For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

                                                                                                               Romans 10:3-4 

Paul had a heart for people. He really cared for his Jewish brothers and sisters since he himself was Jewish. But when Paul met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, his world changed forever. That’s what salvation will do.

In today’s passage, Paul expresses his concern for the Jewish people of his day. His concern was for their spiritual welfare and eternal security. They were sincere in their desire to worship and follow God but their zeal was without knowledge. Remember that Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God and knowing Christ. This is an intimate, personal, and relational kind of knowledge and it is something that these people lacked.

In order to understand the full context of Paul’s comments, consider the summary at the end of the previous chapter of Paul’s letter:

 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

                                                                                                            Romans 9:30-33 

It was difficult for some of the Jews back then to imagine that Jesus had come to save anyone who would believe, including Gentiles (the pagan nations outside of the old covenant). But that is exactly what the new covenant is all about, salvation by faith for anyone who will receive. The Jewish people had stumbled over the cross of Jesus because they were pursuing righteousness but were doing it as though it was to be gained by works of the Law. In the meantime, the Gentile nations were coming to salvation by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. So those who were not even considering the things of God were being saved while those who made the things of God a priority in their lives were missing out on salvation because they were not pursuing righteousness by faith rather by works.

If all of this sounds familiar, this is the template for the spiritual struggle going on in the lives of many religious people today. When we ignore faith in Christ alone as the criterion for salvation and we seek to establish our own righteousness, we do not subject ourselves to the righteousness of God. By doing so, we forfeit salvation and eternal life. So we see people, who the religious would scoff at and mock for their apparent lack of religious training, being saved by faith while those who are “defending the things of God” are actually preaching and teaching death to those who hear them. They suggest that our salvation comes from some kind of ceremonial duty, religious performance, or moral action. All the while salvation really comes from placing our faith and trust in what Christ has already accomplished for us.

Understanding salvation means trusting that Jesus’ death on the cross was a completed action, totally sufficient to save anyone who would believe. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

To put on the helmet of salvation means:

1. Knowing that we are saved
2. Having an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus
3. Understanding that salvation and righteousness are secured by faith in Jesus