Romans 9:30

Rom_9:30-33

The Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness … but Israel which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained.

The gospel for the Gentiles

I. They needed it.

1. Were without righteousness.

2. Without the knowledge of it.

3. Without the desire for it.

II. It is adapted to their case. It reveals--

1. The righteousness of God.

2. Without works.

3. By faith.

4. In Christ.

III. It has been attained by many.

1. As the free gift of God.

2. As the source of unspeakable happiness.

3. May be attained by all. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The righteousness of the gospel

I. It is designed for sinners,

II. Offered to faith.

III. Impossible by works.

IV. Because the self-righteous stumble at the Cross.

V. But the sinner is saved by faith. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The folly of rejecting the gospel

Now you may reject the gospel if you please, but wherein will your condition be improved? If on a ship where some pestilence is raging, the crew and the passengers throw the doctor and the medicine chest overboard, and keep the pestilence with them, how much better are they off? Many there are who are bent on casting Christianity overboard, on getting rid of the Church and priest and theology, and who are bent on keeping their sin and all its multitudinous train of mischief and evils. If men had become pure of heart, then there might be some reason in dispensing with these superflous ministrations; but, thus far, scepticism and the rejection of Christianity is only to make darkness darker and sickness more fatal and distress more painful. (H. W. Beecher.)

Christ rejected by Jews and accepted by Gentiles

I. The fact here stated was--

1. Plain and undeniable.

2. A verification of prophecy.

II. The instruction to be gathered from it.

1. That however earnest we may be after salvation, we shall never attain it if we seek it in a self-righteous way.

2. That however regardless we have been about salvation hitherto, we shall attain to it the instant we believe in Christ.

3. That however calumniated this way of salvation is, the very calumnies that are raised against it attest its truth. (C. Simeon, M.A.)

S.S.: or the sinner saved

Paul had two facts before him; the first was, that wherever he went preaching Christ certain Gentiles believed the doctrine, receiving at once forgiveness of sin and a change of heart; and although he had usually commenced his ministry in the synagogues, yet the Jews had almost everywhere rejected the Messiah, and at the same time missed the righteousness which they conceived they had obtained. Note--

I. A wonder of grace.

1. Certain men had attained to righteousness. Now that alone is a great wonder, for we are all sinners both by nature and by practice.

2. The wonder grows when we consider that these persons had attained to righteousness under great disadvantages; for they were Gentiles, considered by the Jews to be offcasts and outcasts given up to idolatry or to atheism and lusts. There are virtues for which the heathen had no name; and they practised vices for which, thank God, you have no name. They were ignorant withal of the requirements of the law, the light of which alone shone upon the seed of Israel. The strange thing is that such originally were those men who attained unto righteousness. Having no righteousness of their own, and being convinced that they needed one, they fled at once to the righteousness which God has prepared for all who believe in Christ. Are there not persons here whose condition is somewhat similar? You are not religious; but why should not you also attain to righteousness by faith? Wonders of grace are things which God delights in; why should He not work such wonders in you?

3. The marvel of grace was all the greater because, They followed not after righteousness. Some of them were thoughtful, just, and generous towards men, but righteousness towards God was not a matter after which they laboured. Gold or glory, power or pleasure, were the objects for which they ran. Yet when the gospel burst in upon the midnight of their souls they received its light with joy. They had not sought the Shepherd, but He had sought them, and, laying them on His shoulders, He brought them to His fold. They were like that Indian who, passing up the mountain-side pursuing game, grasped a shrub to prevent his slipping, and as its roots gave way they uncovered masses of silver. These Gentiles discovered in Christ the righteousness which they needed, but which they had never dreamed of finding.

4. These unlikely persons did really believe, and so attain to righteousness. They did not want hammering at so long as some of you do. At the first summons many of them surrendered. They rose at a bound from depths of sin to heights of righteousness. The apostle asks us, What shall we say then?

(1) Herein is seen the Sovereign appointment of the Lord. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, He will fulfil His promise to His Son, Behold, Thou shalt call a nation that Thou knowest not, etc.

(2) This also is according to Divine prophecy. I will call them My people, which were not My people, etc.

3. This is, in fact, the gospel of the grace of God. That God smiles upon worthy people and rewards their goodness is not the gospel. The gospel is that God hath mercy upon the guilty and undeserving.

II. A marvel of folly: Israel, etc. These people--

1. Were very advantageously placed. They were of the chosen race, born within the visible Church, and circumcised, and brought up to know the law of Moses, and yet they had never attained to righteousness. There are those present who were nursed in the lap of piety; they have scarcely been a single Sabbath absent from the Lords house. Now that they have reached riper years they are still hovering around the gates of mercy, but they have not entered upon the way of life. I tremble for you who are so good and yet are not regenerate.

2. Were earnest and zealous in following after the law of righteousness. Alas! many who have never forgotten a single outward rite are nevertheless quite dead as to spiritual things. Nobody could put a finger upon an open fault in you, and yet you, at least, have a shrewd suspicion that all is not right between you and God. It is concerning such as you that Paul had great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart. You may be earnestly seeking righteousness in the wrong way, and this is a terrible thing.

3. Made a mistake at the very beginning. Israel did not follow after righteousness, but after the law of righteousness. They missed the spirit and followed after the mere letter of the law. They looked at Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, etc.; but to love God with all their heart was not thought of. They thought of what a man does, but they forgot the importance of what a man is. Escape from this error; be not so eager for the shell as to lose the kernel, so zealous for the form of godliness as to deny the power thereof!

4. Went upon a wrong principle--viz., that of works. This principle is wrong for--

(1) It exalts man.

(2) It ignores the great fact that you have sinned already. Are you going to be saved by your works? What about the past? If I am going to pay my way for the future, this will not discharge my old debts.

(3) It makes nothing of God. It shuts out both His justice and His mercy.

(4) It is impossible to you. You cannot perfectly keep the law of God, for you are sold under sin. Who can get clean water from a polluted spring? There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. But suppose you could outwardly keep the law of God out of a sense of obligation to do so, yet the work is not done unless you yourself are made right with God. Your heart must love God as well as your hands serve Him.

5. Fully developed their unrighteousness when they stumbled at Christ. Jesus Christ came among them, and became to them a rock of offence. They seemed to stand upright until then; but when He came among them, down they went into actual rebellion against the Lord and His Anointed. Yes, your moralists are the great enemies of the Cross. They do not want an atonement; they can hardly endure the doctrine. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Divine method of salvation

I. Its apparent contradictions (Rom_9:30-31).

1. According to human judgment those who most earnestly seek after righteousness should be the first to attain it.

2. But the Gentiles who sought it not have obtained the righteousness of faith.

3. While the Jews who followed after the law of righteousness utterly failed.

II. Its secret harmonies (Rom_9:32-33).

1. The righteousness is only by faith.

2. The Jews, who sought it by works, took offence at the Cross.

3. But the Gentile, conscious of his demerit, believed and was saved. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The reasonableness of Gods working

The question hitherto has been--How can God set aside an elect people? And the answer--God chooses whom He will for the carrying on His saving work. But now a reason is adduced. For although God does what He will, we may be sure He never wills what is not right. And here the great reason for the rejection of Israel and the choice of the Gentiles is this, that the former have failed to apprehend the nature of salvation, whereas the latter have received the proffered gift. Needs it any arguing that they are better fitted to work for God than the others?

I. The gentiles.

1. Their previous history, from a religious point of view, is that they followed not after righteousness, i.e., they sought not justification with God. For a subjective righteousness they did seek--witness Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and poets and historians who sought to set forth the principles of right. But as to an objective righteousness, a being right with God, this was not in all their thoughts. They regarded God as not much troubling Himself with human conduct, and sin itself as rather a defect than guilt.

2. Yet they attained to righteousness. The dormant conscience awoke; the weakness of their ethical systems was revealed; the guilt of sin and the love of God was set forth in the Cross, and being stricken to the heart, and crying What must I do to be saved? they were eager to respond to the command Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, etc.; and accepting salvation they attained to righteousness.

II. Jews.

1. Their history is stated by way of contrast. The wording is most accurate. They followed a law which was designed by God to teach them sin, and lead them to look to His free grace in Christ for pardon; but it was not this end of the law which they followed, but the law itself. They made an end of the means, and thus subverted its design; for instead of learning from the law their sin, they sought by a supposed fulfilment of its precepts to make themselves just before God. So instead of learning to be poor in spirit they learned an arrogant self-complacency; instead of coming to Gods grace for pardon, they thanked God they were not as other men, and stood self-justified.

2. What was the result? They did not arrive at that law not at its true purport, its ultimate design. So the real law of justification, salvation through faith, was hidden from their eyes. To them the Rock of Ages was a stone of stumbling, etc. Learn, then, from the history of the past that there is only shame for us if we seek to make ourselves just before God. By accepting freely the grace that is freely given, we shall not be put to shame. (T. F. Lockyer, B.A.)

Seeking after righteousness

They also gave to the world, by their ancient economy, a religion whose genius was the development of mankind. In other words, they gave to the world an ethical religion, as distinguished from a worshipping and superstitious religion. Although the Jew made manifest every office of devotion and reverence, and although you might select from the Jewish writers saints as eminent in observances as any others, yet the distinctive peculiarity of religion among the Israelites was that it had a practical drift as regards the conduct of men. It did not expend itself in lyrics and prayers of worship. It descended to the character of men, and sought first, and above all other faiths of that age, to develop manhood. For the whole flow of that word righteousness in the Old Testament is the equivalent of our word manhood in modern phrase, and seeking after righteousness was the distinctive peculiarity of the Hebrew religion. It bred a race of men who put into the building of themselves the attributes of truth, of justice, of humanity, of morality, of gentleness, and of humility. It reared men who had no equals, and with whom there was nothing that could compare in their own time. The Greeks built better temples than the Hebrews; but though the Hebrew hand never carved a marble, it did better--it carved men. Such was the very drift of their religion. And the apostle, having received the culture of Greece at the feet of his great teacher, and knowing what it meant, declared that his brethren sought after righteousness, but that they did not well understand what were the instruments by which the higher development of manhood was to be attained. They sought to develop righteousness by institutions; but Paul says that no race of people ever did or ever will, merely by institutions, develop the highest form of character. That must be done by following a living example under a heroic inspiration. (H. W. Beecher.)

