Introduction

One of my favorite preachers from church history is the Scotsmen, Robert Murray M’Cheyne. He died before he reached thirty years old, yet his influence on the church has endured for nearly two centuries. Those who knew him often spoke of his remarkable holiness, but if you had asked M’Cheyne the secret of his life, he wouldn’t have pointed you to himself. He knew his own heart too well for that.

You all know his famous quote that I return to again and again, “Learn much of your own heart… and when you have learned all you can, remember you have seen but a few yards into a pit that is unfathomable. Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.” Well, I actually think that quote is a great summary of Romans 10:1-4.

Israel kept looking at Israel. They looked at their zeal. They looked at their knowledge. They looked at the covenant-privileges they had. They looked at their Law-keeping. They looked at themselves. But Paul says the ultimate point of the Law isn’t to make us look at ourselves, it’s to make us look to Christ. And that’s what I want us to see today. But with that, I want us to see Christ today as well.

So with that in mind, look with me at Romans 10:1-4.

Context

Last week we saw that God’s Word has not failed because God’s purpose has never failed. Through Hosea and Isaiah, Paul showed us that God always intended to save only a faithful remnant from Israel while gathering a countless multitude from among the nations. Israel’s widespread rejection of Christ did not catch God by surprise. Indeed, even the prophets foretold that many within Israel would stumble over God’s chosen Cornerstone, while those who looked to Him by faith would never be put to shame. God’s sovereign plan of redemption has always centered on His beloved Son, and His purpose has always been to fill the earth with His glory by gathering one covenant people from every tribe, tongue, and nation through Jesus Christ.

But that raises another important question. If Israel’s unbelief fulfilled God’s sovereign purpose, does that somehow excuse their unbelief? Was Israel merely a helpless victim of God’s decree? Paul answers with another clear no. Having defended God’s sovereign freedom in the first part of Romans 9, as we saw last week in the last part of Romans 9, Paul turned to expose Israel’s responsibility—they stumbled over the Cornerstone that is Christ. And that same idea continues in our passage this week.

Israel’s problem was not a lack of zeal, religious privilege, or covenant blessings. Their problem was that they refused to look through all of those gifts to Christ Himself. They sought to establish a righteousness of their own instead of submitting to the righteousness God freely gives through faith in His Son. And in doing so, they remind us that it is possible to possess great religious knowledge, sound doctrine, faithful liturgy, covenant signs, and every outward privilege, yet still miss the very One to whom they all point. Romans 10:1–4 therefore calls every one of us to fix the eyes of our hearts upon Christ alone, for He is the goal of the Law, the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises, and the only righteousness that can save.

Romans 10:1-4

Paul beings in verse 1 saying, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” Here Paul’s echoing Romans 9:1-5 where he revealed his heart for his kinsmen according to the flesh… but here he gives us a bit more insight. Earlier he said he’s willing to be cut off, to be condemned for their sake, and here he tells us why. He would be cut off in order for them to be saved. Indeed, his heart’s desire is that they may be saved.

Now first notice that this helps us better understand everything that has come before in Romans 9. This tells us that Paul has not merely been discussing God’s sovereignty and man’s covenant responsibility in some abstract way, but in a way that is directly tied to salvation. Romans 9:1-5 and Romans 10:1-4 act as bookends of this deep treatise on God’s sovereignty, yet some try to get around God’s sovereignty in Romans 9 because they say he’s merely talking about God’s plans for nations, or God’s covenant dealings, but not salvation. Yet if we look at Paul’s argument here, and follow his train of thought, it is evident that from the time he brought up his kinsmen according to the flesh until now in our passage today, he has had salvation in mind. Paul’s desire for ethnic Jews is that they would be saved, therefore salvation has been on Paul’s mind throughout Romans 9, and so the sovereign grace of God in salvation has been the major point throughout Romans 9.

