Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. That means that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the fulfillment of the law. He's the completion
of the law. It doesn't mean that the law
was pointless. It doesn't mean that the law
was useless. He tells us in another place
that the law was our schoolmaster, our teacher, for the purpose
of bringing us to Christ. Galatians 3.24. That word end
there in the Greek is the word telos, and it means both goal
and termination. holiness, sacrifice, atonement,
righteousness. It all found its goal. It all
found its completion in Christ. You see, the law exposed sin. The law was never given for you
and I to keep in order to be saved. The law was given to show
us that we couldn't keep the law and that we needed a substitute
who could keep the law for us. There's only one substitute that
could do that. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. What a blessed realization and
revelation that is. If Jesus Christ is my substitute,
if He's my sacrifice, if He's my Savior, the law has no claim
on me. Because He fulfilled it. And
God's justice is satisfied. Paul went on to say, 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, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. How is it manifested? In Christ. And then Paul goes on to say,
to declare, I say at this time, what? His righteousness. That's
his righteousness we're talking about. We're talking about the
Lord's righteousness. that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Now in Christ, we're
given what the law pointed out, but could not provide. And that
being perfect righteousness. We cannot provide the perfect
righteousness that God requires. Christ did. He's the end of the
law for righteousness. When it comes to the righteousness
that you and I must possess in order to be reconciled to God,
Christ alone has it. You're not going to find it anywhere
else. That simply means there's no other way for us to be saved.
I heard someone once say that only a fool or a believer would
believe such. Well, amen. The world sees faith as foolishness,
doesn't it? It pleased the Lord by the foolishness
of preaching. Listen, true preaching is not
foolishness, but it sure seems that way to the world. Not to
the believer. It's the power of God unto salvation. The believer embraces that foolishness
because unto them, it's the wisdom and power of God. Isn't that
what the cross is to you? that believe it's God's wisdom
and God's power. Our righteousness, the very righteousness
of God is provided to us by Christ's life and by His death and by
His burial and resurrection. And instead of us endeavoring
and trying to earn righteousness through the works of the law,
which we could not do, We freely receive it as a gift. Have you ever heard such wonderful
news? What you and I could not provide,
what you and I couldn't work out in and on our own, God freely
gives it to us by what Christ did for us. That's substitution. That's the gospel. Christ is
the what? End of the law to everyone that
believes. That's what faith is. Believing
this. Believing that Christ came, that
God himself became a man, took on flesh and blood. lived under
the very law that He Himself gave, kept it perfectly, and
died in our room instead, and God now looks at those that Christ
died for and says, perfect, they're perfect. Enter in, thou good
and faithful servant. Why? Because of something I've
done? No, but what Christ did for me. Because He's the end
of the law for righteousness. That's the gospel. Christ, God
the Son, died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again.
His rising from the grave proves that God accepted his work. That's
why Christ's work is finished, because God accepted it. God
said, that's enough. No more work needs to be done.
Why? Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. Now, turn with me to Acts chapter
2. Here in Acts chapter 2, verse
25, is the account of Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost. And
in verse 25, Peter preached, for David speaketh concerning
him. I foresaw the Lord always before
my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved."
Now, David spoke concerning Christ. These are words about Christ,
and these are the words of Christ. Peter here is quoting from Psalm
16. Now, if you read David's Psalm
in Psalm 16, just by itself, You might think that David was
talking about himself, but Peter tells us, no, he wasn't talking
about himself. David was looking forward to
Christ. These words were ultimately fulfilled
by none other than the Lord Jesus himself. The Lord Jesus here,
And Psalm 16 was speaking through David. And when David writes,
I foresaw the Lord always before my face in Psalm 16, it was Christ
saying that He foresaw His Father always before His face. Now, why is that important? Well,
it's important to know that Christ, our Lord, lived His earthly life
in constant fellowship with God the Father. That's what the Lord
said in John 8, 29. He said, and he that sent me
is with me. The father has not left me alone
for I do always those things which please him. And then he
said again in John chapter 16, verse 32, I'm not alone because
the father is with me. In Proverbs chapter eight, It
says, then I was by Him as one brought up with Him, and I was
daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. That's talking
about before the foundation of the world. Christ was with Him
from the beginning because they are one and in the same God. God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit,
God in three persons. And then God the Son became a
man and did this wondrous work of righteousness for us. And
He's God. Our sin is so atrocious, friends,
that it took God Himself to die to put it away. Our Lord lived
in constant awareness of His Father. He says, I foresaw the
Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that
I should not be moved. Now you stay with me because
this is going to bless you. The right hand in spiritual things
represents a position of strength and defense and honor. What's the significance of that
to believers? You and I too can live in assurance
of God's presence. Did you know that the Lord Jesus
is with us right this moment? He said, well, two or three are
gathered in His name. We're gathered together in His
name. And we got more than two or three
here. He said, I'll be in their presence. I'll be with them.
