As you can see on the screen,
the title of my message is Christ, the end of the law. And really,
it's going to be, there's two different areas that I'm going
to be covering this morning. One of them is Christ, the end
of the law, as far as that old covenant, old covenant law given
to the nation Israel. That old covenant that had the
moral law, had the ceremonial law, and all these laws which
which were pictured Christ, pictured and typified Christ, the coming
Messiah that would come in time and do all those things necessary
to redeem his people from their sin. And that law being the end
of, being the finishing of, the completion of by way of fulfillment
by Christ, and also the end of the law for righteousness. And
as we can see in the title of the message taken from verse
4 of Romans 10, Christ, the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. And this being the end of the
law for righteousness, for that righteousness that God requires,
we must have that righteousness, which is complete satisfaction
to God's holy law and his justice, worked out by Christ on the cross.
That righteousness Christ fulfilled and he brought an end to that
old covenant law as well as Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.
To everyone that believe it, to everyone that looks to this
righteousness alone for salvation. Now, as an introduction to chapter
10, and chapter 10 is the chapter that we're going to begin with
this morning. We're just completed chapter nine in our last study.
But chapter 10 here, we'll see in this chapter an account of
two different righteousness. One is of faith, and the other
is of works, righteousness of works. We also have a summary
of the gospel of Christ and a description of the grace of faith, the nature
of faith, the use of faith, and the means of faith. Once again,
we also have the testimony of the prophet Isaiah concerning
the calling of the Gentiles. The apostle knew that all of
this that he was saying, as well as all that he had said in our
previous chapter, chapter 9, where he said that the Jews had
not attained to the law of righteousness, but they stumbled at that stumbling
stone, which was Christ. He knew that these statements
that he was making and had made would be offensive to his countrymen,
his brethren according to the flesh, the nation Israel, the
Israelites, which were the Jews. Due to all of this that Paul
had said and was about to say, he didn't want his kinsmen to
think that what he was saying here was due to any hatred or
ill will that he had toward them. Instead of having any hatred
and ill will toward him, Paul says in Romans 10, the first
verse here, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is that they might be saved. It wasn't ill will or
hatred, but a sincere affection that Paul had toward him. And
his affection was displayed here in verse one by expressing his
goodwill to him. and mainly by praying for their
salvation. We'll begin this morning by reading
the first of four verses of Romans 10, the verses that we're going
to be dealing with this morning. Beginning with verse one, once
again, Brethren, Paul says, my heart's desire and prayer to
God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record
that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. For Christ, verse 4, is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes, everyone
that looks to Christ for that righteousness. Now this first
verse here in Romans 10 that I just got through reading, Paul
here again expresses his love and his desire for the salvation
of his brethren, his brethren in the flesh, these Israelites
of the nation Israel. This is the same as he expressed
at the beginning of chapter 9, Romans 9 beginning verse 1, where
Paul said, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience
also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. that I have great
heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart for I could wish
that myself were a curse for Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh. His love and his desire for their
salvation motivated him to speak the truth in love and not compromise
the gospel of God's grace in order to gain their affection
or their friendship. Paul was not like those false
professors described in John 12, beginning at verse 42, where
Paul wrote, nevertheless, among the chief rulers, also many believed
on him. They had a mental agreement.