Now with that in mind look at what Paul says here. Even after showing that God is completely sovereign, and that salvation is ultimately up to God’s sovereign grace, here he says that his heart’s desire, what he wants in the core of his being and his prayer to God for the Jews is that they would be saved. He’s already told us that God has mercy on whomever He wills, and that he hardens whomever He wills, and that the Jews have been showing themselves to have hard hearts like Pharaoh with Moses, especially as they stumbled over the Cornerstone that is Christ, and even had Him crucified. Yet ever after all of that great sin and hard-heartedness, Paul is still praying that God would save them. Even after explaining that God chose before the foundation of the world who would be truly saved, Paul still prays for their salvation. And of course we know that he doesn’t just pray for them, he shares the gospel with them. He always ministered to the Jews first before ministering to the Gentiles.

Paul isn’t angry, he isn’t smug, nor is he passive and without hope. He’s brokenhearted, but he’s still going to God in desperate prayer in hope that God might change their hearts. And what this demonstrates is that election never diminishes love. Paul knows that only God saves, therefore Paul prays. And that’s exactly right. Divine sovereignty should produce prayer.

Some people ask why we should pray if God is sovereign. My question is, why pray if God isn’t sovereign. Because God is sovereign we know He can actually answer prayer. He can actually do something with our requests. If He isn’t sovereign there’s no point in praying. Only a sovereign God can actually answer prayer.

Paul isn’t embarrassed or paralyzed by election. He is still committed to prayer and evangelism. God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility may sound like a paradox, but they are biblical truths that aren’t pitted against each other. Though we should rest in God’s good sovereignty we should never merely rest, we should never merely let go and let God. We have work to do.

Our work and God’s sovereign grace are not competitors; they are covenantally linked. God ordains not only the end, but also the means. The same God who ordains salvation also ordains prayer, preaching, evangelism, faithful churches, and the witness of His people as the means by which He brings His elect to Himself. And this salvation that is of the Lord isn’t merely about saving isolated individuals; it’s about the renewal of the whole creation under the Lordship of Jesus Christ… it’s about Christ reclaiming the world He created.

The Christian faith isn’t an escape plan from the world; it’s God’s plan to reclaim the world. Christ doesn’t merely save souls for heaven—He is reconciling all things to Himself (Colossians 1:20). Therefore Christians pray, evangelize, baptize, disciple the nations, establish faithful churches, build Christian families, educate children, cultivate culture, create businesses, govern justly, pursue justice, produce beautiful art, practice medicine, invent, farm, build, write, teach, serve, and labor in every lawful calling under the Lordship of King Jesus. We do these things not because we imagine the outcome depends on us, but because we know it ultimately depends on Him. We have work to do, and because God is sovereign we can do it, and we can do it faithfully for His glory. And so we must.

Consider the Great Commission. Jesus didn’t say, “All authority has been given to Me… therefore relax.” He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go” (Matthew 28:18-19). Notice that Jesus grounds the command to “go” in the declaration that He possesses “all authority.” The command rests upon the promise. Christ’s sovereignty is the reason our labor is never futile. His universal sovereignty is the very foundation of our mission. We go because He reigns. We preach because He saves. We pray because He answers. We labor because He promises a harvest. We build because His Kingdom cannot fail.

God’s sovereignty is not an excuse for inactivity; it is the guarantee that our obedience will ultimately bear fruit. We labor, not in uncertainty, but in hope. That’s why Paul can pour out his life in prayer, preaching, church planting, disciple-making, and suffering. He knows the King who sent him has already secured the victory. As Paul quotes from Isaiah later, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news” (Romans 10:15)! Or as we read from Isaiah 55:11 earlier, “[God’s] word… that goes out from [His] mouth [in and through His church]… shall not return to [Him] empty, but it shall accomplish that which [He] purpose[s], and shall succeed in the thing for which [He] sent it.”  So as he tells the Corinthians, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The sovereignty of God doesn’t diminish our zeal—it fuels it.

