godworks in us,
is, to us, the ground and basis of the love of God toward us since He loved us
from the first because He would love us, unworthy though we were. And He
loves us, still, in Christ and looks upon us not as we are in ourselves, but as we
are in Him, washedin His blood and coveredin His righteousness. Youare
not under the Law, Christ has taken you from the servile bondage of a
condemning Covenant and made you to receive the adoption of children, so
that now you cry, Abba, Father.
Again, Christ is the terminator of the Law, for we are no longer under its
curse. The Law cannotcurse a Believer, it does not know how to do it. It
blesses him, yes, and he shall be blessed, for as the Law demands
righteousness andlooks at the Believerin Christ–and sees thatJesus has given
him all the righteousness itdemands–the Law is bound to pronounce him
blessed. “Blessedis he whose transgressionis forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessedis the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity, and in whose
spirit there is no guile.” Oh, the joy of being redeemedfrom the curse of the
Law by Christ, who was “made a curse for us,” as it is written, “Cursedis
everyone that hangs on a tree.”
Do you, my Brothers and Sisters, understand the sweetmystery of salvation?
Have you ever seenJesus standing in your place that you may stand in His
place? Christ accusedand Christ condemned! Christ led out to die and Christ
smitten of the Father, even to the death! And then you cleared, justified,
delivered from the curse because the curse has spent itself on your Redeemer!
You are admitted to enjoy the blessing because the righteousness whichwas
His is now transferred to you that you may be blessedof the Lord, world
without end! Let us triumph and rejoice in this forevermore! Why shouldn’t
we? And yet some of God’s people getunder the Law as to their feelings and
begin to fear that because they are consciousofsin they are not saved,
whereas it is written, “He justifies the ungodly.”
For myself, I love to live near a sinner’s Savior. If my standing before the
Lord depended upon what I am in myself and what goodworks and
righteousness I could bring, surely I would have to condemn myself a

thousand times a day! But to get awayfrom that and to say, “I have believed
in Jesus Christ and therefore righteousness is mine,” this is peace, rest, joy
and the beginning of Heaven! When one attains to this experience, His love to
Jesus Christ begins to flame up and he feeds that if the Redeemerhas
delivered him from the curse of the Law, he will not continue in sin, but he
will endeavorto live in newness oflife! We are not our own, we are bought
with a price and we would, therefore, glorify God in our bodies and in our
spirits, which are the Lord’s. Thus much upon Christ in connectionwith the
Law.
II. Now, secondly, OURSELVES IN CONNECTIONWITH CHRIST–for,
“Christ is the end of the Law to everyone that believes.” Now see the point–“to
everyone that believes”–therethe stress lies. Come, Man, Woman, do you
believe? No weightier question can be askedunder Heaven! “Do you believe
on the Son of God?” And what is it to believe? It is not merely to accepta set
of doctrines and to saythat such-and-such a creedis yours and then and there
to put it on the shelf and forgetit. To believe is to trust, to confide, to depend
upon, to rest upon, to rest in.
Do you believe that Jesus Christrose from the dead? Do you believe that He
stoodin the sinner’s place and suffered, the Just for the unjust? Do you
believe that He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by
Him? And do you, therefore, lay the whole weight and stress ofyour soul’s
salvationupon Him, yes, upon Him alone? Ah then, Christ is the end of the
Law for righteousness to you and you are righteous! In the righteousnessof
God you are clothed if you believe! It is of no use to bring forward anything
else if you are not believing, for nothing will do.
If faith is absent, the essentialthing is lacking–sacraments, prayers, Bible
reading, hearing of the Gospel–youmay heap them togetheras high as the
stars, into a mountain as high Olympus, but they are all mere chaff if faith is
not there! It is your believing or not believing which must settle the matter!
Do you look awayfrom yourself to Jesus forrighteousness? Ifyou do, He is
the end of the Law to you. Now observe that there is no question raised about
your previous character, for it is written, “Christ is the end of the Law for
righteousness to everyone that believes.”
But, Lord, this man, before He believed, was a persecutorand injurious! He
ragedand raved againstthe saints and hauled them to prison and sought their
blood! Yes, beloved Friend, and that is the very man who wrote these words
by the Holy Spirit, “Christ is the end of the Law for righteousnessto everyone
that believes.” So if I address one here, this morning, whose life has been
defiled with every sin and stained with every transgressionwe can conceive of,

yet I say unto such, remember, “all manner of sin and of blasphemy shall be
forgiven unto men.”
If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, your iniquities are blotted out, for the
blood of Jesus Christ, God’s dear Son, cleansesus from all sin! This is the
glory of the Gospel, that it is a sinner’s Gospel–goodnews ofblessing, not for
those without sin, but for those who confess and forsake it! Jesus came into
the world, not to reward the sinless, but to seek and to save that which was
lost. And he, being lostand being far from God, who comes near to God by
Christ and believes in Him, will find that He is able to bestow righteousness
upon the guilty.
He is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone that believes and,
therefore, to the poor harlot that believes, to the drunk of many years
standing that believes, to the thief, the liar and the scofferwho believes!Jesus
is the end of the Law to those who have, before, rioted in sin but now turn
from it to trust in Him. But I do not know that I need mention such casesas
these. To me the most wonderful fact is that Christ is the end of the Law for
righteousness to me, for I believe in Him. I know whom I have believed and I
am persuadedthat He is able to keepthat which I have committed to Him
until that day.
Another thought arises from the text, and that is that there is nothing said by
way of qualification as to the strength of the faith. Jesus is the end of the Law
for righteousnessto everyone that believes, whether He is Little Faith or
Greatheart. Jesus protects the rear rank as well as the vanguard. There is no
difference betweenone Believerand another as to justification. So long as
there is a connectionbetweenyou and Christ, the righteousness ofGod is
yours! The link may be like a film, a spider’s line of trembling faith, but, if it
runs all the way from the heart to Christ, Divine Grace canand will flow
along the most slender thread!
It is marvelous how fine the wire may be that will carry the electric flash. We
may need a cable to carry a messageacrossthe sea, but that is for the
protection of the wire. The wire which actually carries the message is a
slender thing. If your faith is of the mustard-seedkind–if it is only such as
tremblingly touches the hem of the Savior’s garment. If you canonly say,
“Lord, I believe, help You my unbelief.” If it is but the faith of sinking Peter,
or weeping Mary, yet if it is faith in Christ, He will be the end of the Law for
righteousness to you as well as to the chief of the Apostles!If this is so, then,
beloved Friends, all of us who believe are righteous.

Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have obtained the righteousness which
those who follow the works of the Law know nothing of. We are not
completely sanctified–wouldGodwe were!We are not rid of sin in our
members, though we hate it, but still, for all that, in the sight of God, we are
truly righteous! And being qualified by faith, we have peace with God. Come,
look up, you Believers that are burdened with a sense ofsin! While you
chastenyourselves and mourn your sin, do not doubt your Savior, nor
question His righteousness!You are black, but do not stop there, go on to say
as the spouse did, “I am black, but comely.”–
“Thoughin ourselves deformedwe are,
And black as Kedar’s tents appear,
Yet, when we put Your beauties on,
Fair as the courts of Solomon.”
Now, mark that the connectionof our text assures us that being righteous we
are saved, for what does it say here? “If you shall confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you shall be saved.” He who is justified is saved, or what were the
benefit of justification? Over you, Believer, Godhas pronounced the verdict,
“saved,” andnone shall reverse it! You are savedfrom sin and death and
Hell–you are savedeven now, with a presentsalvation–“He has savedus and
calledus with a holy calling.” Feelthe beauty of it at this hour. “Beloved, now
are we the sons of God!”
And now I have done when I have said just this. If anyone here thinks He can
save himself and that his own righteousness willsuffice before God, I would
affectionatelybeg him not to insult his Savior. If your righteousness suffices,
why did Christ come here to work one out? Will you, for a moment, compare
your righteousness with the righteousness ofJesus Christ? What likeness is
there betweenyou and Him? As much as betweenan ant and an archangel!
No, not so much as that–as much as betweennight and day, Hell and Heaven!
Oh, if I had a righteousness ofmy own that no one could find fault with, I
would voluntarily fling it away to have the righteousness ofChrist! But as I
have none of my own, I rejoice the more to have my Lord’s.
When Mr. Whitefield first preached at Kingswood, nearBristol, to the coal
miners, he could see when their hearts began to be touched by the gutters of
white made by the tears as they ran down their black cheeks. He saw they
were receiving the Gospeland he wrote in his diary, “as these poormen had
no righteousness oftheir own, they, therefore, gloried in Him who came to
save publicans and sinners.” Well, Mr. Whitefield, that is true of the coal
miners, but it is equally true of many of us, here, who may not have had black