Isn't that a comforting thought? To know that He's always with
us. We too can stand firm. We can be unshaken by trials
and tribulations and terrific losses in this life. unmoved
by temptations, incompetent in fear. Why? Because the Lord's
with us. We can boldly say also, the Lord
is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Now
that word helper there, you know, it's much more than just someone
who offers a little help in order for you to reach your goal. I'm
trying to reach a certain goal in life. I'm trying to get this
job. I'm trying to attain this and
attain that, and I just need a little help. It means much
more than that. It means comfort. It means support. It means relief. It means to
guide. I need someone to comfort me
and support me and guide me. It means to take care of. I need
somebody to take care of me. I need someone to take care of
me, and the only one that can is God. I need someone to bring
comfort to me. That helper, it means to sustain
and protect. I need a sustainer. I need a
protector. That's what God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Spirit are to us. Comfort, support, relief,
our guide, our caretaker, our protector. God's gonna take care
of you if you're on His. Isn't that a comfort to know?
When God is at our right hand, we're never alone. He will never
leave us nor forsake us. How do I know that? Because that's
what he said. He didn't lie. God's not a man
that he should lie or a son of man that he should repent or
change his mind. We shall not be moved. Like Job, every believer confesses,
though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Now what did Job mean when
he said that? Just what he said. Job knew that
God was absolutely sovereign over life and death. Job knew
God would not allow him to die in his suffering. You remember
what happened to Job? He lost all ten of his children
in one snap of the finger. He lost everything that he had.
And then God struck him with boils from the top of his head
to the soles of his feet. And then three of his good friends,
good buddies, came and said, man, you had to do something
wrong. Job said, though He slay me,
yet will I trust Him. If God were to take his life,
that death would just be a departure. It'd be a promotion. Our eternal
security is in who God gives us, not what God gives us. It's
in who He gives us. This is a cry of a man that was
stripped of everything that he had, and yet he trusted that
God would do what was best for him. Even if He slay me, if He
kills me, it's just going to be a good thing. To die is gain. To live is Christ and to die
is gain. When we breathe our last breath, the believer is
ushered into the throne of glory and met by Christ Himself, face
to face with Christ my Savior. My, we can't even imagine. We're
so clouded by sin that we can't even imagine what it's going
to be like. My, my. Every child of God should have
the same confidence. The Apostle Paul told us that
God works all things. You know what all things is?
Everything. He works them together for our what? Good. Good means good. Good means that
which is pleasing and welcomed. Good means that which is enjoyable
and pleasant and agreeable and pleasurable and delightful and
joyful and cheerful. Good. True faith doesn't deny
suffering. True faith endures it. Looking
forward to what's coming afterwards. A believer knows that it's through
much tribulation. How much? Much. Some folks are
going through some real trials and tribulations right now. Trouble,
anxiety, burden, hardship, difficulty, suffering, distress, misery. And they must before they enter
into the Kingdom of God. You know, Friday, when I watched
our dear brother Paul struggle for Ever Bread, all I could think
about, honestly, I'm not kidding you, all I could think about
while I was watching him was what was waiting for him at the
end of that suffering. Almost perfectly well. with every breath, every struggling
breath. He was that much closer to being
completely well, full restoration, perfect pardon, the absence of
sin, eternal life, fellowship forever with Christ. Peter said
in his first epistle, but the God of all grace who hath called
us into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have
suffered a while, How long is a while? It's different
for each of us. Make you perfect. Establish, strengthen, settle
you. God isn't a God of limited grace. He's the God of all grace. Sustaining
grace, strengthening grace. Whatever the believer lacks,
God's grace supplies. His grace is always sufficient.
