Romans 9:30-33

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn’t follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone; even as it is written,

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense;
and no one who believes in him will be disappointed.”

Some preach Christianity so incorrectly, that what we are reading here in the Bible, may actually sound wrong. It can be hard to accept when there are so many people who think that you must to follow rules and do good things in order to become a good person. The Bible shows us that God already knew that this was going to be a problem for humanity.

Here in Paul’s quote of the Old Testament, he tells us that Israel stumbled over the stumbling stone. I believe that this is referring to Jesus Christ. Not only was Jesus Christ not considered “mainstream,” He actually tripped people up. He wasn’t what was expected by the leadership at all. I think the same thing continues in our world today. The real Jesus still isn’t “mainstream.” The real Jesus wants you to believe in Him and not be disappointed by following rules and making yourself good. If you try to follow rules to be good and be accepted by God, you are going to fail just like the Jews did. Jesus is the only true way to righteousness because He removes our punishment and gives us power to be able to live a good life.