They had a mental assent to what was being said concerning the
gospel. But it says, but because of the
Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put
out of the synagogue or out of the church. For they love the
praise of men more than the praise of God. Paul was not like the
false professors because he knew the terror of the Lord. Look
at 2 Corinthians 5, first part of verse 11. Knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Now, we know we cannot convince
any man concerning how God saved the center of the gospel. We
can't make that center believe this gospel no matter how much
we try to talk to them and try to convince them. We know that's
the work of God. God has to do that. He has to
come and prepare that ground by His Holy Spirit in order when
that gospel is preached out to them, they'll believe that that
ground has been prepared by God, the Holy Spirit, and when the
gospel is preached out to them, they'll believe it. But when
it says we persuade men, we do everything that we can to tell
them the truth, to tell them the truth of how God saves a
sinner, not based on the sinner's works, what they do or don't
do, or what they are enabled by God to do, but by Christ alone,
his work, and his work alone. Paul was convinced that God would
not accept any sinner, Jew or Gentile, on the basis of their
works. Paul also knew that no sinner,
no matter what nationality or where you come from, no sinner
by nature. By nature, when I say this, and
I use that term a lot, by nature. By nature, simply when I use
it, it's talking about as we're born into this earth as sinners,
depraved, hell deserving sinners. By nature, as a sinner, no No
one has a righteousness that equals the demands of God's holy
law and his justice. By nature, we just don't have
it. We're sinners. We're in need of righteousness. Not only Paul, but all believers
know that Christ is not only our hope of being saved, but
we also know the freeness of God's grace in saving any sinner,
no matter who you are, who come to God as a sinner. begging for
mercy by the blood and righteousness of Christ. Therefore, Paul would
not cry peace to those Jews, those brethren according to the
flesh, who rejected Christ. After Paul said in Romans 10
verse 1, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that
they might be saved, he then says in verse 2 here, for I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. Paul readily acknowledged their
religious zeal and sincerity. Their problem was not lack of
religious zeal, dedication, or their passion. Their problem
was also not a lack of sincerely trying to be righteous by their
works before their God and before men. Paul himself, before he
was converted, he had that same zeal. and that same sincerity. And we can look at ourselves
as we're in our former religion. We had zeal. Most of us had a
lot of zeal. We were teachers, elders, deacons,
or whatever in our former religion. We had a lot of zeal, but it
was not according to knowledge. We were ignorant of that gospel,
Christ's righteousness alone for salvation. And, uh, but he
had that same zeal. Let's look at Philippians three,
uh, beginning verse four, and we'll see that Paul said, though,
I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any man thinketh
that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. And then he goes about talking
about those things that he had done prior to God converting
him, circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the
tribe of Benjamin. And Hebrew of Hebrews is touching
the law of Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting
the church. Touching the righteousness, which
is of the law, blameless. At least he thought he was blameless.
He did all those things that he thought he should do in order
to be saved. He went about to establish his
own righteousness by works of law. That's what he was doing
before God saved him. You see, their problem, and the
problem of all men by nature, is not and was not their zeal
and passion for their religion and their God. Their problem
was ignorance. Ignorance of Jesus Christ as
the only way of righteousness and of eternal life. That was
the problem. They were ignorant. As verse 2 will tell us here,
that they were ignorant of God's righteousness. They missed and
or rejected the knowledge of how God justifies the ungodly
by His grace in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. They rejected a
justification that totally excludes any and all works done by the
sinner. And why? Instead of looking to Christ's
righteousness alone for their justification before God, they
went about to work out, to establish a righteousness of their own
by their law keeping. I had someone call me a few weeks
back and talked about something like that in one church that
was one particular person said, I know we got to do something.
to be saved. I know God's not going to save
us unless we do something. God's not going to save us. We
think we can be saved by something that we do. You just got to do
something in order for God to save you. They would not turn
loose, turn loose of their righteousness, something that they do. And they
would readily say that God enabled me to do it. But they will not. And we won't turn loose of that.
I was in the same position when I first heard anything concerning
God's gospel. I said to myself, I know God's
not going to save me unless I do something. And you all have heard
the saying that ignorance is the mother of idolatry. Well,
in this case of knowing or not knowing the true and living God,
This saying applies. Friends, if a sinner is ignorant
of the only true and living God, that sinner will, in his own
imagination, he'll conjure up or make up a God in his own mind
that will be suitable for him to worship. He's ignorant of
the true God. That's the only thing left to
do. He's going to conjure one up of his own, his own mind,
that will accept him, or one that he can kind of envision
of who God is. This God, a God of his own imagination,
is an idol, because it's not the true God of Scripture. It
will not be the true God of the Bible, and we were all guilty
of that before God, by His Holy Spirit and through the preaching
of the Gospel revealed to our mind the true God and the true
Christ of the Bible. Look at what Isaiah says here
in Isaiah 45 beginning verse 20 where it says, Assemble yourselves
and come, draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nation. They have no knowledge that set
up the wood of their graven image and pray unto a God that cannot
save. Tell ye, and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together who have declared this from ancient
time, who have told it from that time, have not I the Lord, and
there is no God else beside me, or just God and the Savior, there
is none beside me, look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends
of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. Being ignorant
of the only way in which God will save a sinner, is to be
ignorant of the true God and the true Christ of Scripture.
