We know that following laws like the Ten Commandments cannot make us righteous. No one can ever follow the Law perfectly; no one ever has, except Jesus. He is the one the Law pointed to: He was the "end", or the perfect culmination of the law.

There was a threefold law of God, which Christ may be said to be the end of; namely, judicial, ceremonial, and moral.

1. The judicial law was that which God delivered to the Jews by Moses, which contained directions for administration of their civil government. Now Christ was the end of the law, as He was the full scope of it. To the Jews, they would be justified before God, and secure his favour and eternal life, by perfect obedience to the law. The same end is now accomplished by faith in Christ.

2. The ceremonial law that laid out certain sacred rites and ceremonies to be observed in the corporate worship of God by the people of Israel. Now Christ is the end of this law. All the ceremonies of that law were shadows and types of Christ; now the shadows were to cease, when once the substance was come. Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law, and brought it to an end.

3. The moral law is that holy and eternal rule of righteousness given by God to men, for the right ordering of their thoughts, words, and actions, towards God, their neighbour, and themselves. We know that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the moral law.

The plain and simple truth is that by faith in Christ the same end is accomplished in regard to our justification, that would be accomplished by perfect obedience to the moral law. Righteousness based on law is based on human effort, which is always flawed at best, due to our sin nature. It is an outward righteousness, like that of the Pharisees, which does little to change the heart, mind, and attitude. It is imperfect righteousness.

By contrast, righteousness based on faith in Jesus Christ is a whole other level of righteousness. It is based on Divine effort, not our own- so it is not flawed at all. It is an inward righteousness: it changes us! It changes how we think, how we feel, and how we act. It is a perfect moral righteousness that we can never hope to achieve on our own, but Jesus achieves it for us! We can stand righteous before God, not because of our own efforts, but because Jesus did it all.