The Ultimate Goal of the Law

Romans 9:30-10:4

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

 

1Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

 

  1. How Did the Gentiles Find God’s Righteousness?
  2. Not by being law chasers

Gentiles: v.30:

        did not pursue righteousness

        have attained righteousness without pursuit

        righteousness came to them by faith (believing in, putting trust in, following Jesus Christ ALONE!!)

        They did not chase hard after God’s righteousness, but they have attained God’s righteousness. (In contrast with the Jewish people who have been chasing after God’s righteousness in order to earn it from Him. The behavior of the Jews is generally better than the Gentiles. Or at least they do not have the variety and volume of sin as the Gentiles.

How can this possibly be just? It is not a matter of justice, clearly. Nor is it a matter of fairness.

Any time that God acts in history in an obvious way, then something has happened that is not fair. Take the conversion of Paul for example!

 

  1. Not by sinning either

        Do not kid yourself. God hates lawlessness. God hates sin. God will not grant righteousness to people apart from repentance and faith. The recognition of sin is the foundation for faith in Christ.

        The law is good. The law is not the problem. The problem is my inability to keep the law. Romans 7 for the best of us!

The law shows us our need of Grace! Our need of grace gives us the humility necessary to adopt God’s perspective of our own lives and His world.

 

  1. Through faith in Jesus Christ’s gift of righteousness

Perhaps the greatest verse in this passage is 10:4 but I don’t want to look ahead too far.

8:3-4

3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

10:4 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

II Cor 5: 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 2: 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Hebrews 10: 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

In Contrast to the Gentiles who have received God’s righteousness by faith,

  1. How Did Israel Miss God’s Righteousness?

 

  1. They include deserving in their relationship with God

This will come naturally with a desire to compare yourself with others and view yourself in a more flattering light than you deserve.

This is the natural state of man, and most folks are offended if it is suggested that they are condemned by God.

 

  1. They work for that which cannot be earned

Eph 2:8-10

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Gal 2:15-16

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

        10:3

3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

 

 

  1. They misunderstand the real problem

Isaiah 8:

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”

Matt 21:42-46 Parable of the Landowner. Same application of this passage in Isaiah 8

Demonstrated in their complaint about Jesus and sinners

Luke 5: 30 The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and [k]sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

Luke 7: 36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, 38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner!”

40 And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other, fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

 

Luke 15: 1 Now all the tax collectors and [a]sinners were coming near [b]Jesus to listen to Him. 2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Three parables in response. Lost sheep, coin and Lost Son. Older Brother is the point of that parable.

Luke 18: 9 Now He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the [e]temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be [f]merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Zaccheus’ story is told in the context of the Rich Young Ruler!

Luke 19: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And [a]there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up a [b]sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down, and received Him [c]joyfully. 7 When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in [d]to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!” 8 But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

III. Problems of Law and Righteousness

  1. Zeal for the law is good
  2. Zeal: “If you believe it, then it is true for you.” There is some truth in this. If you believe something then you give it power in your life. If you believe a lie, it will cause you    trouble even though it is a lie.

The knowledge required to balance my relationship with the law   is the knowledge of my inability to keep it, and therefore my         basic need for a Savior.

  1. My just state is condemnation.
  2. Your just state is condemnation.

It doesn’t matter if you are more rotten than I am if we are talking about being justified before God. But, it does matter if we     are talking about the amount of chaos in our lives.

  1. Zeal for the law for what purpose?

                Righteousness, Redemption, Justification?

                Honor God, attract blessing, live a life of peace and                     prosperity. YES

 

  1. The Law condemns all people

Romans 3: 22-24

22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 53: 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 

Gal 2:15-16

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

 

 

  1. Jesus is the culmination of the law

Romans 8:3-4

3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 

  1. The Law describes the image of God. Jesus is the image of God.
  2. The Law requires perfection and condemns those who don’t have it. Jesus attains perfection and gives it to those who don’t have it.
  3. The Law curses those who break it. Jesus blesses those who trust in Him with the Holy Spirit and Life!
  4. The Letter kills, the Spirit gives life.

 

II Cor 5: 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

Temple, land, covenant, identity, eschatology and the nature of   God. Jesus changes all of this!