faces, but we had black hearts! We can truly say that we, also, rejoice to cast
awayour own righteousness andcount it dross and dung that we may win
Christ and be found in Him! In Him is our sole hope and only trust!
Last of all, for any of you to rejectthe righteousness ofChrist must be to
perish everlastingly, because it cannot be that God will acceptyou or your
pretended righteousness whenyou have refused the realand Divine
RighteousnesswhichHe sets before you in His Son! If you could go up to the
gates ofHeaven and an angel were to sayto you, “What title have you to
entrance here?” And if you were to reply, “I have a righteousness ofmy own,”
then for you to be admitted would be to decide that your righteousness was on
a par with that of Immanuel, Himself! Can that ever be? Do you think that
God will ever allow such a lie to be sanctioned? Will He let a poor wretched
sinner’s counterfeit righteousness pass current, side by side with the fine gold
of Christ’s perfection?
Why was the fountain filled with blood if you need no washing? Is Christ a
superfluity? Oh, it cannot be! You must have Christ’s righteousness orbe
unrighteous–and being unrighteous you will be unsaved–andbeing unsaved
you must remain lostforever and ever! “What? Has it all come to this, then,
that I am to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for righteousness and to be made
just through faith?” Yes, that is it! That is the whole of it. “What? Trust
Christ, alone, and then live as I like?” You cannot live in sin after you have
trusted Jesus, forthe actof faith brings with it a change of nature and a
renewalof your soul. The Spirit of God, who leads you to believe, will also
change your heart.
You spoke of, “living as you like.” You will like to live very differently from
what you do now. The things you loved before your conversion, you will hate
when you believe–andthe things you hated you will love. Now you are trying
to be goodand you have greatfailures because your heart is alienated from
God. But when once you have receivedsalvation longergrievous to you. A
change of heart is what you need but you will never get it except through the
Covenantof Grace. There is not a word about conversionin the Old
Covenant–we must look to the New Covenant for that!
And here it is–“Thenwill I sprinkle cleanwaterupon you and you shall be
clean. From all your filthiness and from all your idols, I will cleanse you. A
new heart, also, will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I
will take awaythe stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of
flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and you shall keepMy judgments, and do them.” This is one of the
greatestCovenantpromises–andthe Holy Spirit performs it in the chosen!

Oh, that the Lord would sweetlypersuade you to believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ–and that promise and all the other Covenantengagements shallbe
fulfilled to your soul! The Lord bless you! Spirit of God, send Your blessing
on these poor words of mine for Jesus'sake. Amen. PORTION OF
SCRIPTURE READ BEFORESERMON–Romans10.
HYMNS FROM “OWN HYMN BOOK”–231,535,647.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The End Of The Law
Romans 10:4
S.R. Aldridge
The desire for righteousness has embodieditself in diverse and some of
them grotesque forms. Gathertogetherthe Pharisee with his
phylacteries and ablutions; the Chinaman burning his bits of paper for
ancestralworship; the Hindoo bathing in the sacredriver, or
prostrating himself under the idol-car; the Roman Catholic telling his
beads and performing his penance;and the moral youth, who never
omits his daily portion of Scripture, or his morning and evening
prayers, and would scornto tell an untruth; and one would scarce
imagine that the same motive actuates allthese. Yet they all bear
witness to man's anxiety to be righteous in the sight of the Supreme
Being, and those are abnormally Constituted who are never conscious of
this yearning. It was not this strong desire for righteousness whichthe
apostle tried to alter in the Jews, but the antiquated imperfect method
to which they still clung after the one sure way of justification through
faith in Christ had been proclaimed.
I. CHRIST THE TERMINATION OF THE LEGAL ECONOMY. The
rending of the veil at the Crucifixion indicated the passing awayof the
old dispensation, with all its gorgeous rites and external splendour.
There arose anotherorder of priesthood, from which the exclusiveness
of the former caste was absent. Jesus the High Priest came not of the
tribe of Levi. It is no longernecessaryto become a Jew in order to reap

the privileges of accessto God. Christ has releasedmen from the yoke of
the Law, with its fasts and feasts, its observance ofdays and seasons.He
has changedour state from pupilage to manhood; from slaveryto a
"reasonableservice."Wherevera Christian is found, there is a spiritual
priest and a living temple; wherever Christians meet, there is a holy
convocation. The tabernacle disappearedwhen the temple was erected,
and the earthly temple is no longer neededwhen the glorious building
rises, rearedwithout hands. The Jews who would not receive this
teaching had to be convinced, by the capture of Jerusalemand the
burning of their "beautiful house," that "the old order changed, giving
place to new." The forerunner of Christ was the last of the Old
Testamentprophets.
II. CHRIST THE DESIGN AND SCOPE OF THE LEVITICAL
DISPENSATION. We cannotunderstand the Law unless we regard it
as pointing unmistakably to the coming Messiah, preparing his way; a
preliminary education of mankind and of one nation in particular; like
a stock on which a new rose is to be grafted. The sacrifices, the moral
and ceremonialprecepts, were predictive, were prophecy actedin
symbol and type. The chrysalis displays tokens of the winged perfect
insect. "The Law hath been our tutor to bring us unto Christ." So that
when men inquire, "To what purpose was all this costof legislationand
ritual?" the reply is that it paved the way for something better; it was
the "shadow ofgoodthings to come."
III. CHRIST THE REALIZATION OF THE MOSAIC IDEAL. The
holiness which the Law ever kept in view, endeavouring to raise men to
its standard of righteousness,has been exemplified in Jesus Christ.
Wherein the Law was weak, Christwas strong. His condemnation of sin
was thorough and effective, and the perfectionof his sacrifice renders
any subsequent atonementneedless. To enter into the spirit of his
offering is to "purge the conscience fromdead works" and to give rest
and peace to the troubled - the region in which the Law was inoperative.
The messageofDivine love sounding from the cross has a constraining
influence over the affections and life of the Christian, which the Law
aimed at and failed to achieve. New Testamentsaints have frequently
attained to an enlightenment of mind and conformity to the Divine will
which was sighed after in vain by patriarch, psalmist, and prophet.
Christ bring his followers into communion with God, and by faith in
him are they sanctified. Love is proved a strongerprinciple than terror,

knowledge than ignorance, example than precept. In abrogating, Christ
fulfils the Law.
CONCLUSION. See, then, what faith does. It looks atChrist insteadof
a Law of ordinances. It is no longer tied by enactments and fearful of
non-compliance, for it beholds the face of Jesus, "the Lamb as it had
been slain." We may trust Christ as our Redeemerand Guide, without
understanding or acknowledging allthese points of superiority over the
former covenant;as a woman knows she will be benefited by a certain
medicine, though she could not name its ingredients, nor state the
method of its working; or as a man may journey on the railway who
comprehends little of the application of steam to locomotives, etc. And
faith is content to submit to God's righteousness, insteadof seeking to
establishits own. It relies not upon personaldesert, but upon the
provisions of mercy furnished in Christ. It is humble, and tries not to
patch togethera human garment to hide deformities and deficiencies.
Accepting the gracious offerof God, faith discovers new elements of
strength and joy in the very position assumed. - S.R.A.
Biblical Illustrator
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth.
Romans 10:4
Christ the end of the law
J. Lyth, D.D.

I. IN WHAT SENSE?
1. As its great antitype.
2. Its only sacrifice.
3. The source of its moral power.
II. FOR WHAT END? To secure —
1. Pardonof sin.
2. Holiness of life.
III. UNTO WHOM?
1. Every one.
2. That believeth.
(J. Lyth, D.D.)
Christ the end of the law for righteousness
J. S. Exell, M.A.
I. THE END OF ALL LAW IS RIGHTEOUSNESS — the production of
the most perfectresults.
1. In the natural world the use of the law is to perpetuate results
essentialto its well-being, e.g., the circulation of the atmosphere, ebb
and flow of tide, alteration of seasons, motions and influence of planets,
etc.
2. The great aim of law in the moral world is to regulate conduct so as to
produce a righteous character. The aim of the law of Moses wasto lead
to a higher life (Romans 7:10).(1)The ethical elementin the Mosaic law
discoveredto man the havoc made by sin (Romans 7:7, 11, 13).(2)The
ceremonialelement shadowedforth the remedy. The sacrifices and
festivals were intended to show the necessityfor the expiation of sin, by
the atonementof Christ.
II. IN CHRIST WE HAVE THE GRAND END OF BOTH THE
ETHICAL AND CEREMONIALLAW — righteousness andholiness.
Law depends for its authority upon the personalcharacterof the
lawgiver. The characterofChrist was like His law — holy, just, and
good.

