We’re more than halfway through the book of Romans, and now that Paul has laid out the foundational doctrines of our Christian faith, he’s ready to move on to practical application. How then shall we live? But first, a little warning about the stumbling stone.
Many of Paul’s own people, the Jews, looked right past their Savior when he came because he wasn’t what they expected. As far as they were concerned, the Law made them righteous. If they kept it (which they could never do), they would be fine. They weren’t waiting for a suffering Savior; they were waiting for a powerful King. So, when Jesus came with a different salvation plan, they stumbled over it. They could not see past their own righteousness to see that they needed His!
They stumbled because the truth of the gospel – salvation by faith alone – was too hard for them to grasp. How could they attain righteousness without being righteous? They were so focused on rules that they failed to recognize grace. They missed the fact that they could never be righteous enough on their own, and that is precisely why Jesus Christ came.
Everything must align with the cornerstone.
A cornerstone is the first stone set in the construction of a foundation. All other stones are set to align with this stone. It determines the position of the entire structure. Christ is the Cornerstone spoken of in the Psalms and by the prophets. He is the foundation set by God that would cause some to stumble and others to stand strong.
Today, people still stumble over Christ and the truth of the gospel. They stumble because they think they’ve got it all figured out. They do not want to surrender. They want to make their own rules and live their own “truth.” A little bit of the Bible is okay, but some of it just doesn’t fit their lifestyle. They want to build their life their own way. To set their own standards and create their own destiny. But a life built on this faulty foundation is destined for destruction.
There is only one way to build a life and an eternity that cannot be shaken, and each of us gets to choose. Will we stumble over the Cornerstone on our way to destruction? Or will we align our lives to Jesus, the only firm foundation?
