OPEN HEAVENS Devotional – Saturday
May 14th 2016
TOPIC: THE END OF THE LAW
Memorize: And now abideth
faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 1st Corinthians
13:13
Read: 1st Corinthians
13:8-13,
8 Charity
never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there
be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know
in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when
that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was
a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but
when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we
see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but
then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now
abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is
charity.
Bible in one year: 2nd Kings
17:24-19:7, Proverbs 24:8-20
MESSAGE
The Bible says Christ is the
end of the law (Romans 10:4), and it is entirely correct in every respect.
Christ is the object of the law, the reason why the law was given; He is the
fulfilment of the law, the conclusion of the law, the finality of the law, and
the termination of the law. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.
There is no righteousness of any kind (justifying righteousness or sanctifying
righteousness) to be attained by our personal obedience to the law because it
is written, “for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians
2:21). However, Christ is not the end of the law for everyone. He did not
fulfil the demands of the law for everyone. He is only the end of the law for
the elects of God and all those who shall trust in His saving power. Christ is
therefore the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes in
Him.
“Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Romans 10:4
When Apostle Paul declared that Christ is the end of the law, he was not telling us that the law is evil.
Writing by divine inspiration, the apostle meant that those apostate religious
leaders who try to mix law and grace, who try to put believers under the yoke
of bondage, desiring to be teachers of the law, do not know what they are
talking about, “understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”
The law was never intended, in any sense, for those who are righteous before
God.
The law was given for the
unrighteous. The law is not evil. It is holy, just, and good. It would be well
if all men lived in conformity to the law’s commands, both in outward practice
and inward principle. Indeed, it is ordained of God and used by all civil
governments to protect society from those who would otherwise disregard all respect
for the rights, property, and lives of others.
This passage should not be
used to legalise immorality and corruption as many are doing. Jesus did not
come to invalidate the commandments of God in anyway. He was a law abiding
person while He lived here on earth. Jesus teaches liberty and freedom from the
binding effect of sin in that the letters of sin enslaves in a very powerful
way. Yet, man has a strange infatuation with the law. Like the gnat that is
drawn to the candle that will destroy it, man by nature is drawn to the law for
righteousness, when all the law can give is destruction. The law can do nothing
else but reveal sin and pronounce condemnation on the sinner (Romans 3:19-20).
Still, we cannot get men to
flee from the law. They are so enamoured with their own self-righteousness and
their own self-worth that they will cling to the law with a death-grip, though
there is really nothing to cling to. They prefer Sinai to Calvary, though Sinai
offers them nothing but death. Listen to the Word of God. If the opinions of
men or your own opinions contradict the Word of God, “Let God be true and every
man a liar.”
Prayer Point
Father, please give me the
grace to live by Your righteousness and not my works
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