No righteousness by the law

I. Mans need of righteousness.

II. His unavailing efforts after it. Example of the Jew.

III. The cause of his failure. He seeks it not by faith, but by works, consequently stumbles at Christ. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The unsuccessful seeker

I. What he seeks.

II. How he seeks it.

III. The disappointing result.

IV. Because he stumbles at Christ. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith.

This verse plainly teaches that the reason why one man is unsaved while others are saved is not in God, but in himself. So always (Rom_10:3; Rom_11:22 f; Mat_23:37). This by no means contradicts verse18, but looks at the same subject from another point. The reason why any one criminal is put to death is, if justice be done, entirely in himself. But the question whether any criminals are to be put to death rests entirely with the legislature. Those who oppose capital punishment may leave out of sight the conduct of the criminal, and speak only of what it is expedient for the government to do. And the moralist may leave out of sight the expediency of capital punishment, and speak only of the consequences of sin. Or again, the motion of the withered leaves of autumn is due entirely to the wind. They do not in the least degree even co-operate to produce their own motion. But the stones on the wayside remain unmoved. The difference arises, not from a difference of the influence brought to bear on them, but simply from this, that while the leaves yield to, the stones resist, the influence which both alike experience. So with us. That believers are justified at all springs entirely from the undeserved mercy of God, and every step towards salvation is entirely Gods work in them. But the reason why when some are justified others are not, is that they put themselves by unbelief outside the number of those whom God has determined to save. When Paul replied to the objection that the gospel is inconsistent with the justice of God, he said that salvation is not a manner of justice at all, and that God bestows it on whom He will. But when explaining why the Jews have not obtained salvation, he says that the reason is in themselves. Observe also that their position is attributed not to their sin, but to their unbelief. (Prof. Beet.)

Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence.--It seems strange that Jesus the Saviour of men should be set before us in this way; but the great object is to cause us to consider what our own attitude is toward Christ. Am I clinging to Him as my Rock of Safety, or am I being repelled from Him as from a rock of offence? Jesus Himself alluded to the same idea (Mat_21:42-44).

I. There are some things in Christs life and work at which men stumble.

1. The way He came into the world (Mat_12:54-57). The people stumbled at the difficulty of His lowly parentage. Yet why? for it was all predicted, and ought rather to confirm faith.

2. The surroundings of His daily life. It was with the poor that He chiefly mingled. Here, however, is a proof that Christ was Divine. God is no respecter of persons. Had Christ been a mere man with an ambition to found a kingdom, He would have sought very different society. The persons He chose for His ambassadors were themselves a proof that their religion was Divine. Without rank or riches or worldly influence, and only by the power of their words, they founded a religion which will one day conquer the world.

3. His death. This was to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness. And now men, while willing to regard Christ as the greatest of teachers and sublimest of examples, stumble at His atonement. Yet it is this only that gives meaning to the Old Testament, and without it Christs own teaching is inexplicable, and to stumble at it is to find a difficulty in the most convincing proof of Gods love. Instead of stumbling at it they should find it as Paul did the power of God.

II. There are some things in themselves which cause men to stumble at Christ. Christ is a stumbling stone--

1. To human pride. If we are to be saved by Jesus we must as guilty sinners lay aside all trust in our own merits. Gods way of salvation is too simple. If He would bid us do or suffer some great thing we would gladly do it. But is not this again unreasonable? If I will not take Gods way of getting to heaven, how can I expect to get there by any other?

2. To human sins. Many would like to get to heaven, but do not like to give up their sins. But how unreasonable.

3. To human selfishness. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (C. H. Irwin, M.A.)

Christ a stumbling stone and rock of collision

1. These are astounding words. Who is the speaker? Not Paul, for he quotes Isaiah: not Isaiah, for in both passages (Isa_28:16; Isa_8:11; Isa_8:13-16) he ascribes them to Jehovah--one therefore who has a right to speak great and terrible things. What, or rather who, is referred to? It is none else than Jehovah Jesus.

2. When He, then, is represented under the alternative figure of a refuge and a stone of stumbling it is implied that men need a refuge. Why? Because men are everywhere pursued--pursued by penal evils, and that because they are themselves pursuing after evils of another kind. They love the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life, and are keenly pursuing them. One man is making life subordinate to the ignoble pursuit of sensual indulgence, others to fame and power, myriads more to wealth. But the earth on which men live belongs to God, and He has therefore a right to rule in it and over it, and having this right and being holy His malediction is lying on every form of sinful gratification. Hence every nation is pursued by a host of evils, and is time after time driven to Divine means to stave them off for a season. In vain.

3. But, what, then, is to become of each mortal man, of nations, of the great world? Let us hear the voice of God. Behold I lay, etc. Every mans refuge is in Jehovah Jesus. There is none other name, etc. Never till the world takes refuge on or in Him will it be happy, and as the world is but a world full of individuals, never will individual men be happy until they flee to Him.

4. But why, then, is He called a stumbling stone and a rock of collision? Is a stumbling stone a refuge? Is a rock of collision an asylum? Undoubtedly. It is just according as Christ is made use of as that He will be found to be one or the other. That which is our greatest boon when rightly used may become our utter ruin when abused. Fire and water are among our greatest blessings, but if a man will leap into a blazing furnace, or into a seething flood it will be his destruction. Look how steam engines have multiplied the comforts of life! But if a man will rush into machinery in full motion, all the worlds comforts will in one moment cease to be comforts available to him. The same principle holds good in the relation of Jehovah Jesus to men. If they use Him aright He will prove a sanctuary, but if they insist on going on as if He were not in existence at all then He will be a rock of dreadful collision, and they will rush upon Him and be broken and ruined. The Divine idea is this: if men will have none of Jesus, and run on in their way without deigning to look so low as to see Jesus, the interests they pursue must come into terrific collision with the interests He pursues; and whensoever the collision comes, they and they only, will suffer. They will be like fugitives from a flood, who dash with all their highest pressure of force full on, upon a jagged rock. The rock will remain uninjured; but they will fall and be broken, and the flood will overtake and overwhelm them. But there is the sweet addition to the potentous threatening Whosoever believeth on Him, the Rock of Ages, shall not be ashamed. His security is certain. The rain may descend, etc., but his hopes will not fail because they are founded upon the Rock. (J. Morison, D.D.)

Un-believers stumbling; believers rejoicing

Our apostle was inspired, and yet he was moved to quote the Old Testament, and thus he sets us an example of searching the Scriptures. The passage is composed of two Scriptures woven into one. A part is found in Isa_28:16; of which the apostle gives us rather the sense than the words, and another part in Isa_8:14. In the latter of these passages we have a striking proof of Christs divinity. Observe verse 13, Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself … and He shall be for a sanctuary to believers; but a stone of stumbling, etc. Isaiah utters a prophecy of the Lord of Hosts, Paul quotes it in reference to the Lord Jesus, plainly intending us to infer that Christ is no other than Jehovah. In his quotation from the former the apostle has omitted the words for a foundation, and has inserted the words of the other passage, a stumbling stone, a rock of offence, But the original prophecy serves to show that Gods real object in laying Christ in Zion was not that men might stumble at Him, but that He might be a foundation for their hopes; but the result has been that to one set of men Christ has become a sanctuary and a stone of dependence; and to others a stumbling stone. Note--

I. That many stumbling at Christ.

1. No sooner did He commence His ministry than men began to stumble at Him. Is not this the carpenters son? was the question of those who looked for worldly pomp. His father and His mother, we know, was the whispered objection of His own townsmen. In His own country the greatest of all prophets had no honour. The Pharisee stumbled at Him, because He did not wash His hands before He ate, nor make broad His phylactery. He healed the sick upon the Sabbath; He had no respect for traditions, and befriended publicans and sinners. The Sadducee, on the other hand, detested Jesus, because His teaching had in it very much of the supernatural element. All His life long, in the high courts of Herod or of Pilate, or in the lowest rank of the mob of Judaea, Christ was despised and rejected of men. But the Jew was not alone in his offence at the Cross. The polished Greeks, when they heard Paul preach, they saw nothing flattering to their philosophy, and therefore they openly mocked. In every age Christ has been rejected by the very men whom He came to bless. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.

2. However, we have very little to do with these past ages. There are amongst us some who stumble at Christ because of--

(1) His holiness. He is too strict for them. Christ offends men because His gospel is intolerant of sin.

(2) His plan of salvation by faith. They say, What, are our good works to go for nothing? This is too humbling.

(3) The doctrine He preaches, more especially the doctrines of grace. If we preach virtue some will say, I enjoyed that discourse; but if we preach Christ, and begin to talk about the deep doctrines which lie underneath the gospel, straightway they are angry. Ah! Christ will not shape His doctrine to suit thy carnal taste.

(4) His people and their inconsistencies. As though it is an excuse for going to hell because others do not walk straight to heaven. What if David falls and is restored, is this any reason why thou shouldst fall and never be restored? The shipwrecks of others should only make thee sail more carefully.

(5) The real objection, however, is Christ Himself. You will not have this man to reign over you. If thou hast no objection to Christ, accept Him.

3. Now let me reason with those who have made Christ a stumbling stone.

(1) Hast thou ever considered how much thou insultest God the Father by rejecting Christ? Would it not bring the blood into thy face if thou shouldst give thine only son to fight for thy country, and they to whom he was given should despise thee and thy gift?

(2) What a proof is here of thy sinfulness, and how readily wilt thou be condemned at the last when this sin is written on thy forehead. There will be no reason to bring up any other sins against thee. Thou hast objected to Gods dear Son, why need we any other witness?

(3) How will this increase thy misery? Dost thou think God will be tender over thee when thou hast not been tender with His Son? How can you escape if you neglect so great salvation? You have broken down the only bridge which could have led you into safety.

II. Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. Notice--

1. When those who trust Christ might be ashamed of having trusted Him.

(1) Well might they be ashamed if Christ should ever leave them.

(2) If Christ should fail them either as to providence or grace in times of trial and temptation.

(3) If Christs promises were not fulfilled.

(4) If when he came to die he should find no support. But have ye ever heard of a Christian who was ashamed in his dying hour?

2. Why they might be ashamed if such things were to come.

(1) We have ventured our all upon Christ. The world says you should never put all your eggs in one basket, and the world is quite right in human things. But here are we, we are depending everything upon one man. If He can fail us, we are of all men most miserable.

(2) We have given up this life for the next. The worlds proverb is, A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but we, on the other hand, have said that the bird in the hand is nothing at all, that the bird in the bush is everything. Now, if things should turn out wrong, and we have believed in vain, then we shall be ashamed of our hope, but not till then, and that shall be never.

(3) We began boasting before we had ended the battle. You have boasted in Christ; you have said that He is a sure foundation, but if He should fail you, why then you would be in the position of a man who boasted before the time. But we shall never be ashamed.

(4) We have actually divided the spoil; and oh! if the battle should be lost, then we should be ashamed. The French once, before the battle began, commenced selling the English captives, but then, fortunately, they never gained the victory. But you and I have already entered into our rest; and if it should be a delusion we should be ashamed, but not till then.

(5) Men are ashamed when they have made a bad speculation, because they have induced others to enter into it. You and I have been inducing others to embark in this great venture. Oh, sweet assurance, we have not preached cunningly devised fables, and shall never be ashamed.

3. Who are they who shall never be ashamed? Whosoever believeth--that is, any man who ever lived, or ever shall live, who believes in Christ, shall never be ashamed. Whether he has been a gross sinner or a moralist; whether he be a prince or a beggar, it matters not.

