READ: Rom. 9:30–33: … not by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law … Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.
Paul wishes to draw a conclusion from the preceding verses: “What shall we say then?” Pursuing the law in order to earn righteousness and salvation yields nothing, because no sinful human being can fulfill it perfectly. The majority of Israel remained stuck there and therefore did not attain the righteousness of the law: perfect love and obedience. No sinful person can achieve this by himself.
But the Gentiles, who never sought to keep the law while they walked in the darkness of unbelief, have through their conversion to the Christ and their faith in Him obtained the righteousness which He earned for them.
This righteousness of Christ consists in this: that in their place He demonstrated perfect love and obedience and thus kept the law perfectly. In addition, by His redeeming suffering He paid their debt of sin and thus obtained righteousness (justification) for them (see also HC Lord’s Day 23).
In all things it concerns true communion of faith with Christ. If Jews do not seek that communion but wish to continue trusting in their own works of the law, they can never be righteous before God. They do not wish to believe in Christ as their only Saviour.
Christ is the cornerstone for the temple service (Isa. 28:16). That is to say, the entire service of atonement rests upon Him and points to Him. But the Jews reject the Christ by thinking that they can attain righteousness themselves.
Thus this cornerstone becomes for them a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense (Isa. 8:14). In 1 Cor. 1:23 Paul writes: “but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.” Yet “whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
What does that last sentence mean for you?
Sing: Ps. 118:5,6