One might think that God’s efforts regarding Israel have ended up being a waste of time and effort. God had given them adoption as sons, a good dose of divine glory, the covenants, the law, the temple, the patriarchs, the Messiah. What did he get for his efforts but rejection to the extent of the cross. Now gentiles are flocking into the grace that Israel rejected? Are the Jews now set aside in the eternal loser camp?

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it? 32 Why not? Because they pursued is not by faith but as I it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall’ and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ~~~~~~~~~~ To pursue righteous by means of the law is rational. If you aren’t doing bad, the default position is “righteous”. Oops! (Psalm 53: 2-3; Isaiah 53:6; 64:6-7) It surely worked for the Pharisees! Their pursuit “came to nothing.” The con artist’s promise. Seeking grace by following rules comes to nothing. Romans 9

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it? 32 Why not? Because they pursued is not by faith but as I it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall’ and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ~~~~~~~~~~ “A Time to Run” at movie theaters! Pool tables in Church basements! Playing cards! Focus on outward appearance. Haircuts, # of ear piercings, beards, colored hair. Following human made rules in order to please God comes to nothing. One can follow a tyrant’s edicts while hating him/her. Romans 9

20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 21 These area all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 22 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Colossians 2

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it? 32 Why not? Because they pursued is not by faith but as I it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall’ and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ~~~~~~~~~~ The greatest commandments? Deuteronomy 6:5 ~ “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your strength.” Note that the command is not, “Obey the Lord...” Loving precedes and causes obedience. Can non-Jews accomplish this? Romans 9

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it? 32 Why not? Because they pursued is not by faith but as I it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall’ and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ~~~~~~~~~~ Salvation is to be pursued by means of faith, seeking God’s righteousness rather than a self-derived law based standard. If salvation is by “election”, then why may it be pursued by faith? Romans 9

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it? 32 Why not? Because they pursued is not by faith but as I it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall’ and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ~~~~~~~~~~ “stumbling stone” ~ the Gospel is counter-intuitive. We keep trying the same worthless pursuits, knowing that they are worthless. Our damned pride keeps us from accepting that we are utterly wrong. This is the issue of salvation: “I am utterly wrong.” Romans 9

"That's what we all find when we reach this country. We've all been wrong! That's the great joke. There's no need to go on pretending one was right! After that we begin living.“ C.S. Lewis in The Great Divorce Romans 9

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it? 32 Why not? Because they pursued is not by faith but as I it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall’ and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ~~~~~~~~~~ Salvation must be in God’s way and on his terms. All other methods or modifications are blasphemous. We stumble because we still want God to do things our way. Doing life God’s way... Romans 9

1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ~~~~~~~~~~ God has not surrendered Israel. (Romans 11) Paul actively prayed for the salvation of Israel with a sense of desperation. Reformed theology would see this as needless. Romans 10

1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ~~~~~~~~~~ One cannot say that the Jews that Jesus and others encountered were not zealous for God. They had the end and the means all wrong. Rather than seeking to know God, they sought to keep him at bay. Defensive knowledge versus a relational knowledge. Israel got it all wrong while looking at the right material. (Like not knowing/admitting that the map is upside down.) Romans 10

1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ~~~~~~~~~~ We still do this. We seek to tell God the way that life ought to be, with only disastrous results. Romans 10

1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ~~~~~~~~~~ “end of the law” ~ the fulfillment or completion of any thing, that is to say its end or issue (not its cessation). It denotes strictly, not the ending of a departed state, but, the arrival of a complete or perfect one. Jesus completes the demands of the law for both Jew & Gentile. Romans 2: Romans 10

TAKE HOMES: Our lives cannot be about behaving “better”, but must be devoted to the pursuit of knowing Christ ever more deeply and being changed by that knowledge more and more into Christ-likeness. This requires intentional cognitive, practical and relational knowledge development. Seeking to live by law comes to nothing. Loving precedes and causes obedience. The best way to walk worthy, as in the first statement, is to “walk by the Spirit”. There are no “rules” to govern this. (Galatians 5:16-26; Romans 8:4) Salvation seems to occur by faith, and not by law/works or “election”. Romans 10