And to be ignorant of this is to be lost and without God in
this world. And like I said, all of us was
in that condition before God came and imputed, before He revealed
to us how that He saved us by grace alone, by Christ alone,
based on Christ's righteousness alone. Now we know that salvation
is not just a matter of head knowledge, speaking of this being
ignorant of that righteousness, God's righteousness. We know
it's not just a head knowledge. But when God saves us, he teaches
us by his spirit and his word. He teaches us what we need to
know of him, of ourselves, and of Christ. Look at Christ's words
in John 17.3. Christ says, And this is life
eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Look at what the Apostle
Paul says of himself after God revealed himself to him. Look
at Philippians 3, beginning at verse 7. Paul says, For what
things were gained to me, those things that were gained to Paul,
is all his religious deeds in his former religion. All of them.
They were gained to him at that time. See, he thought that God
looked on him and what he was doing or not doing as far as
salvation. And so they were gained to him.
He says, those I counted lost for Christ. Once God revealed
the gospel to him, all those things didn't mean anything else. They were lost. Yea, doubtless,
he says, Paul says, and I count all things but lost for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, do count them but done, worthless, that
I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith, the
faithfulness of Christ. The faithfulness of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God. by faith. Notice that the Apostle
Paul counted all things lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus. You notice that he repented from
all those dead works that he did in his former religion. He
says, what things were gained to me in his former religion.
And he counted all of them as worthless. He says, do count
them but done. He then stated why all those
things were worthless. And he does it by comparing them,
those works that were worthless, to the perfect righteousness
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Look
at Romans 1 verse 16, 17, one that we're all familiar with.
Paul says, For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power, this gospel, the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek. For therein, therein this gospel message is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. As Brother Mark has taught
in our last two sermons that he had, speaking of that faith
from faith is that objective faith, the gospel itself, this
gospel that identifies the true Christ, the Christ of the Bible. And to faith being that subjective
faith, that faith that God by his Holy Spirit imparts and he
gives to each and every one of his children to faith, that faith
that looks to that objective faith that we see in the gospel.
As it is written, the just, those who are just before God, shall
live by faith as they look to Christ. Paul, like all believers,
wants God does a work of grace in our hearts, we repent from
ever thinking that we could have been saved by anything done in
us or by us. God convinces his elect, those
that he chose from eternity, those that he gives to Christ
in eternity, Christ their surety, Christ the one that stood up
and took their place, their place as their substitute and representative,
as surety. Christ became surety for those
individuals, God's elect. He became surety for that debt
that they owed, that they couldn't pay. Christ became surety, and
in time, in time, he came here to this earth, worked out that
righteousness, obedience to God's law and justice. His shed blood
on the cross, and this is God's faithfulness. This
is Christ's faithfulness to do what God promised in eternity. Now, let's look again. Paul,
like all believers, once again, once God does a work of grace
in our heart, we repent from ever thinking that we could have
been saved any other way. Now, our next verse here, verse
3 of Romans 10, Now in verse 2 we just got through
with, they said they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge.
They said that in verse 2. Then in verse 3, Paul says, for
they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about
to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God. Paul shows exactly what the self-righteous
Jews and all sinners by nature were and are ignorant of. He
says they're ignorant of God's righteousness, the same righteousness
that it talks about in Romans 1 and verse 17 where it says,
for therein is the righteousness of God revealed, this gospel
of God. He says they're ignorant of God's
righteousness, a righteousness that a sinner must have in order
to be accepted. by God. This righteousness here
that sinners are ignorant of is God's only way of justifying
sinners by His grace, through and by the Lord Jesus Christ.
We're justified based on Christ and His work alone, by His blood. A righteousness not only required
by God, but a righteousness that is also provided by God. This is the gospel. This is how
a holy God saved a sinner. Now, God is holy and he's righteous
in himself. For anyone to be accepted and
be able to have fellowship with this God of Scripture, this God
of the Bible, they must have a perfect righteousness, which
is perfection, perfect satisfaction to God's holy law and justice.
