Romans Chapter 10 Vs. 5

 

The Message of Salvation to All

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. Rom 10:5

That the man... Quoted from Lev. 18:5. Perfect obedience was required by the law. Since no man could accomplish this, all people were condemned by the law and cursed by it (Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10-13; Rom. 3:19-20). This shows the impossibility of being saved by the law, and the fact that all can be saved by the gospel (Rom. 10:6-13).

For Christ is the end of the law, although the Greek word translated “end” can mean either “fulfillment” or “termination.” This is not a reference to Christ’s having perfectly fulfilled the law through His teaching or through His sinless life.

Paul means that belief in Christ as Lord and Savior ends the sinner’s futile quest for righteousness through his imperfect attempts to save himself by efforts to obey the law.

Mat. 5:17-18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

God’s Gracious Offer

In presenting God’s gracious offer of salvation in Christ and the provision of righteousness by faith, Paul first stated the contrast of the by-works approach to achieving righteousness. He wrote, Moses describes (lit., “writes”) the righteousness that is by the Law. Then Paul quoted Lev. 18:5, The man who does these things will live by them. If a Jew were to receive righteousness by keeping the demands of the Law, that would be human achievement; it would not be from God. However, a Jew would need to keep the entire Law perfectly all his life — an impossible task (Jas. 2:10).