“Pursued by Righteousness”

Scripture: Romans 9:27-33

Today ends our mini-series in Romans. We began 7 weeks ago with this promise - “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2). Today, we conclude with the thought that “Israel pursued a law of righteousness, and has not attained it.” (Romans 9:31) In these two chapters, contained in one of the world’s greatest pieces of evangelical literature, we have, over and over again, been called to seek the righteous life through faith in Christ, and not by our own good but wholly inadequate efforts.
So what is wrong with following the law? What is so bad about doing good things? Absolutely nothing! But Paul, and actually all of the writers of scripture, tell us that it isn’t our goodness that accomplishes anything – it is the goodness of Almighty God that completes our lives and brings us to his righteous and Godly way. Over and over in the Hebrew texts, the prophets warned the Israelites that the worldly ways they were following would never work, and that they had to start all over by trusting and obeying Yahweh.

Today, Paul reminds the people of what Isaiah told them hundreds of years before, that even though they had been chosen by God to become a blessing to all the tribes of earth, when the final day comes, there will only be a few who will receive the eternal glory. And with that, we turn to Paul’s thoughts in Romans 9.

Read Romans 9:27-29

The first reminder that Paul offers is found in Isaiah 10:20-23. The prophet has just finished telling the people that Assyria will be destroyed, but only after the northern kingdom has suffered the same fate. (10:12-13) It wouldn’t matter that they were “chosen” by God to be his people, it wouldn’t matter that the Lord had promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore, (Genesis 22:17-18) –the Lord would remain faithful to his promise and love for Israel, but it would be their complete lack of obedience to God that would lead to their downfall.
The people probably didn’t have a clue as to what Isaiah was talking about, though, as his prophesy was offered years before the exile actually occurred, and he was talking about only a remnant returning from “who-knows-where”. But it is interesting to note that the prophet says that the few who do come home will do so by relying on “the Holy One of Israel”. In other words, they would be leaving the old ways far behind, and would give faith in Yahweh a chance to work in their lives. Obedience to God’s Way would be the only way!

How many people do you know who are still trying to live their life by doing what they think is right and good, instead of surrendering it all to Christ, and letting his goodness do the working? I expect that there are quite a few who still think that their “goodness” will be good enough. The problem with that approach is the fact that we don’t get to make the rules, and we don’t get to make the final decision regarding sufficiency. They think that scripture is too confusing, too constrictive, too restrictive, too narrow, too “something”, and so they decide to change all the rules to fit their own limited view of life. Unfortunately for them, it isn’t their decision to make – it is Almighty God’s, and his alone! And because of this “minor” caveat, only a remnant will experience glory.

The second reminder that Paul offers is from Isaiah 13:19. It’s interesting to note that if you read Isaiah 13, you will quickly discover that the prophetic judgment is being offered against Babylon, not Israel! But Paul has turned the prophecy around, and instead of Babylon’s complete destruction being like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, it is Israel who would be facing that same judgment – if, that is, it weren’t for the faithful few.
But is the Hebrew nation today numbered as plentifully as the grains of sand on the beaches of earth? I would contend that they aren’t! So who is making up the difference to match the sands of earth? The reference must be including the adopted children of Israel, those who have gained their inheritance by faith in Christ Jesus. When Paul says that the Lord has left descendants for Israel, he is including the Church. The descendants of Abraham, who have been blessed to be a blessing to the world, include you and me. We aren’t the genetic offspring, but we are part and parcel of the family just the same, (see Galatians 4:1-7) and as such, we not only hold the benefits of inheritance, we also have the obligations of family and inheritance.

Read Romans 9:30-33

Righteousness is a nebulous thing, at best. We think we understand it, we try to live it as well as possible, some even proclaim that they have gained it! But Paul seems to imply that our best approach will be to set the goal of attaining the righteous life aside, in favor of a simple faith in Jesus. I guess he’s saying “Let the first thing always be first!”
Can we ever gain faith through living a good and right life? I don’t think so – faith must always come first, and we must let that bring about a righteous existence. Remember the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20? First, become a disciple of Jesus Christ – that’s the faith part – and later we are to learn to live the ways and commandments of the Lord – the righteous part.
Paul’s point, I believe, is that we can never gain righteousness by seeking it. We can never gain God’s favor by chasing him. We can never gain faith in Christ by pursuing him. We must remember that the Divine Life pursues us (John 15:16) and our task is simply to accept it and claim it. And not only can’t we gain it for ourselves, we can’t escape it either!
In the late 19th century, Francis Thompson wrote a poem called “The Hound of Heaven”. It’s about a man who initially tries to escape from God, but never can. The Lord relentlessly pursues him at every turn and in every place, and never gives up. And then, as the man begins to come to grips with God’s desire for him, he makes attempt after attempt to try to discover the Lord’s grace and glory for himself – and never quite does. Instead, he only reveals his own sinful inadequacy. By the end of the poem, though, he gives up his quest completely, and it is then that God tells him to “Rise, grasp my hand, and come.”

Paul is working on this very theme. Israel, and quite honestly, the people of earth, have always been trying too hard to gain Almighty God’s pleasure by the things they are doing. Worship, sacrifice, following the law, living “perfect” lives – nothing was working for Israel, so they tried switching to other gods – the gods of earth, the gods that others told them about, the cold wooden and stone gods, the ineffectual gods that could never do anything for them. Israel tried everything except trust and obedience to the One and Glorious Lord, and so do the many and varied peoples of earth today.
But the Gentiles that Paul lifts up to are the ones who would surrender their chasing of false and hopeless gods, and instead give their lives, in faith, to the Living God in Christ. In Acts 17:22-28, Paul tells the people of Athens that out of all the objects of worship on display, the only one of worth is the one they have labeled “The unknown god”. And then he begins to tell them just who the Unknown is, and that they can’t allow him to remain unknown any longer. He is telling the Athenians “Stop chasing all the rest – just let your life settle on the only one who will be true to you, and don’t let him be unknown any longer.”

Christ is that unknown Stone that we all stumble over in our headlong rush through this life. We try so hard to prove how worthy we are, how righteous we are, how loving we are, how just we are, and in all our efforts, we never even come close to realizing the Lord’s pleasure. But Paul, in quoting the prophet Isaiah again (Isaiah 28:16-19), tells us to stop trying so hard, and begin trusting for a change.

Putting your trust, your faith in Christ is the only way. Stop running so hard, and let faith in Christ give the Lord a chance.