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How do we “establish the law” through faith (Rom. 3:31)? Why are the believers “not under the law” (Rom. 6:14)? What does it mean to be “not under the law”? Why is Christ the “end of the law” (Rom. 10:4)?
Romans 3:31 says, “Do we then make the law of no effect through faith? Absolutely not! Rather, we establish the law.” This is Paul’s conclusion. Prior to this he said, “For we account that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (v. 28). Since this is the case, someone may have raised the question: “Is not the law made void by faith?” Therefore, Paul answered, “Absolutely not!” The phrase “Absolutely not!” is a Greek idiom. It is the same as “Heaven forbid!” in Chinese. Paul meant that heaven would not agree with you saying that the law was abolished by faith.
In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul shows that the Gentiles, whom God had not chosen, were sinners, and the Jews, whom God had chosen, were also sinners. Those who served God and had the law of God were also sinners. No one can be justified by keeping the law. Therefore, Paul says, “Because out of the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before Him; for through the law is the clear knowledge of sin” (3:20).
“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, witness being borne to it by the Law and the Prophets” (3:21). Praise and thank God for “but now.” Now there is a way of salvation.
“Whom God set forth as a propitiation place through faith in His blood, for the demonstrating of His righteousness, in that in His forbearance God passed over the sins that had previously occurred, with a view to the demonstrating of His righteousness in the present time, so that He might be righteous and the One who justifies him who is of the faith of Jesus” (3:25-26). God exercised forbearance toward those in the Old Testament, and He justifies those in this age. In the Old Testament age the Lord had not died, and sin had not been removed. Therefore, God forbore man. But today God justifies rather than forbears. To justify is not only to forgive a man or reckon him to be without sins but, even more, to pronounce him righteous. God gives us this righteousness in Christ Jesus. We can now receive this righteousness because Christ died and resurrected. Therefore, Paul said, “For we account that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (3:28). Paul was afraid someone might think that since man was justified through faith, the law would be abolished through faith. This is why he immediately said, “Absolutely not!” (3:31). Even heaven forbids man to say that.
How, then, do we establish the law through faith? The law has only two requirements: (1) the law commands man to do good, and (2) the law punishes those who do not do good. The law requires one of these two. If you do not keep the law, you will be punished by the law. If you do not follow the law and establish it, you will be punished by the law in order to establish it. Besides the Lord, no other person can keep the law; even Moses the lawgiver did not keep the law completely. The law requires death for those who do not keep the law. We can say, “I did not keep the law; I have sinned; I have died already. In Christ, I have received the judgment of the law and the curse of the law. Therefore, I did not break the law; rather, I established it through faith.” Although we cannot establish the law by keeping it and deserve to die, praise and thank God that we have died in Christ! It is of God that we are in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:30). It is God who put us into Christ. When Christ died, we also died in His death. Therefore, faith does not make the law void; rather, it establishes the law.
Why are the believers not under the law? The believers are not under the law because, on the one hand, they are already dead, and on the other hand, they are resurrected. We can prove this by Romans 7:1-6. Paul uses a parable of a woman and her husband. We need to note what “the husband” refers to in this section. Some say “the husband” refers to the law. Others say “the husband” refers to our flesh. Each group has its own opinions and reasons. However, if we read it carefully, we will see that both implications are actually here. In Romans 7:2, the husband is the law, yet the husband is different from the law. Therefore, “the husband” in this section has two meanings. One meaning refers to the law, and the other meaning refers to the flesh. If the husband referred only to the law, then the phrase “if the husband dies” would mean that law is dead. But how can the law die? Once we are clear about this point, we can conclude that “the husband” in this section refers to the flesh and also to the law.
Prior to believing in the Lord, everyone is bound by the law. How can one break away from it? It can only be done through death. Once we are dead, we break away. God condemned sin in Christ’s flesh. We have died in Christ and broken away from the law. We are like the woman, and our flesh is like the husband. Once we are dead, we break away from the flesh. The requirement of the law, at most, is death. No matter how many sins a sinner has committed, the law can, at most, sentence him to die once. Once he is dead, everything is ended. Once we die, we break away from the law.
