Who is the stumbling stone

It seems a strange thing that Jesus, the Saviour of men, should at all be set before us in this way. But the truth is, the great object is to cause us to consider what our own attitude is toward Christ. Have I accepted Jesus as my Saviour, or am I hesitating to commit myself to him? Am I clinging to him as my Rock of safety, or am I being repelled from him as from a rock of offence?

It was no new idea, this which St. Paul brings forward here, of Christ being a Stumbling-stone. It was spoken of by Isaiah, when he said, "And he shall be for a Sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a Rock of offence to both the houses of Israel" Isaiah Jesus himself alluded to the same idea when he said to the chief priests and Pharisees, "Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The Stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the Head of the corner?

The Stone of stumbling, the Rock of offence, and the Stone against which men fall to their own destruction, - all these convey the same truth. It is a truth which conveys a solemn warning - the danger of rejecting Christ. How is it, then, that men stumble at Christ? I do not mean to say that there is anything in the life and work of Jesus Christ at which men ought to stumble, but such is the depravity of the human heart, such is the power of the great enemy of souls, that men find difficulties even in the way of salvation.

They raise mental objections to the very way in which the Creator of the world wants to give them a share in his heavenly inheritance, and have their doubts as to whether there might not be some other way, some other Teacher, some other Saviour, just as good as the eternal Son of God, who, in his matchless love, gave himself to die for the redemption of their souls.

Christ is a stumbling-stone to many because of the way in which he came into the world. So it was when he was on earth. Men asked the question, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Is not this the carpenter's Son? And they were offended in him" Matthew 12 , or stumbled at this difficulty of his lowly parentage. And yet there should be no difficulty, no stumbling-block in this; for Jesus came in the very way and in the very place it had been predicted several hundred years before that he would come.

Micah had predicted the place of his birth when he spoke of Bethlehem, and Isaiah the manner of his birth when he spoke of the miraculous event of a virgin who should conceive and bear a son, and call his name Immanuel. That which is a stumbling-block to many ought to be a strength and confirmation of faith in the Son of God. Others, again, find a difficulty in the surroundings of his daily life. It was with the poor and lowly that he chiefly mingled; he ate and drank with publicans and sinners, and his intimate followers and disciples were chosen mainly from the humbler walks of life.

To those who rely on themselves they find him in the way. To those who trust Him they find he is the way. Knowing all of this, it makes sense that Paul declares that Israel as a whole did not obtain the righteousness they sought.

The reason is that they relied upon their merit and not upon God's grace. Isaiah said, "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD : Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth.

When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many" Isaiah They were always suppose to look to God for their salvation. Through faith they were always suppose to be part of the promise spoken to Abraham. They were fashioned and created as God's people on the earth and he wanted them to be dependent upon him. However because of the law they started looking and trusting in themselves instead of God's grace and mercy and missed Jesus along the way.

This has huge implications for us today. We too are called to belong to the promised of grace. However, many rely on themselves and what they do to find salvation instead of trusting Jesus to save them. Many go to church and go through motions in order to prove their goodness before God and satisfy His requirements. Many look to themselves and their own self righteousness thinking that they are good enough.

However we will never be good enough on our own. It is only by grace that we are saved and this is through faith in Jesus and this is a gift from God Ephesians Just as we cannot work our way to heaven on our own merit, we cannot work our way through the Christians life. We may start out by trusting in Jesus as their savior only to put that aside to live a life of works. However this will not cut it either. For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.

We see this all over America. Some even claim that they believe it and suppress it. But I want you to know that every lost person is suppressing the truth. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.

I walked around China. They are a land that teaches atheism to their children, and yet I have never seen a land with more idols in it, than in China. They are a people who have never heard of Jesus, and yet they all seem to know who Buddha and Muhammad are. You see God has made truth evident, but if a person persists in darkness, it is because they are unwilling to see it.

For look at what Jesus says next. However, if a person is unwilling to see the truth, No amount of preaching will change that. But the motivation is the same. It is a hatred for the truth, and a desire to see it silenced. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

And there is a reason why lost people are like this with Jesus. That is why all who refused to yield to Jesus Have declared themselves in opposition to Him. And that prompts what Jesus says next. Jesus is a stumbling stone and a rock of offense to those who will not yield to the truth. Only God can change their heart. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.

It is Jesus that will either save or condemn every single man. For some He is the Chief Cornerstone. For others He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. For some He is the only way of salvation, For others He is the One thing that keeps them from being saved. You must accept this truth is about you and stop suppressing it.

You must submit to the truth and stop fighting against it.