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Continuing our discussion from part one, exactly what is meant by the phrase "righteousness of God" which the Apostle Paul referred to in Romans 10:1-3? Well, as you may possibly already understand -- that is, if you are a serious student of the Scriptures -- Paul very clearly informs us what this righteousness is, as well as how this righteousness can be obtained, in the following two verses which are found in the third chapter of this very same Epistle. Paul writes the following:

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe . . ."


But what does Paul mean by "righteousness of God without the law"? It is my understanding that he is referring to how righteousness can be obtained outside of the strict mandates of the Law; meaning, of course, outside of the Mosaic Law. But look at what the Apostle writes next. He says that this righteousness is manifested -- that is, revealed -- "being witnessed by the law and the prophets". What is that all about? Quite simply, Paul is informing his readers that both the Law -- meaning Moses -- and the Prophets wrote about this coming righteousness. Then Paul drops the bomb and writes "which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." And there it is!

Now, regarding "the law and the prophets", if you need some Scriptural proof concerning what Paul is talking about in those previous Scriptures, consider this following group of verses that are found in the Gospels:

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is [one] that accuseth you, [even] Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for HE WROTE OF ME. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"


"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."


"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me."


"Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."


As you can see, we are told a number of times in the Gospels, as well as by the Apostle Paul, that Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets all wrote about the coming suffering Messiah who would die for the sins of the world, and by so doing, impart His righteousness unto us. In actuality, there are literally hundreds of such verses found in the Old Testament. Here are but a few of them for your personal consideration. The first one is what Jesus was talking about in John 5:45-47 above:

"The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken ... I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him."


"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good."


"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."


"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken."


"All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him."


"Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion."


"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death."


"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me."


"They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture."


"For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."


"He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken."


Returning to Romans 3:21-22, do you understand what Paul is saying when he writes "the righteousness of God without the law" and "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ"? If not, let me explain it to you a bit more. The Apostle Paul is clearly saying that we can obtain the righteousness of God, without observing the 613 mitzvoth -- or commandments -- of the Mosaic Law, just by placing our faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ; because He is our only righteousness. Period. We in fact put on Jesus' righteousness when we are symbolically washed in His Blood, without the need for any of us to fulfill every precept of the Laws of Moses. That is why later on in the same Epistle to the Romans, Paul also writes the following:

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."


In short, Jesus did what none of us could possibly do. He met the harsh requirements of the Mosaic Law, being the perfect Sacrifice -- that is, an unblemished lamb -- for sin. As a result, by believing in what He did for us, we obtain His righteousness before God. We are in essence covered by His righteousness as with a garment. In fact, it may interest you to know that the Scriptures describe this righteousness we receive from Christ as a Garment of Salvation, and as a Robe of Righteousness; as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment ‭was‭ as a robe and a diadem."


"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."


"Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen."


"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels . . . I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."


"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."


"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands . . . And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?‭ And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."


"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."


To reiterate the previous point, that is precisely what the Apostle Paul is saying in his Epistle to the Romans. We do not have to try to earn our righteousness ourselves. It is not as if we could do it anyway, as we have already seen. In fact, Paul proclaims the very same truth when he addresses the people in the synagogue in Antioch, as we see by the following two verses:

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man [Jesus] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, FROM WHICH YE COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW OF MOSES."


Do you see that? Paul plainly says "from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." To reiterate, we do not have to be heavy laden. We do not have to carry around that heavy burden and weight of trying to fulfill the mandates of the Mosaic Law in order to merit our Salvation. Jesus in fact freed us all from that load when He willingly took the sins of the world upon Himself, as He hung upon that Cross. Let me remind you again of what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew:

"Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."


As the Apostle Paul wrote, Jesus became our righteousness outside of the Law. The Apostle Paul expresses this very same profound truth in a number of other verses which are found in his writings. He tells us plainly that Believers no longer have to depend on the Mosaic Law for righteousness, but only upon Jesus Christ. We have in fact become dead to the law in that regard, as we see here:

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."


"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God . . . But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."


"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."


"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith . . . Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"


"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."


"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"


So let me summarize for you the most important points which are found in the previous group of verses:

1. No one can be justified or made righteous by observing the Laws of Moses, also known as the Mosaic Law.

2. By embracing Christ's sacrificial Atonement for our sins, not only are we justified and made righteous before God, but we also become dead to the Law; meaning that we no longer depend upon it to merit our Salvation.

3. If it were possible to be justified and made righteous by keeping the Mosaic Law, then truly, Jesus died in vain, and His death was not necessary.

4. If we believe that keeping the Laws of Moses can save us, then we have in essence forfeited the Grace of God through Jesus Christ.

