Romans 10:4

‘For Christ (Messiah) is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one who believes.'

For if they would only recognise it their Messiah had come, the Messiah (Christos) Who ‘is the end of the Law unto righteousness to everyone who believes.' This phrase can be interpreted in two ways, for the Greek word telos can signify either ‘the  aim, final intention  of the Law' or ‘the  cessation  of the Law'. Both are in fact true, although the second is more likely, because in the Scriptures telos usually means ‘cessation' (it was different in external Greek literature). For the fact is that Paul only uses the first sense once, in 1 Timothy 1:5.

Taking the first meaning Paul would be saying that the Law pointed forward to Christ both in its prophecies and its ritual. When men's attitude of heart was right, temporary righteousness was provided through sacrifices and offerings, but it had awaited the Supreme Sacrifice of Christ to make this truly effective (Romans 3:24). So the whole system of sacrifices had pointed forward to the perfect sacrifice of the Messiah, as He bore our sins in His own body on the cross (Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:11). For, as Romans 3:21 has brought out, ‘a righteousness of God has now been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets'. That is, the Scriptures had pointed forward to this righteousness of God obtainable through faith in Christ.

But in another way Christ's offering of Himself can be seen as having ‘rendered the Law inoperative' as a way of passing judgment on men; as having ‘ended' the Law, because through His offering He had provided the gift of righteousness for men, a righteousness which wholly satisfied the Law (Romans 5:15). For those who received Christ (the Messiah), God's free gift of righteousness was provided, a righteousness that made them acceptable to God. Then the Law could no longer point the finger at them. Its reign was over. It was not that the Law was totally got rid of. It still fulfils its task of passing judgment on men. And it can still be a guide to man. Rather in Christ it was fulfilled. He vindicated it by His complete obedience to it. Thus it was seen as fulfilled in all who are His. In support of interpreting as ‘cessation of the Law' are a number of Scriptures which indicate the same. ‘He abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments given in ordinances' (Ephesians 2:15). ‘Having blotted out the bond written in ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us, and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to His cross' (Colossians 2:14). Thus it is made clear that through His offering of Himself, the power of the Law to bring Christians into judgment had ceased.

There is no more important thought than this, that the world is divided into two. On the one hand are those who are ‘under law', whether that of the Torah or that of conscience. They are all subject to condemnation. On the other are those who are under Christ. For them there is no condemnation. They are accounted as righteous in God's sight.

‘Unto righteousness.' Compare ‘unto salvation' (Romans 10:1; Romans 10:10). The purpose of Christ's coming was in order to provide man with a righteousness which would stand the test in the Day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Romans 2:5), the Day when God judges the secrets of men (Romans 2:16).

Note On ‘The End Of The Law'.

Taking the meaning as signifying cessation, we must recognise what this means. For example, that the Law was not simply to be written off is made clear in that Jesus Himself had said of it that ‘until heaven and earth pass away not one yod or tittle of it would ever pass way until all of it was fulfilled' (Matthew 5:18), and the reference to heaven and earth passing away underlines its permanent nature. Furthermore James stresses that as the perfect Law of liberty it is important for seeing oneself as one is and with a view to being obedient to it (James 1:23), whilst Paul himself considered that to love one's neighbour as oneself, a requirement for all Christians, was a fulfilling of the Law (Galatians 5:14). Such love is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Indeed he himself said that the Law was ‘holy and righteous and good' (Romans 7:12) and that ‘if a man use it lawfully the Law is good' (1 Timothy 1:8). Compare also Galatians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 9:19.

Nor are we to think that the Law was once the method of salvation, but was now being replaced. Paul's whole point in Romans 10:2 is that the Jews had misunderstood the purpose of the Law. They had been ‘ignorant of God's righteousness'. He stresses that salvation has never been obtainable by observing the Law because the standard of God's righteousness is too high. It has always been dependent on looking to the mercy and compassion of God (which in fact the Law itself had pointed out). The Law was rather given as a guide to living and enjoying a full life (Romans 10:5). It was not given as a means of obtaining eternal life. It was given by a God Who had graciously redeemed Israel, and had already chosen them (Exodus 19:5), indicating what He now therefore required of them as a result (Exodus 20:2). It was a mind and conscience shaper, a guide to true living. It had, of course, included the ritual means by which men could come to God, but as the prophets had emphasised, that was only effective in so far as it came from the heart (Isaiah 1:11).

It was man who made the observance of it central to acceptability before God in the sense that by observing it they were putting God under an obligation. Thus Paul is not saying that the Law was once the method of salvation but has now been replaced by the Messiah. Indeed its judgmental nature as outlined in Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:19 has always been true, and thus it could never in itself save. What he is saying has ended has been the ability of the Law to condemn those who are God's, because in the Messiah provision has been made for removal of that condemnation. As Paul has made clear in chapter 4, acceptability to God has always been dependent on faith, even as early as Abraham. It was those who sought God with a true heart looking to His mercy who found salvation. The Law was simply a guide to that end.

Certainly we may speak of a ‘dispensation of the Law'. For since Moses the Law (the Torah), and later its interpretation in the Prophets, had been the central means of knowing God, and that is why salvation had mainly been limited to Israel. It had, however, always been available to proselytes (Exodus 12:48) and in later times an Israel scattered throughout the known world had gathered proselytes on a wider scale. (Indeed Jesus' complaint against many of the Scribes and Pharisees was that they led proselytes astray - Matthew 23:15). But the prophets had always insisted that the ritual Law was meaningless unless carried out by those who were obedient to God and were looking to Him for forgiveness (e.g. Isaiah 1:11), and that the truly righteous in Israel would ever be a remnant (e.g. Isaiah 6:13; Zechariah 13:9). And salvation had always been dependent on the mercy and grace of God (Exodus 20:6; Exodus 34:6; etc), with the Law acting as a guide and providing a means of approaching God if used rightly.

End of note.