YOU MUST KNOW THIS, SO READ! Many believe Jesus came to do away with the law, based in part on what Paul wrote in Romans 10:4. Is this true? What the Bible says might surprise you! The apostle Paul wrote, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). Many assume this means Jesus Christ did away with the law. But that interpretation is in direct contradiction to Jesus’ own words: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18). The word “fulfill” in verse 17 is from the Greek wordpleroo,meaning “to fill up, to fill to the full” (The King James Version New Testament Greek Lexicon). Therefore, Christ was not saying He ended the law, but rather that His thoughts and actions perfectly embodied its every intent. He “filled it to the full.” The word “fulfilled” in verse 18 is from the wordginomai,meaning “to become,” “made” or “finished” (ibid.). That is to say, the law will continue throughout God’s plan for humankind! It did not end 2,000 years ago. Jesus Himself declared that He did not destroy the law. In fact, Jesus went on to denounce anyone who would teach differently: “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). Meaning of “Christ is the end of the law” Paul originally wrote Romans in the Greek language, which does not always translate into modern languages in a readily understandable way. Unfortunately, the Greek wordtelosis often translated “end.” This gives today’s reader a different impression than it gave those who read the letter in Paul’s day. The wordteloscan be translated differently depending on the context. It can mean “end result or ultimate fate” (Mounces Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words,2006, “End”). It can also mean “‘the aim or purpose’ of a thing” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words,1985, “End, Ending”). The NKJV Study Biblesays, “Endcan mean ‘fulfillment’; that is, Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the law. It can also mean ‘goal,’ to say that Christ was the object to which the law led” (2007, comments on Romans 10:4). The fact thatteloscan mean “goal” is clearly demonstrated by the New King James translation of 1 Timothy 1:5: “Now thepurposeof the commandment is love” (emphasis added throughout). The word “purpose” comes from the Greek wordtelos. Other translations render it as “aim” (New Revised Standard Version) and “goal” (New International Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible). Paul’s view of the law What is the correct way to translatetelosin Romans 10:4? A fundamental rule of sound Bible study is to allow the Bible to interpret itself. In this case, we can find other passages where Paul wrote about the law to determine his view of it. A good example of his perspective is found in Romans 7:7, where he wrote: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” Clearly, Paul considered that God’s law, stated in the 10 Commandments, continued to define sin for New Testament believers. Many additional scriptures show us that Paul held God’s law in high regard—certainly not believing that it was done away. He wrote: “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good” (Romans 7:12) and, “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters” (1 Corinthians 7:19). Therefore, it is clear that Paul meant “Christ is the goal, purpose or objective of the law” in Romans 10:4—not that Jesus put an end to the law!
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 20:08:16 +0000
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