5. Jesus not only redeemed us from the curse of the Law, but He in fact met its harsh requirements, and nullified it, when He hung upon that Cross. That is what Paul is talking about when he says "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."

What you need to understand is that God the Father knew from the very start that no one would ever possibly be able to keep every single commandment under the Laws of Moses. As I pointed out earlier, it was, and still remains, a totally impossible feat. Yet certain people -- even in our modern day -- still foolishly try to do that very thing. Sadly, they are just beating the air, because their dead, self-righteous works amount to nothing before God.

In the Gospels, it is evident that Jesus likewise knew that it was humanly impossible for anyone to observe all 613 laws which were incorporated into the Mosaic Law. In some of His teachings, the point that Jesus was trying to help people to understand was that no matter how hard they tried, they would simply never be able to attain to God's idea of sinlessness, righteousness and perfection by striving to keep the Laws of Moses. As a result, they would never be able to merit God's Mercy and Forgiveness on their own either. They obviously needed some outside help.

I am also convinced that in some situations in the Gospels, one of the reasons why the Lord quoted the Mosaic Law was to challenge the thinking of the Jewish religious elders, and to show both the Scribes and the Pharisees that they were not as righteous or sinless as they believed themselves to be, and as they pretended to be before the common people.

But concerning the Lord's regular listeners -- that is, the common people who heard Him gladly (Mark 12:37) -- I also believe that whenever Jesus mentioned the strict mandates of the Mosaic Law, He was not doing so to condemn people for their failure. Rather, He was merely trying to help them to see the futility of their situation, so that He could then point them to a better way. And what way was that? That's an easy question to answer:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."


In contrast, the Scribes and the Pharisees constantly used the Mosaic Law as a bludgeon to condemn the common people, to financially milk them, and to keep them under their absolute control. Jesus thoroughly exposed these doctors of the Law in verses such as the following. Please notice that in the second set of verses, the word "lawyers" is derived from the Koine Greek word "nomikos" which refers to one who is learned in and teaches the Mosaic Law:

"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay [them] on mens shoulders; but they [themselves] will not move them with one of their fingers."


"Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, [ye] lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers."


Let me remind you one more time of what Jesus said at the end of Matthew chapter eleven. I want to make sure that you really see and understand the connection between what Jesus said, and what the Jewish religious elders actually did:

"Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."


Not only did those self-righteous, merciless, crafty Jewish religious elders rely upon the harshness of the Laws of Moses to condemn, manipulate and control the people, but they also relied heavily upon fear as well. This becomes evident in verses such as the following:

"Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS."


"And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus."


"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you . . . And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you."


As should be quite evident to you by now, being a legalistic Pharisee who eventually came to Christ, the Apostle Paul had a very deep understanding regarding these matters. God opened Paul's spiritual eyes and he came to fully grasp the purpose, meaning and intention of the Laws of Moses. While, yes, they were meant to teach the Israelites how to live a godly life, their ultimate purpose was to show them that they could never be good enough to merit God's Forgiveness and Salvation. They were meant to show people their sin, and by extension, their need for a Savior. Consider these two verses:

". . . for by the law is the knowledge of sin."


"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."


It is for this reason that when Paul writes to the Church at Galatia, he informs his readers that the purpose of the Laws of Moses was to serve as a schoolmaster, to shepherd people, and to bring them to Christ, as we see by this verse:

"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."


You see that? The Apostle Paul says it yet again: "we are no longer under a schoolmaster." We are no longer under the Law. We are under Christ. We are in fact covered by His Blood. We are forgiven, redeemed, saved, justified and made righteous through His Sacrifice, and NOT by striving to keep the Laws of Moses. Moses brought us the harsh mandates of the Mosaic Law, while Jesus brought us the Grace and Mercy of God, and never the twain shall meet. It is one or the other. This is in fact what John the Baptist declared in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, as we see here:

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth . . . And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."


It is by God's Grace alone through faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we are saved, and NOT by the Law, or by trying to keep the mandates of the Law, meaning the Mosaic Laws of the Old Testament. To reiterate, it is one or the other, but NOT both. This singular truth is made so evident in verses such as the following:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works [meaning the works of the Law], then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."


"Not by works of righteousness [meaning keeping the Law] which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."


So as you will hopefully understand by now, with Christ's atoning Sacrifice on the Cross, God replaced the difficulty -- and in fact, the impossibility -- of obtaining Salvation through adhering to the harshness of the Mosaic Law, with the free gift of Grace, which was paid for in full, by Jesus Christ. As we learned earlier, Jesus paid the ransom price for our Salvation in the form of His own blood which was shed on the Cross. That is the gist of the matter. It is likewise the truth which the unbelieving Jews of Jesus' day refused to accept; and it is the same truth which many unbelieving Jews continue to refuse to accept today as well.

Please go to part three for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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