On the other hand, the verse says, “If the husband dies, she is discharged from the law regarding the husband” (7:2). This refers to severing our relationship with the law. Severing our relationship with the law is likened to death. The first part of the sentence emphasizes death; the second part emphasizes severing.
This section also shows us two pictures. One picture is that through the body of Christ, we are dead to the law and have completely broken away from it. On the day the Lord died, we died also. Therefore, we can say to the law, “I am not under the law.” The other picture is that now we can remarry. At one time the flesh was our master, but now we can remarry. Now we belong to the Christ who has resurrected from the dead, and we can bear fruit to God. Therefore, today no Christian is under the law.
If someone says, “We should keep the law; we should keep the Sabbath,” we should realize that if we attempt to keep one commandment of the law, we are saying that Christ did not die for us. We are overthrowing the work of Christ. Compare Romans 6:14 with 3:19. Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will not lord it over you, for you are not under the law but under grace.” This says that the believers are not under the law. Romans 3:19 says, “Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may fall under the judgment of God.” This says that the law speaks to those who are under the law. Since we are not under the law, the words in the law are not directed toward us.
Why did Paul write Galatians in addition to the book of Romans? The book of Romans tells us that sinners cannot be justified by keeping the law. Galatians tells us that saints cannot be sanctified by keeping the law. Sinners are not saved by doing good. But this is not all; saints cannot be sanctified by doing good. Just as we began through grace, we must be perfected through grace. We cannot be justified through faith and then try to become holy by keeping the law. Justification is by the Holy Spirit, and sanctification is also by the Holy Spirit. The way of entry is the way of completion. God only works according to one principle. Why can wool not be woven together with linen? (Deut. 22:11). Wool comes from the shedding of blood, while linen comes from man’s planting. What is done by God is God’s work; what is done by man is man’s work. God will not mix His work with man’s work.
What does “not under the law” mean? “Not under the law” does not mean lawlessness or ungodliness. The Bible says, “For sin will not lord it over you, for you are not under the law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). We are not under the law because we are under grace. Since we are under grace, sin cannot lord it over us. We should pay attention to this verse. Sin cannot have dominion over whoever is not under the law. However, we cannot be uninhibited to do anything we want to.
What does it mean to be “under grace”? Let us read Romans 11:6: “But if by grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.” “Under grace” means we do not have to depend on our own doing. What does it mean to be “under the law”? It means we do it by ourselves. Yet the more we try to do good, the more we cannot do it. Being under grace is having the Lord Jesus do it, while being under the law is doing it ourselves. To be under grace is for God to operate within us until sin can no longer be our master. To be under the law is for sin to lord it over us because we cannot overcome sin. If we are under grace, we have the grace of God working within us. Can sin compete with the grace of God? Of course not.
The Lord who died on the cross for us is living in us. The same One who bore our sins on the cross is now in us causing us to overcome sin. The law was but a command of God, but grace is God’s power. The law commands us to do something, but grace empowers us to do it. Not being under the law, but being under grace, means that the resurrected Christ is living in us and enabling us to overcome.
Christ is the end of the law because He has satisfied all the requirements that the law has on man.
First, Christ ended the law in His living. For the moment, we will not mention the Lord Jesus as God but consider Him only as a man. In the whole world, the Lord Jesus is the only man who has ever completely followed the law. There were none before Him nor any after Him who did this. He has such a qualification. He is the end of the law.
Second, Christ’s death ended the law. The ultimate, consummate requirement of the law is nothing other than death. Suppose a person breaks the law of the nation. He deserves death and is executed. Once this person is executed, the law of the land can no longer require anything more. The requirement of the law extends only up to death. Once a man is dead, everything is settled. The law says that those who do not keep the law have to die. The Lord Jesus died and ended the law.
The end means the final point. Once it is the end, what more can you add? What more needs to be done? Therefore, every Christian can thank and praise God that Christ has ended the law.
