A firm grasp on the goal of God’s law will take your application skills to the next level.
The End of the Law
When lamenting his countrymen’s replacement of God’s righteousness with their own, the apostle Paul makes a remarkable statement:
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Romans 10:4
This phrase—”the end of the law”—does not mean that Jesus has brought the law to end. No, the word “end” here has the connotation of goal or purpose. Paul’s point is not the law’s mortality but its purpose.
According to the argument of Romans 9:30-10:4, Jews have been seeking righteousness before God but have failed to find it. But those who have found it are Gentiles who weren’t seeking it. How can that be? Because by and large, the Jews have sought their own righteousness through works of the law. And many Gentiles found God’s righteousness by trusting in Jesus Christ.
The reason this state has befallen the Jewish people of Paul’s day is because they have failed to understand the law’s purpose. The law of Moses was never given to make people righteous before God but to lead them to faith in Christ. Miss that purpose and you’re bound to misuse the law. In Romans 10:5-13, Paul demonstrates this purpose from the law itself.
So the law is not a bad thing, as long as we recognize its purpose. It cannot make sinners acceptable to God. It cannot vindicate the people of God against the enemies of God. It is a good gift from God to help people come to trust in Jesus. (And, as I showed last week, to show us how life works best.)
Help with Application
So how does this doctrine help us to improve at applying the Bible?
In nearly any text, you can ask “end of the law” questions with respect to the author’s main point:
- What has God commanded in this text, and how do you and I measure up to that standard?
- What does that command reveal about the character of God and of his Christ?
- If we view Jesus as law giver, what does this command show us he cares about? Why?
- If we view Jesus as law keeper, what does this command show us about what he came to do? Why?
- How does this command expose the need of humanity for a king and savior?
- How did Jesus live out or make use of this command in his ministry?
- What kind of world would result from the new age Jesus brought, where this command in kept as it ought to be?
- What would submission to King Jesus look like according to this passage? How can we make more progress in such submission?
I am intentionally sidestepping matters of creation, gifts, strengths, grace, and redemption when I ask these questions. That’s not because such matters are unimportant, but only because the focus of this post is on the purpose of God’s law to show us Christ and his righteousness.
Sometimes, robust reflection on the end or purpose of God’s law will give us ample material to speak into the issues of our age: politics, leadership, authority, liberty, influence—to name just a few.
Deepen your grasp of the proper purpose of the law, and you’ll take your application skills to the next level.
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