Neville Goddard on Romans 9:30-33 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Romans 9 in context

Scripture Focus

30What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

31But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

32Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

33As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 9:30-33

Biblical Context

Gentiles attain righteousness by faith, while Israel pursues it by law; the stumbling stone represents relying on works rather than faith, and those who believe in the rock are not ashamed.

Neville's Inner Vision

All the talk of law and stumbling is but a description of your inner states. The Gentiles who follow not after righteousness discover it by faith—the inner conviction that you are already righteous in the I AM, not by rules, but by awakening to awareness. Israel, chasing the law of righteousness, never truly reaches it because righteousness is not a code to perform but a state of consciousness to inhabit. The stumbling stone is the belief that you must work for worthiness; the rock of offense is the idea that you and the Presence are apart. Yet Zion speaks as your present center of awareness, where the rock becomes your point of view—the I AM as your unshakable ground. Whoever believes on that rock shall not be ashamed, for faith in the inner Presence dissolves the fear that you are unworthy. The distinction between works and faith is the distinction between a tense mind and a relaxed, aware Self. Your imagination is the engine by which reality is ordered; when you affirm the I AM, the inner conviction becomes outer seeing, and righteousness flows as your lived experience.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Sit quietly and affirm I am already righteous by faith in the I AM; feel its presence and let the day unfold from that assured ground.