Romans 9:30-31

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

Paul moves now from his explanation of God’s sovereign grace in unconditionally and mercifully electing some to salvation to an explanation of man’s accountability / responsibility in obeying the commands of God. From Romans 9:6-29, Paul emphasizes the sovereignty of God in salvation, especially considering Israel and the promises made to Israel. Then, in Romans 9:30 – 10:21, Paul emphasizes man’s duty. For Paul these two things are not contradictory; they work side by side; they are compatible, not in opposition.

There are at least two operations involved in salvation, and they are not contradictory. First is that God has chosen a person unconditionally (9:11, 21-23) and called that person effectually to Himself (9:8, 24), which Paul explained clearly using different illustrations to make the point. God is the decisive actor in this matter of salvation. But the other operation is found here: a person “attains” or “obtains” righteousness. God’s unconditional election is not enough to save anybody. Elect sinners are not yet acceptable. We must attain or obtain righteousness, which is not a very likely achievement; it’s impossible, and that’s why Christ came into the world. His righteousness was what we needed and could never get ourselves. Paul will elaborate on this in Romans 10, especially v4: “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” We have already seen another parallel back in Romans 3:22: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

Why would someone reject salvation? That’s the question that Paul is talking about in these verses, except it’s even more pointed than that. Paul is asking, “Why would a religious person reject salvation? Why would God’s covenant people, schooled in God’s law, taught by God’s prophets, who had read the writings of the Old Testament, who had recited the Psalms of praise of David, why would they reject salvation? Why would someone whose focus in life was to be in fellowship with God, why would someone whose focus in life to be obedient to God, why would a person like that reject salvation?” That’s a hard question. It’s a hard question, not only because it is perplexing to the mind, but because it was a reality. The majority of the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and Paul was more than brokenhearted over it, as we saw in Romans 9:1-5. So he raises this issue for us again at the end of the chapter, asking, “Why would anyone reject salvation, especially a religious person, someone seeking salvation?”

Paul highlights the irony that pagans, that Gentiles, who cared nothing about righteousness, who were not even striving for salvation, have obtained right standing with God, whereas the people of God, the Jews, who cared deeply for righteousness and sought salvation, as a whole have not. Why did Israel reject salvation? Paul gives a two-part answer, beginning in v32, which we'll look at tomorrow.