The Bible Study Podcast, episode 64. This is the 13th episode in a series on the book of Romans. I'm

titling Christianity 101. Welcome to the Bible Study podcast.

I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

Today Paul picks up the thought in chapter 10 of Romans that we were talking about last

week as he looks at the people of Israel.

And so let's jump right in.

This comes from Romans 10.

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they

may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on

knowledge, since they do not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own.

They did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law,

so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Again, as we said last week, Paul is

writing as someone who is Jewish and who was zealous for his faith before he was a Christian,

until he encountered a risen Jesus on the road to Damascus.

And so Paul here says that he's still praying for the people of Israel.

He's still praying for his relatives, those who are still not following Jesus who are Jewish,

and praying that they may be saved.

Our understanding there is he's saying that Jewish people like Gentiles also need Jesus.

That that is the way that God has provided to close the gap between he and us that was opened by sin.

It sounds just a little harsh when he says,

since they did not know righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, because this is someone who is still faithful to his

Jewish roots and is someone who grew up in was trained as a Pharisee. But he is saying that

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