The Law - Romans 10:1-4

As we continue on in chapter 10 of Romans, I continue to have absolutely no idea what is going on. Although Paul has just lamented Israel’s rejection of the gospel, he continues, “my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” He doesn’t want them to be cast off, he wants them to repent and for God to show them mercy. But Paul also recognizes that they have not only rejected Christ and his gospel, but that they are “going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

I feel like I do this so much in my own life, and I mean, maybe not a ton technically, but I’ve really been struggling lately to convince myself that the exactness of the law is what I absolutely have to do. Meaning that I’m like “well, if I do this certain thing, it’s not really that big of a deal.” Or like “so many other people do it, what’s the problem.” With everything that I’ve learned, I just tell myself, “it’s ok, you can repent and come back whenever you choose to and Jesus will take you back.” This is absolutely true, but not at all ok. It’s just really frustrating and something that I’m going to have to deal with always and I’m not giving up the gospel and temple recommend that I fought so hard to get for something stupid. It’s just frustrating and I feel like acknowledging that allows me appreciate not only the severity of my struggle but also the importance of remaining firm.
I feel like this verse is really about the ways in which we justify not being completely obedient to the commandments, we try to reason ourselves into believing that our own way is good enough, but ultimately it is not. This modern day application of these verses still holds true, for me, even though it seems like Paul is speaking specifically to those who will not give up the law of Moses for the gospel. The IM says that many of the Jews “were zealously striving to establish their own righteousness according to Jewish standards.” Paul says, “For Christ is the end of the law of righteousness to everyone that believeth.”
The word “end” here gives a connotation of something being over, because that’s usually what “end” means in English usage, but the IM points out that here, “the word end in Romans 10:4 can mean ‘conclusion’ or ‘fulfillment,’ or it can mean ‘an ultimate purpose or anticipated object.’ The performances of the law of Moses anticipated the Savior and His Atonement, which represents the ‘end’ of the law.” The way that the law of Moses was corrupted by the Jewish leadership obstructed the people’s recognition of the Savior when he came to them. Had everything gone the way that it was supposed to, they would have recognized that the atonement was the natural conclusion of the law of Moses, like the Nephites did.
The word “end” in verse 4 is also cross-referenced with 2 Nephi 2:7 which says, “Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.” This goes back to the point I was making earlier, which is that we try to convince ourselves that there is another way for us to both be obedient and saved but also do whatever we want that is contrary to God’s law. There is only one way, and we are told that repeatedly in the scriptures, despite the ways and means in which we try to deceive ourselves and others.