Romans 9:30-33

The Stumbling Stone

30 - What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 - but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 - Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33 - As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

What shall we say to what?

The answers regards what we are to say to this whole question of God’s election through unmerited grace and sovereign mercy, narrowing the focus of His choice of who will bring His message to the world and receive His salvation to those who will come through Jesus Christ.

Uncle Hinky’s fabled and not-so-bright cousin, Lem got himself a quarter section south of Skunkville back in 1946. Someone had already started to build a house there and old Lem wanted to finish it up and live in it himself. One day Hinky dropped by the see how things were going. The house was sort of lopsided and leaning with a frame stuck in the dirt and a big pad of cement next to it.

“What’s going on, Lem?”

“Ah Hinky, it’s going OK considering that big piece of cement in the way there. We’ze always trippin’ on it. As soon as we get the house built the way we want it, we’re going to break it up and slide the house over there.”

Those numbskulls were tripping over the foundation that the previous owners had left.

And we trip over Jesus to our ultimate detriment.

Paul says that unlikely people have been called and have received righteousness from God and have been enveloped into His purpose and calling. He says that some who thought they had it together on false premises have been left out in the cold. It is not God’s plan to make people stumble, but it is inevitable that those who do not come by faith will do so.

In other words, the Christmas message is intended to be good news for the whole world, but for some, it is very bad news. It is confounding and confrontational. What it is to you is your choice.

These verses tell us how we stumble over Jesus:

1. We stumble over Jesus when we pursue what is in our power alone according to verses 30-31. That is called “works” and our works are untrustworthy and inadequate to save us. What does a “works” salvation mean? It can be spelled out: W-O-R-K-S.
   
   
1. W - It is WEAK. (8:3 reminds us that God in Jesus Christ did what the law could not do because it was weak in the flesh.) Works are powerless to save us. We need to give that message to the world that so easily misunderstands ‘self-righteousness” and confuses it with Christianity. When we rely on works to save us, we stumble over Christ because we don’t have any strength left. We wear ourselves out trying to please God with our own efforts.

2. O – It is OBSTINATE. That means prideful and pride just does not please God. Remember the story Jesus told of the two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a religious man and was proud of his religious accomplishments. He thanked God that he was not like other men – like the scoundrel next to him for example. The scoundrel prayed a simple prayer, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Some translate that, “THE sinner.” Jesus said that man went away justified. Pride causes us to stumble over Christ.

3. R – It is RETRO-RIGHTEOUS as an out-of date concept of righteousness which REJECTS God’s way of salvation. Have you ever tried to play an 8-track video in a DVD player? It doesn’t work. You are mixing an out-of-date technology with a current technology. There is no relationship. God has sent a memo that says, “The old system is obsolete. From now on, it is the grace-faith connection, pure and simple – no other c odes to learn.” We reject that and we reject Him and stumble over Christ.

4. K – It KILLS – (II Corinthians 3:6 says – The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.). The letter of the law is designed to convict us of sin. It does that very well. We, on the other hand, according to II Corinthians 3:6, have been made ministers of a new covenant of grace. Christ is at the center of it. He is God’s elect and faith in Him is God’s way of bringing us life through the Spirit. To turn away from Him is to stumble over Him.

5. S – And so, we can write a great big S across the manual of works salvation. It is an S for STUMBLE. It STUMBLES over everything Jesus is, did, and said. We decide not to stand on the Rock, but to butt against it – HIM!

2. According to verse 32, we stumble over Christ when we fail to pursue faith. Hebrews 11 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Romans 9:32 implies that faith is the pursuit of righteousness. For some time, I have been teaching a dual definition of righteousness from the scriptures:

1. First, it is a right relationship with God. It is through Jesus’ sacrifice and victory that righteousness is “imputed” to us by faith. That means that God puts it on our account by grace, freely given and undeserved. We pursue righteousness as a right relationship with God when we come to Him through Jesus Christ. You can come today? It is not complicated? It doesn’t take a lot of time. It does not require you to prepare a resume or go through a big ritual. You can simply, where you are, as you are, decide to trust Christ as your Savior and Lord and commit your life to him. You can start openly declaring Him as the King of your life. In less than a noon-second, you will cross over from the old to the new. That is the pursuit. It begins with one simple step of faith.

2. Second, it is a lifestyle of repentance whereby we are moving in the right direction. Repentance is a simple word that means turning around – a 180 degree turn from the pursuit of self-interests to the pursuit of God’s interests. It does not mean we are yet perfect, but that we have changed our course and are heading the right way – also by grace, also through faith. We pursue ongoing and ever deepening righteousness in our lives as we continue to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. We sometime stray; we sometimes falter; but we get up and continue to course of the pursuit of right belief and right living by faith. Our compasses are set God-ward and we continue on course. When we start veering away, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are adequate to correct us and set us in the right direction as long as we are committed to walk by faith.

3. Finally, we stumble over Christ when we do not trust Him to be the cornerstone according to verse 33. Paul has quoted from two passages in Isaiah, 8:14 and 28:16-17. In these passages, we are given four different insights into who the coming Messiah will be as compared to a great stone.

1. He is a Sanctuary Stone in 8:14. A sanctuary is a place of refuge and safety and so Jesus is our Rock of safety and refuge. In the old westerns, the cowboys would take shelter behind big boulders in the high desert when they were in a shootout. Bullets would bounce off the rocks and they would be safe. It was a wonder anyone ever got shot. The other wonder I have about those old movies is why more of the horses didn’t trip over those monstrosities and their riders rode them recklessly through the hills. The answer was that they were paying attention and they knew the terrain. If you ignore the Sanctuary Stone, but Isaiah and Paul are here to inform you that you will stumble over Him and the fall could be very, very hard. Nevertheless, He is your sanctuary from the storms and bullets of life.

2. He is a Tested Stone according to 28:16. He is tested as a precious stone of great value – like gold for instance. Trusting in Him will, according to both Paul and Isaiah, preclude shame. No one who trusts in Him will ever be put to shame. That means that He will not let you down. There is a saying among credible people in the sales industry that goes like this: Under-sell and over-deliver. That way, you never have to apologize for your product. People are delighted when they discover that what you have put in their hands has more uses, is over better quality, and is more valuable than you ever told them. Jesus is such a tested and precious stone. He is of infinite value. It is amazing that people would trip over such a treasure.

3. He is the Cornerstone. Lem refused to see that the obstacle in the way of his “works” was actually the foundation that would have kept the house from being lopsided and tilted. We must recognize that Jesus Christ is the foundation upon which we can build a strong and productive life. It works because He works. In this month of mission emphasis and Advent, we can be confident that the Christ we preach to the nations is a strong, sturdy, and precious foundation for every people, nation, and culture. Let us never be ashamed to proclaim Jesus. We have no responsibility for quality control over the life He brings to people. It doesn’t matter how badly a person’s house of life is toppling over, he can and will rebuild it. We can be confident as we trust Him, the Cornerstone.

4. And so, He is a trustworthy stone. And what do you do with that which is trustworthy? You place your trust dead center in Him. You do not waver. You do not hold back.

Do you trust Him today?

• With your salvation?
• With your reputation?
• With your family and finances?
• With your business?
• With your mission in life?

Pray with me.