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Mar. 31, 2006 “33As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 9:33 KJV) Make no mistake; Jesus is the “stumbling stone”. Jesus is the “rock of offense”. A man can stand on Jesus as his foundation; a rock that cannot be destroyed or removed. Then a man can come upon the rock and trip over it; stumbling through his life in spiritual ignorance, never to know the blessing of eternal life. I do not wish to stand before God in shame. I much prefer standing before God in faith; believing the promises throughout scripture concerning my position in the family of God. There is no need ever for a believer to be ashamed. We have chosen correctly who have made Jesus Lord of the life and the walk. We are the ones who see clearly the befuddlement of the unfaithful. We are those who have the seal of assurance and have been taught from the mouth of God. The “Rock” of offense is Jesus. Unbelievers are offended at our assurance; mistakenly thinking we who know God are somehow putting ourselves in positions superior to them. These thoughts would be wrong. The true Christian, knowing his place, also knows that his place is one of humility. We know the position from which we were delivered. We understand that it is God who affected our righteousness and that there was nothing we could have done ourselves to obtain God’s grace. The scriptures declare that faith is a gift. The scriptures declare that it is God who justifies and sanctifies (separates) the believer from the world. The scriptures tell the believer that this eternal life is not gained by works that we have done, but by the promise of God that he would reward the faithful. Those who doubt and deny are those who “stumble”. They do not see. They are not spiritually aware. They believe they are the highest form of life and the superior intelligence of the universe. These thoughts too are wrong. The man who doesn’t know God stands in a dark place. He has his allies. These allies are wisdom, self-sufficiency and self-worth. The wisdom is not spiritual wisdom but worldly. The self-sufficiency recognizes no possible higher power or has created self as that higher power. The only accountable worth is that added to self by self. It seems a lonely place but it is a comfortable place lacking definite responsibility to other than self. The man who holds a relationship with God is in continual fellowship and is ever learning of his personal worth to the body of the faithful and his assured ability to rely on the rest of the body for support and comfort. God is the all-sufficient and it is God who gives worth and meaningful work to the believer. The difference is between those who stand in the light and those who “stumble” around in the dark. The difference is Jesus. When the Lord is the focus, then eternity is the focus. We already see our end state in the eternal kingdom of God. There is sadness though because we can see the end of those who do not believe. Remaining focused on Jesus we make his goal our goal; to see as many souls come to faith as possible before that final trumpet sounds. Jesus is either the “door” or he is the “stumbling stone”. For those who have accepted the testimony of the eyewitnesses who walked, talked, and ministered with Jesus; he is the door. For all others he is simply the “stumbling stone and the rock of offense.” ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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