4. The text means more than it says, viz., the believers shall be glorified and full of honour. If thou trustest Christ to-day, it will bring shame from men, it will ensure trials, but it will also ensure honour in the eight of Gods holy angels and glory at the last in the sight of the assembled universe. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

A common stumbling block

A preacher of the gospel had gone down into a coal mine during the noon hour to tell the miners of that grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ. After telling them the simple story of Gods love to lost sinners--mans state and Gods remedy, a full and free salvation offered, the time came for the men to resume work, and the preacher came back to the shaft to ascend to the world again. Meeting the foreman, he asked him what he thought of Gods way of salvation. The man replied, Oh, it is too cheap: I cannot believe in such a religion as that! Without an immediate answer to his remark, the preacher asked: How do you get out of this place? Simply by getting into the cage, was the reply. And does it take long to get to the top? Oh, no; only a few seconds! Well, that certainly is very easy and simple. But do you not need to help raise yourself? said the preacher. Of course not! replied the miner. As I have said, you have nothing to do but get into the cage. But what about the people who sunk the shaft, and perfected all this arrangement? Was there much labour or expense about it? Indeed, yes; that was a laborious and expensive work. The shaft is eighteen hundred feet deep, and it was sunk at great cost to the proprietor; but it is our only way out, and without it we should never be able to get to the surface. Just so. And when Gods Word tells you that whosoever believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life, you at once say, Too cheap!--Too cheap! forgetting that Gods work to bring you and others out of the pit of destruction and death was accomplished at a vast cost, the price being the death of His own Son. Men talk about the help of Christ in their salvation--that if they do their part, Christ will do His, forgetting, or not seeing, that the Lord Jesus Christ by Himself purged our sins, and that our part is but to accept what has been done.

A reliable salvation

My friends, I do not want to make an experiment about my own soul. I cannot afford to do it. I have but one soul to be saved or lost, and if you can show to me that this gospel of Jesus Christ is an experiment, I want nothing to do with it. I do not want to go on a trial trip. Some years ago, in the Canadas, there was a bridge built over an awful chasm. Far down beneath the waters rushed very violently. After this costly and beautiful bridge was done, the day for opening it came. Thousands of people assembled. Flags were flying, guns were sounding. There was a large coach drawn by six horses, a coach loaded with passengers, and at just the advertised moment, the architect of the bridge, to show that the structure was what it pretended to be, mounted the box of this coach, took the reins in his hands, and started, amid the huzzas of thousands and thousands of people. He drove on until he came to the centre of the bridge, when the timbers cracked, and all went down--some dashed against the abutments, some whelmed in the stream. You tell me that there is a bridge built for my soul over sin, and death, and hell, and you ask me to go on it, and ask me to take all these people on it. No; unless I am sure it is a safe bridge, But this is no experiment. We are not the first to go over it. Scores, and hundreds, and thousands have gone over it. A great multitude that no man can number, have gone over it. That bridge is buttressed at one end with the Rock of Ages, and at the other with the throne of the Lord God Almighty, and I am not afraid to trust it. Wilt you go with me to-day? Venture on Him. Venture wholly. No experiment about it. If it had been an unsafe salvation, your fathers and mothers would long ago have found it out. Oh, what a glorious salvation from sin, and death, and hell! Peter preached it at the Pentecost, and there went up the shout of three thousand delivered captives. Paul preached it in official circles, and the knees of Felix knocked together. Robert McCheyne preached it in Dundee until all Scotland was in a blaze. Richard Baxter preached it until Lord Jeffries trembled on the judicial bench, and James II turned pale on his iniquitous throne, and hundreds of souls started from Kidderminster for the saints everlasting rest. It has dried up rivers of tears. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 9:30-33. What shall we say then — What is to be concluded from all that has been said, but this, that the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness — Who a while ago had no knowledge of, no care or thought about it; have attained to righteousness — Or justification; even the righteousness which is of faith — Which is by faith in Christ and in his gospel, Php 3:9. This is the first conclusion we may draw from the preceding observations. The second is, that Israel, (the Jews,) which followed after the law of righteousness — The law which, duly used, would have led them to faith, and thereby to righteousness; hath not attained to the law of righteousness — To that righteousness, or justification, which is one great end of the law. Or, as Estius and Beza think, the law of righteousness is put for the righteousness of the law; as Heb 7:16, the law of a carnal commandment, signifies the carnal commandment of the law. According to this interpretation, the apostle’s meaning is, Israel, who pursued the righteousness of the law, have not attained it. Wherefore? Is it because God eternally decreed they should not? No: there is nothing like this to be met with in the apostle’s reasoning; but, agreeably to his argument, he gives us this grand reason for it: because they sought it not by faith, whereby alone it could be attained; but, as it were — In effect, if not professedly; by the works of the law — The works required by it, which they were not able perfectly to perform. For they stumbled at that stumbling-stone — Which lay in their way. This is an allusion to one who, running in a race, stumbles on a stone in his way, and, falling, loses the race. As it is written — Foretold by their own prophet; Behold, I lay in Sion — I exhibit in my church what, though in truth the only sure foundation of religion and happiness, yet will be, in fact, a stumbling-stone, and a rock of offence — An occasion of ruin to many through their obstinate unbelief. And whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed — Or, as the original expression may be more literally translated, No one who believeth on him shall be ashamed. The reader will observe two passages of Isaiah are here joined in one quotation, because they relate to the same subject; namely, Isa 28:16; Isa 8:14. See note on 1Pe 2:8. Accordingly, those in Israel who expected the Messiah to be a great temporal prince, stumbled at Jesus on account of the poverty, meanness, and state of suffering in which he appeared among them. Hence they fell short of righteousness and salvation, and lost all their privileges as the people of God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. So that the faith condition reverts back through the whole chapter, and underlies God’s whole system of election and rejection, whether of Jew or of Gentile, Rom_9:30-33.

Paul explicitly furnishes now the KEY, the secret of the Divine preference of a special Israel in Israel, (6-13,) of a mercy to Moses and a hardening upon Pharaoh, (14-23,) and, by special inference, of the prophesied reservation of a gracious remnant of fallen Judaism over the main mass, (24-29.) The key runs its solution through both columns of character given at our introduction to notes on 6-13. The entire secret is the faith-condition. The Gentiles attained to righteousness BY FAITH, Rom_9:30. But Israel hath not attained it, because they sought it not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law. (Rom_9:31-32.) It is by ignoring this, the apostle’s own solution of the whole chapter, that the predestinarian interpretation maintains itself.

30. What… say then—A reiteration of the first query of Rom_9:14, introducing the final answer to the query of that verse.

Followed not after—A metaphor taken, not as Lange suggests, from a race, but rather from a hunt. The Gentiles did not even pursue the game, and yet attained it; the Jews pursued, but, wilfully and wickedly, in the wrong direction, and lost it. Yet, in a sense, the individual Gentiles who attained did seek by faith, though historically the mass of Gentiles had not sought.

Faith—By this very false pursuit and failure of the Jews the faith was brought before the acceptance of the Gentiles, who heretofore had followed not after righteousness. Thereby they became the elect Israel and the vessels of mercy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

Rom_9:31.—νόμ. δικ., and not δικ. νομοῦ, because Israel and not the Gentiles had in the economy of mercy a law which taught what was right; law not making righteous, but declaring what is right.

Rom_9:32.—ὡς indicates the supposition that their works were good works.

Rom_9:33.—The Jews say, “The Son of David, i.e., the Messias, cometh not till the two houses of the fathers of Israel shall be taken away—to wit, the Head of the captivity of Babylon, and the Prince who is in Israel, as it is said, He shall be a stone of stumbling and a rock of ruin to the two houses of Israel, and many of them shall stumble and fall and be broken.” And the Chaldee Paraphrast upon the place says thus, “And if they will not obey or receive [Him], My word shall be to them for scandal and ruin to the princes of the two houses of Israel” (Dr. Whitby).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Rom_9:30-33

Unexpected results.—One of the errors of Judaism was exclusiveness. There was no salvation outside the Judaic system. All Gentiles were excluded. And here St. Paul not only corrects the mistake, but shows that even the Jews themselves might be excluded from divine righteousness while following their own system. Let us avoid contracted views; let not our religion warp our understanding. We may vaunt our privileges, and self-confidence may prove our destruction.

I. Opposite pursuits.—The Gentiles as a whole were not ethical. They did not eagerly pursue after righteousness. Israel had a glorious ethical system, and in their own way the Israelites followed after the law of righteousness. The latter had a lofty aim, while the former was not stirred by the ennobling ideal. Lofty aims must surely be good. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Surely it is better to aim high and lose than never to rise above the common level. The shooter is wrong, not because he aimed high, but because he refused to be guided, and thus missed the mark. The man who seeks goodly pearls is following after the law of righteousness, is seeking for the true good, is yearning for soul rest. He is earnest, humble, and sincere, and finds the Pearl of great price. The seeker and the non-seeker obtain blessings in the sovereignty of divine administrations. The one gets the Pearl of great price, and the other finds the treasure hid in the field. The non-seeker is not to be applauded for his moral indolence. The seeker is not to be condemned for his moral diligence.

II. Unexpected results.—The Gentile finds that which he is not seeking. The Israelite misses that which he is pursuing. How true this often is to the ways of life! Results are contrary to our expectations. Like causes do not produce like effects. We follow after fame and reach wealth. We pursue pleasure and attain misery. Results are disappointing. Our purposes are broken off. Our projected castles reach no completion. Some men work hard and fail, while others without any stretching forth of effort grasp the prizes. The Gentiles and the Jews are found in all spheres and in all kingdoms.

III. The satisfactory explanation.—Israel failed. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith; they did not move according to the divine plan. We cannot pretend to give satisfactory explanations of all the unexpected results of time. Perhaps if we were endowed with far-reaching vision and a more acute understanding many a life’s inexplicables would disappear. Certain it must be that the life which is projected and prosecuted according to the divine plan cannot be a failure. We work from low results, and the end is disappointing. Moving according to the divine idea, we should reap divine fruition. Surely this must be so in the moral sphere. That blessing which the Gentile obtained is possible to the Jew. He that believeth shall be saved. The “he” is not specific, but generic. Only he that believeth. Whosoever will come may come. The divine thirst will not be assuaged until it finds the living water.

IV. The undesigned hindrance.—The Stone laid by God in Zion becomes a stumbling-stone and rock of offence. This is not the divine design. This Stone was chosen by God out of the eternal quarry as being most fitted for the erection of a spiritual temple. The Stone was selected by infinite wisdom, prepared by divine power, and was the expression of eternal love; and though the Stone was rejected by the foolish builders, the scribes and priests of this world, it was accepted by God, crowned with glory and honour. And God never placed this Stone in Zion to be a stumbling-block to any. Men stumble because blindness hath happened unto them in part; men stumble because human pride sets itself against divine love and wisdom. Humility would save from many a fall. He that is down need fear no fall. He that is little in his own eyes will see the greatness and preciousness of this Stone, and by its greatness will become spiritually great and noble and glorious. There is a blessed life-communicating quality in this Stone, so that those who are joined to it by faith become possessors of eternal life. By faith in this beloved Stone those not beloved become by divine grace the beloved children of God.