And that brings us back to our passage. In Romans 10:2 Paul says, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” So Paul’s kinsmen according to the flesh, God’s covenant people who have rejected their Messiah, the ones that Paul is praying heartfelt prayers for salvation for, are those who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. The idea is that they have a zeal, a passion, a commitment, a love for the things of God, but not for God Himself… at least not a right zeal for God that looks through the things of God to the Son of God.

Earlier we read from Philippians 3 where Paul said he counts all things as loss for the sake of knowing Christ. And what he counts as loss is what the Jews were banking everything on. He said of himself before Christ, “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4-6)… And then, as we read earlier, he says, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7). And Paul did this because, as he said back in Philippians 1:21, Christ is gain. But this is what the Jews missed. Their hope was in their gain according to the flesh, not the gain that comes in and through Christ, the gain that is Christ. Therefore they were zealous, but not with right knowledge.

The be sure, they knew a lot. When Paul says that he was blameless according to the Law, by that he means according to his knowledge of the Law at the time. But his knowledge was faulty. Indeed, before he was truly converted his theology was faulty… But he still knew a lot of theology. He knew what the Law said, he just didn’t rightly understand it. He had a lot of knowledge, as did his kinsmen according to the flesh, but they didn’t have right knowledge, and most importantly, they didn’t have the right knowledge of the Truth of the gospel. They were truly zealous, but they were not zealous truly, according to true knowledge, according to the Truth. They were truly zealous, but not for the One, or in the One who is the Truth.

Paul explains this further in Romans 10:3. He says, “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.” Notice that word establish. That’s the same language God uses throughout Genesis when He establishes His covenant with His people. And many commentators point out that the righteousness of God in Romans isn’t merely referring to His justice and moral uprightness, nor to simply the righteousness of Christ that He freely gives His people, but to God’s covenant faithfulness, which of course includes His justice, moral uprightness, and the righteousness of Christ. And so, the righteousness God’s Old Covenant people were seeking to establish themselves was a covenant faithfulness, a moral uprightness, without the righteousness of Christ. They were looking to who they were and what they had, and even to their own zeal and knowledge as a means of salvation and hope. Martin Luther said that man’s chief problem in life is that he’s turned in upon himself. And that’s exactly what’s going on here. They were seeking to establish their own righteousness, their own faithfulness. Their salvation, their hope, their assurance was all rooted in them, not in the grace of God in Christ.

They had a lot of knowledge and a lot of zeal, but they were ignorant of the righteousness of God. And this was a willful ignorance. As Paul said in Romans 1, they suppressed the truth in their unrighteousness. But the Jews suppressed the truth of God’s creation and the truth of God’s Word. Along with God’s Word they had priests, they had elders, they had prophets and rabbis, yet they still missed it by and large. Israel understood that God was righteous, but because of their sin they misunderstood the covenant and the covenant faithfulness of God. The covenant was never about earning something or being good enough, it was always about grace through faith in Christ. So notice the contrast in the verse, they sought to establish their own righteousness instead of submitting to God’s righteousness. Submitting is the issue. The Jews didn’t merely misunderstand, they refused God’s way. Their ignorance was not innocent, it was an act of rebellion. And this has been the problem since the beginning.

Ever since the garden mankind has wanted to establish what only God can establish. Adam reached for wisdom apart from God. Babel sought to establish a name apart from God. Pharaoh sought to establish a kingdom apart from God. Israel sought to establish covenant faithfulness apart from Christ. Every age simply invents new versions of the same old rebellion—seeking to establish what only God can establish, and thus seeking to put themselves in the place of God.

We see this everywhere today. The progressive Left often believes righteousness can be established through political power, government programs, wealth redistribution, identity politics, or social activism. If only the right people are elected… if only enough money is spent… if only the right laws are passed… then paradise can finally arrive. Salvation comes through the State.

But the secular Right (that is godless conservatism, Republicans and the like who aren’t rightly trusting in Christ) has its own version of self-righteousness. It often imagines that if we can recover patriotism, capitalism, constitutional government, traditional values, free markets, or national greatness, then everything will be well. Salvation comes through the nation, through economics, through political strength, or through mere conservatism.