Paul said, I cried out to the Lord three times to deliver me
from this thorn in the flesh. What did God tell him? He said,
my grace is sufficient for you. And it is. It is. It's sufficient. It's always
sufficient. After we have suffered a while, eternal glory. In Christ, we're not just saved
from sin, friends, we're called into God's very glory, into God's
very presence, in His presence, in His likeness, in joy forever. Now, suffering is real. I'm not
trying to minimize it, but it's only temporary. Did you notice
the work Peter said that Christ does in us through these trials? He makes us perfect. He restores,
He mends, He completes, He heals. Perfect. He establishes. What does that mean? He fixes
firmly. He makes us steadfast. We're no longer tossed about. We're rooted in Christ, anchored. He strengthens. Third thing. God infuses us with
spiritual vigor. He trials, strengthen us. It's not by our might. It's by
His might. You know, there's that old saying,
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It does. The trying
of your faith works patience. Let patience have its perfect
work, making you complete and entire, lacking and wanting nothing. How are you standing up under
this trial? I've been through this before.
And God saw me through it. And God strengthened me. And
God delivered me. And God helped me. And He will
again. Try and have our faith works
patience. We learn to be dependent on God. We learn to wait on Him.
Because we know that He's faithful that promised. Right? He settles
us. He's our firm foundation. He's
our solid rock. We're grounded, we're anchored,
we're immovable in our faith of Him. Not because our faith
is great, but because of who our faith is in. He's great. When built upon Christ the rock,
our sure foundation, our house stands firm when the storms of
life come. This is the pattern of the cross.
Suffering, then glory. Suffering, then glory. Suffering is needful. It's not
optional. Listen, it's not optional. It's through much tribulation
that we enter the kingdom of God. We're all going to have
some tribulation getting to the place that God has for us. It
shows us our need of the one who suffered for us. That's why
our suffering is called light affliction. Have you ever thought
about that? I've gone through some things
in life. It doesn't feel like light affliction,
does it? The Apostle Paul's life was filled
with hardship. He talked about beatings, imprisonments,
shipwrecks, hunger, rejection, constant threats. Everywhere
he went, he was threatened. What did he call them? Light
affliction. Light affliction. The crushing
burdens of this life shrink in comparison to eternity. It's
but for a moment. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment. Don't forget that. I'm going
through some affliction. It's but for a moment. It worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Affliction and suffering feels
endless when we're in the midst of them. Man, is this ever gonna
pass? Is this ever gonna be over? When
we look through the lens of eternity, light affliction, but for a moment,
just but for a moment, light affliction. And this affliction
isn't wasted, it works for us. It's working for us, not against
us, it's working for us. And that's hard to fathom, isn't
it, when we're going through it. But when we pass through
on the other side and see what the Lord's done for us, we say,
you know, that was for me. It was good. That was good. It
was good for me that I've been afflicted, that I might learn
His statutes. We can't see the outcome until
God shows us light affliction versus weight of glory. Momentary suffering versus eternal
reconciliation with God. Suffering in body and mind to
complete salvation in Christ. Far more exceeding. Far more
exceeding. It's an eternal way of glory. Rejoice! Our Lord suffered on
the cross. He despised the shame. Why? Because
of the joy that was set before Him. Our suffering produces something
infinitely greater, therefore we should not be moved. Look
at verse 26 of our text, Acts 2. Peter continues with the words
of the Lord Jesus here and he says, therefore did my heart
rejoice and my tongue was glad, moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope. Now here we see the union of
the heart and the tongue and the flesh. What is inside comes
out. Inward assurance produces an
outward testimony. What's in the heart overflows
and flows from the tongue. We talked about that some in
the first hour. Our Lord Jesus said, out of the
abundance of the heart, the mouth speak. What's in our heart is
gonna come out. Our Lord's heart rejoiced. With
inward assurance, He knew what was waiting for Him. And for
the joy that was set before Him, He endured what He was going
through. His tongue was glad, outward
praise. His flesh rested in hope, the
hope of all God's promises to him before the foundation of
the world. And what assurance that gives
you and I in his resurrection, because while our Lord rested
in the tomb, he rested there with confidence of his Father's
promise. And for the believer, listen,
death is not final. I wish we could get a hold of
that. Death is not final. Our bodies rest in hope. Our
joy is anchored in Christ. It flows from knowing that God
cannot fail. It's a joy that no one can take
from us. By our union with Christ, we've
got the same hope, assurance, and confidence that our Lord
Jesus had. You know, a bitter heart produces
bitter words. A grateful heart produces praise
and thanksgiving. A corrupt heart produces lies
and slander. A renewed heart in Christ produces
faith and grace and love. Now we come to the best news
of all. And that was the heart of David's.
