Romans 9:30-32 could be taken as summing up the preceding verses, which they do in a sense. But they are actually a new section of the argument. In fact, they introduce a major new portion of the argument, because the matters they raise continue to be discussed throughout the remainder of chapters 9 and 10, and it is not until Romans 11:1 that Paul brings in an entirely new observation. These verses have a very simple outline. Verse 30 says that the Gentiles as a whole are being saved. Verse 31 says that the Jews as a whole were not being saved. Verse 32 explains why.

The critical word in these verses is “righteousness,” which we see at once when we read them. What does righteousness mean? In these verses it is the equivalent of salvation or, to be more precise, justification, which is the same word as righteousness in Greek. Far from seeking the righteousness of God by obedience to the law of God, the Gentiles had actually rejected God and were in the process of running away from Him and His law as fast as possible. This placed them on that downward slippery path that Paul describes as well. The surprising thing is that the Gentiles were finding righteousness anyhow. Why? Because that righteousness is in Christ, and they were finding it in Christ because they were believing on Him as their Savior. If we should ask how this can be, seeing that they were not even seeking it, the answer is that this was due entirely to the seeking grace of God.

But now we come to verse 31, and we find an even greater puzzle. We find that the Jews, who were trying to earn their salvation, did not attain it. The Jews did have the law, and devout Jews did pursue acceptance before God by that means. Like Paul himself during his years as a Pharisee, they labored earnestly to keep the law in all it many minute particulars, thinking that they would be saved by doing so. But as Romans 2 also showed is that their trying to keep the law was doomed to failure. What the Jews had not reckoned on was their own sinful natures, which made it as impossible for them to keep the law of God perfectly as it would have been for the Gentiles to keep it, had they possessed the law and tried to keep it.

The Jews – Paul himself was one – thought they were closer to salvation than the Gentiles, because they were at least trying to keep God’s law. But what they failed to see is that they were still failing. And because they refused to see that, they also failed to see what the law was actually given for: to show that we cannot achieve salvation by our works and to point us to the only way salvation can come, which is through faith in Jesus Christ. Instead of becoming self-righteous, we should become aware of our radical unrighteousness and turn to Christ. Many labor and have zeal, perhaps even tears. But none of this is enough. Only God can save us and – if that is the case – salvation must be received on God’s terms, which means through faith in the work of Jesus Christ.

There is only one thing you can do, and that is also what you need to do. You can accept it. You need to open up your hands and receive it. You need to wrap your fingers around it and clutch it to your heart. And stop trying to think that you have earned salvation or can earn it, because you cannot. Righteousness is wrongly sought by human works. It is only rightly found by the faith that receives God’s gift.

In the last two verses of Romans 9 (vv. 32-33) the apostle Paul introduces an image to illustrate what he has been saying in the earlier half of the paragraph, namely, that Israel had not obtained salvation because the people as a whole had been offended by Jesus, rather than believing Him or placing their faith in Him. His image is of a “stumbling stone,” which is what he calls Jesus, drawing on two passages in Isaiah for the illustration. By establishing Jesus as a rock in Zion, God also proclaims Him as the divine Rock upon which His people are to build. Texts identifying God as “the Rock” or “my rock” are frequent in the Old Testament.  So Paul’s use of the image is evidence of his belief in the deity of Jesus Christ.

This was an offense to Israel, of course. In fact, it was the root or foundational offense they found in Paul’s teaching. Paul spoke about this in an autobiographical way in 1 Corinthians, saying that the gospel of Jesus and His cross was “weakness” to the Romans, “foolishness” to the Greeks, but a cause of “stumbling” to the Jews (1 Cor. 1:22-25, 27-29). We can find those three problems in preaching the gospel today. We are not dealing with Greeks, Romans, and Jews specifically. But we can find that some people reject Christianity because they consider it a religion for weaklings; they don’t need “religion.” Others reject it because it seems foolish; it doesn’t conform to the “wisdom” of our secular, scientific age. Still others reject it because the idea of a divine Son of God is an offense to them; they do not understand why they cannot “save” themselves.

There are four great stones for stumbling (four great offenses of the gospel): (1) the deity of Jesus Christ; (2) His humanity and humble estate; (3) that the gospel must be received by faith rather than being earned by works; and (4) that salvation is according to God’s sovereign election and calling. We may ask, “Why should God create a gospel that is so offensive?” Doesn’t God understand techniques of good marketing? The answer, of course, is that God knows exactly what He is doing. What He is doing is to humble human pride, which is absolutely necessary if you or I or anybody else is to be saved. Pride is the very root of sin. There can be no salvation unless our pride is cut down, torn up by the roots, and cast out, which is what the gospel does. When pride is destroyed, then, and only then, are we ready to believe in Jesus and begin to build upon Him.

Build your life on Jesus Christ. If you will not have Jesus Christ, He will become a stumbling stone to you that will cause you to fall spiritually. That fall will mean your eternal destruction. But if you trust in Him, you will find Him to be the foundation stone that God has Himself established, and you will learn, as you live the Christian life, that “the one who trust in Him will never be put to shame.”

To be “ashamed” means to be utterly confounded in the day of God’s final judgment of the world and all persons. It means standing before God with your mouth firmly shut, with nothing to say in your defense as your deeds are read out, their evil judged by the standard of the perfect holiness of God, and your condemnation pronounced in terms so terrible that you will wish to have the mountains fall on you to protect you from the wrath of God or a flood to sweep your from His presence. On that day, your condemnation will be certain unless you are in Jesus Christ. Before it comes, be sure your feet are planted firmly on the Rock.

Romans 9:30-33 Reflection Questions:

How many “Rock” passages can you find in the Old Testament?

How many of the “”offenses” have you come across while sharing your faith?

Read Isaiah 28:16 and Isaiah 8:14, which Paul combines in Romans 9:33. Looking at Romans 9:30-10:4, what is Paul trying to communicate by saying that Christ, the Messiah, is both a stumbling block and a reliable Rock?