Most of the time when you tell somebody that and they say, well,
I know God's not going to require that I be perfect. I mean, I
know I'm not perfect. I do the best I can. But he's
not going to require perfection by me. No man can be perfect. And he's right. No man can be
perfect. But God requires perfection.
He's a holy God. And the only place it can be
found is in Christ. in his righteousness alone. Flee
to Christ for righteousness and life. God must punish sin, and
he will by no means clear the guilty. Look at Exodus 34, 7,
where it says, keep in mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin. And that will by no means clear
the guilty. If you're guilty, you got to
pay the debt. But there are some individuals
that are not guilty. Some individuals, God will not
charge you with your sin. He charged it to Christ. Christ
paid for that sin, paid it in full. We're not guilty before
God. Yes, we sin daily, but we're
not guilty before God. Christ took on that guilt. God
must be just when he justifies men, and fallen and self-righteous
men by nature are ignorant of the only way God justifies the
ungodly. All of this is proven by the
evidence of the way sinful men seek to be justified by God. God tells us here that all men
by nature, as we're born into this earth, are going about to
establish our own righteousness. We're ignorant of God's righteousness,
the only way that God has saved a sinner. So we go about to establish
one of our own. We know that there's an angry
God out there and he's got to be appeased, so what do we do?
We go about to work out one of our own. We do those things that
we think that will appease him in some way. Man by nature will
always seek to be justified before God by his efforts to keep the
law in morality, sincerity, charity, and dedication. Like I said earlier,
Paul himself was a prime example of this as he described himself
in Philippians 3 verses 4 through 6. I'm not going to read that,
but that shows you all those things that Paul did as he attempted
to be righteous before God. Now, this way of religion and
works of law that all of us are in by nature, it's a way that
seems right to us. It just seems right to us. Whether
you're sitting in some religious organization or whether you're
irreligious, the way of works seems right, but it's a way of
death. According to Proverbs 14, verse
12, where it says, there is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death. It just seems right
that we got to do something to be saved. This way that seems
right to us all by nature is a way of self-righteousness that
denies the glory of God and salvation by grace, and it rejects the
Lord Jesus Christ and his great work on the cross of Calvary. Look at Galatians 2.21. Paul
says, I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness
come by the law, come by my works of law, my deeds of law, then
Christ is dead in vain. He's dead in vain. This way that
seems right also exalts sinners in self-righteousness and gives
them room to boast, according to Ephesians 2, beginning at
verse 8, where it says, For by grace are you saved, through
faith, and that not of yourself. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. If it's a work, you're going
to boast in some way, whether it be your giving, you're going
to church, you're praying, mainly people come on faith. At least
I believe. This way that seems right to
us by nature, well, it's the wrong way. It's that broad way
that leads to destruction because it is impossible to approach
the true and living God apart from a perfect righteousness.