V. The projected effect.—Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed, shall not make haste, shall move through life with peaceful calmness, shall face death with undaunted courage, and stand unabashed in the ineffable splendours of the eternal light. They that follow after the law of righteousness in their own strength have reason to be ashamed as they see the immense distance between the endeavour and the achievement, between the mental would and the evil result. They that follow after the law of righteousness by faith in the righteous Mediator have no reason to be ashamed, for He strengthens the mental would and leads to moral accomplishment. Through Christ, when I would do good, the power to accomplish is present with me: that power comes from the strength-giving Saviour. Ashamed of my fruitless efforts, I may well be ashamed of the weakness of my faith, the dulness of my hope, and the coldness of my love. Ashamed of my connection with the Noblest of mortals and the Highest of immortals I shall surely never be. Can it be for one moment entertained that we should be ashamed of Him who has created in time the noblest heroes of the human race? Science has its votaries, philosophy its devoted adherents, literature its admirers, history grows eloquent about the pomp and circumstance of man; but rightly considered, it is highest glory to follow in the sublime train of Him who shall gather to Himself the selected spirits of all worlds. Immortal honours are the portion of the victorious Mediator, and those honours are shared by His followers.

Rom_9:33. Divine appointment, human disappointment, human satisfaction.—Many are the disappointments of life. Happy is the old age which can look back upon life without feeling that it is full of sorrowful memories. We may have to look back upon disappointments, but we shall not be filled with sorrow if we can feel that we have done our best, and that they have come upon us in spite of our best endeavours. But is such a retrospect possible? The wise and calm reflection of age will point us to many ways where we have gone wrong. The visions of youth have gone down into blackness. We have had noble aspirations, but ignoble performances. The stones of safety have been turned into stones of stumbling; rocks of beauty, glistening in the sunlight, have become rocks of offence. Blessed is the man who with divine light and leading has built upon the Rock of eternal beauty. Let us consider and endeavour to appreciate the wisdom of the divine appointment, and then we shall not be disappointed.

I. The divine appointment—“Behold, I lay in Zion.” The “beholds” of God are emphatic. They invite our attention to the consideration of the divine proceedings. The “beholds” of God are written in hieroglyphics on nature. There is the inaugurating voice directing attention to some great event or catastrophe about to follow. God writes a preface to all His greatest works. Noah’s ark is God’s “behold,” telling of the coming calamity; the intense calm of nature is a “behold,” speaking to us of the coming storm. The “beholds “of God are written in type and in figure and in plain speech in His moral dispensations. The Levitical dispensation is a sublime “behold,” drawing attention to the brighter dispensation beyond; the prophetical dispensation is a clearer “behold,” declaring the coming Messiah, sometimes in plainest terms. Thus it is in the passages from which St. Paul quotes in this wondrous text: Behold, says God, I lay in Zion a stone. Let the universe consider; let angels and men ponder; and the wisest will declare that the divine appointment is in every way excellent. This stone-laying:

1. Is good, for it is the work of a wise God. Our true conception of a God carries with it and implies the conception of a Being who is all-wise. We see wisdom in nature in many of her departments. What appears to us unwisdom may on further knowledge turn out to be highest wisdom. What we know not now we may know hereafter. And we are always met by the fact that a disturbing element has been introduced into nature. After all drawbacks there is sufficient in the world to convince the candid mind that a wise God has arranged this lower universe. If there be wisdom in the material much more is there in the moral realm. The God of wisdom laid the precious Stone in Zion. Can it be for one moment supposed that God waited for thousands of years before commencing this spiritual building, and then laid a stone which the least competent of builders would reject?

2. Safe, for it is the work of a God of power. The powerful will not dishonour himself by putting up that which is weak and insecure, if his ability and his resources are equal. The all-powerful God would not lay a stone in Zion which would crumble beneath the superincumbent edifice. So far the Stone has done no dishonour to the divine selection. It stands to-day. Time has gnawed no erasure on its beautiful surface. Living stones in vast numbers have been piled on this precious Corner-stone, and it upholds and gives life and firmness to all.

3. Beneficial, for it is the work of a God of love. God laid the Stone for the promotion of human well-being. In answer to the promptings of His infinite love and wondrous pity He laid this Stone, and it could not be, thus other than to serve a beneficial purpose. He laid it, not to be a stone of stumbling, but a stone of spiritual elevation, by and on which men might rise to the light and glory of the divine goodness. This Stone has been a beneficial rock to multitudes. It was laid in the dry and arid Zion, and transformed it at once into the sunny Zion which has warmed and cheered many hearts, which has lighted the otherwise dark pathway of many mortals. The wonder is how some of the stones were quarried and brought to their places which formed part of the temple. A greater wonder appears as we look at this spiritual Stone which is at once the foundation-stone and corner-stone of God’s Church-temple.

4. Available, for it is the work of a God of mercy. We must not localise God’s moral doings. In these days we visit Palestine as if God’s manifestations were only for one little tract of land. God’s Palestine is everywhere. He may work in one corner of the earth, but His glory fills the wide sphere. He laid the Stone in Zion; it is a movable stone, an omnipresent stone. Wherever there are living, believing stones of humanity, there God has laid His “living Stone,” to be to them a source of life and power. The Rock of shelter is in every land for all races. Let us seek to move with open eyes and receptive hearts.

II. The human disappointment.—Strange that a divine appointment should prove a human disappointment! Perhaps not so strange, if we remember that the human is ever fighting against the divine. The failure of the divine appointment is not in God, but in man. Is it not so that some of the best works, even those originated by human wisdom, have been to many as stones of stumbling and rocks of offence? Not only great moral but great material reformations have been opposed. Every great invention, every great improvement, has had to fight its way against the opposition of the foolish and the wicked. We are told that Christ would have done well enough if it had not been for a Paul. He has made dark that which was light, rendered difficult that which was plain. A nice and easy religion is that of the four gospels; but a repulsive and difficult religion is that of Paul. But if Paul were removed as a stone of stumbling, the next step would be to remove the Christ Himself as a stone of stumbling. We may rest assured that those who stumble at Paul would and do stumble at the Christ. Perhaps some want a Paul removed so that they may have a Christ and a religion after their own fashion. Christ was a stone of stumbling before Paul spoke or wrote a word, and Christ would still be a stone of stumbling if Paul and his epistles could be consigned to forgetfulness. Human sin, pride, and selfishness are always disappointed when they come face to face with that which seeks their overthrow. The modern notion is that we are all to be Christs, but we are a long way from the ideal. The Christlike men, the Christs of humanity, have been as stones of stumbling and rocks of offence to their fellows. A Christ of love and gentleness would be received in modern society; but how about a Christ who uses language not allowed in drawing-rooms, and calls men hypocrites and whited sepulchres? What about a Christ whose purity and unselfishness flash scorn upon our impurities, our meannesses, our hollowness, and our intense selfishness? Christ was a stone of stumbling to the Jews. They did their best to crush and destroy. If Christ were to revisit this sphere with only the origin and the credentials with which He appeared in Palestine, what would be His reception in our Christian countries? Would this Galilean Peasant be received in the palaces of peers? Would this unlettered Nazarene be allowed to preach in university pulpits? Would this Man of plain speech be allowed to shock the ears of fashionable congregations? If they will not hear sermons about Him, would they be more willing to hear Him preach when He would tell them to sell all that they had and give to the poor? A stone of stumbling and a rock of offence is the divine Stone; but, thank God, not to all, not by any means all.

III. Human satisfaction.—“Whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed,” shall not be disappointed, shall not hurry away in terror and confusion, but shall realise peace, joy, and solid satisfaction. Believers should not be disappointed; for:

1. The entrance of Christ brings infinite content to the soul of men. A foundation-stone must not only rest in its place, but afford a resting-place to the stones it supports. Christ the foundation-stone affords a sweet resting-place to the lively stones of redeemed humanity. He imparts gracious content. The soul full of Christ is full of divine peace and repose. The soul cannot rest sweetly on any other stone. Discontent, restlessness, pervade the nature so long as Christ is absent. The soul was made for spiritual bread, and cannot be satisfied with the husks of time. We must feed on the Bread of life sent down from heaven.

2. Union with Christ gives proper proportion to life. Due proportion in an edifice cannot be secured if the foundation-stones and corner-stones be unfit and inadequate. How disproportionate are our lives! What a confused and disordered mass is the result of the life-building of a vast majority! If we would build aright, if we would construct so that part may answer to part in symmetrical order, then we must build on Christ, and in Christ, and up to Christ. A life well rounded and complete is the Christ-life. No true Christian has been disappointed when he has reached life’s close. Untold satisfaction will take possession of his nature when he is raised to be a monumental and ornamental pillar in the upper temple of our God.

3. Union with Christ gives strength to life. This Stone is a living stone. It has communicating properties. It is itself eternally and divinely strong, and imparts strength to all who are joined to it by faith. It is divinely adhesive, and makes fast to itself all believers, and sends its strength through all the lively stones of the spiritual edifice. Strong men are Christlike men—the most Christlike and the most giantlike. Even granite shall crumble and waste away; Christ-united stones will never be dissolved.

4. Union with Christ gives beauty and grace to life. Grace and beauty to a building are not possible if the foundation, corner, and top-stones be inadequate and incomplete. Every stone in a building seems to catch the grace and beauty of the whole structure. Every stone in God’s spiritual temple catches and shares the grace and beauty of Him who was and is altogether lovely, the very ideal of moral beauty, of spiritual loveliness. What grace and beauty are there in stones rolling in the gutter! And oh, how many are as stones rolling in the gutter! They are bespattered with the mire of low purposes, selfish and sensual aims and desires. There is grace and beauty in the stones cut, carried, and polished by the divine Artificer. These are monumental stones—monumental of divine grace and love, polished after the similitude of a palace.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom_9:29-33

Why the Jew failed.—As it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling-stone and rock of offence; and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” By the word translated “stumbling-stone” is meant any obstacle put in a person’s way, so as to make him stumble or fall, or anything that prevents him from accomplishing his design. In quoting the prophet’s metaphorical language, to show why the Jews failed to attain to the true principle of justification, the apostle brings together parts of two different prophecies, both relating, however, to the same subject, and concurring to make up the view of it which he presents. The first part is taken from Isa_8:14, where the Lord is said to be “for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both houses of Israel.” There can be no doubt that this prediction refers to the Messiah, and that it foretells the offence which the Jews would take at Him. He was not that great temporal deliverer to whom they fondly looked forward, and therefore they refused to believe on Him. The second part of the quotation is taken from Isa_28:16, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste”; or, as the apostle quotes it, “shall not be ashamed.” There can be as little doubt that this is said in allusion to the Messiah; and it shows that none who believe on Him shall have reason to be ashamed of their faith, or have their hopes disappointed. The import of the general conclusion contained in the four last verses may be thus shortly stated: The Gentiles, notwithstanding their ignorance and wickedness, have had the offer of salvation made to them, and many of them have believed in Christ, been admitted into the Christian Church, and obtained the righteousness grounded in faith. But the great body of the Jews, although they enjoy a law which is of divine authority, have not attained a true righteousness, because, trusting that they would be justified by obedience to their law, they refused, as their own prophets had foretold that they would do, to believe in the Messiah, were therefore rejected from being the Church and people of God, and destitute of that only true righteousness which has its foundation in faith, and which will be followed with salvation. This passage suggests the following important remark: The reason why the Jews failed to obtain true righteousness was their seeking it on the principle of establishing a claim to divine favour by their legal obedience. But the apostle has already proved that it is utterly impracticable to establish any claim of this kind, seeing it is wholly impossible to give that unerring obedience to the divine law which it would require. It ought, then, to be steadily kept in mind, that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done that we become entitled to salvation; but that we must be saved by the mercy of God, extended through the Saviour, to those who possess the righteousness of faith. Faith in Christ, therefore, and reliance on Him for salvation, should lead the Christian to a uniform endeavour to obey the divine law; that thus possessing the righteousness which is of faith, he may be saved through the redemption that is in Christ.—Ritchie.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 9

