Romans 10:3

And the same apostle owns that he bears witness to the Jews, "that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God." For they did not know and do the will of the law; but what they supposed, that they thought the law wished. And they did not believe the law as prophesying, but the bare word; and they followed through fear, not through disposition and faith. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," who was prophesied by the law to every one that believeth.

But further he shows their passion for disputes and love of authority. They strove to establish their own righteousness, that is, the righteousness from the law, composed of their own deeds and labors, which, having already fallen, cannot stand, and thus they neither established their …

Then when he says, for they, being ignorant, he shows wherein they were ignorant. First, he makes his statement; second, he explains it, at for the end of the law is Christ. First, therefore, he says: I am right in saying that it was not …

The nature of their unbelief. They have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God, that is, they have not yielded to gospel-terms, nor accepted the tender of justification by faith in Christ, which is made in the gospel. Unbelief is a non-submission to the righteousness of God, standing it out against the gospel proclamation of indemnity.

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness,....

That there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; but, in point of justification and acceptance with God, the gospel sets them both upon the same level,

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 Rom 10:18-21 that they had full opportunity of knowing.

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness--that is, for the justification of the guilty (see on Ro 1:17). and going about--"seeking" to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God--The apostle views the general rejection of Christ by the nation as one act.

WE ought to have an intense longing for the salvation of all sorts of men and especially for those, if there are any, that treat us badly. We should never wish them ill, not for a moment, but in proportion to their malice should be our intense desire for their good. Israel had persecuted Paul everywhere with the most bitter imaginable hate. When he addressed them in their synagogues, they rushed upon him in their fury.

WE ought to have an intense longing for the salvation of all sorts of men and especially for those, if there are any, that treat us badly. We should never wish them ill, not for a moment, but in proportion to their malice should be our intense desire for their good. Israel had persecuted Paul everywhere with the most bitter imaginable hate. When he addressed them in their synagogues, they rushed upon him in their fury. When he left them alone and preached quietly to the Gentiles, they made a mob, dragged him before the magistrates, charged him with causing a tumult and either stoned him or beat him with rods. He was "an Israelite, indeed," but his people regarded him as a turncoat, indeed, because he had become a Christian! Mad as they were against all Christians, they had a special spite and fury against the apostate Pharisee. Paul's only reply to all their infuriated malice is this gentle assertion—"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved." Brethren, let us pray for men that they may be saved! Simple as the statement is, I feel sure that we shall see more conversions when more people pray for conversions. If, as we went about the streets, we made a rule that whenever we heard a man swear, we would pray that he might be saved, might we not hope to see a great many more saved? If, whenever we saw a case of special sin, or read of it in the newspaper, we were to make it a habit always to offer our heart's desire and prayer for such offenders that they might be saved, I cannot tell what countless blessings would come from God's right hand. I would bring before you one peculiar class of persons whose conversion some of us should very earnestly pray for.

You that have your Bibles open, kindly follow me from the first verse of the chapter. It begins, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved." If you really desire that men should be saved, pray for them! It is an empty wish, a mere formality, if you do not turn it into prayer. Every loving desire for any man or woman should, by the Believer, be taken before God in prayer. We cannot expect that God will save men unless His people pray for it.

You that have your Bibles open, kindly follow me from the first verse of the chapter. It begins, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved." If you really desire that men should be saved, pray for them! It is an empty wish, a mere formality, if you do not turn it into prayer. Every loving desire for any man or woman should, by the Believer, be taken before God in prayer. We cannot expect that God will save men unless His people pray for it. There must be travail before the birth and there must be travail in prayer with God before we can expect that many will be born, again, into the Church of God. Oh, for more prayer! Let us cry to God in secret, in the family and in all our assemblies, that God would save the sons of men! But prayer, if it is sincere, is always attended with effort. Therefore the Apostle begins to teach as well as to pray. He prays that Israel might be saved and then he explains the difficulties in the way and tries to remove them. You pray, dear Friend, do you? But you never speak to the individual for whom you pray. Is your prayer sincere? I will not question it. But your prayer has hardly reached that pitch of passionate earnestness which will secure an answer, for if you were in downright earnest, you would go to the person for whom you pray and explain the way of salvation! You want your boy to be a scholar. Then you send him to school. You want your girl to learn a certain trade. You put her apprentice to it, do you not? In the things of common life, that which you desire you use means to obtain.

For - being ignorant of God’s righteousness - Not knowing God’s method of saving sinners, which is the only proper and efficient method: and going about to establish their own righteousness - seeking to procure their salvation by means of their own contriving; they have not submitted - they have not bowed to the determinations of the Most High, relative to his mode of saving mankind, viz. through faith in Jesus Christ, as the only available sacrifice for sin - the end to which the law pointed.