1. From Christ proceeds the moral law by which sin is discoveredto us.
His characteris a constantreproof to us. His words bring home the
consciousnessofviolated law.
2. In Christ is the only remedy for sin. The arrangements of the
ceremoniallaw terminated in Him — the shadow retired when the
substance appeared. In His life and death He fulfilled the duties and
endured the penalties of the law, thus vindicating the righteousness of
God and providing a complete righteousness for sinful man.
III. FAITH IN CHRIST IS ACCEPTED AS A PERFECT
OBEDIENCETO THE LAW. Law is powerlesspunitively when the
end for which it exists is attained. We disarm the law by obeying it. All
our unaided efforts to obey law — while in a state of lawless unnature
— are futile. It is like running alongside a parallel pathway into which
we are vainly trying to turn ourselves. Faith, and faith only, is the
means of junction. This puts us into the position in which law would
place us. The end of all law being the production of the most perfect
results, this very end is answeredwhenwe believe in Jesus. ForChrist,
and all He has, becomes our own. "He is made unto us, of God, wisdom
and righteousness,and sanctificationand redemption." "The law and
the gospelare evidencedin man's moral nature. The law the ideal of its
life, the gospelthe life of its ideal." LESSONS:
1. It is hopeless to attempt to attain righteousness by law, because ofour
moral inability to obey all its requirements.
2. Faith in Christ is the only and universal way of obedience.
(J. S. Exell, M.A.)
R. Shittler.
I. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN THESE WORDS.
1. That the law of God has been universally broken(Romans 3:10-12).
2. That, therefore, every man is under the curse of that law (Galatians
3:13; Romans 2:8-11).
3. That, in order to be saved, this curse must be removed and sins
remitted.
4. That no man of himself can remove this curse or obtain this remission
of his sins.

5. That notwithstanding God cannot recede from His claims, nor abate
one jot or tittle of what His holy law demands, either in penalty or
precept.
6. That every person who would obtain salvation must look out for such
a righteousness as shallbe answerable to all the claims of the law, be
perfectly satisfactoryto God, and therefore available for his
justification and peace.
II. IN WHAT WAY IS "CHRIST THE END OF THE LAW FOR
RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH"? Consider
—
1. The generalpurport of Christ's coming (Psalm 40:6-10;Hebrews
10:1-14;Isaiah42:6, 7, 21;Daniel 9:24; Jeremiah23:5, 6; Jeremiah
33:15, 16;Isaiah 53:6, cf. 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
2. The specialcharacterof His mediation. We must considerit as
substitutional. We must behold Him rendering unto God, for those
whom He represented, a perfectobedience to the law which they have
broken, and suffering to its full and utmost extent the curse which they
have incurred. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness — not by
abrogating its authority, or lowering its requisitions, to meet the
exigencies ofour lapsed condition — but rather by asserting its full
obligation and satisfying all its equitable claims. This is the greatglory
of the gospel — that God can be just — in exacting every claim of the
law and in punishing every sin of those whom He saves to its full desert
— and yet the justifier of them that believe in Jesus.
III. TO WHOM IS THIS PROVISION AVAILABLE, OR WHO ARE
BENEFITED THEREBY. "Everyone that believeth," and no more. But
we must ascertain—
1. The testimony given in Scripture to this truth. We are againand
againtold that faith alone is the means appointed by God for granting
the efficacyof this provision to the souls of men.
2. Why we can be benefited in this wayof faith, and in no other? It is
enough to say that God hath declared it. But we need not let the subject
rest here. Man is utterly lost, helpless, and undone. Nothing that we can
do can avail for our salvation. Our help and hope are basedupon One,
who only is mighty to save. It is therefore evident that the only way in
which we can be benefited by what another has done for our salvation,
must be by believing in Him for the execution of such an interposition,
and for the advantage of the blessing procured thereby.

3. What is the nature of that faith by which we become interestedin this
righteousness. Itis the act of a soul made willing in the day of God's
power, under a cleardiscoveryof its lostcondition, and a clear
perception of the mediation of Jesus, by which it is brought to rely on
that mediation, and to plead that righteousness with God for its pardon
and peace (chap. Romans 10:10; Hebrews 11:1).
4. To what extent is this truth to be carried in the justification of the
sinner before God? To the full extent for which it is designed for that
purpose. It takes in the sinner's whole case — sins, guilt, condemnation,
and deservedwrath. It brings him a full and complete deliverance and
justification from all. Nay, more, it invests him with the perfect
righteousness ofChrist, as a perfect fulfilment of the law by which he
stands acceptedwith God.
IV. WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES
ARISING THEREFROM. Hereby—
1. The law is establishedin all its authority, obligations, and claims.
2. God is honoured and exalted in the possessionand exercise ofall His
perfections.
3. A sure and certainway of life and salvation, of pardon and peace, is
opened for guilty men.
4. A sure provision is made for a loving, devoted, and delightful
obedience to the will of God.
5. There is afforded to the soul a sure rock for its presentsafety and a
firm foundation for its future security, even for ever.
6. The Church of God is provided with an unerring test by which to try
every doctrine proposed for her acceptance, andan indomitable weapon
by which to conquer every antichristian foe.
(R. Shittler.)
Elnathan Parr, B.D.
I. THE PROPOSITION. "Christis the end of the law." The end of a
thing is either mathematicalor moral. The mathematical end is the
utmost part of a thing, in which the length or continuance is
determined; as a point is the end of a line, death the end of life, the day

of judgment the end of this world. The moral end of a thing is the scope
and perfectionof it. Now Christ is the end of the law both ways.
1. The mathematical end of the ceremonialand moral. Of the
ceremonialby a direct signification, of the moral by an accidental
direction. The ceremonies signifiedChrist and ended at Him. Properly,
the moral law leads sinners to the curse, but by accountto Christ, as the
disease leads to the medicine or physician.
2. He is also the moral end of both. ForHe is the body of those
ceremonies and shadows, andHe perfectly fulfilled the Decaloguefor
us, and that three ways.
(1)In His pure conception.
(2)In His godly life.
(3)In His holy and obedient sufferings, and all for us.For whatsoeverthe
law required that we should be, do, or suffer, He hath performed in our
behalf. Therefore one wittily saith that Christ is Telos, the end, or
tribute, and we, by His payment, Ateleis, tribute-free, we are discharged
by Him before God. Christ is both these ends, but principally the last is
here understood.
II. THE AMPLIFICATION "for righteousness."Whenthou art come
to Christ thou must not castawaythe law, but use it still to make thee
more to cling unto Christ and as a rule of righteous living. Christ is the
end of the law, not the killing, but fulfilling end; not to end, but to urge
thy obedience. Whenthe merchant is come aboard his ship by boat, he
drowns not his boat, but hoists it up into his ship; he may have use of it
another time. Or as a nobleman neglects nothis schoolmasterwhen he
is come to his lands, but prefers him. So certainly, if the law (though
sharp) hath brought thee to Christ, thou canstnot but love it for this
office;if thou doestnot, thou hast not Christ. Yea, it will be the delight
of a man to be then doing, when Christ is with him, as Peterthen
willingly and with successcastouthis net. Without Christ the law is an
uncomfortable study; but with Him, nothing more delightful.
(Elnathan Parr, B.D.)
C. H. Spurgeon.
Consider—

