6 For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,"
8 and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
vs. 6 - "Precious corner stone..."The real key is 1 Cor. 1:23 - but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. The Jews could not accept Christ was the fulfillment of all prophecy. They stumbled over the very cornerstone of God's eternal plan for salvation. They could not accept Jesus as the Messiah. He did onto fit their perceived notion of who and what the Messiah was to be and do.
We Gentiles pride ourselves in logic and wisdom. However, Christ's life, death, burial and especially the resurrection just do not make logical sense. The Bible tells us what was done for us, but it does not explain how it works. That is God's sphere of responsibility, not ours. We stumble over the same "stone" but for a different reason. We get tripped, the Jews get tripped up on faith in Jesus Christ.
Does it matter what the cause of the stumbling might be - ideology, dogma, logic, reason? When we are stymied at the starting point of faith, when we can't get past the claims of Jesus, there can be no salvation. See Isa. 28:16; Psa. 118:22; Isa. 8:14.
vs. 7,8 - "This precious value..." - The corner stone is precious (it is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and our Savior). The only reason it is precious to you and I as believers, is that it is the foundation of our new life. I say "the only reason" because if you do not accept His sacrifice, His payment for your sin, the value to you is meaningless. If you believe, you have the most precious gift - eternal life. If you reject Jesus, God's wrath remains on you. See John 8:36 - "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Too often we tend to fall into the trap of the world in that we tend to think that God condemns people to hell. That is negative thinking from the Devil. God seeks to save the lost. We are all lost because of our sin. Jesus came for the sole purpose of rescuing us from ourselves, to provide us the means to spend eternity with Him and the Father.
"but for those who disbelieve" - There will be many who choose not to believe that Jesus saves. Even when He did miracles in their towns, they wouldn't believe. In one instance they asked Him to leave their town! This one stone, amongst all the other stones out there, is the only way to salvation. This one stone is God Himself, not some pretender. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we might be saved." Acts 4:12. This is a seminal moment in each person's life. What do you 'do' with Jesus? There are only two choices - accept Him as Lord and Savior, or reject Him. There is no middle road - you make a choice. The choice is not necessarily final, unless you reject Him all the way to the end of your life.
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