The works of fallen, depraved sinners are not just good enough
to make us righteous before God. Let's look at what Christ says
here in Matthew chapter 5 verse 20. Christ says, for I say unto
you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no case enter the
kingdom of heaven. Here Christ used as an example
of the scribes and the Pharisees to most religious, moral, religionist
of his time. He did this in order to show
that no man except our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the God-man,
is able to work out a righteousness that's acceptable to God, because
man's righteousness will always fall short. Look at what Christ
himself says about some of these moral religionists who justified
themselves before men by their law keeping. He says in Luke
16 beginning verse 14, and the Pharisee also who were covetous
heard all these things and they derided him, derided Christ. And he said unto them, Christ
said unto them, you are they which justify yourself before
men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Those things
highly esteemed among men are works of law, deeds of law, that
men do in order to be saved by God. What was it that was highly
esteemed among them? It was their law keeping, their
works. Look also at some scripture that
most of us are familiar with also. Look at Luke 18 beginning
at verse 9. Christ says, and he spake this
parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were
righteous and despised others. Two men went up into the temple
to pray one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I'm not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, and even
as this publican here. I fast twice a week, I give tithes
of all that I possess, and the publican standing afar off would
not lift up so much as his eyes into heaven. but smote upon his breast, saying,
God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man, this publican,
went down to his house justified rather than the other. For every
one that exalted himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. God tells us in Romans 3, 19
and 20, By the deeds of law, there shall
no flesh be justified in his sight. Look at Romans 3, 19 and
20. Now we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. Therefore, by the deeds of law,
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law,
is the knowledge of sin. Also look at Galatians 3 and
verse 10. For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Curse is every
one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them. As sinners we ought to admit
to God and men that we're sinners and in need of salvation by the
grace of God. But instead, we'll go about thinking
that we can somehow, by our deeds of law, by our works, we think
we can be accepted before God. We deceive ourselves into thinking
that we're much better than we really are, and that's self-righteousness. Look back at the last part of
Romans 10.3. The last part of this verse here says, they have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Whenever
sinners seek to establish their own righteousness before God,
it shows a natural unbelief and rebellion of fallen men. God,
through the prophet Isaiah, says in Isaiah 46, 12, hearken unto
me, ye stout-hearted. Another translation says, you
stubborn-minded, that are far from righteousness. This simply
means that no matter whether you are Jew or Gentile, sinners
by nature will not bow to and be subjected to Christ and the
gospel way of justification before God. Men by nature hate God's
way because it destroys our own natural self-righteousness and
religious pride. Trusting in the righteousness
of Christ alone for salvation, it won't exalt the flesh. And
if you take away our ability to exalt the flesh by our works,
then you leave us with no room for boasting. And that, my friends,
destroys our thoughts of any free will salvation. And by nature,
we just will not accept that unless God does a work of grace
in our hearts, comes to us by His Holy Spirit, and prepares
that ground where when we hear that gospel preach of that God
will not save a sinner, any other way than by Christ and his righteousness
alone. Sinners by nature and that includes
even believers before conversion. We just have to hang on to our
so-called free will and we'll hang on to those free will thoughts
unless or until God the Holy Spirit does his great work in
regenerating and converting that old stout-hearted sinner, giving
him a heart of flesh, a heart that will receive a salvation
by another, someone completely outside of ourself, the Lord
Jesus Christ. The light of the gospel of God's
grace in Christ takes away man's means of boasting. And like I
said earlier, unregenerate sinners just don't like that. Look at
John, what he said, John 3, 19, 20. And this is the condemnation
that light has come into the world, this light, this gospel
light, this light of what we're talking about, how God saves
the sinner. And men love darkness rather than light. They don't
like it because their deeds were evil. It points out to them,
deeds of law. Their deeds of law is evil. Them
trying to work out a salvation of their own is evil rather than
looking to Christ alone for salvation. For every one that doeth it,
they hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved." Unless some gospel preacher tells them,
your deeds of law just won't get it. God's way shows us that
we're totally depraved sinners who have no righteousness of
our own and cannot work out one by our efforts to obey. Look
at Romans 3 beginning at verse 19. Now we know that what things
are ever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty
before God. Therefore, by the deeds of law,
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. God's way, it's that narrow way,
leaves us with no hope of righteousness and justification within ourselves. And it causes believers to rely
on God and His free and sovereign grace in Christ and by Christ
alone. The following verse proves that
the term the righteousness of God here is used in verse three
and in other verses refers to the obedience unto death of the
Lord Jesus Christ as substitute and surety of His people. Romans 10, and this is our last
verse that we'll deal with this morning, says for Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Here
in verse 4 we see for Christ. This removes any doubts or arguments
about the phrase the righteousness of God. It says for Christ. Christ is the very righteousness
of God for his people. For he is the Lord our righteousness
according to Jeremiah 23 6. where it says, in his days, Judas
shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is his
name, whereby he shall be called the Lord, our righteousness.
Thanks be to God for causing his elect, his sheep, to have
no righteousness but Christ's righteousness alone. A righteousness
that is not a work that we perform, not a work that we perform, but
a work that's already been accomplished by our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. It's a work in which God imputes and charges to the
account, to the account, and this righteousness that we have
charged to our account is all based on Christ's work alone,
His obedience unto death. According to Romans 10, 4, it
says the end of the law for righteousness. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. The word in here refers to the
complete fulfillment of the law. Look back at Matthew 5, 17, 18.
