NGH BIBLE STUDY – ROMANS – OUTLINE #21
Israel’s Pursuit of Righteousness (Romans 9:30-10:4)
This short section deals with Israel’s pursuit of righteousness through the law of righteousness (Rom 9:31) instead of the “righteousness of faith” which is the only way for a person to be right with God. It is an excellent reminder that along with God’s sovereignty there is always the truth of human responsibility. No person will ever perish because God assigned them to that – they will perish because of their refusal to accept God’s free o er of salvation. These few verses give us very clear teaching of the di erence between seeking righteousness through human e ort, and receiving righteousness on the basis of faith (which is the overarching theme of the entire epistle). This distinction is succinctly described in Rom 4:3 through contrasting “God’s righteousness” with “their own righteousness”. The section ends with a clear statement regarding our current relationship to the law and our current possession of the righteousness of God – “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one who believes”.
Outline
Rom 9:30-33 – Contrast between Israel & the Gentiles and their means of pursuing righteousness
• Israel had missed the point of the law – it was never meant to produce righteousness – it was meant to convince people of their sinfulness.
• The greatest demonstration of Israel’s rejection of righteousness by faith was their rejection of Christ at his first coming. To them he was “a stumbling stone, and a rock of o ense”
• The nation’s rejection of their Messiah is what has led directly their being “set aside” by God during this church age (but he is not finished with them – his promises to them as a nation will still be fulfilled, as will be clearly seen in chapter 11)
Rom 10:1-3 – The danger of zeal without knowledge
• Paul states unequivocally his love for Israel (both as a covenant people and for individual Jews) and his earnest desire that they might be saved. He expressed a similar passionate desire at the start of Rom 9.
• He acknowledges their zeal for God (interestingly he describes his own zeal in his unconverted days in Philippians 3) but tragically points out that their zeal was lacking in knowledge
• The ultimate sign of their lack of knowledge is that they rejected Christ. They were insistent on their own standing and they took great pride in their (supposed) righteous standing with God based on their law keeping.
Rom 10:4 – Christ is the end of the law
• The “end” can have two meanings – it can refer to chronology – i.e. terminating the law, bringing to an end that dispensation of law – but it can also refer to fulfillment or purpose or objective
(Gal 3:24 – “the law was our tutor, to bring us to Christ”.)
• John MacArthur helpfully points out that on a personal level, belief in Christ brings to an end an individual’s futile attempt to achieve righteousness through keeping the law – and this faith in Christ provides true righteousness to the one who believes.
Key Points/Questions for Discussion
1. What should our attitude be today towards the nation of Israel? What about our attitude to individual Jewish people? How can we emulate Paul in his burden and concern and compassion for them, while also sharing in his clear understanding of God’s purpose and program for the present age?
2. What is the significance of the contrast between “the righteousness of faith” (9:30) and “the law of righteousness” (9:31)? The same contrast is made between “God’s righteousness” and “their own righteousness” in 10:3.
3. On a practical note – are there areas where we can be guilty of having zeal without knowledge? What are some of the dangers of this? What is the answer? (Hint – knowledge is the essential foundation – and if properly founded, zeal is a powerful thing)
4. In what ways do we understand, as it relates to us, that Christ is the end of the law?