I. CHRIST IN CONNECTION WITHTHE LAW. The law is that
which we have cause to dread; for the sting of death is sin, and the
strength of sin is the law. "Cursedis every one that continueth not in all
things that are written in the book of the law to do them." Yet, like the
fascinationwhich attracts the gnat to the candle, men by nature fly to
the law for salvation. Now, whathas our Lord to do with the law?
1. He is its purpose and object. The law is our schoolmaster, orrather
our attendant to conduct us to the schoolof Jesus;the greatnet in which
the fish are enclosedthat they may be drawn out of the element of sin;
the stormy wind which drives souls into the harbour of refuge; the
sheriff's officerto shut men up in prison for their sin, concluding them
all under condemnation in order that they may look to the free grace of
God alone for deliverance. It empties that grace may fill, wounds that
mercy may heal. Had man never fallen, the law would have been most
helpful to show him the way in which he should walk:and by keeping it
he would have lived (ver. 5). But since man has fallen, a wayof salvation
by works has become impossible. The law is meant to lead the sinner to
faith in Christ, by showing the impossibility of any other way. It is the
dog to fetch the sheepto the shepherd, the burning heat which drives
the traveller to the shadow of the greatrock in a weary land. The law is
adapted to this; for —(1) It shows man his sin. Who can lay his own
characterside by side with it without seeing how far he has fallen short
of the standard? When the law comes home to the soulit is like light in a
dark room revealing the dust and the dirt which else had been
unperceived. It is the testwhich detects the presence ofthe poisonof sin
in the soul. A true balance discovers short weight, and such is the first
effectof the law upon the conscienceofman.(2) It shows the result and
mischief of sin. The types were intended to lead men to Christ by
making them. see their unclean condition and their need of such
cleansing as only He can give. Men put apart because ofdisease or
uncleanness were made to see how sin separatedthem from God; and
when they were brought back and purified with mystic rites, they were
made to see how they canonly be restoredby Christ, the greatHigh
Priest. "Without shedding of blood is no remission."(3)It teaches men
their utter helplessness.Suchholiness as the law demands no man can
reachof himself. "Thy commandment is exceeding broad." "Who can
bring a cleanthing out of an unclean? Not one." "How can he be clean
that is born of a woman?" In grace there is hope, but as a matter of
debt there is none, for we do not merit anything but wrath. The law tells

us this, and the soonerwe know it to be so the better, for the soonerwe
shall fly to Christ.(4) It shows us our greatneed. The law is the
surgeon's knife which cuts out the proud flesh that the wound may heal.
The law by itself only sweeps andraises the dust, but the gospel
sprinkles cleanwater upon the dust. The law kills, the gospelmakes
alive; the law strips, and then Jesus Christ robes the soul in beauty.
2. Christ is the law's fulfilment.(1) God by immutable necessity
demands righteousness ofHis creatures, and the law is not compelledto
lowerits terms, as though it had originally askedtoo much; but Christ
gives the law all it requires. The law claims complete obedience, and
Christ has brought in such a righteousness as that, and gives it to His
people. Only as righteous ones can we be saved, but Christ makes us
righteous, and therefore we are saved.(2)Jesus has thus fulfilled the
original demands of the law, but since we have brokenit there are other
demands. God "will by no means clearthe guilty," but every
transgressionshall have its just punishment. Here, then, Christ is the
end of the law as to penalty. The claims of the law both as broken and
unbroken Christ has met: both the positive and the penal demands are
satisfiedin Him.(3) Notonly has the penalty been paid, but Christ has
put greathonour upon the law in so doing. If the whole race had kept
the law it would not stand in so splendid a position as it does now that
the Sonof Godhas paid obeisance to it. Who shall saya word against
the law to which the Lawgiver Himself submits?(4) The law's stability
also has been securedby Christ. That alone can remain which is proved
to be just, and Jesus has proved the law to be so, magnifying it and
making it honourable. He says, "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
As to the settlement of the eternalprinciples of right and wrong,
Christ's life and death have achievedthis for ever. "We establishthe
law, we do not make void the law through faith."
3. Christ is the end of the law in that He is the termination of it in two
senses.(1)His people are not under it as a covenantof life. "We are not
under the law, but under grace."(2)We are no longer under its curse.
Jesus has given us all the righteousness it demands, and the law is
bound to bless. "Blessedis he whose transgressionis forgiven, whose sin
is covered."
II. OURSELVES IN CONNECTION WITHCHRIST — for "to every
one that believeth." To believe is not merely to accepta setof doctrines
but to trust, to confide, to rest in. Dostthou believe that Christ stoodin
the sinner's stead and suffered the just for the unjust, and that He is

able to save to the uttermost? And dostthou therefore lay the whole
weight of thy soul's salvationupon Him alone? Then Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to thee, and thou art righteous. It is of no use
to bring forward anything else if you are not believing, for nothing will
avail — sacraments, prayers, etc. Observe —
1. There is no question raisedabout the previous character, for it is
written, "Christ is the end of the law. for righteousness to every one that
believeth." But, Lord, this man before he believed was a persecutorand
injurious. Yes, and that is the very man who wrote these words. So if I
address one who is defiled with every sin, yet I say if thou believestthine
iniquities are blotted out, for the blood of Christ cleansethus from all
sin.
2. There is nothing said by way of qualification as to the strength of the
faith. He is the end of the law for righteousnessto every one that
believeth, whether he is Little Faith or Greatheart. The link may be
very like a film, a spider's line of trembling faith, but, if it runs all the
way from the heart to Christ, Divine grace canand will flow along the
most slender thread. It is marvellous how fine the wire may be that will
carry the electric flash. If thy faith be of the mustard-seed kind, if it be
only such as tremblingly touches the garments hem, if it be but the faith
of sinking Peter, or weeping Mary, yet Christ will be the end of the law
for righteousnessto thee as well as to the chief of the apostles.
3. If this be so then all of us who believe are righteous. We are not
completely sanctified, but still, in the sight of God, we are righteous, and
being justified by faith we have peace with Him.
4. The connectionof our text assures us that being righteous we are
saved(ver. 9).Conclusion:
1. If any one thinks he can save himself, and that his own righteousness
will suffice before God, I would ask, if your righteousness sufficeth, why
did Christ come here to work one out?
2. Forany to reject the righteousness ofChrist must be to perish
everlastingly, because it cannot be that God will acceptyou or your
pretended righteousness whenyou have refused the realand Divine
righteousness whichHe sets before you in His Son.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. WHAT THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS IS, SPOKEN OF IN THE TEXT.
Evidently that which is necessaryin order to eternal life, and which
infallibly leads to it (Romans 5:17, 21). It is termed "The righteousness
of God" (ver. 3; chap. Romans 1:17), and saidto be by faith (Romans
3:21, 22;Philippians 3:9). It implies —
1. Justification(Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7); without which, as guilty
condemned sinners, we can have no title to eternal life.
2. Regenerationorsanctification(see Philippians 3:9); spokenof
Ephesians 4:17-24;Titus 3:5, 6; John 3:5, 6; without which we are not
in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), and have no fitness for
heaven.
3. Practicalobedience (Ephesians 2:10);the grand evidence that we are
righteous (Luke 1:6; 1 John 3:7). As to the necessityof this, see Romans
2:6, 7; Revelation22:14; and especiallyMatthew 7:20, 21.
II. WHERE AND HOW THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS IS TO BE FOUND.
1. Notin, or by, the law.(1)The moral law (Romans 8:3) which requires
perfect obedience. This we have not paid, do not, and cannot in future,
pay. Hence it finds us guilty, and has no pardon to give us; it finds us
depraved, and has no new nature for us; it finds us helpless, and has no
supernatural aid to impart.(2) The ceremoniallaw. Its sacrificescould
not remove sin (Hebrews 9:23; Hebrews 10:4). Its purifications could
only impart a ceremonialcleanness, orremove "the filth of the flesh"
(Hebrews 9:13; 1 Peter3:21). Its institutions respecting meats, days, etc.
As they did not make the tree good, of course the fruit could not be good
(Matthew 12:16-19).
2. But wherefore, then, serveth the law? In Christ was the end for which
the law was instituted; the moral law being chiefly to convince men of
sin (Romans 3:19, 20; Romans 7:7, 8), and thus to be a "schoolmasterto
bring them to Christ" (Galatians 3:19-24), and the ceremoniallaw to
shadow forth His sacrifice andgrace. The end may mean —(1) The
scope;the law continually points to Christ; the moral law directs the
sinner to Him who fulfilled and removed the curse of it, for that
justification which itself cannotgive; and the ceremoniallaw directs
him to look from its sacrifices andpurifications to the atonementand
Spirit of Christ.(2) The perfection, or completion (1 Timothy 1:5).
Christ fulfilled the moral law in fully explaining its meaning, and
freeing it from the glossesofthe Scribes;in obeying it, in suffering its
penalty, and in providing that it may be written in our hearts; He also

