Faith in Christ Upholds the Law
Romans 3:31
“Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” -Romans 3:31
It is the same old story. The same accusations leveled against Paul were also made against Jesus—that he was trying to abolish the law. Jesus said to the Jews,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
Nota Bene: The word overthrow is the word the ESV translators used for the Greek word Paul uses, καταργοῦμεν (katargoumen), which means to abolish; set aside; wipe out.
The verb is conjugated from καταργέω (katargeo), which means to lose its power or effectiveness, invalidate, make powerless.
The KJV and NKJV translators chose “make void.” The translators of the NIV and EOB used “nullify.”
Righteousness through faith in Christ does not overthrow, make void, or nullify the efficacy of the law. It must be remembered that the law was never meant to produce righteousness by works. Effectually, it revealed the moral character of God and the immoral character of fallen man.
What then?
In reality, the law is confirmed and established through faith in Christ, inasmuch as it was given to the Jews for this reason. The law, by showing man his own iniquity, in turn, points men to Christ.
As Paul says later in this very letter, “…if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet”” (Romans 7:7).
It would be like complaining the that salted oats did not quench your horse’s thirst. They were never meant to. The oats were salted to make the horse drink the water. Though this is not a perfect analogy—for the law wasn’t meant to make us sin but to show us our sinfulness—it gives us a better understanding of its purpose.
Perhaps the mirror is a better example. The mirror only reveals the broccoli stuck in our teeth, it can’t remove it. But now having seen how gross the broccoli looks stuck in our teeth, we reach for our toothbrush. The Law is the mirror and the toothbrush is Christ.
Paul’s later explanation continues this way:
“…I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet. But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:8–12).
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