Neither side asks the fundamental question: “How can sinful men be reconciled to a holy God?” Both assume that the greatest problem is somewhere “out there”—our institutions, our politicians, our opponents, our economy. But Scripture says the deepest problem is in here. The human heart is at war with God.

Now don’t misunderstand me. Governments matter. Laws matter. Economics matter. Justice matters. Nations matter. Every area off life must bow the knee to King Jesus. Christians ought to care about all of those things. And the Christian Right certainly does.

Romans itself has much to say about civil government. But none of those things can establish righteousness. The State cannot forgive sin. Congress cannot regenerate hearts. Elections cannot justify sinners. Courts cannot reconcile us to God. Conservatism cannot make us holy. Progressivism cannot create a new creation. The government cannot save us… But the government needs to be saved. Politics cannot save us… But politics need to be saved. And only Jesus Christ can do that.

This is why every false religion and every false worldview eventually becomes a religion of works. They all basically answer the same question: “How do I become righteous?” They simply give different answers. Islam says submit and perform. Secularism says educate yourself. Humanism says believe in yourself. Marxism says overthrow the oppressor. Therapeutic culture says discover your authentic self. Consumerism says buy enough. Paganism says appease the gods. Judaism apart from Christ says keep the Law. But the gospel says, “Repent and believe. Christ has done what you never could. So trust in Him. Submit to His righteousness.”

And before we become too eager to criticize the world, we should ask ourselves: Where am I trying to establish my own righteousness? Am I trusting my church attendance? My theological precision? My homeschooling? My parenting? My giving? My Reformed theology? My ministry? My morality? Even good things become idols when we begin looking to them for the assurance and acceptance that only Christ can give. Every morning we face the same choice Israel faced. Will we seek to establish our own righteousness, or will we submit to God’s righteousness revealed in Jesus Christ? For that has been the point all along.

And that brings us to the last verse in our passage, Romans 10:4. Paul says, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Paul says that everything he’s been saying, especially about the need of Jews and Gentiles—of our need—to submit to God’s righteousness is true, right, and good because Jesus is the end of the Law for righteousness. The word being translated end here is the Greek word telos. It does not simply mean end as in termination, but end as in goal, fulfillment, purpose, or culmination. In other words, Paul is saying that Jesus has been the point of the Law all along, and it finds it’s ultimate purpose and fulfillment in Him and His righteousness. Christ is where the Law was heading all along, but Israel was always meant to look through the Law and see and savor Christ by faith all along.

The Law is a road that leads to Christ because Christ Himself has always been walking that road with His people. He was never absent from the Law. He was its Author, its substance, its fulfillment, and its goal. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said, “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.” Paul and Jesus are really saying the same things. Christ is the goal because He is the fulfillment. Everything the Law anticipated, everything it promised, everything it pictured, everything it required, everything it pointed toward finds its Yes and Amen in Jesus Christ.

In Luke 24:25-26, before people realized Jesus was alive, He said to some of His disheartened disciples, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Every prophecy ultimately pointed to Him. Moses… David… The Seed of the woman… The Seed of Abraham… The greater Moses… The Son of David… The suffering servant… The pierced one… The righteous Branch… The true Temple… The true Israel… The Law was always preaching Christ.

Every sacrifice anticipated His sacrifice. Every priest anticipated His priesthood. Every king anticipated His reign. Every judge anticipated His justice. Every prophet anticipated His Word. The tabernacle anticipated His incarnation. The temple anticipated His body. The Passover anticipated His cross. The Exodus anticipated our redemption. The manna anticipated the Bread of Life. The bronze serpent anticipated the crucified Savior. The whole Old Testament is Christ-shaped. Every page both reveals the glory of Christ and exposes our desperate need for Christ.

Adam failed. Israel failed. David failed. The priests failed. The kings failed. The prophets failed. The covenant people failed. But where every covenant head failed, Christ succeeded. He is the obedient Adam. He is the faithful Israel. He is the true Son. He is the covenant keeper. He is the faithful witness. He is everything Israel was always called to be.

