In Romans 10:4, Paul makes a statement that is essential to our understanding of the Law. Without understanding the point of this verse, we will misunderstand the Law in general and the relationship of the believer to it today in particular. The verse states: “For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” What does Paul mean that Christ is the end of the Law?
The first point to note as we examine this verse is the sense of the word “end.” It is the Greek word telos and it refers not to termination, but to culmination. If we want to study the termination of the Law, we might turn to Hebrews 7:12, but that is not the point of Romans 10:4. Rather, Paul is speaking of the conclusion, or goal, of the Law. This word for “end” is also used in 1 Timothy 1:5: “Now the end [telos] of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” As we see, “end” is being used to speak of the goal of the apostles’ teaching, not the termination of the apostles’ teaching. Therefore, it is essential to our understanding of the Law to keep in mind that the Law was designed to point us to Christ; it had Christ as its goal. Christ is the consummation and fulfillment of the Law.
In light of that, we might now ask ourselves a question: In what sense is Christ the culmination of the Law? Let us consider seven ways.
- Christ fulfilled the works of the Law—positively, He always obeyed it. In Matthew 5:17f, our Lord states, “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 be fulfilled.” He clearly stated that He would keep the Law down to its smallest detail.We should be careful to remember this. It is occasionally asserted—even by well-meaning believers—that Christ didn’t completely keep the Law. For instance, it is sometimes said, when addressing a passage like Matthew 12:1-8, that Christ, as Lord of the Sabbath, was allowed to break it. There are many reasons why such an explanation needs to be rejected, but the main reason is that Christ specifically stated that He would fulfill every last detail of the Law. Had He broken the Sabbath, He would have been a Law-breaker, for James 2:10 says that to break the Law in just one point is to become guilty of all. So let us be clear from the start: although Christ felt no obligation to keep every man-made rule concerning the Sabbath, we will search the Scriptures in vain for any God-given law that He broke. He perfectly obeyed the Law.We see this in picture in the Old Testament. The first time God gave the Law on tablets of stone (Ex. 31:18), Moses didn’t even get off the mountain before Israel was breaking the commandments en masse. So, Moses smashed the tablets at the foot of the mountain in order to illustrate how Israel “kept” the Law (Ex. 32:19). The second set of tablets were stored, safe and undamaged, in the ark of the covenant (Dt. 10:1-5). And, as the ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus, this illustrates for us that in Christ the Law was perfectly safe—unbroken.
- Christ fulfilled the curse of the Law—negatively, He assumed its punishment. The Law was a double-edged sword. Not only did it contain commands to be obeyed, but it also consisted of punishments for when it was broken. Christ fulfilled both “edges” of this sword. In His life, He perfectly obeyed the Law, but in His death on Calvary, He endured its full punishment, satisfying God with respect to our sins, and, not only for the sins of believers, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2). “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).
- Christ fulfilled the book of the Law—He is the embodiment of its prophesies. Before returning to heaven, He assured His disciples, “These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me” (Lk. 24:44). The prophesies of Messiah, the pictures—the sacrifices, the priesthood, the rock, the lamb, etc.—find their embodiment in Christ.
- Christ fulfilled the giving of the Law—His death marked the termination of the dispensation of the Law. The dominant factor of Jewish life until Christ was the Law. The nation officially lived “under Law.” Christ lived under Law: “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law” (Gal. 4:4). But, through His work, He ushered in the dispensation of grace. “For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17)
- Christ fulfills the work of the Law—the Law drives us to Him. Our consciences, even though imperfect, are sufficient to reveal our sin and our need for a Saviour (Rom. 2:15). But over and above our consciences, the Lord gave the Law as written, objective evidence that we stand condemned. “Therefore by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). And so the Law stands as a tutor to lead us to the Saviour; as a sign to point to Him. “Wherefore the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24).1 It prepares us for the gospel by exposing us as sinners and then identifying the Saviour.
- Christ fulfills the requirements of the Law—He establishes righteousness in the believer. God demands righteousness both in our standing and in our state. Through Christ—and only through Him—the believer can enter into the righteousness that the Law demanded but could never produce. “For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:3f).
- Christ fulfills the fulfillment of the Law—He is the embodiment of love. Repeatedly the Scriptures ensure us that if we will truly love the Lord and our neighbor, we will indeed (and in deed!) fulfill the Law (Rom. 13:8, 10; Gal. 5:14; 6:2; Jas. 2:8). But as soon as we speak of love, are we not automatically drawn to think of the greatest Lover in the universe? The One who not only is loving, but is love (1 Jn. 4:8, 16). He is the standard (e.g. Eph. 5:2, 25; 1 Jn. 4:11) and the source of love. In fact, if we love at all, it is only because He first loved us (1 Jn. 4:19).
In these, and no doubt many other ways, our Lord Jesus is the true culmination of the Law. God’s purpose in instituting the Law was that, in every detail, it would find its consummation in Christ.
The best thing about the Law is the end of it.
Endnote
1 The Law was, of course, primarily given as Israel’s tutor. But we understand that God intended others to benefit from it as well (see 1 Cor. 10:11; Rom. 15:4).