answeredin His person all the types and shadows ofthe ceremonial
law.(3)The period or termination (Romans 6:21). Thus the whole
Mosaic dispensationgives wayto the gospel(2 Corinthians 3:11), and its
ceremonies are takenout of the way by Christ (Colossians 2:14).
3. "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness."(1)Forjustification,
or righteousness imputed, is only to be found in His obedience unto
death (Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21).(2)
Regeneration, a new creation, and entire sanctificationare only to be
found in Christ, by His Spirit and grace, who is made of God to us
sanctification(John 1:14, 16; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 1:30).(3)
Practicalrighteousnessis likewise to be had in Him, His laws direct us
how to walk;His promises and threatenings enforce His laws;His
example allures us; and His grace enables us to walk in His ways (2
Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 4:14-16).
III. BY WHOM THIS RIGHTEOUSNESSIS TO BE FOUND. By
"every one that believeth" (vers. 5-10).
1. Its object is that God hath raised Christ from the dead. This —(1)
DemonstratedHim to be the Son of God (Romans 1:3, 4), and,
therefore, the only Saviour able and willing to save to the uttermost. Of
this faith is persuaded, and, therefore, trusts in Him for salvation.(2)
Was the broad sealof heaven setto His doctrine, of which faith is so
thoroughly persuaded as to lay it to heart and walk according to it.(3)
Was to show that His atonement was sufficient and accepted;of this
faith is also persuaded and, therefore, relies solelyon the propitiation in
His blood for justification (Romans 3:23, etc.; Galatians 2:16-20).(4)
Was that He might ascend, and intercede, and receive for us " the
promise of the Father," for which faith thirsts and comes to Him (John
7:37, 38).(5)He rose and ascendedas our Forerunner. This faith
believes, and, consequently, anticipates immortality and glory. He rose
to give evidence that He will judge all mankind (Acts 17:31). Faith is
persuaded of this, and prepares to meet Him.
2. Our faith, in these respects, mustbe such as will enable us to "make
confessionwith our mouth," therefore it must be "with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness" (ver. 10). As to the faith that does not part
with sin, and give up everything that stands in competition with Christ,
it is dead (James 2:20-26).
3. As to the origin of this faith (see vers 11-17). It arises from the Word
and Spirit of God (Acts 16:14; Ephesians 2:8, 9; Colossians 2:12).

Therefore, hearing, reading, and prayer, are the important means. And
in the exercise ofthat measure of faith we have received, howeversmall,
it will be increased.
(JosephBenson.)
C. Hodge, D.D.
I. THE IMMUTABILITY OF THE LAW IS A FUNDAMENTAL
TRUTH. This rests on its nature and the immutability of God. The
evidence is found in nature and conscience.
1. This the Jews believed, and it lay at the foundation of their error,
which was twofold.
(1)That the law was to be fulfilled by their own righteousness.
(2)That the form in which the law was immutable was Mosaism.
2. This error led —
(1)To the effort to establishtheir ownrighteousness.
(2)To their making righteousness consistin ceremonialobedience.
3. Paul taught —
(1)That the law is immutable.
(2)That it cannot be satisfiedby our righteousness, but only by the
righteousness ofGod.
(3)That Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth.
(4)Consequentlythe immutability of the law is consistentwith its
abrogation, because its abrogationis effectedby its fulfilment.The law is
immutable so far as it demands righteousness as anindispensable
condition of justification. But it is abrogatedso far as it says, "Do this
and live," i.e., so far as it requires our ownrighteousness.
II. IN WHAT SENSE IS CHRIST THE END OF THE LAW.
1. Notin the sense of its completion. Telos never occurs in the sense of
pleroma.
2. But in the sense of having made an end of it, abolishedit. This He has
done —

(1)In so satisfying its demands that it ceasesto require our own personal
righteousness as a condition of justification.
(2)In putting an end to the Mosaic institutions, so that obedience to that
law is no longer necessaryto salvation.
3. In the sense ofbeing its aim or object. This means either —
(1)That the end of the law is righteousness.Christis the end of the law
because He is our righteousness;its design is securedin Him. So that it
is by faith, not works, that the end of the law is to be attained.
(2)Or, Christ is the object aimed at in the law. It was designedto bring
us to Christ.
III. CONSEQUENCES.
1. Out of Christ we are exposed —
(1)To the inexorable demands of the law.
(2)To its awful curse.
(3)To its slavishspirit.
2. In Him we are righteous.
(1)We meet all the demands of the law by pleading what He has done.
(2)We are free from its curse as He was made a curse for us.
(3)We are delivered from the spirit of bondage againto fear and are
filled with the Spirit of adoption.Conclusion:As a result of faith in
Christ our righteousness we have —
1. Peacewith God, and peace of conscience.
2. Assurance of eternallife, as no one cancondemn those whom God
justifies.
3. A principle of obedience, for until we are reconciledthere can be no
holiness.
4. All the benefits of Christ's triumph. Having obeyed and suffered for
us as our representative, we share in all the blessings promisedas His
reward.
(C. Hodge, D.D.)
C. H. Spurgeon.

Christ was revealedto abrogate, to annihilate, utterly to abolish sin.
Now, we all know what it is to have a thing abrogated. Certain laws
have held goodup to the first of January of this year with regard to the
hiring of public carriages,but now are under a new law. Suppose a
driver complies with the new law, gets his license, puts up his flag, gives
the passengerhis card of prices, and afterwards the passengersummons
him before the magistrate for asking a fare not authorised by the old
law; the magistrate would say, "You are out of court, there is no such
law. You cannot bring the man here, he has not broken the old law, for
he is not under it. He has complied with the requisition of the new law,
by which he declares himself no longer under the old rules, and I have
no power over him." So he that believeth in Christ Jesus may be
summoned by consciencewhenmisinformed before the bar of God, but
the answerof peace to his conscience is, "Ye are not under the law, but
under grace." "Christis the end of the law for righteousness to every
one that believeth."
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The relation of the law to the gospel
T. Chalmers, D.D.
(text and 1 Timothy 1:5): — The law of God may be viewed in a twofold
aspect, to distinguish betweenwhich is to prove a safeguardagainst
both the errors of legality and the errors of antinomianism. We must
regard the law —
I. IN RELATION TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESSWHICH
CONSTITUTES THE TITLE TO ITS REWARDS.
1. When we strive to make this out by our own obedience, the aim is to
possessourselvesofa legalright to heaven. We proceedon the
imagination of a contractbetweenGod and man — whereofthe
counterpart terms are a fulfilment of the law's requisitions upon the one
side, and a bestowmentof the law's rewards upon the other. The one is
the purchase-money— the other is the payment. They stand related to
eachother, as work does to wages. Now this spirit of legality, as it is
called, is nearly the universal spirit of humanity. They are not the
Israelites only who go about to establisha righteousness oftheir own.
There is, in fact, a legaldisposition in the heart, and, long after the utter
shortness of human virtue has been demonstrated, yet will man, as if by
the bias of a constitutionalnecessity, recurto the old legalimagination,

of this virtue being a thing of desert, and of heaven being the reward
which is due to it.
2. Now, for man to establisha right by his righteousness, is in the face of
all jurisprudence. Both the law and the gospelalike disown man's legal
right to the rewards of eternity; and if he be too proud to disown it
himself, he remains both a victim of condemnation by the one, and a
helpless, hopeless outcastfromthe mercy of the other. If man will
persist in seeking to make out a title-deed to heaven by his own
obedience, then that obedience must be perfect. Even if he have but
committed one sin — there is the barrier of a moral necessityin his way,
which it is impossible to force. The God who cannot lie, cannotrecall
His curse upon every one who continueth not in all the words of the
book of His law to do them. And one of two things must happen. Either,
with a just conceptionof the standard of the law, he will sink into
despair; or, with a low conceptionof that standard, he, though but
grovelling among the mere decencies ofcivil life or the barren
formalities of religious service, will aspire no farther and yet count
himself safe.
3. Now herein lies the grand peculiarity of the gospel. It pronounces on
the utter insignificance ofall that man cando for the establishmentof
his right to the kingdom of heaven; and yet, he must be somehow or
other provided with such a right, ere that he can find admittance there.
It is not by an act of mercy alone that the gate of heavenis opened to the
sinner. He must be furnished with a plea which he can state at the bar of
justice — not the plea of his own deservings, whichthe gospelholds no
terms with; and therefore with a plea founded exclusively on the
deservings of another. Now what we reckonto be the very essenceofthe
gospelis the report which it brings to a sinful world of a solid and
satisfying plea; and that every sinner is welcome to the use of it. In
defectof his own righteousness, whichhe is required to disown, he is
told of an everlasting righteousness whichanother has brought in; and
which he is invited, nay commanded, to make mention of. It is thus that
Christ becomes the end of the law for righteousness.
II. AS HOLDING OUT A METHOD BY WHICH WE MIGHT
ACQUIRE A RIGHTNESS OF CHARACTER IN THE
CULTIVATION AND THE EXERCISE OF ITS BIDDEN VIRTUES.
The legalright which obedience confers is one thing. The personal
rightness which obedience confers is another. Obedience for a legal
right is everywhere denounced in the New Testament, but obedience for

