Be FreeSample

Christ Completed What Was Lacking in the Law

After His resurrection, Jesus explained to His disciples that everything He went through—His suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection—was part of God’s divine plan for humanity’s salvation. The Law of Moses and the prophets pointed to Him, and His redemptive work perfectly fulfilled everything the Law required, which humanity, on its own, could never accomplish.

In Romans 10:4, the apostle Paul states that Christ is the culmination of the Law, not meaning the Law was abolished, but that He completed what the Law could not achieve. The Law exposed sin and humanity’s inability to live fully up to God’s standard. It was a "tutor" leading us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Jesus, in His perfect life and sacrificial death, met all the Law's requirements. Thus, He is the end of attempting to achieve righteousness through rules and human effort.

Jesus completed what was lacking in the Law because the Law was incapable of saving us; it only exposed our need for a Savior. By His death and resurrection, He lifted the burden of trying to justify ourselves. In Christ, we are justified by faith, not by the works of the Law.

Living in the freedom Christ offers means recognizing that our righteousness doesn’t come from following rules but from faith in His finished work. This doesn’t mean we are free to sin but that we are free from the burden of trying to earn salvation through our efforts. The righteousness we have now is Christ’s, imputed to us when we believe.

Do you still, at times, try to please God by your own strength? Or are you able to rest in the fact that Christ has already completed everything necessary for your salvation? There are no further requirements to be accepted by God. Everything has been completed in Jesus.