Believing
Unto Righteousness
Righteousness
By The Law
In a Brief Survey
of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans
Based on sermons
preached in PCC Worship Services, July 2003 to Sep 2005
Part 48a of 83
“5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of
the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. …” (Romans 10:5-13).
We saw in our previous study how the Jews had
a zeal without knowledge. They were zealous for God. But their zeal was an
ignorant zeal. They were trying to establish their righteousness by good works
and by keeping the Law. God has provided a way of righteousness, namely through
the Messiah, Christ. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believes.
The law in the Old Testament pointed to and
led to Christ for righteousness; so everyone who believes in Christ and finds
salvation in Him would cease from seeking righteousness by law-keeping. They
know that they are perfectly righteous in Christ on account of the
righteousness of Christ and that they cannot get more righteous by keeping the
law. The Law could only be for righteousness for an unfallen man. But all men
since Adam are sinners even without their trying. The Law, therefore, cannot be
a means to righteousness. The Law ought rather to shut up the sinner to Christ.
The Jews ought to know this for the Gospel
was preached unto them as unto us. But they were wilfully ignorant. They refuse
to believe.
Paul is still dealing with this subject as we
enter into verse 5. In fact, from verse 5 to 13, he is seeking to show through
a series of quotations from the Old Testament that the way of salvation in the
Old Covenant administration for the Jews is the same as the way for the Gentiles
or the Jews under the New Covenant administration. The way of salvation is
always by grace through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone.
The Lord helping us, we want to study this
paragraph under three heads.
·
First, we must consider the way of righteousness which is of the Law,
which Paul refers to in verse 5.
·
Secondly, we must consider the way of righteousness which is of faith,
which Paul deals with in the rest of the paragraph.
·
Finally, we must zoom in on a couple of important and famous of verses
to correct some common misinterpretation as well as to bring the doctrine that
the apostle is teaching to bear upon our lives. I am referring to verses 9 and
10 where Paul describes the exercise of faith that every believer will engage
in.
But let’s begin by considering…
1. The Righteousness
which is of the Law
Paul says:
5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which
is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
Moses, says Paul, teaches us two things
relating to the law. First, he tells us that it is possible to obtain
righteousness by keeping the law. Secondly, and as a consequence, if we keep
the law, we can enjoy life or eternal life.
Now, this is utterly surprising, is it not?
After spending so much time insisting that justification is by grace through
faith, Paul tells us that we can, after all, obtain righteousness and salvation
through the law! Did Paul make a mistake? Did we hear him wrongly?
Well, Paul is alluding to two passages in the
Old Testament. Let’s look at them to see
if Paul understood them wrongly.
·
First, Paul is alluding to Deuteronomy 6:25—
“And it shall be our righteousness, if we
observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath
commanded us.”
What is Moses saying in this verse? It is
clear, is it not, that he is saying: “If we keep God’s commandments, we shall
be righteous?” So obedience to the law is righteousness. Those who keep the law
are righteous and those who are righteous will keep the law.
·
Secondly, Paul is paraphrasing Leviticus 18:5—
“Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my
judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in [or by] them: I am the LORD.”
What is God saying through Moses in this
verse? It is clear, is it not, that God is saying that if we keep His statutes
and judgements (or in other words, His commandments), then we shall live. That
is, if we keep the law, we will enjoy abundant and eternal life on account of
the law. God will reward us with eternal life!
What then? Did Paul make a mistake by
declaring that Moses teaches us that the keeping of the law is a way of
obtaining righteousness and salvation?
Of course not! So is it possible to obtain
righteousness and salvation by law-keeping? Yes, God could not have inspired
Moses and Paul to teach a lie!
But wait a minute! How can this be? Can we,
or can we not obtain righteousness by the Law?
Well, let’s turn again to Deuteronomy 6:25,
and take careful note of what he is saying—
“And it shall be our righteousness, if we
observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath
commanded us.
Notice what he is saying? It will be
righteousness only if we keep all the
commandments, and if we can do so before
the all-seeing and all-knowing God!
The point is clear, is it not? Only if we can
keep the Law perfectly then can we
have righteousness and can have eternal life! The fact is that none of us can
keep the Law perfectly. This is why
we say that none can obtain righteousness and salvation by law-keeping.
But if that is the case, why does the
Scripture tell us at all that there is a way of righteousness and salvation by
law-keeping? Would it not be less confusing, simply to say that we cannot
obtain righteousness and salvation by the law, full stop? After all, do not the
words of Paul and Moses, that man can have righteousness and salvation by
law-keeping, seem to be empty promises?
Well, no, for there is a reason in everything
that God reveals to us in His Word. The reason why Paul, for example, is
reminding us of the way righteousness and salvation by the law, is to show us
the relationship between the Law and Christ.
You see, the law, —especially the Moral Law,
—was given as a covenant of works to man so that if a man can keep it
perfectly, he can have eternal life.
When God made Adam in His own image, He wrote
the works of the Law in his heart. Adam knew the Moral Law. And Adam was
required to keep the Law if he were to enjoy a life of fellowship with God. But
Adam failed. He fell into sin and so all mankind descending from him by
ordinary generation sinned in him and fell with him.
Thus, no ordinary
man since the fall of Adam is able to keep the Law perfectly. We say “ordinary man,” because there is a man
who can keep the Law perfectly! Who is this extraordinary man! He is none other
than the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Christ Jesus took on human flesh in order to
keep the Covenant of Works on our behalf. He came to do what our natural
covenant head failed to do! He came to fulfil the condition of perfect
obedience to the Law, in order that the promise of righteousness and life by
the law may be bestowed upon us.
Paul has just said:
“For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Rom 10:4).
Christ kept the Law of God on behalf of God’s
elect in order that we may have righteousness through Him. Those who are united
to Christ by faith have the righteousness of Christ credited to their account.
No one else but the Lord Jesus can purchase
righteousness by keeping the Law. Christ is the end of the Law for
righteousness to everyone who believes. Moses described a righteousness which
is of the law not so that we may obtain righteousness by the Law, but that we
may be shut up to Christ, who alone could obtain righteousness for us.
This is true not only today; it has always
been true, even in the Old Testament days. Paul makes it very clear in verse 6,
where he shows us that the “righteousness which is of faith” was already
available in the Old Testament.
…to be Continued Next Issue
—JJ Lim