Rom_9:33. The folly of rejecting the gospel.—Now you may reject the gospel if you please; but wherein will your condition be improved? If on a ship where some pestilence is raging, the crew and the passengers throw the doctor and the medicine-chest overboard, and keep the pestilence with them, how much better are they off? Many there are who are bent on casting Christianity overboard, on getting rid of the Church and the priest and theology, and who art bent on keeping their sin and all its multitudinous train of mischiefs and evils. If men had become pure of heart, then there might be some reason in dispensing with superfluous ministrations; but, thus far, scepticism and the rejection of Christianity are only to make darkness darker, and sickness more fatal, and distress more painful.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 9:30. Τί, what) He returns from the digression, which he had commenced at the middle of Rom 9:24, and takes in summarily the whole subject, Rom 9:30-32. There is a mitigation of the severity of the discussion continued from Rom 9:6 to Rom 9:23; but it will only be comprehended by him, who is acquainted with the way of faith. In short, by this tone of feeling the foregoing remarks are judged of.—κατέλαβε) have attained [Luk 13:29; Luk 13:24.]—πίστεως, by faith), Rom 9:33, at its close.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_9:30-31. From the preceding prophecies, Rom_9:25 ff. (not with particular regard to Rom_9:16, as de Wette), Paul now, in order to prepare the transition to the διατί; ὅτι κ.τ.λ., Rom_9:32, draws the historical result, and that in the form of question and answer: What shall we say then? (we shall say) that Gentiles, they who strove not after righteousness, have obtained righteousness, but righteousness which proceeds from faith; while Israel, on the contrary, in spite of its endeavour after the law which justifies, has not attained to this law. Others take ὅτι … ἔφθασε to be a question, namely either: What are we to say to the fact, that Gentiles, etc.? So, following Theodore of Mopsuestia and others, Heumann, Flatt, Olshausen, also Morus, who takes ὅτι as because. Or: What are we therefore to say? Are we to say that Gentiles, etc.? So Reiche, who is then compelled to consider δικ, δὲ τὴν ἐκ πίστ. as an answer inserted as in a dialogue, and to see in Rom_9:32 the removal of the ground of the objection by a disclosure of the cause of the phenomenon, which has now no longer anything surprising in it. But Reiches view is to be rejected, partly on the ground that the insertion of a supposed answer, δικ. δὲ τ. ἐκ π., is a makeshift and unexampled in Pauls writings; partly because ὅτι … ἔφθασε, even with the exclusion of δικ. δὲ τ. ἐκ. π., contains complete Pauline truth, and consequently does not at all resemble a problematic inquiry, such as Paul elsewhere introduces by τί ἐροῦμεν, and then refutes as erroneous (see Rom_4:1). This, too, in opposition to Th. Schott, who, taking τί οὖν … δικαιοσύνην; as a single independent question (What shall we now say to the fact, that Gentiles, etc.), then finds the answer in δικαιοσύνην δὲ ἐκ πίστεως, but afterwards, no less strangely than groundlessly, proposes to connect διατί immediately, no punctuation being previously inserted, with the proposition Ἰσραὴλ δὲ κ.τ.λ. Finally, it is decisive against Heumann and others, that the answer of Rom_9:32, ὅτι οὐκ κ.τ.λ., does not concern the Gentiles at all (see Rom_9:30).

ἔθνη] Gentiles (comp. Rom_2:14), not the Gentiles as a collective body. On the part of Gentiles righteousness was obtained, etc.

τὰ μὴ διώκ.] They, whose endeavour (for they had not a revelation, nor did they observe the moral law) was not directed towards becoming righteous, they obtained righteousness, butand hereby this paradox of sacred history is solvedthat which proceeds from faith. In the first two instances δικ. is used without any special definition from the Christian point of view; the latter only comes to be introduced with the third δικ.

δὲ] comp. Rom_3:22; Php_2:8.

On the figurative διώκειν, borrowed from the running for the prize in the racecourse, as also on the correlate καταλαμβάνειν, comp. Php_3:12-14; 1Co_9:24; 1Ti_6:11-12; Sir_11:10; Sir_27:8; on διώκειν δικαιοσύνην, Plato, Rep. p. 545 A. Observe the threefold δικαιοσύνην, as in Rom_9:31 the repetition of νόμον δικαιος. The whole passage is framed for pointed effect: Vehementer auditorem commovet ejusdem redintegratio verbi … quasi aliquod telum saepius perveniat in eandem partem corporis. Auct. ad Herenn. iv. 28.

Rom_9:30-33. The blame of their exclusion rests upon the Jews themselves, because they strove after righteousness not by faith, but by works; they took offence at Christ. Observe how Paul here with the fewest words touches the deepest foundation of the matter (Ewald).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 9:30 to Rom 10:21 . We come now to the second main division of that part of the epistle in which Paul discusses the problem raised by the relation of the Jews to the Gospel. He has shown in chap. Rom 9:6-29 that they have no claim as of right to salvation: their whole history, as recorded and interpreted in the Scriptures, exhibited God acting on quite a different principle; he now proceeds to show more definitely that it was owing to their own guilt that they were rejected. They followed, and persisted in following, a path on which salvation was not to be found; and they were inexcusable in doing so, inasmuch as God had made His way of salvation plain and accessible to all.

Rom 9:30 f. τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν ; usually, as in Rom 9:14 , this question is followed by another, but here by an assertion. The conclusion of the foregoing discussion is not that God has been faithless or unjust, but this paradoxical position: Gentiles ( ἔθνη , not τὰ ἔθνη ) that did not follow after righteousness attained righteousness, the righteousness which comes of faith; while Israel, which followed after a law of righteousness, did not attain that law. διώκειν and καταλαμβάνειν are correlative terms: see Wetstein. The repetition of δικαιοσύνη is striking: it is the one fundamental conception on which Paul’s gospel rests; the questions at issue between him and the Jews were questions as to what it was, and how it was to be attained. τὰ μὴ διώκοντα δικαιοσύνην is not an unfair description of the pagan races as contrasted with the Jews; how to be right with God was not their main interest. δικαιοσύνην δὲ τὴν ἐκ πίστεως for the form of the explanatory clause with δὲ cf. Rom 3:22 , 1Co 2:6 . It is not surprising that a righteousness of this sort should be found even by those who are not in quest of it; its nature is that it is brought and offered to men, and faith is simply the act of appropriating it. Ἰσραὴλ δὲ κ . τ . λ .: this is the astonishing thing which does need explanation. διώκων νόμον δικαιοσύνης . The idea is not that Israel was in quest of a law of righteousness, in the sense of a rule by the observance of which righteousness would be attained: every Israelite believed himself to be, and already was, in possession of such a law. It must rather be that Israel aimed incessantly at bringing its conduct up to the standard of a law in which righteousness was certainly held out, but was never able to achieve its purpose. The νόμος δικαιοσύνης , the unattained goal of Israel’s efforts, is of course the Mosaic law; but it is referred to, not definitely, but in its characteristic qualities, as law, and as exhibiting and enjoining (not bestowing) righteousness. εἰς νόμον οὐκ ἔφθασεν : did not attain to, arrive at, that law it remained out of their reach. Legal religion proved a failure.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 30, 31. “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have obtained righteousness, but the righteousness which is of faith; and that Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.”

The question: What shall we say then? has in the present case peculiar gravity: “The explanation of the fact not being found by saying, God has annulled His word; what, then, is the solution of the enigma?” Thus, after setting aside the false solution, Paul invites his reader to seek with him the true one; and this solution he expresses in Rom 9:31 in a declaration of painful solemnity, after prefacing it in Rom 9:30 with a saying relating to the lot of the Gentiles. While the latter have obtained what they sought not, the Jews have missed what they sought; the most poignant irony in the whole of history. Some expositors have thought that the proposition which follows the question, What shall we say then? was not the answer to the question, but a second question explanatory of the first. We must then prolong the interrogation to the end of Rom 9:31. But what do we find there? Instead of an answer, a new question, διατί, wherefore? This construction is clearly impossible. It is the same with the attempt of Schott, who makes a single question of the whole sentence from the τί οὖν to δικαιοσύνην (the second): What shall we say then of the fact that the Gentiles have obtained...? and who finds the answer to this question in the last words of the verse: “but the righteousness of faith!”

The solution given by the apostle may be thus expressed: “That, whereas the Gentiles have obtained..., Israel, on the contrary, has failed”...— ῎Εθνη, without article: Gentiles, beings having this characteristic. The subjective negative μή might be rendered: “without their seeking.”—Δικαιοσύνην, without article, a righteousness. It is a mistake to give to this word here, as Meyer does, the moral sense of holiness; for it could not be said of the Greeks that they did not often aspire after a high morality. What they never sought was righteousness, in the religious sense of the word, justification. The idea which they formed of sin as a simple error. and of the Deity as not looking very narrowly at human actions, did not lead them to the pursuit of righteousness in this sense. And yet they obtained it, precisely because they were exempt from the false pretensions which barred access to it in the case of the Jews. They were like the man of whom Jesus speaks, who, crossing a field, discovers a treasure in it which he was not seeking, and without hesitating makes sure of its possession. The verb κατέλαβεν, literally, put the hand on, suits this mode of acquisition. It must, however, be further explained how the matter could transpire in this way; hence the last words: “but the righteousness which is of faith.” The δέ, but, is explicative (as in Rom 3:22): “but the righteousness thus obtained could, of course, only be a righteousness of faith.”

Vv. 30-33.

In Rom 9:30-33 the apostle gives summarily the solution of the problem; then he develops it in Romans 10.

Twenty-second Passage (9:30-10:21). Israel the Cause of their own Rejection.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_9:30

Having proved that God was free to call the gentiles as well as the Jews into his kingdom, and that it had been predicted that the great body of the Jews were to be rejected, he comes now to state the immediate ground of this rejection. What shall we say then? This may mean either, What is the inference from the preceding discussion? and the answer follows, The conclusion is, the Gentiles are called and the Jews rejected; or, What shall we say, or object to the fact that the Gentiles are accepted, etc. etc. So Flatt and others. But the former explanation is better suited to the Context, especially to Rom_9:32, and to the apostles common use of this expression; see Rom_9:14, Rom_7:7; Rom_8:31.

