Romans 9:31

31 The people of Israel tried to follow a law to make themselves right with God. But they did not succeed,

Romans 9:31 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 9:31

But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,
&c.] 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.

Romans 9:31 In-Context

29 It is as Isaiah said: "The Lord All-Powerful allowed a few of our descendants to live. Otherwise we would have been completely destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah."

30 So what does all this mean? Those who are not Jews were not trying to make themselves right with God, but they were made right with God because of their faith.

31 The people of Israel tried to follow a law to make themselves right with God. But they did not succeed,

32 because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did instead of trusting in God to make them right. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble.

33 As it is written in the Scripture: "I will put in Jerusalem a stone that causes people to stumble, a rock that makes them fall. Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed."