Until the 1st Century, the world was under the law where righteousness was given if they obeyed ALL commands:

Deuteronomy 6 “²⁵ And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

Galatians 3 “¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.””

Deuteronomy 4:2 “² Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

Therefore nobody was righteous under the law because no human being could obey it.

Romans 3 “There is no one righteous, not even one….¹⁹ Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. ²⁰ Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Jesus was born under the law to bring salvation!

Galatians 4 “⁴ But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, ⁵ that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children.”

Jesus came to fulfill the law and said that the Law would not pass away until all things were accomplished.

Matthew 5 “¹⁷ “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. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. “

Jesus said that the righteousness required for salvation was PERFECTION.

Matthew 5 “²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven….⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This perfection required the removal of all sins: including lust, anger, favoritism, hypocrisy, and to love even their worst enemies – basically to be perfect like God – and this was impossible.

Therefore Jesus became the only man in history to fulfill the law by His perfect sinless life – He alone was Righteous under the Law. He fulfilled the requirements of the law.

But the Law also demanded the death of those who broke even one commandment – for all people because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Therefore Jesus died on the cross to forgiven all the sins of people!

This is how ALL things were FULFILLED and ACCOMPLISHED and the Law came to an END.

John 19 “³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is FINISHED.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

On the cross, Jesus fulfilled and ended the law.

All the commands of the law were abolished on the cross because Jesus fulfilled the law by His death.

Ephesians 2 “¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations…through the cross”

Colossians 2 “¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. “

The law was abolished on the cross after Jesus fulfilled it.

Jesus did this so that we can receive the righteousness of God by faith in Him without any works!

Romans 10 ” ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

The reason Gentiles could be saved is because Jesus ended the law to bring righteousness to all who believe! Under the Law, the Gentiles were not righteous because they did not keep the law. But the truth is that even the Jews were guilty of breaking the law and therefore all were guilty and now thanks to the Cross of Jesus, all are made righteous by grace through faith.

Romans 3 “²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. “

Romans 4 “⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. …for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Nobody could be righteous by the works of the law so then Jesus became the curse on the cross to bring salvation by grace through faith.

Galatians 3 “¹¹ Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” ¹² The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” ¹⁴ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

The law was UNTIL Christ so that we are made righteous by FAITH.

Galatians 3 “²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. ²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, “

The law was an entire package deal, where the person had to obey EVERYTHING to be righteous.

Therefore Jesus removed the ENTIRE LAW on the cross to bring us Righteousness by FAITH without any works! Therefore it is guaranteed by GRACE.

Romans 4 ¹³ It was not through the law…but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴ For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵ because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. ¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed”

The law demanded perfection (Matt 5:48) but it could not make anybody perfect because the flesh was weak and man cannot be perfect in their works. Therefore Jesus died to make us PERFECT by condemning and removing all our sins !!

Hebrews 7:19 “The law makes nothing perfect”

Romans 8 “³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,”

Hebrews 10 “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…..¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are holy”

Colossians 1 “now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith”

When we believe in Jesus, we became perfect like God Himself, because Jesus died and rose from the dead to forgive ALL our sins! We received the righteousness and perfection of God by faith in Jesus.

Colossians 2 “⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness…..¹³ When you were dead in your sins…God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins”

We are righteous and holy by faith through His blood that took away all our sins!

Romans 5 “⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!…Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand”

The believer is sinless and perfect as Jesus is perfect.

1 John 4 “we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus”

It is because Jesus removed the law on the cross to forgive us all sins (making us perfect) by faith.

Hebrews 8:12-13 “¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”