That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, have attained, etc. The inference is, that what to all human probability was the most unlikely to occur, has actually taken place. The Gentiles, sunk in carelessness and sin, have attained the favor of God, while the Jews, to whom religion was a business, have utterly failed. Why is this? The reason is given in Rom_9:32; it was because the Jews would not submit to be saved on the terms which God proposed, but insisted on reaching heaven in their own way. To follow after righteousness, is to press forward towards it as towards the prize in a race, Phi_3:14. Righteousness, dikaiosu&nh, uniformly in Pauls writings, means either an attribute, as when we ascribe righteousness to God; or, what constitutes righteousness, i.e. that which satisfies the demands of justice or of the law, as when God is said to impute righteousness. That is, he ascribes to men, or sets to their account, that which constitutes them righteous in the sight of the law. Sometimes, however, the word includes by implication, the consequences of possessing this righteousness. This is the case in this passage. Those who sought after righteousness, sought to be regarded and treated as righteous in the sight of God; that is, they sought after justification. This, however, does not imply that δικαιοσύνη signifies justification. It means righteousness, the possession of which secures justification. Justification is a declarative act of God; righteousness is the ground on which that declaration is made.

Even the righteousness which is of faith, i.e. even that righteousness which is attained by faith. Throughout this verse, the word righteousness, as expressing the sum of the divine requisitions, that which full Is the law retains its meaning. The Gentiles did not seek this righteousness, yet they attained it; not that righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God by faith, Phi_3:9. They obtained that which satisfied the demands of the law, and was acceptable in the sight of God.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The declaration and manifestation of our election, is our calling apprehended by faith, as it came to pass in the Gentiles.

So then, the Gentiles had no works to prepare and procure God’s mercy beforehand: and as for that, that the Gentiles attained to that which they sought not for, the mercy of God is to be thanked for it: and in that the Jews attained not that which they sought after, they can thank none for it but themselves, because they sought it not aright.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The apostle comes here at last to fix the true reason of the reception of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews. There was a difference in the way of their seeking, and therefore there was that different success, though still it was the free grace of God that made them differ. He concludes like an orator, What shall we say then? What is the conclusion of the whole dispute?

I. Concerning the Gentiles observe, 1. How they had been alienated from righteousness: the followed not after it; they knew not their guilt and misery, and therefore were not at all solicitous to procure a remedy. In their conversion preventing grace was greatly magnified: God was found of those that sought him not, Isa 65:1. There was nothing in them to dispose them for such a favour more than what free grace wrought in them. Thus doth God delight to dispense grace in a way of sovereignty and absolute dominion. 2. How they attained to righteousness, notwithstanding: By faith; not by being proselyted to the Jewish religion, and submitting to the ceremonial law, but by embracing Christ, and believing in Christ, and submitting to the gospel. They attained to that by the short cut of believing sincerely in Christ for which the Jews had been long in vain beating about the bush.

II. Concerning the Jews observe, 1. How they missed their end: they followed after the law of righteousness (Rom 9:31) - they talked much of justification and holiness, seemed very ambitious of being the people of God and the favourites of heaven, but they did not attain to it, that is, the greatest part of them did not; as many as stuck to their old Jewish principles and ceremonies, and pursued a happiness in those observances, embracing the shadows now that the substance was come, these fell short of acceptance with God, were not owned as his people, nor went to their house justified. 2. How they mistook their way, which was the cause of their missing the end, Rom 9:32, Rom 9:33. They sought, but not in the right way, not in the humbling way, not in the instituted appointed way. Not by faith, not by embracing the Christian religion, and depending upon the merit of Christ, and submitting to the terms of the gospel, which were the very life and end of the law. But they sought by the works of the law; as if they were to expect justification by their observance of the precepts and ceremonies of the law of Moses. This was the stumbling-stone at which they stumbled. They could not get over this corrupt principle which they had espoused, That the law was given them for no end but that merely by their observance of it, and obedience to it, they might be justified before God: and so they could by no means be reconciled to the doctrine of Christ, which brought them off from that to expect justification through the merit and satisfaction of another. Christ himself is to some a stone of stumbling, for which he quotes Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16. It is sad that Christ should be set for the fall of any, and yet it is so (Luk 2:34), that ever poison should be sucked out of the balm of Gilead, that the foundation-stone should be to any a stone of stumbling, and the rock of salvation a rock of offence; so he is to multitudes; so he was to the unbelieving Jews, who rejected him, because he put an end to the ceremonial law. But still there is a remnant that do believe on him; and they shall not be ashamed, that is, their hopes and expectations of justification by him shall not be disappointed, as theirs are who expect it by the law. So that, upon the whole, the unbelieving Jews have no reason to quarrel with God for rejecting them; they had a fair offer of righteousness, and life, and salvation, made to them upon gospel terms, which they did not like, and would not come up to; and therefore, if they perish, they may thank themselves - their blood is upon their own heads.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

What shall we say then?--"What now is the result of the whole?" The result is this--very different from what one would have expected.

That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained--"attained"

to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith--As we have seen that "the righteousness of faith" is the righteousness which justifies (see on Rom 3:22, &c.), this verse must mean that "the Gentiles, who while strangers to Christ were quite indifferent about acceptance with God, having embraced the Gospel as soon as it was preached to them, experienced the blessedness of a justified state."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 30. What shall we say then?] What is the final conclusion to be drawn from all these prophecies, facts, and reasonings? This: That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, c. This, with the succeeding verses, together with what belongs to the same subject in the beginning of the following chapter, I have explained at large in the notes on Ro 1:17, to which I must refer the reader and shall content myself in this place with Dr. Taylor's general paraphrase. We may suppose the apostle to express himself to the following effect. Thus I have vindicated the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles, with regard to the Divine veracity and justice. Now let us turn our thoughts to the true reason and state of the affair considered in itself. And, in the first place, what just notion ought we to have of the calling of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews? I answer: The true notion of the calling or inviting of the Gentiles is this: whereas they had no apprehension of being reinstated in the privileges of God's peculiar kingdom, and consequently used no endeavours to obtain that blessing, yet, notwithstanding, they have attained to justification, to the remission of sins, and the privileges of God's people: not on account of their prior worthiness and obedience, but purely by the grace and mercy of God, received by faith on their part. And so, by embracing the scheme of life published by the Gospel, they are adopted into the family and Church of God. Thus the Gentiles are called or invited.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

30. What then, etc. That he might cut off from the Jews every occasion of murmuring against God, he now begins to show those causes, which may be comprehended by human minds, why the Jewish nation had been rejected. But they do what is absurd and invert all order, who strive to assign and set up causes above the secret predestination of God, which he has previously taught us is to be counted as the first cause. But as this is superior to all other causes, so the corruption and wickedness of the ungodly afford a reason and an occasion for the judgments of God: and as he was engaged on a difficult point, he introduced a question, and, as though he were in doubt, asked what might be said on the subject.

That the Gentiles who did not pursue, etc. Nothing appeared more unreasonable, or less befitting, than that the Gentiles, who, having no concern for righteousness, rolled themselves in the lasciviousness of their flesh, should be called to partake of salvation, and to obtain righteousness; and that, on the other hand, the Jews, who assiduously laboured in the works of the law, should be excluded from the reward of righteousness. Paul brings forward this, which was so singular a paradox, in such a manner, that by adding a reason he softens whatever asperity there might be in it; for he says, that the righteousness which the Gentiles attained was by faith; and that it hence depends on the Lord’s mercy, and not on man’s own worthiness; and that a zeal for the law, by which the Jews were actuated, was absurd; for they sought to be justified by works, and thus laboured for what no man could attain to; and still further, they stumbled at Christ, through whom alone a way is open to the attainment of righteousness.

But in the first clause it was the Apostle’s object to exalt the grace of God alone, that no other reason might be sought for in the calling of the Gentiles but this, — that he deigned to embrace them when unworthy of his favor.

He speaks expressly of righteousness, without which there can be no salvation: but by saying that the righteousness of the Gentiles proceeded from faith, he intimates, that it was based on a gratuitous reconciliation; for if any one imagines that they were justified, because they had by faith obtained the Spirit of regeneration, he departs far from the meaning of Paul; it would not indeed have been true, that they had attained what they sought not, except God had freely embraced them while they were straying and wandering, and had offered them righteousness, for which, being unknown, they could have had no desire. It must also be observed, that the Gentiles could not have obtained righteousness by faith, except God had anticipated their faith by his grace; for they followed it when they first by faith aspired to righteousness; and so faith itself is a portion of his favor.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(30) Which followed not after righteousness.—Not having a special revelation, and being inattentive to the law of conscience.

Attained to righteousness.—By accepting the offer of Christianity, and especially the Christian doctrine of justification by faith.

(30-33) The Apostle has finished with his vindication of the rejection of Israel, and finished also with the course of argument which seemed to bear a strong character of determinism. He now takes up a point of view which is the direct opposite of this, and in explaining the causes which led to the rejection of Israel, those which he puts forward are all such as depend for their validity on the freedom of the will. It is needless to say that this is abundantly recognised in other parts of St. Paul’s writings, especially in the earnest practical exhortations which he addresses to his readers. This, then, must be taken to qualify the argument that has preceded. The freedom of the will and the absolute sovereignty of God are two propositions which, though apparently contradictory, are both really true at one and the same time. When stated singly, each is apt to appear one-sided. They are reconciled, as it were, beneath the surface, in some way inscrutable to us. Both rest on evidence that in itself is incontrovertible.

The great reason for the rejection of Israel and for the admission of the Gentiles is that the Gentiles did, and that they did not, base their attempts at righteousness upon faith. Righteousness is the middle term which leads to salvation. The Gentiles, without seeking, found; the Jews, seeking in a wrong way, failed to find it.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. What shall we say then?] Same word as Rom_9:14; where see note.

followed not after] To them no Revelation had pointed out “righteousness” as a goal of efforts.

righteousness] i.e., practically, Justification, which is the admission to Salvation.

have attained] Lit. and better, did attain; at their conversion; on hearing and receiving the Gospel, previously unsought and unimagined.

even] Lit. but; and so perhaps better: q. d., “but this righteousness was that which results from faith;” in contrast to the Jewish unbeliever’s ideal, given in Rom_10:3. The E. V., however, is equally true to the Greek idiom.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,.... The Israelites, the far greater part of the Jews, who were not called by the grace of God, were all very zealous of the law, called "the law of righteousness"; because the matter of it was righteous, it was so in its own nature; and because perfect obedience to it is righteousness; as also because they sought for righteousness by the deeds of it. They very violently and eagerly pursued after it, they tugged and toiled, and laboured with all their might, as persons in running a race, to get up to the law, and the righteousness of it; and yet Israel, with all the pains and labour taken,

hath not attained to the law of righteousness: some of them fancied they had, supposing an external conformity to it, to be all that it insisted upon; not knowing the spirituality of it, that it required truth and holiness in the inward parts; and that he that offended in one point of it, was guilty of all, and therefore could not be justified by it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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

Ver. 30. Which is of faith] Faith wraps itself in the righteousness of Christ, and so justifieth us.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

What shall we say then? - What conclusion shall we draw from the previous train of remarks? To what results have we come by the passages adduced from the Old Testament? This question is asked preparatory to his summing up the argument; and he had so stated the argument that the conclusion which he was about to draw was inevitable.