Jesus alone is perfectly obedient. Every thought. Every word. Every desire. Every deed. Jesus alone loved God with all His heart every moment of His life. Jesus alone loved His neighbor perfectly. Jesus alone never failed. But He succeeds where everyone fails.

Think about what that means. Jesus didn’t merely obey a few commandments for us. He fulfilled the entire story of redemption. He fulfilled every promise God ever made. He fulfilled every sacrifice that was ever offered. He fulfilled every prophecy that was ever spoken. He fulfilled every righteous demand that God ever gave. He fulfilled every covenant obligation that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and every one of us failed to keep. He fulfilled the Law from beginning to end. There is not one loose thread left hanging. There is nothing unfinished. Nothing lacking. Nothing remaining for us to complete. As He cried from the cross, “It is finished.”

This is why Paul says Christ is the telos of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Notice Paul doesn’t merely say Christ is the end of the Law. He says Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness. That’s the issue. The Jews were seeking righteousness. Paul says, “Stop looking at yourself.” Righteousness has a name. And His name is Jesus. So stop admiring your righteousness. Stop measuring your righteousness. Stop trying to establish your righteousness. Look instead to the One who is your righteousness.

And don’t miss those last words: “to everyone who believes.” Paul doesn’t say “to everyone who performs.” He doesn’t say “to everyone who earns.” He doesn’t say “to everyone who achieves.” He says “to everyone who believes.”

Faith is the empty hand that receives Christ. But true faith never remains empty. True faith is living faith. It keeps believing—trusting and obeying—because Christ keeps empowering and preserving His people.The idea here is that the Christ who justifies His people is also the Christ who sanctifies His people. The Christ who declares us righteous by faith also makes us faithful.

Earlier in Romans 1:5 Paul said his mission as an apostle was to bring about the obedience of faith among the nations. The obedience of faith is not faith plus works; it is the obedience that grows out of living faith. Christ is not only the ground of our acceptance before God, He is also the source of our covenant faithfulness. We don’t work for righteousness; we work from righteousness. We don’t obey in order to become sons. We obey because, united to the faithful Son, we already are sons.

You see, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes…” because it pointed to Him, found it’s fulfillment in Him, and because it is brought to its goal in Him, which is our union with Him, and our empowerment by Him to uphold the righteous requirement of the Law in and through Him. In Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. That was the telos of the Law, and that’s our great telos as well. The great point of the Law is Jesus, and the great point of our lives is Jesus—to know Him, love Him, live for Him, and live with Him forevermore. And by His grace, we can.

The Law can reveal righteousness. The Law can demand righteousness. The Law can define righteousness. The Law can condemn the unrighteous. But the Law cannot give righteousness. Christ gives what the Law requires. He is our righteousness, and then He leads us into paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. It’s all from Him, through Him, and to Him.

Conclusion

And with that in mind, let me conclude where I began, with Robert Murray M’Cheyne. He said beautifully, “Learn much of your own heart; and when you have learned all you can, remember you have seen but a few yards into a pit that is unfathomable…. Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief! Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in his beams. Feel his all-seeing eye settled on you in love, and repose in his almighty arms…. Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh.”

Beloved, don’t focus on you, or what you know, who you are, or what you have. Focus on Christ. He is the all-sufficient Savior you need. Indeed, He is the reason you exist, the One for whom you were created. So keep your eyes on Him. For He is the point of it all.

And because your eyes are fixed on Christ, now go and live for Christ. Pray boldly because He is sovereign. Evangelize confidently because He saves. Raise your children faithfully because He is building His Kingdom. Love your wife. Respect your husband. Build businesses. Practice hospitality. Show mercy. Seek justice. Labor with all your might in whatever calling God has given you—not because you’re trying to earn His favor, but because you already have it in His beloved Son.

Because Christ is not only the beginning of the Christian life; He is its end, its goal, its telos. Therefore let every thought, every word, every deed, every prayer, every act of obedience begin with Him, continue through Him, and end in Him. For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Amen.