a personalrightness is everywhere urged. Forthe one end, the law has
altogetherlostits efficacy;and we, in our own utter inability to
substantiate its claims, must seek to be justified only by the
righteousness ofChrist. For the other end, the law retains its office as a
perfect guide and exemplar of all virtue; and; we, empoweredby
strength from on high to follow its dictates, must seek to be sanctifiedby
the transference ofits bidden uprightness upon our own characters. Itis
no longer the purchase-money by which to buy your right of entry to
the marriage supper of the Lamb; but it is the wedding garment,
without which you will never be seatedamong the beatitudes of that
festival. To be meet in law, and without violence done to the
jurisprudence of heaven, we must be invested by faith with the
righteousness ofChrist. To be meet in character, and without offence or
violence to the spirit or the taste of heaven's society, we must be invested
with the gracesofour own personalrighteousness.
(T. Chalmers, D.D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(4) The end of the law.—“End,” in the proper sense oftermination or
conclusion. Christ is that which brings the functions of the Law to an
end by superseding it. “The Law pursues a man until he takes refuge in
Christ; then it says, Thou hastfound thine asylum; I shall trouble thee
no more, now thou art wise;now thou art safe.” (Bengel.)
For righteousness to every one that believeth.—So that every one who
believes may obtain righteousness.
BensonCommentary
Romans 10:4. For — That they have not submitted themselves to God’s
way of becoming righteous is evident in this, that they rejectChrist, by
whom alone righteousness canbe obtained; Christ is the end of the law
— The scope and aim of it; for righteousness — Observe, 1st, The
righteousness here spokenofis evidently that which is necessaryin
order to eternal life, and leads to it, (see Romans 5:21,) termed the
righteousness ofGod by faith, Php 3:9; implying not only justification,
Romans 3:24, Titus 3:7, without which we, guilty, condemned sinners,

can have no title to eternal life, it being the only means of cancelling our
guilt, and freeing us from condemnation;but also sanctification, spoken
of Ephesians 4:17-24, Titus 2:5-6, without which we are not in Christ, 2
Corinthians 5:17, and have no fitness for heaven; and practical
obedience consequentthereon, Ephesians 2:10, the grand evidence that
we are righteous, Luke 1:6, 1 John 3:7. 2d, This righteousness,in these
three branches of it, is not attainable by the law, moral or ceremonial;
not by the former, because it finds us guilty of violating its spiritual and
holy precepts, and has no pardon to give us; it finds us depraved, weak,
and helpless, and has neither a new nature nor supernatural aid to
impart. But may we not have the help we want from the ceremonial
law? Cannot the sacrifices ofit remove our guilt? No. It is impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats, &c., to take awaysin, Hebrews 10:4,
&c. Cannot the various washings or purifications of it renew and
cleanse oursouls? No: they can only remove the filth of the flesh,
Hebrews 9:13; 1 Peter3:21. Cannot the various institutions respecting
meats and drinks, and the observance ofdays, &c., assistus to attain
practicalrighteousness orobedience? No:as they do not make the tree
good, of course the fruit cannot be good;as they do not purify the
fountain, the streams issuing thence cannot be pure, Matthew 7:16-19.
But, 3d. This righteousness may be found by us in Christ; the end, or
the final cause, forwhich the law was instituted; the moral law being
chiefly intended to convince men of sin, namely, of their guilt, depravity,
and weakness, and thus to be a school-masterto bring them to Christ;
Galatians 3:19-24;and the ceremonial, to shadow forth and exhibit his
sacrifice and grace. Accordinglythe law points to Christ, and directs the
sinner to have recourse to him for all the different branches of
righteousness above mentioned, which cannotbe obtained by it, but
may be had in and by Christ; namely, justification, through his
obedience unto death, whereby he hath removed the curse of the moral
law, being made a curse for us; and regeneration, ora new creation,
with the practicalrighteousness proceeding therefrom, through his
grace and Spirit; the information and direction, in the way of duty,
afforded by his doctrine and example, and the motives to obedience
furnished by his precepts, promises, and threatenings, co-operating as
means to produce the same blessedeffects. But, 4th, To whom is Christ
thus the end of the law for righteousness?To every one — Whether Jew
or Gentile; (see Romans 10:11-15;) that believeth — Namely, with the
faith describedRomans 10:5, &c. So that the very end and design of the

law was to bring men to believe in Christ, whom it exhibited and
pointed out, for justification, renovation, and universal holiness.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
10:1-4 The Jews built on a false foundation, and refused to come to
Christ for free salvationby faith, and numbers in every age do the same
in various ways. The strictness ofthe law showedmen their need of
salvationby grace, through faith. And the ceremonies shadowedforth
Christ as fulfilling the righteousness, and bearing the curse of the law.
So that even under the law, all who were justified before God, obtained
that blessing by faith, whereby they were made partakers of the perfect
righteousness ofthe promised Redeemer. The law is not destroyed, nor
the intention of the Lawgiverdisappointed; but full satisfactionbeing
made by the death of Christ for our breach of the law, the end is gained.
That is, Christ has fulfilled the whole law, therefore whoeverbelieveth
in him, is counted just before God, as much as though he had fulfilled
the whole law himself. Sinners never could go on in vain fancies of their
own righteousness,if they knew the justice of God as a Governor, or his
righteousness as a Saviour.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
For Christ - This expressionimplies faith in Christ. This is the designof
the discussion, to show that justification cannot be obtained by our own
righteousness, but by faith in Christ. As no direct benefit results to
people from Christ unless they believe on him, faith in him is implied
where the word occurs in this connection.
Is the end of the law - The word translated"end" means what
completes a thing, or renders it perfect;also the boundary, issue, or
termination of anything, as the end of life, the result of a prophecy, etc.;
John 13:1; Luke 22:37. It also means the design or object which is had
in view; the principal purpose for which it was undertaken; 1 Timothy
1:5," The end of the commandment is charity;" the main design or
purpose of the command is to produce love; 1 Peter1:9, "The end of
your faith, the salvation of your souls;" the main design or purpose of
faith is to secure salvation;Romans 14:9, "To this end Christ both
died," etc. For this designor purpose. This is doubtless its meaning
here. "The main designor objectwhich the perfect obedience ofthe
Law would accomplish, is accomplishedby faith in Christ." That is,
perfect obedience to the Law would accomplishjustification before God,
secure his favor and eternal life. The same end is now accomplishedby