Christ says, think not that I am come to destroy the law or the
prophets. I'm not come to destroy it, 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. The word end also
refers to the termination or the completion of the law. Look
at John 19, 30. When Jesus, therefore, had received
the vinegar, he said, it's finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. What was finished? What was finished? The work of righteousness was
finished. And it was fulfilled and completed by Christ as he
finished the work. that the Father gave him to do.
He said the Father gave him that work to do. He gave him that
work and that everlasting covenant of grace made before time wherein
God the Father coveted with the Son to save a people. And he
gave those called his elect, his sheep, he gave them to Christ.
And Christ did exactly that in time. He came out here and he
saved his people from their sin. He redeemed them. Christ obeyed
the law even to the shedding of his blood on the cross of
Calvary. The death of Christ on the cross fulfilled all the
law's requirements for righteousness, for every one of his people is
elect. Speaking of Christ, look at what
it says here in Daniel 9, 24. The prophet Daniel said, 70 weeks
are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish
the transgression, and to make an end of sins, this is all speaking
of Christ, the Messiah, and to make reconciliation for iniquity
and to bring in an everlasting righteousness and to seal up
the vision and the prophecy and to anoint the most holy. This
prophecy speaks of Christ who by himself finished the work
in saving his people from their sins by paying the sin debt for
all those that the Father gave him, gave him in the covenant
of grace before the foundation of the world. Christ who was
anointed with the Holy Ghost as man at his incarnation, at
his baptism, and at his ascension to heaven. By his death, by Christ's
death, Christ completely satisfied the justice of God against the
sins of his elect, Jew and Gentile, all those that are in Christ,
all those that were put in Christ from eternity. Who are these
for whom Christ satisfied the justice of God? Well, let's look
at John 6, 37 through 39, and this is one of my favorite verses. Here's what it says. Here's what
John says. All that the Father giveth me, giveth me when? In that everlasting covenant
of grace made before time. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. In time, in each successive generation,
they're going to come to Come to Him. And Him that cometh to
me, I will in no wise cast out. Christ says, For I come down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that
sent me, the Father. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that all of which He hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. Now that's
comforting. That's what you call security
there. Man can add nothing to what Christ
accomplished on the cross. And for man to try to do anything
is self-righteousness, is pride, and is unbelief. Also, by his
obedience unto death, Christ fulfilled all the Old Testament
prophecies, all the types, all the pictures, and he abolished
the Old Covenant by way of fulfillment. Christ is the end of the law.
Look at Hebrews 7, beginning at verse 18. For there is verily
a disanulling of the commandment going before, for the weakness
and unproperliness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect,
but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw
nigh unto God. Also in Hebrews 8.13, in that
he saith, a new covenant he hath made the first old. Now that
which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Speaking
of that old covenant. Also, look at Hebrews 10, 9.
Then said he, Lo, Christ says, I come to do thy will, O God.
He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
That new covenant. that new covenant, which is that
everlasting covenant of grace. And then in the last part, and
I'll close here, and then in the last part of Romans 10, 4,
for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. For whom is Christ the end of the law for righteousness?
Is it for all without exception? The answer is no. It is for those
whom God brings to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance
of dead works and former idolatry. Paul has already shown that we
as fallen, rebellious sinners will not willingly subject ourselves
to Christ. But God has a people whom he
chose before the foundation of the world, whom he has justified
and redeemed by the blood of Christ, in whom he sends the
Holy Spirit in time into the world to give them life, the
knowledge of and the faith in Christ their Savior. God's command
is to believe in Christ and to repent of our own righteousness,
which is nothing but dead works and fruited in death. We see
again in these scriptures that it is a center of self-righteousness,
his religious pride and unbelief that keep them away from trusting
in Christ alone for all of salvation. Well, in closing this morning, My heart's desire and prayer,
not only for my close kin people, but sinners in general. My heart's desire and prayer
for them is that they might be saved. I know that most of them are
ignorant of God's righteousness. This righteousness, the only
righteousness that God will accept. But I pray, my heart's desire,
that God will save them.