Romans 9:30-33

Passage

What, then, will we say?  That Gentiles – the ones who did not pursue righteousness – obtained righteousness, and righteousness is out of faith; but Israel, while pursuing a Law of righteousness, did not achieve the Law.  For what reason?  Because they pursued not out of faith but as out of works.  They stumbled on a stone of stumbling just as it has been written, “Behold, I place in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.  And the one who believes upon it will not be put to shame.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul makes several incredible points here in this passage.  First, the Gentiles have obtained righteousness although they did not pursue it.  After all, thousands of years of rebellion against God eventually resulted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ coming to their doorstep anyways, right?  The world lived in rebellion, yet God placed the means of salvation at their feet.  Granted, not all received it.  But the truth is that salvation comes to our feet because God saw fit to place it there.  It is not because of our righteousness or our holiness or our greatness that God gave us righteousness.  It is because of His grace and His mercy and His love.  One does not pursue righteousness, one simply receives it.

Have you received God’s righteousness?  How do you know?  What is the point of good works if not for gaining righteousness from God?

Second Thought:

Paul then declares that the Hebrew people who pursued good works did not attain righteousness.  This is a subtle but important point.  Paul isn’t saying that none of the Hebrew people are saved – clearly that is wrong as all of Jesus’ Twelve were Jews and Paul himself is a Jew.  Rather, what Paul is saying is that from a collective standpoint Judaism is built upon salvation by attaining the standard set by the Law.  His point is that if we try to work our way to God, we miss what He has already given to us.  When we work to earn His love, we miss out on the fact that He has already loved us and He would rather we do good works because He first loved us.  We cannot attain God’s love through goodness; we simply must receive it and do good things because of His love.

What looks different between a person who is working to try and attain God’s love and a person who is working because they have already received God’s love?  How can you tell the difference between works righteousness and working because of righteousness?

Third Thought:

At the end, Paul returns us to the promise.  The one who believes upon the stone of stumbling – Jesus Christ – will not be put to shame.  However, let’s remember that the Greek word for believe means more than just “think it’s true in your mind.”  The Greek word for believe – πιστεύω – means both trust and faithfulness.  It is a word of response.  We put our trust in God.  We respond in faithfulness out of that trust.  As Jesus Himself says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, lord’ will enter the kingdom, but the one who does the will of my Father …”  Believing is a mixture of trust and obedience.  Those who believe obey.  Those who obey believe.

Where in your life can you see the trust you place in God?  Where in your life can you see the obedience with which you respond to God?  How does having both of these elements complete your relationship with the Father?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 10:1-4