Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 10
God gave his law in order to bring people into a right relationship with him, by means of Christ (Galatians 3:24).
God’s law declares his judgement against our evil deeds (Galatians 3:10). We all have done wrong and evil things; therefore, we are all guilty (3:23). However, by his death, Christ suffered the law’s judgement against our evil deeds (Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 4:25). In other words, Christ accepted the punishment that we deserve.
We cannot, therefore, obtain a right relationship with God by our own efforts. We can only receive such a relationship when we believe and trust God (3:27-28; 4:1-8). That is what the Bible calls ‘faith’.
Christ emphasised that he did not come to destroy God’s law (Matthew 5:17-18). Rather, he came to carry out, or to achieve the purpose of, the law. Without Christ, God’s law could not carry out its purpose. It could not, by itself, bring anyone into a right relationship with God (Galatians 3:21). So instead, God’s law taught people how they must come to God. It prepared them for the work that Christ would do.
The effect of Christ’s death is to make it possible for people to know God in a new way (Hebrews 10:19-22). This new relationship of faith in God does not destroy God’s law - it makes God’s law even stronger (3:31). The Bible says that God is writing his law on the hearts of his people (Hebrews 8:10; compare 2 Corinthians 3:3). In other words, they obey his law not just because of duty, but because they love it (Psalm 119:97).
Next part: How to receive the kind of life that God gives (Romans 10:5)
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© 2022, Keith Simons.