When most people first encounter the Bible, they are confronted by the Ten Commandments—what Scripture calls the “righteousness of the law.” This standard is holy, good, and spiritual, but it was never given as a means for us to attain righteousness before God. Instead, the law functions as a divine instrument to expose the true nature of our condition and to drive us to Christ, the only source of real righteousness.
The Law: A Holy Standard That Exposes Our Need
The law is not the problem—humanity is. The law reveals God’s perfect standard, but when it meets our sinful and fleshly nature, it exposes our utter inability to meet that standard. The law acts not as a ladder for us to climb to God, but as a magnifying glass that reveals the depth of our sin. It diagnoses, but it cannot heal. It names sin, exposes the hidden motives of our hearts, and proves beyond question that self-justification is impossible.
This is not a flaw in the law; it is its very purpose. The law is a shadow, not the substance. It points beyond itself to Christ, the reality. To confuse the law’s standard with the means of righteousness is to miss the entire point of God’s revelation. The law is holy, but it cannot impart holiness to sinners. It is spiritual, but it cannot make us spiritual. Its function is to bring us to the end of ourselves.
The Sermon on the Mount: Raising the Bar, Not Lowering It
Many suppose that Jesus came to make the law easier or to offer a more manageable set of rules. In reality, He did the opposite. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus intensified the law’s demands. He revealed that the law is not just about outward actions, but about the inward motives of the heart. If you harbor hatred, you are guilty of murder; if you look with lust, you are guilty of adultery. The standard is not relaxed—it is raised to a level that no one can attain.
This was not an invitation to try harder. Jesus’ words were a direct rebuke to those who imagined they were keeping the law and qualifying themselves for God’s kingdom. The purpose was to drive every hearer to despair of self-qualification, to strip away all hope in human effort, and to force the question: If even the most religious cannot meet this standard, who then can be saved?
The Law’s True Purpose: Driving Us to Christ
Here is the crucial point: The law’s exposure of sin and the resulting despair over self-justification is a positive and necessary outcome. God gave the law not to make us righteous, but to reveal our desperate need for a righteousness we do not possess. The law is a schoolmaster, a relentless tutor that leads us to Christ. When we finally acknowledge our inability and give up on our own efforts, we are ready to receive what God alone can provide.
If you miss this—if you imagine that the law is a path to righteousness, or that your standing with God is based on your performance—you lose everything. You forfeit justification, sonship, and inheritance. You remain under the shadow, never entering into the reality. The law was never meant to be the means of life; it was meant to drive you to the One who is life.
Christ: The Reality and Our Only Qualification
What the law could never do, God has accomplished in Christ. Jesus is the righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees and the scribes. He is the only One who ever fulfilled the law’s demands, both outwardly and inwardly. By His redemptive work on the cross, He became our righteousness. God justifies the ungodly by imputing Christ’s righteousness to those who believe. This is not a reward for effort; it is a free gift received by faith alone.
In Christ, you are fully qualified for the kingdom. You have been transferred out of darkness and into the kingdom of the Son of His love—not by your works, but by His finished work. This is justification: God declares sinners to be righteous, sons, and heirs, solely on the basis of Christ’s blood and righteousness.
“But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30)
“He has delivered us from the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)
What Is Lost If You Miss This?
If you cling to the law as your hope, you remain under condemnation, forever measuring yourself against a standard you cannot meet. You forfeit the rest, assurance, and inheritance that belong to sons. You make Christ of no effect, nullifying the grace of God. The law, intended to drive you to Christ, becomes instead a barrier that keeps you from Him. There is no salvation, no justification, no entrance into the kingdom apart from Christ’s righteousness received by faith.
The Law Has Done Its Job—Now Rest in Christ
The law was given to expose sin and to bring you to the end of yourself. Its purpose is fulfilled when you turn in faith to Christ. Now, your standing before God is not based on your performance, but on Christ’s finished work. You are justified, sanctified, and made an heir—not by striving, but by receiving. The law has led you to the Cross; now rest in Christ, your righteousness, your life, and your eternal reward.
Supporting Scriptures:
Romans 3:20, Romans 7:12, Romans 7:14, Matthew 5:17-20, Romans 8:3-4, Galatians 3:24, Romans 7:7, Galatians 3:19-22, Romans 10:4
