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 it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” 33 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.”
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
MacArthur continues directly on the heels of yesterday's passage.....
Now these are [not] mutually exclusive things...the absolute and utter sovereignty of God planned before the world began, all worked out according to His plan, and our faith and our responsibility. They're [not] mutually exclusive. They appear to us to be contradictory and opposite, they are in truth, however, not. It's just that our minds are too limited, we can't perceive it. In God's mind they have perfect harmony.
Now Paul's been saying the Jews have no claim on salvation. The only reason any Jews at all are saved is because God in His sovereignty chose them, only a remnant was supposed to be saved. So we're not surprised at that. It's no change in God's promise. It's no violation of His person and it's no alteration of His plan. And now he says what we've been waiting to hear, it was also their own fault. That's right, it was also their own fault. And if you can't figure how those two go together, just be happy that you're like every other person who ever faced this doctrine. We can't figure it out either. We just believe it.
He shows that unbelief was their responsibility and due to their own unbelief and their own rejection, they were guilty and they were judged on the basis of their own guilt.
V30 asks - what's the conclusion to all this?
First of all, the fact is that it is simply not the main goal of the world to pursue God or to pursue having a relationship with God or making things right with God. It's not. And yet, some obtained it! How? By faith! Human responsibility.
The Jews, on the other hand, had pursued righteousness their whole lives. But it was one of works. It was self-righteousness.
the greatest obstacle to salvation is self- righteousness. You understand that? Because you can't get saved if you don't know you need it, right? And that's what hung up the Jews. They thought they were already righteous. You see, they had spend their whole life pursuing a right relationship with God through their own efforts. So when the gospel came and condemned their sin, it did not compute because they thought themselves righteous. So the Jews rejected, except for a small remnant....
The only thing you can do to be saved is to believe you can do nothing to be saved and cast yourself on the mercy of God.
But the Jews pursued righteousness by works, not by faith.
In fact, a gracious merciful salvation given as a free gift was an offense to a self-righteous Jew because it said none of your works matter, none of your works count and he couldn't handle that. That's why they rejected Jesus with such anger, such bitterness, such hatred because they were so offended that all their life long of all these righteous deeds added up to..what? Zero. ... it offended them.
Note that in both cases - the Gentiles belief and the Jews unbelief - Paul talks about their faith (or lack of faith), not election. And this is the balance to the doctrine of election. There is still faith, there is still human responsibility. And somehow, the two work together.
And then Paul backs this up with scripture, once again.
Isaiah predicted that there would be a stumbling stone. In Isaiah 8:14 it says that God is the stone, in the NT it says that Christ is the stone, which is another statement affirming Christ's deity. Isaiah 8:14 speaks of a stumbling stone, and Isaiah 28:16 speaks of a rock of offense, and here Paul combines the two. And Jesus was indeed a stumbling stone and a rock of offense to many Jews. For those who are offended, He becomes a smiting stone of judgment.
But to those who did believe, they shall not be ashamed, they shall not fear God, they shall be at peace with Him.
And so the issue is faith. Do you believe or don't you believe?
So justification by grace through faith is true. And the unbelief of Israel doesn't... violate God's promise, His person, His plan or His prerequisite. His prerequisite has always been the same, we're saved by..what?..faith...faith. There is a remnant because God chose a remnant. There is a remnant because it is only a few who believe. And that's the way God knew it would be and that's the way He planned it to be and that's the way it works out, so it doesn't obviate the truth of the gospel.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Romans 10:1-4
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