ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

The End of the Law

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

 

In our passage today, Paul tells his Jewish audience: "Christ is the end of the law." I wonder if there was a sense of relief. Maybe for some, but not for others.

Many years ago my wife Sherry and I decided to take our teenage children and their friends on a camping trip to the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. We intended to leave mid-afternoon. However, by the time everyone arrived and loaded all their gear into the three SUVs we were taking, it was well into evening. We stopped numerous times along the way to eat and for bathroom breaks. So it was pretty late by the time we finally pulled off Highway 395 and reached our intended campsite, the end point of our journey.

Have you ever tried setting up tents with a bunch of tired, cranky teenagers at two o'clock in the morning? Sherry and I did, and it's not very fun. As a result, on the first night of our camping trip half of the kids preferred sleeping in the known discomfort of the SUVs to the unknown of the tents. The next night everyone slept in tents. Why? Because they understood the freedom to stretch out and relax in the tents was far better than the "safe" yet constricted interior of the SUVs.

The same is true of the Law. Is the familiar comfort of its boundaries, rules and restrictions preferable to freedom and righteousness provided by God for those who believe in Christ Jesus? I guess it depends on whether or not the purpose of the Law is understood. In Matthew 5:18, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Yet the Law ended when Christ came. Why? Because it was fulfilled in Him. The Law is only the vehicle that brings us to Christ. Christ Himself is the destination -- He is the end point of the journey. Unfortunately, many of the Jews prefer to stay in the vehicle.

 

Jesus provides a righteousness and power to overcome sin which the Law could never achieve. However, the question remains even for those of us who are Christians: Do we live constricted, frustrated and bound by rules of our own creation or do we live freely in Jesus? What rules have you created? What rules have others created for you to follow? What is the Lord's will?

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