Romans 9:30-31. "What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law."

If any Israelite was pursuing righteousness based on the law, it was Paul (or, I should say, Saul). And yet when he relied on the law, he did not attain righteousness, in fact he was most unrighteous. Instead, he attained righteousness after a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. So Paul is the perfect person to speak about this distinction.

When we try to pursue God through just the law, we end up like the Pharisees, all knowledge, but no love. God is love, the way to get to know Him truly, then, is through love, not law. Yes, we need to know His laws and live by them, and yes, we need teachers of the law to help us understand and apply God's law, but always with the backdrop of Jesus' message that the law is all about love.

The Gentiles were not pursuing God, or righteousness, but they knew love when they saw it and felt it. They were drawn to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in large part through the loving acts, words, preaching, and lifestyle of His followers. Love is attractive, God is attractive, lengthy dissertations of the law and reminders of the ways it can be and is being violated are not. The Gentiles accepted Jesus Christ as Lord because they felt and saw how He loved His followers and how His followers loved each other. The recalcitrant Jews did not, because they had allowed the law to supplant love in their hearts.