The Meaning of Romans 10:3 Explained

Romans 10:3

KJV: 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.

YLT: for not knowing the righteousness of God, and their own righteousness seeking to establish, to the righteousness of God they did not submit.

Darby: For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

ASV: For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

Discover Romans 10:3

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Romans 10:3?

MEANING: What does Romans 10:3 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Romans 10:3 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Romans 10:3?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Romans 10:3 Mean?

Study Notes

righteousness
The word "righteousness" here, and in the passages having marginal references to this, means legal, or self-righteousness; the futile effort of man to work out under law a character which God can approve.
.
righteousness Cf.
The garment is Scripture is a symbol of righteousness. In the bad ethical sense it symbolizes self-righteousness (e.g) Isaiah 64:6 ; Philippians 3:6-8 the best that a moral and religious man under law could do). In the good ethical sense the garment symbolizes "the righteousness of God.. .upon all them that believe."
(See Scofield " Romans 3:21 ") .
righteousness of God
The righteousness of God is neither an attribute of God, not the changed character of the believer, but Christ Himself, who fully met in our stead and behalf every demand of the law, and who is, but the act of God called imputation Leviticus 25:50 ; James 2:23 , "made unto us. . righteousness" 1 Corinthians 1:30 .
"The believer in Christ is now, by grace, shrouded under so complete and blessed a righteousness that the law from Mt. Sinai can find neither fault nor diminution therein. This is that which is called the righteousness of God by faith."--Bunyan.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ; Romans 4:6 ; Romans 10:4 ; Philippians 3:9 ; Romans 3:26

Verse Meaning

The Jews were ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God as a gift ( Romans 1:17). They sought to earn righteousness by keeping the Law. Instead they should have humbly received the gift of righteousness that God gives to those who believe on His Son (cf. Philippians 3:9).
"The Law was designed not to bring about self-righteousness or self-hope, but contrariwise, self-despair." [1]

Context Summary

Romans 10:1-10 - Missing God's Way Of Salvation
How earnestly the Apostle loved his own people! All their hatred of him could not extinguish the passionate devotion which he entertained for them. "Apostle to the Gentiles" he might be, but he was essentially an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, Romans 11:1. The whole reason of their rejection of the gospel lay in their inveterate refusal to submit, Romans 10:3. Is not that the difficulty with us all? It is not that we cannot believe, but that we will not submit to God's way of righteousness, so humbling is it to our pride.
If only God would allow us to scale the heights or plumb the depths, to do some great thing, to make some vast sacrifice, we should be satisfied to be saved, and His help in the process would not be resented. But it is intolerable to our proud hearts to be told that our own efforts are useless, and that the exclusive source of salvation is God's grace.
Notice the distinction between righteousness and salvation, Romans 10:9. The one is objective; the other subjective. The first, our standing before God, the latter, the sanctification of our inner life, which not only depends upon the belief of the heart, but requires the confession that Jesus Christ has become Lord and King of the whole nature. [source]

Chapter Summary: Romans 10

1  The difference between the righteousness of the law, and that of faith;
11  all who believe, both Jew and Gentile, shall not be shamed;
18  and that the Gentiles shall receive the word and believe
19  Israel was not ignorant of these things

Greek Commentary for Romans 10:3

Being ignorant of God‘s righteousness [αγνοουντες την του τεου δικαιοσυνην]
A blunt thing to say, but true as Paul has shown in 2:1-3:20. They did not understand the God-kind of righteousness by faith (Romans 1:17). They misconceived it (Romans 2:4). [source]
They did not subject themselves [ουχ υπεταγησαν]
Second aorist passive indicative of υποτασσω — hupotassō common Koiné{[28928]}š verb, to put oneself under orders, to obey, here the passive in sense of the middle (James 4:7) like απεκριτην — apekrithēn I answered. [source]
God's righteousness []
That mentioned in Romans 9:30. Compare Philemon 3:9; Romans 1:16, Romans 1:17; Romans 3:20-22. [source]
To establish [στῆσαι]
Or set up, indicating their pride in their endeavor. They would erect a righteousness of their own as a monument to their own glory and not to God's. [source]

What do the individual words in Romans 10:3 mean?

Being ignorant of for the - of God righteousness and own righteousness seeking to establish to the righteousness not they submitted
ἀγνοοῦντες γὰρ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἰδίαν [δικαιοσύνην] ζητοῦντες στῆσαι τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ οὐχ ὑπετάγησαν

ἀγνοοῦντες  Being  ignorant  of 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀγνοέω  
Sense: to be ignorant, not to know.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
δικαιοσύνην  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: δικαιοσύνη  
Sense: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God.
ἰδίαν  own 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ἴδιος  
Sense: pertaining to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self.
[δικαιοσύνην]  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: δικαιοσύνη  
Sense: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God.
ζητοῦντες  seeking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ζητέω  
Sense: to seek in order to find.
στῆσαι  to  establish 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἵστημι  
Sense: to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set.
τῇ  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
δικαιοσύνῃ  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: δικαιοσύνη  
Sense: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God.
ὑπετάγησαν  they  submitted 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ὑποτάσσω  
Sense: to arrange under, to subordinate.

What are the major concepts related to Romans 10:3?

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