Romans 10:3-5
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse highlights that this wasn't just a simple misunderstanding, but a deliberate effort ("going about to establish") to build their own "righteousness" – a self-made claim to being right with God. This active pursuit of their own merit kept them from bowing to God's offered righteousness, which is received by faith.
Paul is passionately explaining why the Jewish people, who had the Law and were God's chosen people, largely rejected Jesus. He laments their rejection, wishing for their salvation, and points out that their downfall wasn't due to God's lack of effort, but their own misguided attempts to be righteous by their own works, rather than accepting God's gracious gift of righteousness through faith in Christ.
The Jews missed God's solution for sin. What was this 'ignorance,' and why was it so serious?
Paul highlights that the people he's writing about were 'ignorant of the righteousness of God.' This isn't about not knowing moral laws. Instead, it refers to a lack of understanding about God's way of making people right with Him.
God's Solution
God's righteousness, as Paul explains elsewhere, is His plan for declaring sinners righteous, not based on their perfect obedience, but through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 1:17). It's a righteousness from God, not achieved by humans.
Voluntary Blindness
This ignorance wasn't a simple lack of information. The scholars point out it was often a voluntary blindness, a choice not to see what their own Scriptures already pointed to. They had the means to know, but they didn't seek this truth earnestly.
Everyone wants to be 'good enough.' But when our own efforts become the standard, what happens to God's standard?
The verse continues, 'and seeking to establish their own...' This is the core problem: a deep-seated desire to build a righteousness based on their own efforts and merits.
Building on Sand
This 'own righteousness' is founded on human works, achievements, and adherence to rules. The commentary notes suggest this was an attempt to 'set up' a righteousness, almost like building a monument to their own glory. It’s an effort to be accepted by God based on personal performance.
The Unyielding Standoff
This is fundamentally opposed to God's righteousness, which is a gift received by faith. You can't serve two masters. If you're busy trying to earn your standing with God through your own merits, you naturally won't submit to the idea that you need a righteousness that comes entirely from Him, credited to you through Christ. It’s an either/or situation.
Understand the original words
dikaiosynē · Greek Noun
Refers to the state of being morally right, justified, and in a right standing before God; it is a gift imputed by God through faith, rather than a quality earned by human behavior.
hypotassō · Greek Verb
To place oneself under the authority or government of another; in a theological context, it is the act of yielding one's self-sufficiency to the sovereign grace and standard of God.
Christos · Greek Noun
The second person of the Trinity, the Messiah, whose coming fulfilled the prophetic and typological requirements of the Old Testament law.
telos · Greek Noun
In this context, it refers to the goal, completion, or termination of the law's function as a means of justification, as Christ fulfilled the law's demands perfectly.
Paul is addressing Jewish people who, having grown up steeped in the Law and its emphasis on human effort to achieve righteousness, struggled to grasp God's freely given righteousness in Christ. Their deep-seated pride in their own perceived merit blinded them to the grace offered through faith.
c. 27 BC - AD 14
Reign of Augustus Caesar
The Roman Empire, under Emperor Augustus, established a period of relative peace and order (Pax Romana) across Judea and the wider Mediterranean world. This stability provided the backdrop against which early Christianity emerged and spread.
c. AD 28-30
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
Jesus is crucified in Jerusalem, an event central to Christian theology as the means of atonement for sin. His followers believe this event initiates a new covenant and a new way of righteousness.
c. AD 30-33
Early Ministry of the Apostles
Following Jesus' ascension, the apostles begin preaching the Gospel, emphasizing salvation through faith in Christ's righteousness rather than adherence to Mosaic Law. This message is met with resistance from many Jewish leaders and adherents.
c. AD 48-50
Council of Jerusalem
The early church grapples with whether Gentile converts must follow Jewish law. The decision affirms that salvation comes by grace through faith, not by works of the Law, a key theme Paul reiterates.
This parable illustrates the stark contrast between self-righteousness and humble reliance on God's mercy, echoing Paul's point that those trying to establish their own righteousness fail to submit to God's.
Philippians 3:4-9Paul himself recounts his former reliance on his own 'righteousness' based on the law, before recognizing that true righteousness comes from God through faith in Christ, mirroring the ignorance Paul describes in Romans 10:3.
Matthew 5:20Jesus declares that one's righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees to enter the kingdom, highlighting that a mere humanly-devised righteousness is insufficient and does not align with God's standard.
Galatians 2:16This passage directly states that 'a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,' powerfully reinforcing the idea that self-established righteousness cannot lead to justification before God.
barnesRomans 10:3: "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."
For they being ignorant - The ignorance of the Jews was voluntarily, and therefore criminal. The apostle does not affirm that they could not have known what the plan of God was; for he says Romans 10:18-21 that they had full opportunity of knowing. An attentive study of their own Scriptures would have led them to the tr…
bengelRomans 10:3: "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."
Romans 10:3 . Ζητοῦντες , seeking ) by all means.— οὐχʼ ὑπετάγησαν , have not been subject ) and have not obeyed ,” ( ὑπήκουσαν ) Romans 10:16 . Ὑποταγὴ , submits itself to the Divine will, τῷ θέλειν , the will of GOD.
The verse highlights that this wasn't just a simple misunderstanding, but a deliberate effort ("going about to establish") to build their own "righteousness" – a self-made claim to being right with God. This active pursuit of their own merit kept them from bowing to God's offered righteousness, which is received by faith.
Paul is passionately explaining why the Jewish people, who had the Law and were God's chosen people, largely rejected Jesus. He laments their rejection, wishing for their salvation, and points out that their downfall wasn't due to God's lack of effort, but their own misguided attempts to be righteous by their own works, rather than accepting God's gracious gift of righteousness through faith in Christ.
Paul is passionately explaining why the Jewish people, who had the Law and were God's chosen people, largely rejected Jesus. He laments their rejection, wishing for their salvation, and points out that their downfall wasn't due to God's lack of effort, but their own misguided attempts to be righteous by their own works, rather than accepting God's gracious gift of righteousness through faith in Christ.
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What does it truly mean to 'submit' to God's righteousness? It's more than just agreeing; it's a fundamental yielding.
The climax of the verse is that they 'did not submit to God’s righteousness.' This isn't just a passive failure; it's an active refusal.
Yielding the Control
Submission here means to yield, to obey, to come under the authority of something. In this context, it means acknowledging that God's way of making people righteous is the true and only way, and willingly placing yourself under that system. It requires letting go of the reins of control over your own spiritual standing.
The Cost of Pride
This refusal to submit stems directly from their pride in their own righteousness. Confident in what they could do, they couldn't bring themselves to the humble position of needing and accepting salvation as a free gift. This pride is a significant barrier, making it impossible to embrace the righteousness that God graciously offers through faith in Jesus.
nomos · Greek Noun
The divine statutes and instructions given through Moses, which set the standard of God's holiness and reveal human inability to meet that standard through personal effort.
pisteuō · Greek Verb
Trusting in, relying upon, and committing oneself entirely to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, which is the sole condition for receiving the righteousness of God.
entolē · Greek Noun
Authoritative divine instructions or moral requirements; they represent God's will for conduct and highlight the need for obedience, which none can fulfill perfectly apart from grace.
c. AD 57— this verse
Paul writes Romans
From Corinth, Paul writes his most systematic theological letter to the church in Rome, explaining the gospel of God's righteousness through faith. He addresses the deep-seated issues within both Jewish and Gentile believers regarding salvation.
"For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righte…" — The verse highlights that this wasn't just a simple misunderstanding, but a deliberate effort ("going about to establish") to build their own "righteousness" – a self-made claim to being right with G…
