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Galatians 4:4-5
says,
“But when the fullness of time had come, God
sent forth his Son, born of woman, born
under the law, 5 to redeem those who were
under the law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons.”
Jesus was
without sin and kept the Law perfectly (the
way God intended).
John 8:46
says, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?
If I tell the truth, why do you not believe
me?”
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew
no sin, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.”
1 Peter 2:22
says, “He committed no sin, neither was
deceit found in his mouth.”
1 Peter 3:18
says, “For Christ also suffered
once for sins, the righteous for the
unrighteous, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh but made
alive in the spirit.”
1 John 3:5
says, “You know that he appeared in
order to take away sins, and in him there is
no sin.”
Romans 5:18-21 says,
“Therefore, as one trespass led to
condemnation for all men, so one act of
righteousness leads to justification and
life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s
disobedience the many were made sinners, so
by the one man’s obedience the many will be
made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to
increase the trespass, but where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more, 21
so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also
might reign through righteousness leading to
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who in every respect
has been tempted as we are, yet without
sin.”
And Hebrews 7:26 says, “For it was indeed
fitting that we should have such a high
priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated
from sinners, and exalted above the
heavens.”
While Jesus experienced every kind of
human temptation, he never succumbed to sin
(John 8:29, 46; 15:10; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26;
1 Pet. 2:22; 3:18; 1 John 3:5).
“Christ was born under Law
as a Jew. He kept the Law perfectly,
fulfilled it (cf. Matt. 5:17), and finally
paid its curse (cf. Gal. 3:13).”[1]
Jesus told His
disciples to keep the Law faithfully.
Matthew 5:48 says, “You therefore must
be perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.”
Matthew 7:21 says, “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who
does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.”
Jesus said He came to fulfill
the law.
Matthew 5:17-18 says,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish
the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to
abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For
truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth
pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass
from the Law until all is accomplished.”
The Old Covenant came to an end when Jesus
offered a perfect sacrifice for our sins and
then died for us.
Ephesians 2:13-16
says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once
were far away have been brought near through
the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has
made the two one and has destroyed the
barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15
by abolishing in his flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His purpose
was to create in himself one new man out of
the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this
one body to reconcile both of them to God
through the cross, by which he put to death
their hostility.” (NIV)
Colossians 1:22 says, “he has now
reconciled in his body of flesh by his
death, in order to present you holy and
blameless and above reproach before him,”
Colossians 2:13-14 says, “When you were
dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision
of your sinful nature, God made you alive
with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14
having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that
stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross.” (NIV)
When
Jesus died and rose from the dead He established a new, eternal
priesthood and ushered in the New Covenant.
Hebrews 7:12
says, “For when there is a change in
the priesthood, there is necessarily a
change in the law as well.”
Hebrews 8:13 says, “In speaking of a new
covenant, he makes the first one obsolete.
And what is becoming obsolete and growing
old is ready to vanish away.”
Hebrews
9:11, 12, 15 says, “But when Christ appeared
as a high priest of the good things that
have come, then through the greater and more
perfect tent (not made with hands, that is,
not of this creation) 12 he entered once for
all into the holy places, not by means of
the blood of goats and calves but by means
of his own blood, thus securing an eternal
redemption... 15
Therefore he is the mediator of a new
covenant, so that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal
inheritance,
since a death has occurred that redeems them
from the transgressions committed under the
first covenant.”
Hebrews 9:16-17 says, “For
where a will is involved, the death of the
one who made it must be established.
17 For a will
takes effect only at death, since it is not in
force as long as the one who made it is
alive.”
Hebrews 9:23-28 says, “Thus
it was necessary for the copies of the
heavenly things to be purified with these
rites, but the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices than these. 24 For
Christ has entered, not into holy places
made with hands, which are copies of the
true things, but into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly,
as the high priest enters the holy places
every year with blood not his own, 26 for
then he would have had to suffer repeatedly
since the foundation of the world.
But as it is,
he has appeared
once for all at the end of the ages to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed
for man to die once, and after that comes
judgment, 28 so
Christ,
having been offered once to bear the sins of
many, will appear a
second time, not to deal with sin but to
save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
And Hebrews 10:7-10 says, “Then I said,
‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the
book. 8 When
he said above, “You have neither desired nor
taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings
and burnt offerings and sin offerings”
(these are offered according to the law), 9
then he added, “Behold,
I have come to do your will.”
He does away with the first in order to
establish the second. 10
And by
that will we have been sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.”
We are made holy and
cleansed from sin and consecrated to God’s
service because Christ was able to keep
God’s Law holy and then offer up His life as
a sacrifice for our sins. He alone was
worthy!
Jesus Christ brought
an end to the Old Covenant by fulfilling it
and then gave us a whole new way to live.
Romans 10:4 says,
“For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes.”
The word “end” in Romans 10:4, “probably includes the idea of both
goal and termination. The Mosaic law has
reached its goal in Christ (it looked
forward to and anticipated him), and the law
is no longer binding upon Christians (the
Old Covenant has ended). Since Christ is the
goal and end of the law, righteousness
belongs to all who trust in Christ.”
[2]
Paul’s statement that Christ
is “the end of the law,” is similar to his
statement that believers are
no longer “under the law” in Romans 6:14. Christians are
not under the Old Covenant Law that God made
with Israel alone at Mount Sinai, but under
the New Covenant that Christ made with
all those who put their trust in Him through
His
shed blood on Calvary’s cross (cf.
Jer. 31:31-34; Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:8-12).
We can never live up to God’s
moral standards on our own.
Jesus told His
disciples in Matthew 5:48, “You therefore
must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.”
Sin affects every fiber of
our being! No matter how hard we try to be
good, we will never live up to God’s perfect
standard of righteousness on our own. Isaiah 64:6 says,
“We have all become like one who
is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are
like a polluted garment. We all fade like a
leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind,
take us away.” Our own attempts at goodness
are simply not good enough. We need Christ
righteousness imputed to us to be saved
(1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:22; 5:18-21).
Jesus Christ
was without sin. He kept the Old Covenant
Law faithfully for us (Gal. 4:4-5). His blood covers any and all
who accept Him because He was the perfect
sacrifice for our sins. When we put our trust in Him we are
redeemed from the Law and have Christ’s
righteousness imputed to us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made
him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in
him we might become the righteousness of
God.”
Jesus Christ was the only
person to ever keep God’s Law perfectly. Without
His righteousness credited to our account we could never be
made right with God. That is why, “there is
salvation in no one else, for there is no
other name under heaven given among men by
which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Have you put your trust in Jesus Christ
alone for your salvation?
References:
1. The Bible
Knowledge Commentary: Galatians 4:4
2. ESV Study Bible:
Romans 10:4
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