Pursuing the right thing the right way

There is a striking irony buried in the pages of Romans chapter 10. A people who spent their entire existence pursuing God, who had the law written on scrolls they carried and memorized, who built their entire culture around the idea of being right with the Creator of the universe — missed it. Not because they were indifferent. Not because they were lazy. But because they were pursuing the right thing in entirely the wrong way.

That irony has something to say to every one of us today.

The Danger of Pursuing Good Things Badly
The apostle Paul draws a sharp contrast in Romans 9:30-33 between the Gentiles and the Israelites. The Gentiles, he says, were not even pursuing righteousness — and yet they found it, because they received the gospel by faith. Israel, on the other hand, was passionately pursuing righteousness but stumbled over the very cornerstone of it: Jesus Christ himself.

Here is the lesson worth sitting with: you can pursue the right thing in the wrong way.

This is not just an ancient problem. Think about any area of your own life where the goal is genuinely good — a healthy marriage, a strong faith, a meaningful community — but the method of pursuing it is flawed. The destination matters, but so does the road you take to get there. Israel wanted to be right with God. That desire was not the problem. The problem was that they tried to get there on their own terms, through their own effort, through their own achievement. And in doing so, they walked right past the one person who could actually get them there.

Zeal Without Knowledge Is Dangerous. Knowledge Without Zeal Is Dead.
Paul makes a remarkable statement in Romans 10:2. He says that Israel had a zeal for God — but not according to knowledge. He is not criticizing their sincerity or their intensity. He is pointing out that their passion was not being guided by truth.

This raises an uncomfortable question for those of us who have been following Christ for any length of time. When did you last have someone look at you and think, that person is on fire for God?

There is a tendency among long-time believers to look at new Christians with their barely-contained enthusiasm and think, quietly, that it will settle down eventually. They will level out. They will get to where we are.

But what does that say about where we are?

Zeal and knowledge are not opposites. They are partners. Zeal is the passion that moves us to act on what we know to be true. Knowledge without zeal produces a faith that is technically correct but practically lifeless. Zeal without knowledge produces a faith that is enthusiastic but potentially dangerous. What we need is both — a deep, growing understanding of who God is and what his word says, fueled by a passion that simply will not go out.

Being Made Right With God Is About Faith, Not Achievement
Romans 10:5 reminds us that the law's standard for making a person right with God is complete and perfect obedience to all of its commands. Paul is not being cruel here. He is being honest. The law was never designed to be a ladder you climb to reach God. It was designed to show you that you cannot climb it — and that you need someone who can.

That someone is Jesus Christ. As Paul writes in Romans 10:4, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The law was always pointing somewhere. It was pointing to him.

This is why good deeds, sincere effort, and religious discipline — as valuable as those things can be in a life already surrendered to Christ — cannot produce salvation. The standard is perfection, and none of us meets it. What we need is a righteousness that does not depend on our ability, and that is exactly what faith in Jesus Christ provides.

The Word Is Closer Than You Think
One of the most beautiful lines in Romans 10 is found in verse 8. Paul says the word of faith is near you — in your mouth and in your heart. Salvation is not something you have to ascend to heaven to find, or descend into the depths to retrieve. It is not hidden. It is not distant. It is right here.

Romans 10:9-10 lays it out plainly: confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved. Eighteen inches, some have said — the distance between the head and the heart — is all that separates intellectual awareness of the gospel from genuine, saving faith.

Hearing Is Not the Same as Responding
Paul asks a series of questions in Romans 10:14-15 that build on one another like a staircase. How can people call on someone they do not believe in? How can they believe in someone they have never heard of? How can they hear without someone telling them?

The conclusion is clear: if we want people to respond to the gospel, they need to hear it. Living a quiet, decent life in front of people matters — but it is not enough on its own. At some point, words are required. The good news has to be spoken.

And yet, Paul also makes clear in verses 18-21 that hearing the message is not the same as responding to it. Israel heard. Israel, by Paul's own account, understood. And yet they remained, in his words, disobedient and rebellious — while God stood with his arms open all day long.

That image is worth pausing on. Arms open. All day long. Not occasionally. Not when you have cleaned yourself up enough to deserve it. All day long.

A Final Thought
The story of Israel in Romans 10 is not just a history lesson. It is a mirror. It asks us whether we are pursuing God in the right way, whether our faith is alive with genuine zeal, whether we are telling the people around us about the one who is already standing with open arms.

The word is near. The arms are open. The question is simply whether we will respond.