Christ Is the Fulfillment of the Law to Everyone Who Believes

This passage deals with the history of the people of Israel, who treated the act of keeping the Law itself as the means of salvation while rejecting Jesus Christ, who is the truth. Not knowing God's righteousness, they tried to establish their own and stumbled over the stumbling stone, and through this spiritual ignorance they ended up even further from Christ.

Believers must be saved by faith in Jesus Christ, rather than trying to gain salvation through their own efforts or devotion. Every believer who has received Christ, the fulfillment of the Law, becomes a spiritual priest and is given the mission of praying and evangelizing for the souls of others. But boasting only of one's own zeal without following God's will leads to pride and ends in being put to shame.

True faith is knowing that the word is near, in our mouth and in our heart, confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in our heart. We must realize how precious the salvation we received freely is, lay down our own righteousness, and live relying on Christ alone. Through today's passage we look back on whether our life of faith is built on faith rather than works, and whether, sure of Christ, we have gained the courage to share the gospel.