Romans 9:30 (NKJV)

“What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;”

There is a moral dilemma. It’s interesting that those who did not pursue righteousness by the law of human effort, found righteousness; while they who pursued righteousness by their own strength, are left bankrupt of it. It seems unfair that people who did not seek to meet the high standards of morality, were considered morally upright, while those who labored to attain morality were disqualified. Why and how did this happen?

It goes back to the issue of justification by faith. If we think we can be acceptable to God and can meet God’s moral demands by ourselves, then we will not turn to Christ to justify us and make us right with God. If however we know that our pursuing righteousness will never meet God’s moral code of perfection, then we fall on Christ and lean on Him to transform us into God’s moral expectation. Verse 31 says, “Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.” The Jews lost out for this one reason; and that was their trust in attaining the law of righteousness, by their effort. We need to repeatedly remind ourselves that our human effort is never good enough; it is only faith in Christ that does the trick.

“Yes Lord, I accept that pursuing righteousness will not get me righteousness. I fall on You Lord Jesus, for You alone are my only hope.”