faith in Christ. The greatdesign of both is the same;and the same great
end is finally gained. This was the subject of discussionbetweenthe
apostle and the Jews;and this is all that is necessaryto understand in
the case.Some have supposed that the word "end" refers to the
ceremoniallaw; that Christ fulfilled it, and brought it to an end. Others,
that he perfectly fulfilled the moral law. And others, that the Law in the
end leads us to Christ, or that its design is to point us to him. All this is
true, but not the truth taught in this passage. Thatis simple and plain,
that by faith in Christ the same end is accomplishedin regard to our
justification, that would be by perfectobedience to the moral law.
For righteousness -Unto justification with God.
To every ... - See the note at Romans 1:17.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
4. ForChrist is the end—the objector aim.
of the law for—justifying
righteousness to every one that believeth—that is, contains within
Himself all that the law demands for the justification of such as embrace
Him, whether Jew or Gentile (Ga 3:24).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
He proves that the Jews were ignorant of the righteousness ofGod,
because they were ignorant of Christ, the true
end of the law. Christ is the end of the law:q. d. The law was given for
this end, that sinners being thereby brought to the knowledge oftheir
sins, and their lost and damned estate, by reasonthereof, should fly to
Christ and his righteousness forrefuge; see Galatians 3:19,24. Orelse:
Christ is the end of the law; i.e. the perfectionand consummation
thereof. The word is taken in this sense, 1 Timothy 1:5. He perfected the
ceremoniallaw, as being the substance whereofall the ceremonies ofthe
law were shadows;they all referred to him as their scope and end. He
perfectedalso the moral law, partly by his active obedience, fulfilling all
the righteousnessthereof, partly by his passive obedience, bearing the
curse and punishment of the law, which was due to us. Whatever the
law required that we should do or suffer, he hath perfectedit on our
behalf: see Romans 8:4.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For Christ is the end of the law,.... The apostle here observes that to
them which had they known, would have regulatedtheir zeal, removed
their ignorance and set them right, in that which they stumbled at, and
fell. By the "law" here, is not meant the ceremoniallaw, of which,
indeed, they were all very zealous, and of which Christ also was the end
in many respects;he was the final cause of it, or that for the sake of
which it was;it had not been given had it not been for him; all its
institutions, ordinances, and sacrifices, were onhis account:they were
all shadows of him, and he the body and substance of them; he was the
end or mark and scope at which they all aimed; every type lookedto
him, and every offering directed the worshipper to him; he was the
terminus of it, to whom it was to reach, and beyond whom it was not to
go; it was a schoolmaster forinstruction and direction until Christ
came, and no longer. He was the fulfilling end of it, every thing in it had
its accomplishment in him; and then lastly, he put an end to it, he
disannulled it because ofits after weaknessand unprofitableness; he
blotted out this hand writing of ordinances, and entirely abolished this
law of commandments; but then Christ was not the end of this law for
righteousness;Christ's obedience to it is no part of justifying
righteousness, especiallynot to everyone that believes, not to the
Gentiles who never were under any obligation to observe it: the moral
law is here designed, and when Christ is said to be the end of it, the
meaning is not that he was the end of its being given; for that was to be
a rule of righteousness andlife to men, and a ministration of death in
case ofdisobedience:or that he was the scope of this law, though the
Syriac version renders it "the scope" ofthe law is the Messiah, the mark
at which it aimed, or which it directs persons to; for the law does not
direct to Christ at all, in any way; it requires and insists upon a perfect
righteousness, but gives not the leasthint of the righteousness ofChrist,
nor does it in any form direct unto it; by it is the knowledge ofsin, but
no knowledge of a Saviour from sin; not the law, but the Gospeldirects
and encouragessensible sinners to believe in Christ and be saved; on the
contrary, the law is a killing letter, and the ministration of
condemnation and death; but Christ is either the consuming or
consummating, the destroying or fulfilling end of the law. He is the
destroying end of the law, not as to the nature, being, matter and
substance of it, which is invariable and eternal, and is not, and cannot
be made void by the doctrine of faith; nor as to the true use of it; but as
a covenantof works, as to the ministry of it by Moses, andas to its curse

and condemnation. Though I rather think the latter is here meant,
namely, that Christ is the fulfilling end of the law, since it is added,
for righteousness:for the bringing in an everlasting righteousness;a
righteousness justifying in the sight of God; a righteousness sinners
wanted, and could not obtain of themselves, and could never be
obtained but by a perfect fulfilling of the law: this Christ has done
partly by the conformity of his nature, being exactly like that, and what
it requires holy, just, and good;and partly by perfectobedience of his
life to all its precepts;and also by suffering the penalty of it, death, in
the room and steadof all his people; and so the whole righteousnessof
the law is fulfilled by him, and he becomes the end of it, for a justifying
righteousness before God,
to everyone that believes:not to him that works for life, and in order to
obtain a righteousnessofhis own; nor to the Jew only, but also to the
Gentile, even to everyone, be who he will, that has faith in Christ; not
that faith is either the matter, cause, orcondition of righteousness, but
this righteousness is only revealedunto, and receivedby the believer,
and canonly be pleaded by him, as his justifying righteousness.
Moreover, this phrase is descriptive of the persons to whom Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness, andsuggests thatfor whomsoever
he has fulfilled the law, in order to bring in for them a justifying
righteousness, faithin consequenceis given to them, to receive and
embrace it, and enjoy all the comfort and privileges of it.
Geneva Study Bible
{3} ForChrist is the {c} end of the law for righteousness to {d} every one
that believeth.
(3) The proof: the law itself points to Christ, that those who believe in
him should be saved. Therefore the calling to salvationby the works of
the law, is vain and foolish: but Christ is offered for salvationto every
believer.
(c) The end of the law is to justify those that keepthe law: but seeing
that we do not observe the law through the fault of our flesh, we do not
attain this end: but Christ heals this disease, forhe fulfils the law for us.
(d) Not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary

Romans 10:4. Forthe validity of the law has come to an end in Christ,
in order that every believermay be a partakerof righteousness.
Herewith Paul, for the further confirmation of what was saidin Romans
10:3, lays down the greatprinciple of salvation, from the non-knowledge
of which among the Jews that blinded and perverted striving after
righteousness flowed.
Τέλος νόμου, which is placedfirst with greatemphasis, is applied to
Christ, in so far as, by virtue of His redemptive death (Galatians 3:13;
Galatians 4:5), the divine dispensationof salvation has been introduced,
in which the basis of the procuring of salvationis no longer, as in the old
theocracy, the Mosaic νόμος, but faith, whereby the law has therefore
ceasedto be the regulative principle for the attainment of righteousness.
Only this view of τέλος, end, conclusion(adopted after Augustine by
most of the modern expositors), is conformable to what follows, where
the essentiallydifferent principles of the old and new δικαιοσύνη are
stated. For its agreementwith the doctrinal systemof the apostle, see
Romans 7:1 ff. Contrary to the meaning of the word τέλος (even in 1
Timothy 1:5), and contrary to the inherent relation of what follows,
Origen, Erasmus, Vatablus, Elsner, Homberg, Estius, Wolf, Ch.
Schmidt, Jatho, and severalothers, take it as: fulfilment of the law
(“quicquid exigebatlex moralis praestitit perfectissime,” Calovius),
which many dogmatic expositors understood of the satisfactio activa, or
of the activa and passiva together(Calovius). Linguistically faultless,
but at the same time not corresponding to the connection, is the
interpretation of Chrysostom, Theophylact, Melancthon, Beza,
Michaelis, and others, that the object and aim of the law was the
making men righteous, and that this was accomplishedthrough Christ;
or (Theodoret, Toletus, Vorstius, Grotius, Wetstein, Loesner, Heumann,
Klee, Glöckler, Krummacher), that Christ was calledthe objectand aim
of the law, because everything in the law, as the παιδαγωγὸς εἰς Χριστόν
(Galatians 3:24), led up to Him; “quicquid praecipiat, quicquid
promittat, semper Christum habet pro scopo,” Calvin. Observe further,
that Χριστός must be the definite historicalperson that appeared in
Jesus, and not the promised Saviour generally, without regard to
whether and in whose personHe appeared(Hofmann), an abstraction
which would have been impossible to Paul, particularly here, where all
righteousness is tracedback only to definite faith in contrastto works—
as impossible as is the reference combined with it, of νόμος to any law

