Romans 10:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

NIV: Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

NASB: For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

CSB: Since they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God's righteousness.

NLT: For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.

KJV: For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

NKJV: For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

Paul has expressed his desire and prayer that the Jewish people would be saved. He admires their spiritual passion, but he knows that their enthusiasm is not driven by accurate knowledge about what is most important to God: faith in Christ.

Paul calls them ignorant of the righteousness of God. He may mean that they do not understand that God requires absolutely perfect righteousness in order for anyone to be received by Him on their own merits. They do not understand that no human being is able to achieve that level of righteousness (Romans 3:23). Or, it may be that Paul means they are ignorant that God offers His righteousness to all who come to Him through faith in Christ. In either case, the Israelites were missing the key to being accepted by God and saved from His wrath.

Their lack of understanding of how God's righteousness worked caused them to try to set up their own standard of what it means to be righteous in God's eyes. Paul describes this as a prideful attempt to decide what God should be satisfied with instead of submitting to His declaration of what it means to be righteous before Him.

Romans 10:1–4 describes Paul's honest desire and prayer for the people of Israel to be saved through faith in Christ. He acknowledges their enthusiasm for God, but that cannot overcome their ignorance about how to reach God's righteousness. It is not through keeping the law; that's impossible. It is through Christ alone that anyone can receive the righteousness of God.

Paul's heart is broken for his people, Israel. He prays they will be saved through faith in Christ. Their enthusiasm for God is made useless by their attempt to be made righteous by their own law-keeping instead of by faith in Christ. What, then, is required to be saved? One must confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead. The same is true for both Jews and Gentiles. God waits patiently for Israel to turn and believe.

Romans 9 concluded with Paul's declaration that Israel has stumbled over the stumbling stone of Christ. Romans 10 describes Paul's heartfelt prayer that Israel would be saved, despite her commitment to saving herself through works. Why have the Israelites not confessed the Lordship of Jesus and believed in the resurrection? It's not for lack of hearing and understanding; they are disobeying the gospel. Paul will insist, though, in the following chapter, that God has not rejected Israel. He still holds out His hands to her, offering salvation through faith in Christ.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.