What does it mean that Gentiles who did not follow righteousness attained it?

Paul says the Gentiles “followed not after righteousness,” meaning they were not chasing a right standing with God through God’s law. They were living in sin, not seeking a way to be right with God. Yet God, in his grace, called them through the good news about Jesus. When they heard the message, they believed, and by that faith they received the righteousness of Christ. So they “attained” righteousness not by long effort or religious works, but because God offered it freely through faith, even when they had not been looking for it.

Why did Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, not attain it?

Israel was very serious about God’s law and worked hard to keep it. Paul says they “followed after the law of righteousness,” but still did not reach true righteousness. The reason is that they tried to gain acceptance with God through their own obedience and religious works. They did not come in the way God had set, which is faith in Christ. By trusting in their own performance instead of in the mercy of God shown in Jesus, they missed the very goal the law was pointing to and remained without the righteousness they were seeking.

What does it mean that Israel sought righteousness “not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law”?

This line shows the wrong way Israel went about seeking righteousness. “Not by faith” means they did not rely on God’s gift in Christ, but on themselves. “As it were by the works of the law” means they acted as if God would count them righteous because of the good things they did, both in moral commands and ceremonies. They mixed ideas of God’s kindness with confidence in their own efforts. In doing that, they set faith aside. Since God gives righteousness only through faith in Christ, their way of seeking could never bring them to the goal.

Who is the stumbling stone and rock of offence that Paul mentions?

The stumbling stone and rock of offence is Christ himself, whom God has laid in Zion as the foundation. God set his Son as the true way to be right with him. Many in Israel were offended by Jesus because of his lowly appearance, his death on a cross, and his message that people must come as sinners needing mercy. They wanted a way of righteousness that honored their own works, so they tripped over Christ instead of resting on him. The same Christ who causes the proud to stumble is the solid rock on which believers are safely built.

What does the promise “whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” mean?

This promise means that anyone who trusts in Christ for righteousness and salvation will not end up disappointed or put to shame. In this life, such a person may be looked down on by others or may feel weak and sinful. But because Christ is God’s chosen foundation, those who rest on him will be safe when God judges the world. Their hope will be shown to be right, while those who trusted in their own goodness will be exposed. To “not be ashamed” points to the sure confidence and final acceptance that belong to everyone who believes in Christ.

How does this passage show the difference between faith and works?

The passage sets faith and works over against each other as two different ways of seeking righteousness. The Gentiles, who had no religious record to boast in, simply believed the message about Christ and so received his righteousness. Israel, on the other hand, worked hard at the law and trusted in those works, and so did not attain righteousness. Faith looks away from self to Christ and his finished work. Works for righteousness look to self and personal merit. Paul shows that only the way of faith brings a person into a right standing with God.

Why did many Jews stumble at Christ instead of believing in him?

Many Jews stumbled at Christ because he did not fit the kind of savior they expected and because his coming exposed their own lack of righteousness. They were attached to the idea that their obedience to the law made them right with God. When Christ came saying that sinners must come to him and be saved by his work, this clashed with their pride. They were offended by his humble life, his suffering, and the call to give up trust in their own works. Instead of bowing before him as the foundation God laid, they tripped over him and rejected him.

What does this passage teach about God’s grace toward sinners?

This passage shows that God’s grace is free and surprising. Gentiles who were not looking for righteousness at all were brought into it by faith. That could only happen because God chose to reach out to people who had nothing to offer. At the same time, Israel’s failure is not because God was unwilling to save, but because they refused the way of faith and clung to their own works. So we see that salvation is not earned but given, and that when people are lost, the blame lies in their own unbelief, not in any lack of mercy in God.

How can this passage guide someone who feels tempted to trust in their own goodness?

This passage is a warning and a comfort. It warns that following the path of Israel, leaning on our own goodness, effort, or religious habits, will never bring us to true righteousness. No matter how hard we try, our works cannot stand before God. But it comforts by pointing us to Christ as the stone God has laid. Instead of stumbling over him by trying to add our own merit, we are called to rest on him alone. When we admit we are sinners and trust in him, God counts us righteous, and we will not be put to shame.

Rom.9.30

Romans 9:30

KJV

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

Israel’s Unbelief

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.