The Gentiles - That many of the Gentiles; or that the way was open for them, and many of them “had actually” embraced the righteousness of faith. This Epistle was written as late as the year 57 (see Introduction), and at that time multitudes of pagans had embraced the Christian religion.

Which followed not after righteousness - The apostle does not mean that none of the pagans had any solicitude about right and wrong, or that there were no anxious inquiries among them; but he intends particularly to place them in contrast with the Jew. They had not made it their main object to justify themselves; they were not filled with prejudice and pride as the Jews were, who supposed that they had complied with the Law, and who felt no need of any other justification; they were sinners, and they felt it, and had no such mighty obstacle in a system of self-righteousness to overcome as the Jew had. Still it was true that they were excessively wicked, and that the prevailing characteristic among them was that they did not follow after righteousness; see Rom. 1. The word “followed” here often denotes to pursue with intense energy, as a hunter pursues his game, or a man pursues a flying enemy. The Jews had sought righteousness in that way; the Gentiles had not. The word “righteousness” here means the same as justification. The Gentiles, which sought not justification, have obtained justification.

Have attained to righteousness - Have become justified. This was a matter of fact; and this was what the prophet had predicted. The apostle does not say that the sins of the Gentiles, or their indifference to the subject, was any reason why God justified them, or that people would be as safe in sin as in attempting to seek for salvation. He establishes the doctrine, indeed, that God is a sovereign; but still it is implied that the gospel did not have the special obstacle to contend with among the Gentiles that it had among the Jews. There was less pride, obstinacy, self-confidence; and people were more easily brought “to see” that they were sinners, and to feel their need of a Saviour. Though God dispenses his favors as a sovereign, and though all are opposed by nature to the gospel, yet it is always true that the gospel finds more obstacles among some people than among others. This was a most cutting and humbling doctrine to the pride of a Jew; and it is no wonder, therefore, that the apostle guarded it as he did.

Which is of faith - Justification by faith in Christ; see the note at Rom 1:17.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

What then shall we say? Or what shall we conclude from these testimonies of the Scripture, but this paradox, as St. John Chrysostom calls it, that they who sought for justice, or sanctification, found it not, and they who did not seek it, found it; that is, the Jews, who sought for this justice by the works of their law, which they magnified so much, have not attained to that law that could make them just; whereas the Gentiles, who had no such written law to confide in, have only sought to be justified by the faith and law of Christ, by which they have met with justice, and sanctification? (Witham) --- Behold what was wanting to the justice of the Jews! Scrupulous observers of the ceremonial law: esteeming too much their power, and pretended justice, they regarded the gospel and faith in Christ as of no advantage. Running in the path of the commandments with zeal, but without circumspection, they struck against Jesus Christ, who became to them a stumbling-block. They rejected him: they refused to believe. Thus did their works become dead works, without any fruit for eternity. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

This is the conclusion of the apostle’s discourse about the election of some and the rejection of others; as also about the calling of the Gentiles and the casting off the Jews.

Which followed not after righteousness; that never minded or regarded it; instead of following after it, they fled from it. They were full of all unrighteousness, Rom 1:18, to the end; Eph 2:2, 3.

The righteousness which is of faith; viz. gospel righteousness, or the righteousness of Christ, which is received by true faith.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 30. Rom_10:21. (3) The cause is in the fault of the Jews themselves. Hitherto the apostle has viewed his subject from the side of the Divine will and purpose (see note on ver. 19). He now views it from the side of human responsibility. The rejection of the Jews is now attributed, not to God"s purpose to reject them, but to their own fault, in that they would not accept God"s terms. "Hic expresse ponit causam reprobationis, quia scilicet nolint credere Evangelio. Ideo supra dixi, similitudinem de luto non ira accipiendam esse quasi non sit in ipsa voluntate hominis causa reprobationis" (Melancthon).

Vers. 30, 31. What shall we say then! That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, following after a law of righteousness, attained not to (or, arrived not at, so as to distinguish efyase eiv , used here, from katelabe , previously used of the Gentiles. It expresses the idea of failing to reach what is being pursued) a law of righteousness. The Gentiles are here said to have attained righteousness (i.e. the righteousness of God, appropriated by faith, as previously explained); but Israel to have pursued, without reaching it, a law (not, as in the Authorized Version, the Law) of righteousness; because in the Law of Hoses they sought a justifying law, which in itself it could not be. The idea is resumed in Rom_10:3. The concluding dikaiosunhv in ver. 31, which may have been introduced into the text to make the meaning plain, is ill supported; but the sense requires it to be understood. So far we have a state-merit of the facts of the case. The reason follows.

Vers. 30-33. The reasonableness of God"s working.

The question hitherto has been How can God set aside an elect people? And the answer God chooses whom he will for the carrying on of his saving work. But now a reason is adduced. For though God does what he will, yet we may be sure he never wills what is not right. And here the great reason of the rejection of Israel, and the choice of the Gentiles, for the carrying out of God"s purposes, is this that the former have altogether failed to apprehend the nature of salvation, when all has been done by God to teach them its true character; whereas the latter, left, it might seem, to themselves, have eagerly received the proffered gift when once it was presented. Needs it any arguing to show that they are better fitted to work for God than the others?

I GENTILES.

1. The previous history of the Gentiles, from the religious point of view, is set forth in this that they "followed not after righteousness." That is, they sought not justification with God. For a subjective righteousness they did seek after, as is witnessed by the earnest inquiries of the great ethical leaders, e.g. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle; and of their poets and historians, who also sought to set forth the principles of right. But as to an objective righteousness, a being right with God, this was not in all their thoughts. They regarded God as not much troubling himself with human conduct, and sin itself as rather a defect, an ignorance, than something for which man is gravely culpable. So, in this sense, it was emphatically true that they "followed not after righteousness.

2. But of the same Gentiles it is said, of their acceptance of Christ"s gospel, that they "attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith." The dormant conscience awoke; the weakness of their ethical systems was revealed; the exceeding guilt of sin, as well as the exceeding love of God, was set forth in the cross of Christ; and being stricken to the heart, and crying, "What must I do to be saved?" they were ready, nay, eager, to respond to the blessed command, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And, accepting the great salvation, they stood as justified in the presence of him who forgiveth for the sake of Christ. They "attained to righteousness.

II JEWS.

1. The history of the Jews is stated, by way of contrast to that of the Gentiles, as consisting in this that they "followed after a Law of righteousness." The wording is most accurate. They followed a Law, which was designed by God to teach them their sin, and lead them to look to his free grace, through Christ, for pardon; but it was not this "end of the Law" which they in reality followed, but rather the Law itself. They made an end of the means, and thus entirely subverted its design; for instead of learning by the Law their sin, they sought, by a supposed fulfilment of its precepts, to make themselves just before God. So, instead of learning to be poor in spirit, they learned an arrogant self-complacency; instead of coming to God"s grace for pardon, they thanked God they were not as other men, and stood before him self-justified.

2. What was the result? They "did not arrive at that Law;" not at its true purport, its ultimate design. And so the real law of justification, the being saved by grace through faith, was hidden from their eyes. To them the Rock of Ages was "a Stone of stumbling, a Rock of offence.

Oh, let us learn, from the history of the past, that there is shame for us, and shame only, if we seek to make ourselves just before God. But, accepting freely the grace which is freely given, we shall prove, "He that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. T.F.L.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

What shall we say then - What is to be concluded from all that has been said but this, That the gentiles, who followed not after righteousness - Who a while ago had no knowledge of, no care or thought about, it. Have attained to righteousness - Or justification. Even the righteousness which is by faith. This is the first conclusion we may draw from the preceding observations. The second is, that Israel - The Jews Although following after the law of righteousness - That law which, duly used, would have led them to faith, and thereby to righteousness. Have not attained to the law of righteousness - To that righteousness or justification which is one great end of the law

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

righteousness

(See Scofield "Rom 10:10").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The conclusion:

v. 30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

v. 31. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

v. 32. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the Law. For they stumbled at the stumbling-stone;

v. 33. as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone and rock of offense; and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.

The apostle had shown that God was building His Church by calling His own from among the Gentiles and from a small remnant of Israel, the great majority of the Jewish people, the nation as such, being rejected. What conclusion is to be drawn from these facts, which agreed exactly with the prophecies? Paul brings the answer in the form of a paradox, in which the words sound like a contradiction: The Gentiles, which have not followed after righteousness, obtained righteousness, but the righteousness of faith. The Gentiles made no attempt to become perfect by the keeping of the Law, they did not concern themselves about the righteousness of life as required by God’s holy Law. But in the Word of the Gospel the righteousness was placed before them, not that they were made holy and perfect, but that they were given righteousness by faith. God wrought faith in their hearts through the Gospel, and through this faith they seized righteousness; God declared them to be righteous, He looked upon them as though they were perfectly pure and righteous. And this fact the apostle mentions for the sake of emphasizing the condition of the Jews. But Israel, following after, earnestly seeking, the law of righteousness, did not attain to that law. The Jews had the Mosaic Law, and they believed that they could fulfill this Law perfectly and thus obtain the righteousness which would make them acceptable before God through their works. But all these efforts proved futile; Israel did not come up to the demands of the Law, it could not come up to the requirements which it sought. An external veneer of right living the Jews managed to acquire, but the true spiritual fulfillment of the Law they did not attain. Since, however, perfect righteousness is a condition of salvation, the rejection of the Jews, wrath and condemnation, followed as a matter of course.

And the connection is brought out in the last verses. Why did Israel never attain to that point that it was in perfect agreement with the Law? Why did the Jews fail to secure righteousness? Because they sought after it not by faith, but, as people will commonly say, as though they could obtain it, by works of the Law. The Law being inadequate for the needs of the sinners, God had proposed a method of justification which alone was suitable for sinners. But of this they were willfully ignorant; they rejected the perfect righteousness prepared for them; they refused to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And thus they stumbled over the stone of offense, the Messiah Himself; as had been predicted, they took offense at the plan of salvation revealed in Jesus Christ and made possible by His vicarious sacrifice. They stumbled over Him and thereby came to grief. And thus the prophecy of Isa 28:16; Isa 8:13-15, was fulfilled, as its content is briefly given by Paul: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he that believes on Him shall not be put to shame. The precious stone which the Lord laid as a foundation and corner-stone in His spiritual temple is Jesus, the only Source of salvation. But Israel has repudiated the redemption of this Messiah, and therefore He has become to the disobedient, unbelieving people a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. That is God’s judgment upon the willful despisers of His grace and method of salvation: they take offense at Christ and the Gospel and thus are finally brought to a point where they can no longer accept the redemption and are given up to condemnation and destruction. Note: He that rejects the plan and method of salvation proposed by God, and tries to obtain righteousness by his own works and fulfillment of the Law, will find himself in the position of the unbelieving Jews and will share their condemnation.

