I am going to read once more the first three verses of the tenth chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans.

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.

For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

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.

Now, we've been examining these three verses, two or three weeks, and we are doing

so, of course, because it is one of these crucial statements in this great epistle, and a very

vital and essential part of the Apostle's whole argument. We are particularly concerned at the moment

with this statement about the Jews to the effect that though they had a zeal of God,

it was not according to knowledge, that their trouble was due to the fact that they were ignorant

of certain things. That's why this great tragedy had taken

place that the Jews, we would have expected to have been the first people to enter the kingdom

and to constitute the majority of the kingdom are in the main outside the kingdom, whereas

the Gentiles have gone in.

And here the Apostle is giving us an extended exposition as to the causes of their tragedy.

But now we are particularly concerned with this emphasis upon lack of knowledge, ignorance.

And we are emphasizing that for this reason.

It is, as I say, the sole explanation of the state and the condition of the Jews at the Apostle's time and even up until today. Secondly, it has continued throughout the centuries to be the main stumbling block to all people,

and especially those who are phariseical by nature.

I mean by that people who take their religion seriously and who are concerned about being religious and

pleasing God.

This has been the main stumbling block to all such people ever since and is still the main

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