Israel Does Not Believe

³⁰ What should we say then? Gentiles did not look for a way to be right with God. But they found it by having faith. ³¹ The people of Israel tried to obey the law to make themselves right with God. But they didn’t reach their goal of being right with God. ³² Why not? Because they tried to do it without faith. They tried to be right with God by what they did. They tripped over the stone that causes people to trip and fall. ³³ It is written,

10 Brothers and sisters, with all my heart I long for the people of Israel to be saved. I pray to God for them. ² I can tell you for certain that they really want to serve God. But how they are trying to do it is not based on knowledge. ³ They didn’t know that God’s power makes people right with himself. They tried to get right with God in their own way. They didn’t do it in God’s way. ⁴ Christ has fulfilled everything the law was meant to do. So now everyone who believes can be right with God.