Summary

The apostle shows that the promise of God to the patriarchs had not been without effect, but had found its application in the spiritual children of Abraham; that God indeed has sovereign power to show mercy and to harden, but that he actually has shown great patience toward the disobedient people, and has gathered His Church out of Gentiles and Jews, the nation as such being rejected on account of its repudiation of the Messiah.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As if the apostle had said, "Lord, what shall we say to this great mystery of grace, the calling of the Gentile world, and the cutting off and casting away most of the present Jewish nation? That the Gentiles who lived in ignorance and blindness, in sin and unrighteousness, should attain to righteousness by faith in Christ; and that the Israelites, who had God’s own righteous law amongst them, and trusted to be justified by the observation of it, yet should not attain to that rightness which God accepteth. And wherefore have they not attained it? but because they sought not justification by that faith which God prescribeth for that end, namely, faith in the Mediator; but thought it must be attained by the works of the law, keeping all the ceremonial precepts, by which no flesh can be justified: and the reason why they sought it not by faith was this, They stumbled at the stumbling stone; that is, at the Lord Jesus Christ, taking offence at his poverty and mean condition in the world, and at the spirituality of his kingdom."

Learn hence, That the great humiliation of Christ in the days of his flesh, did prove a snare and occasion to many persons to despise and reject him, to stumble at him, and fall foul upon him. But in what respects is Christ called a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence?

Answer Negatively; not because he was by God designed, either intentionally or accidentally, to be such. All stumbling and offence-taking at Christ are accidental, proceeding from the depravity of man, not from the design of God. Much less were the Jews fore-appointed and ordained by God to stumble at his Son; for God appoints no man to do that which he prohibits all men from doing.

And as no man is necessitated by the decree of God, so neither is he constrained or necessitated by Satan, by his corruption, or any other instrument, to stumble or take offence at Christ; for actions necessitated upon men are neither demeritorious nor punishable. But positively Christ is called a stone of stumbling because men, willingly ignorant and wilfully perverse, do take offence at him.

Though God never designed or desired any man’s stumbling at Christ, yet he knew and foresaw that many, very many, would stumble at him: and accordingly expressed him by a prophetical character answering the event, and predicting that which in time came to pass: Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-block.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. “Then what shall we say? That the Gentile does not following after righteousness received righteousness, and the righteousness which is from faith,” i. e., the true and genuine righteousness, which always saves.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

What shall we say then? ["Shall we raise objection, as at verse 14, or shall we at last rest in a correct conclusion? Let us, from the Scriptures and facts adduced, reach a sound conclusion." Paul's conclusion, briefly stated, is this: God's sovereign will has elected that men shall be saved by belief in his Son. The Gentiles (apparently least apt and prepared) have, as a class, yielded to God's will, and are being saved. The Jews (apparently most apt and prepared) have, as a class, resisted God's will, and are being lost.] That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith [The righteousness which the apostle has in mind is that which leads to justification before God. Righteousness is the means, justification the end, so that the word as here used includes the idea of justification. Now, the Gentiles were not without desire for moral righteousness. The Greeks entertained lofty ideals of it, and the Romans, following the legalistic bent of their nature, plodded after it in their systems of law and government; but as Gentiles they had no knowledge of a God calling them to strict account in a final judgment, and demanding full justification. Hence they were not seeking it. But when the revelation of God and his demand for justification, and his graciously provided means for obtaining it, all burst upon their spiritual vision, they at once accepted the revelation in its entirety; being conscious that they had no righteousness of their own; being, indeed, filled with its opposite ( Rom_1:18 ; Eph_2:2-3 ). "Faith," the leading and initiatory part of the conditions of justification, is, by a form of synecdoche, employed to designate the whole of the conditions, so Bloomfield justly observes: "Faith in Christ implies a full acceptance of his gospel, and an obedience to all its requisitions, whether of belief or practice"]:

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

30–33. What shall we say then? What conclusion shall we reach? It has been shown that the word of God is not of none effect (verse 6), for it has foreshown all that has taken place. The conclusion is this: That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, had no knowledge of it, had secured righteousness by accepting Christ, through faith in him, while (verse 31) Israel, following after the law of righteousness, hath failed of righteousness before God through unbelief.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

What will we say then?

Paul uses this question to get the attention of his readers. AT: "This is what we must say" (See: Rhetorical Question)

That the Gentiles

"We will say that the Gentiles"

who were not pursuing righteousness

"who were not trying to please God"

the righteousness by faith

Here "by faith" refers to placing one's trust in Christ. You can make this explicit in your translation. AT: "because God made them right with him when they trusted in Christ" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

did not arrive at it

This means that the Israelites could not please God by trying to keep the law. You can make this explicit in your translation. AT: "were not able to please God by keeping the law because they could not keep it" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Gentile

righteous

faith

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

30–33. What conclusion is to be drawn? The facts are plain: Gentiles have attained a state of righteousness, though they were not seeking it: Jews, who sought it, have not attained. And the reason too is plain; what faith gave the one, lack of faith lost for the other: and this again corresponds to a prophetic warning.

30. τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; Cf. Rom 8:31.

ὅτι κ.τ.λ. introduces the answer to the question: but the answer is incomplete till the second subsidiary question 32 διὰ τί is answered.

διώκοντα … κατέλαβεν, pursuing … overtook; cf. Php 3:12; Exo 15:9; Field, ad lo[197].

[197] ad loc ad locum

δικαιοσύνην δὲ κ.τ.λ. Corrective = a righteousness given by GOD in response to faith, not as a result of works nor as yet worked out in life; cf. Rom 1:17.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30-33.] The Apostle takes up again the fact of Israel’s failure, and shews how their own pursuit of righteousness never attained to righteousness, being hindered by their self-righteousness and rejection of Christ. These verses do not contain, as Chrys., Œc., Theophyl., the τοῦ χωρίου παντὸς λύσις—this λύσις is simply in the creative right of God, as declared ver. 18;—but they are a comment on ver. 16, that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth: the same similitude of running being here resumed, and it being shewn that, so far from man’s running having decided the matter, the Jews who pressed forward to the goal attained not, whereas the Gentiles, who never ran, have attained. If this is lost sight of, the connexion of the whole is much impaired, and from doctrinal prejudice, a wholly wrong turn given to the Apostle’s line of reasoning,—who resolves the awful fact of Israel’s exclusion not into any causes arising from man, but into the supreme will of God,—which will is here again distinctly asserted in the citation from Isaiah (see below).

What then shall we say? This question, when followed by a question, implies of course a rejection of the thought thus suggested—but when, as here, by an assertion, introduces a further unfolding of the argument from what has preceded. I cannot agree with Flatt, Olsh., al., that ὅτι κ.τ.λ. is to be regarded as a question: for, as Rückert has observed, (1) Paul could not put interrogatively, as a supposition in answer to τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν, a sentiment not intimated in nor following from the foregoing; (2) there would be no answer to the question thus asked, but the διὰ τί, ver. 32, would ask another question, proceeding on the assumption of that which had been before by implication negatived; and (3) the answer, ὅτι κ.τ.λ. ver. 32, would touch only the case of the Jews, and not that of the Gentiles, also involved, on this supposition, in the question. That the Gentiles (not, as Meyer and Fritz., ‘some Gentiles’), which pursue not after (see especially reff. Phil.) righteousness (not justification, which is merely ‘the being accounted righteous,’ ‘the way in which righteous ness is ascribed:’ not this, but righteousness itself, is the aim and end of the race) attained to (the whole transaction being regarded as a historical fact) righteousness, even (δέ brings in something new, different from the foregoing, but not strongly opposed to it, see Winer, edn. 6. § 53. 7. b:—the opposition here, though fine and delicate, is remarkable: righteousness—not however that arising from their own works, but the righteousness, &c.) the righteousness which is of faith:

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; The οὖν, as is almost always the case in St. Paul, sums up the results of the previous paragraph. What then is the conclusion of this discussion? ‘It is not that God’s promise has failed, but that while Gentiles have obtained “righteousness,” the Jews, though they strove for it, have failed.’ This summary of the result so far arrived at leads to the question being asked; Why is it so? And that introduces the second point in St. Paul’s discussion—the guilt of the Jews.

ὅτι ἔθνη κ.τ.λ. There are two constructions possible for these words. 1. The sentence ὅτι … τὴν ἐκ πίστεως may contain the answer to the question asked in τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; This interpretation is probably right. The difficulty, however, is that nowhere else in this Epistle, where St. Paul uses the expression τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν, does he give it an immediate answer. He follows it by a second question (as in 9:14); and this is not a mere accident. It is a result of the sense of deliberation contained in the previous words with which a second question rather than a definite statement seems to harmonize. 2. The alternative rendering would be to take the words ὅτι … ἔφθασεν, as such a second question. ‘What shall we say then? Shall we say that, while Gentiles who did not seek righteousness have obtained it, Israel has not attained to it?’ The answer to this question then would be a positive one, not given directly but implied in the further one διατί; ‘Yes, but why?’—The difficulty in this construction, which must tell against it, is the awkwardness of the appended sentence δικαιοσύνην δὲ τὴν ἐκ πίστεως. Lipsius’ suggestion that ὅτι = ‘because’ is quite impossible.

ἔθνη: ‘heathen,’ not ‘the heathen’; some, not all: nam nonnulli pagani fidem tum Christo adiunxerant, τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν ad Christi sacra nondum accesserat. Fri.

διώκοντα … κατέλαβε: ‘correlative terms for pursuing and overtaking’ (Field, Otium Norvicense, iii. p. 96). The metaphor as in τρέχοντος (ver. 16) is taken from the racecourse, and probably the words were used without the original meaning being lost sight of: cf. 1Co 9:24. The two words are coupled together Exo 15:9, Ecclus. 11:10; 27:8; Php 3:12; Herod. ii. 30; Lucian, Hermot. 77. διώκειν is a characteristic Pauline word occurring in letters of all periods: 1 Thess. (1), 1 Cor. (1), Rom. (4), Phil. (2), 1 Tim. (1), 2 Tim. (1).

δικαιοσύνην δέ limits and explains the previous use of the word. ‘But remember, (and this will explain any difficulty that you may have), that it was ἐκ πίστεωσʼ’: cf. 3:22 δικαιοσύνη δὲ Θεοῦ: 1Co 2:6 σοφίαν δὲ λαλοῦμεν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις σοφίαν δὲ οὐ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου.

Some small variations of reading may be just noticed. In ver. 31 the second δικαιοσύνης after εἰς νόμον of the TR. is omitted by decisive authority, as also is νόμου (after ἔργων) in ver. 32, and γάρ after προσέκοψαν. In ver. 33 πᾶς read by the TR. has crept in from 10:11, and Western MSS. read οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ to harmonize with the LXX

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Attained [κατελαβεν] . See on perceived, Act 4:13, and taketh, Mr 9:18; Joh 1:5. Compare attained (efqasen, ver. 31). Rev., arrive at. See on Mt 12:28. The meaning is substantially the same, only the imagery in the two words differs; the former being that of laying hold of a prize, and the latter of arriving at a goal. The latter is appropriate to following after, and is carried out in stumbling (ver. 32).

Even [δε] or and that. Subjoining something distinct and different from what precedes, though not sharply opposed to it. Attained righteousness, that is not that arising from these works, but from faith.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.