whatever, no law has validity any longer, if the promised Saviour be at
hand. See, in opposition to this, immediately below, Romans 10:5 ff.
εἰς δικαιος. παντὶ τῷ πιστ.] aim, for which Christ is the end of the law:
in order that every one who believes may obtain righteousness. The
principal stress lies on πιστ., as the opposite of that which the law
required in order to righteousness;see Romans 10:5-6;Romans 3:21 ff.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
4. ForChrist, &c.]The connexionis that the conduct of the Jews was a
total mistake of their own Revelation;for He whom they rejectedwas
no accidentalor alien intruder, but “the End of the Law.”—The ver.
may be closely, and better, rendered; Forthe end of the Law is—Christ,
unto righteousness, to everyone that believeth; the whole idea conveyed
by the words from “Christ” to “believeth” being the “end of the Law.”
the end of the law] Cp. for the phrase 1 Peter1:9, “the end of your
faith;” i.e. what your faith leads up to. So here Christ our Justification
was what the Law (the preceptive Revelationby Moses)ledup to, both
prophetically by its types and predictions, and preparatively by its sin-
discovering and inexorable demands. (See for the latter respect, ch. 7.)
The words are capable of the sense “the close ofthe Law,” i.e. “He who
brings it to an end.” But this is not the aspectofthe matter in this
context, nor in the Epistle as a whole.
for righteousness]unto righteousness;in order to be “The Lord our
righteousness”(Jeremiah23:6). See on Romans 1:17; &c.
Bengel's Gnomen
Romans 10:4. Τέλος, the end) bestowing righteousness andlife, which
the law points out, but cannotgive. Τέλος, the end, and πλήρωαα, the
fulfilment, are synonymous; comp. 1 Timothy 1:5, with Romans 13:10,
therefore comp. with this passageMatthew 5:17. The law presses upon a
man, till he flies to Christ; then even the law itself says, thou hast found
a refuge. I cease to persecute thee, thou art wise, thou art safe.—
Χριστὸς, Christ) the subject is, the end of the law. [Not as Engl. Vers.
“Christ is the end of the law”]. The predicate is, Christ (viz. ὤν, who is)
in [every one that believeth; not as Engl. Vers., “the end of the law to
every one”]etc. [Romans 10:6-7; Romans 10:9.]—παντι τῷ πιστεύοντι,

in every one that believeth) The words, in the believer, are treated at
Romans 10:5, etc.:and the words, every one, at Romans 10:11, etc.
παντὶ, in every one, namely, of the Jews and Gentiles. The 9 chap. must
not be shut within narrower limits than Paul permits in this x. chap.,
which is more cheerful and more expanded; and in it the word all
occupies a very prominent place, Romans 10:11, etc.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 4. - For Christ is the end of Law unto righteousness to every one
that believeth. The word "end" (τέλος) might in itself mean
(1) termination,
(2) fulfilment,
(3) aim or purpose,
which is the evident meaning of the word in 1 Timothy 1:5 and 1 Peter
1:9. This last seems bestto suit the line of thought in this place. The
Jews evincedignorance, i.e. of the real meaning and purpose of Law, in
resting on it for justification. This is St. Paul's constantposition in
speaking ofthe office of Law - that it could not and was never meant to
justify, but rather to convince of sin; to establishthe need of, and excite
a craving for, redemption; and so prepare men to appreciate and accept
the righteousnessofGod in Christ which was its τέλος (see especiallych.
7; and cf. Galatians 3:24, Ὥστε ὁ νόμος παιδαγωγὸς ἡμῶνγέγονεν εἰς
Ξριστὸν Ἵνα ἐκ πίστως δικαιωθῶμεν). Νόμοςbeing here anarthrous, we
translate it according to the rule observed in this Commentary. The
apostle has, indeed, in view the Mosaic Law;but it is the principle of
law, as such, that he is speaking cf. He next proceeds, as elsewhere
throughout the Epistle, to quote from the Old Testamentin illustration
of the contrastbetween the two principles of justification, and this with
the intention of showing that even in the Pentateuchthat of justification
by faith was intimated, and thus that it was all along the real τέλος of
the Law. "Nam si prophetas suae sententiae testes citasset, haerebat
tamen hic scrupulus, cum Lex aliam justitiae formam praescriberet.
Hunc ergo optime discutit, quum ex ipsa Legis doctrina stabitit fidei
justitiam" (Calvin).

Vincent's Word Studies
The end of the law (τέλος νόμου)
First in the sentence as the emphatic point of thought. Expositors differ
as to the sense. 1. The aim. Either that the intent of the law was to make
men righteous, which was accomplishedin Christ, or that the law led to
Him as a pedagogue (Galatians 3:24). 2. The fulfillment, as Matthew
5:17. 3. The termination. To believers in Christ the law has no longer
legislative authority to say, "Do this and live; do this or die" (Morison).
The lastis preferable. Paul is discussing two materially exclusive
systems, the one basedon doing, the other on believing. The system of
faith, representedby Christ, brings to an end and excludes the systemof
law; and the Jews, in holding by the system of law, fail of the
righteousness whichis by faith. Compare Galatians 2:16;Galatians 3:2-
14.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousnessto
everyone who believes. (NASB: Lockman)
Greek:telos garnomou Christos eis dikaiosunen panti to pisteuonti.
(PAPMSD)
Amplified: ForChrist is the end of the Law [the limit at which it ceases
to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types,
and in Him the purpose which it was designedto accomplishis fulfilled.
That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him] as the means of
righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and
adheres to and relies on Him. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
ESV: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who
believes. (ESV)
ICB: Christ ended the law, so that everyone who believes in him may be
right with God. (ICB: Nelson)

NIV: Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for
everyone who believes. (NIV - IBS)
NKJV: ForChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
who believes.
NLT: For Christ has accomplishedthe whole purpose of the law. All
who believe in him are made right with God. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: For Christ means the end of the struggle for righteousness-by-
the-Law for everyone who believes in him. (Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: Forthe termination of the law is Christ for righteousness to
everyone who believes.
Young's Literal: For Christ is an end of law for righteousness to every
one who is believing,
FOR CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS:
telos gar nomou Christos eis dikaiosunen:
Ro 3:25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31; 8:3,4;Hebrews 9:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14;
10:8, 9, 10, 11, 12,14
Romans 10 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
The Greek wordorder is striking in this passage, as the first word is
"end" (telos), which could be read as follows "forthe end of the law (is)
Christ".
The end (5056)(telos)means an end, term, a termination, a completion,
a consummation, a goalachieved, a result attained, or a realization.
How is Christ the end of the law for righteousness?Vincent summarizes
three possible answers...
#1. The aim (or goal= that to which the law leads). Either that the
intent of the law was to make men righteous, which was accomplishedin
Christ, or that the law led to Him as a pedagogue (Gal. 3:24).
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to leadus to Christ, that we
may be justified (declared righteous)by faith. (Galatians 3:24)
Ed note: To the Colossians Pauldeclaredthat...
in Him (Christ) you have been made complete (and that) ...things (such
as food or drink or festivals or new moons or a Sabbath days) ...are a
mere shadow of what is to come;but the substance belongs to Christ"
(Colossians2:10,17-note)

Everything about the Jewishreligionpointed to the coming Messiah—
their sacrifices,priesthood, temple services, religious festivals, and
covenants. TheirLaw, the Temple ceremonies, the sacrifices, etc were
all "WORD PICTURES"givenby God to tell His chosenpeople that
they were sinners in need of a Savior. But instead of letting these
"PICTURES"and the Law bring them to Christ (see Gal 3:24), they
worshiped their Law and rejectedtheir Savior! The Law like the
tabernacle, temple, and sacrifices was a signpost, pointing the way. It
was a means to an end, not the end itself. It could never take them to
their destination. The Law cannot give righteousness but only lead the
sinner to the Savior Who Alone was the source ofGod pleasing
righteousness (see 1 Corinthians 1:30 below).
#2. The fulfilment, (Christ fulfilled the Law) as Matthew 5:17 (note)...
(Jesus declared)Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the
Prophets;I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
#3. The termination. ...The lastis preferable. Paul is discussing two
materially exclusive systems, the one basedon doing, the other on
believing. The systemof faith, representedby Christ, brings to an end
and excludes the system of law; and the Jews, inholding by the system
of law, fall short of the righteousness whichis by faith. (Vincent, M. R.
Word Studies in the New Testament)
Garland agrees with Vincent's proposalthat interpretation #3 is the
most viable, writing...
The immediate context, and the fact that the Mosaic Covenantwas
broken and has become obsolete (Jer31:31, 32;Heb. 8:13), favor
understanding Telos to mean that the law has been terminated or
abolishedas a means of righteousness. (Notes)
Denney agrees thatPaul's intended meaning is interpretation #3, the
idea of termination writing that...
The sense required—a sense which the words very naturally yield—is
that with Christ in the field, law as a means of attaining righteousness
has ceased.
The moment a man sees Christand understands what He is and what
He has done, he feels that legalreligion is a thing of the past: the wayto
righteousness is not the observance ofstatutes, no matter though they
have been promulgated by God Himself; it is faith, the abandonment of
the soulto the redeeming judgment and mercy of God in His Son...

Jesus was the end of the law

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