This is the heart of David's prophecy. This is the heart of
the gospel. It's found in verse 27. Because thou will not leave
my soul in hell. Neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption. The Lord Jesus Christ would not
remain in the grave. Neither will we because of our
union with Him. His body would not see corruption. It would not decay. Listen, our
body may decay, but God won't give us a new one without seeing
it. Man, I can't wait. That's something
to look forward to, isn't it? The justice of God could not
nor would not permit it. Now I want to turn you one other
place and I'll finish. Proverbs chapter 17, verse 15. I was just going to read this
to you, but I want you to see these words as I read them. Look
at this. These are things that are crucial
for us to understand. Proverbs 17, 15. He, meaning
anyone and everyone, that justifieth the wicked, and he, meaning anyone
and everyone, that condemneth the just, even they both, are
an abomination to the Lord. Now this lays bare the heart
of God when it comes to righteousness and justice. Listen to me closely. He that justifieth the wicked. To justify means to declare righteous. The wicked are those who are
in rebellion against God. When someone excuses someone's
sin, calls their evil good, or permits their corruption to stand
unchallenged, said, well, he didn't really mean anything bad,
You know, well, we gotta be, you know, forgiven. Sometimes
we just gotta turn our head the other way. Excuses sin. Whether it's in a courtroom or
in society or in personal relationship. But here, this is talking about
the justice of God. This is talking about in the
courtroom of God's justice. God must remain just to remain
God, friends. His holy justice is one of the
most necessary things for God to be God. Being just, God can
by no means clear the guilty. Being just, the soul that sins
must die. It's a just God who declares
that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of a just God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And He, anyone and
everybody that justifies the wicked, are an abomination. Now that word abomination is
one of the strongest words found in all the Scripture. It means
that it's something that God utterly hates, detests, refuses
to tolerate, and seeks to twist justice in either direction.
It's repulsive to God. And here we've got three vital
truths. First, we live in a world and culture that often celebrates
wickedness and mocks righteousness. Evil is justified under the banner
of freedom. Well, men are free moral agents.
They're not going to always do what's right. It's excused under
tolerance. Well, nobody's perfect. Those
who stand for truth are considered hateful and outdated. And this
proverb warns that God sees such inversion of justice as an abomination. Secondly, religion today, in
the name of grace, excuses sin. And it condemns those who seek
and declare that God demands holiness and perfection. For
the sake of numbers, money, and guilt, and religion today justifies
the wicked. They slander the faithful that
call for repentance. Well, that's being a little too
hard, isn't it? Nobody's perfect. They condemn
the just. God calls it an abomination.
And then thirdly, we often excuse our own sin. We excuse our own
sin with the reasoning of harshly condemning others. I don't know
what it is about us. Yeah, I do, it's sin. That we
wrongly think that we make ourselves look better by making others
look worse. We're justifying ourselves while
condemning others. God says that's an abomination.
How then can God justify the wicked? That's the gospel. He doesn't just sweep their sin
under a rug. He can't and remain just. He justifies them through the
righteous one, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was condemned in
their place. That's the only way. The penalty
was not ignored. He was fully paid by the Lord
Jesus. Therefore, in Christ, God can
remain just and still justify the ungodly. You know, the world's
way of justifying the wicked is corrupt. God's way is substitution. God in Christ did for us what
we cannot do for ourselves. Best news I ever heard. And this
shows us the seriousness of justice in the eyes of God. To excuse
the guilty or to condemn the innocent is to stand in opposition
to God's holy character. The only way to make the unjust
to be just is for the just one to pay the debt of the unjust
one. The guilty are then justified
without corruption and the just is condemned without injustice.
Christ the just one was condemned falsely. What did the crowd cry? Crucify Him! Pilate said, this
man done no wrong. Crucify Him and release Barabbas. The innocent was condemned and
the guilty went free. Who's the guilty? You and I.
And it was an abomination to the Lord. But God, what men meant
for evil, God meant for good. Why? To save much people alive. That's the only way you and I
are saved. That's the only way God can accept you and I is by
Christ doing for us that which we couldn't do. But that's exactly
what Christ did for us. Substitutionary justice. Christ
took the judgment that we deserved. And friends, that's why our heart
rejoices. And that's why our tongues praise Christ. And that's
how our flesh rests in hope, in and by our union with Christ,
who did for us that which we can never do. God is a just God
and a Savior. Did you hear that? He's a just
God, but He's also a Savior. Jesus Christ died the just for
the unjust, but to Him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that
justifieth the ungodly, His faith is counted for righteousness.
Everything between the believer and God is going to be all right. And when we lay down this body
of flesh, we take this last breath, our heart beats its last beat,
everything's going to be good. Real good. Perfect.