This business of preaching, I
hope to learn something about it before I leave this world.
But preaching is not just to inform your minds, though certainly
I must, if I am faithful to this book and faithful to your souls,
inform you of that which the book teaches. The object of preaching
is to draw you to Christ, and I want so much by God's Spirit.
to draw you by the gospel of His grace to our Redeemer. Some
of you do not know our God. It is my prayer that God will
be pleased to draw you to himself, to cause you, by omnipotent mercy,
to believe on his Son, to make you willing in the day of his
power. I keep praying for grace, wisdom,
which only God the Holy Spirit can give, to speak to your hearts
by the gospel. How I fear for you who are without
Christ. O solemn words in this world,
without Christ. To be without Christ is to be
without life, without God, without a word of promise from God, without
peace, without hope. It is to be without the one thing
you need. You remember what our Lord said
about Mary? She hath chosen that one thing needful. Oh, God, teach
us more and more every day. Christ is the one thing needful. Oh, how I need Him. Oh, how you
need Him. Before you leave here tonight,
I pray that you may be found in Christ by the work of God
Almighty, who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. May God the Holy Spirit grant
it for Christ's sake. This is the one thing needful. I turn with me, if you will,
to Luke chapter 20, verses 17 and 18. As to how can I have Christ and His salvation. What must I do to be saved? Let me tell you what you must
do. You've got to fall down. Salvation comes by a fall, a
mighty, mighty fall, a fall upon the stone which God has laid
inside. Let's look at it. Luke chapter
20, verse 17, ìHe beheld them these scribes and Pharisees,
these rulers among the people, and said, What is this then that
is written? The stone which the builders
rejected, the same has become the head of the corner. Whosoever
shall fall upon that stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever
it shall fall it will grind him to power. Christ is the stone. The stone upon which you must
fall. But if you refuse this stone, and you refuse to fall
upon this stone, one of these days this stone will fall on
you and grind you to powder forever. Now, our Lord Jesus has just
given this parable in which these words are found of the vineyard.
And he told the folks that this husbandman is allowed his vineyard,
or this man is allowed his vineyard to husbandman, and he sent his
servants to gather his fruit from the vineyard, and they stoned
him, persecuted him, finally sent his sons, and let's kill
him. And the Lord Jesus said, now this is what's going to happen.
The man who owns the vineyard is going to take it out of your
hands and give it to somebody else. And these Pharisees understood
that he was talking directly to them. They understood he was
speaking right to them. Right to them. Oh, I want to
preach like that. I want you to know I'm talking
right to you. I'm just talking to you as if nobody else is here.
Just to you. And they were angry. They were
enraged. They said, that ain't going to
happen. That ain't going to happen. You're not going to take away
our power, our livelihood, our church, our religion, our creed.
You're not going to take this away from us. And they cried,
God forbid, God forbid. And then the Lord Jesus beheld
them. He looked at them. He looked at them. He said, if
you think it's not going to happen, what do you think David meant
when he wrote in Psalm 118? Come back there. Psalm 118. This
is the passage our Lord has quoted. He wrote in Psalm 118, the stone
which the builders refused. Verse 22. is become the headstone
of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and
it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord quotes from this psalm
as they looked at him and said, God forbid, this is not going
to happen. You're not going to take these
things from us on which we have rested our lives. And the Lord
said, what do you think David meant when he said the stone
which the builders rejected has become the headstone of the corner?
Now, our Lord is here declaring That those men who had rejected
Him had rejected their only hope. Here's the foundation stone.
Here's the stone that God has laid in Zion. Here's the only
hope there is. If you turn your back on Him,
you've rejected your only hope. You've rejected the only hope
there is. You've rejected the only salvation
there is. All right, now let's look at
this. Let me point out several things, and we're going to look
at numerous scriptures tonight, but you keep your Bible bookmark
here in Luke 20. We'll be coming back to it. First,
turn with me, if you will, to Isaiah chapter 28. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is spoken of in our text and throughout the scriptures
as the stone. The first time we find this is
back in the book of Genesis. As you know, the book of Genesis,
the word means beginning, where the beginning of everything is
there. In Genesis 49, our Lord is described as the stone of
Israel. who shall come from Judah. He is the Lion of the tribe of
Judah. He is the surety represented
by Judah. He is that one who is the stone
of Israel who comes from Judah. And being the stone of Israel,
he is the stone of the whole Israel of God. Not of the Jewish
nation, but of the whole Israel of God, of whom the Jewish nation
were but designed to be pictures and types. so that the Jews,
the physical nation, it was never, I wish I could say it, so that
it would ring around the world in this prophecy-mania, insane
society. It was never God's intention. It was never His purpose just
to have those folks over across the water as His people. That
was never His intention. They were physically a nation. chosen and established by him,
with whom he gave his law and with whom he gave his prophets
for 2,000 years, only to be a poet of his holy nation, the Israel
of God, out of whom Christ would come. These Jews, then, were
designed for that purpose. All right? He's called the stone
of Israel, the cornerstone that knits everything together. Our
Lord Jesus is that one spoken of when Paul says, nevertheless
the foundation of God stand ashore. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. He's the foundation. There is no other. He is the
foundation of whom the prophet speaks when he says God's foundation
is in the holy mountain. The foundation God laid in Zion. Now here in Isaiah 28, the Lord
is talking to men about their religion. He's talking to men
and women just like you and me. You see, everybody is religious. Everybody. The most vile-tongued
blasphemer is religious. The most base-drunk harlot is
religious. The most corrupt people in the
world are religious. And they do something by which
they hope somehow, someday, to make amends with God and at last
to stand accepted before God. But everybody makes a refuge
of lies. Isn't it amazing? The Lord speaks
to these people and says, you've made lies your refuge. We've
taken what we want and we've said, this will be our refuge.
And we've made a covenant with death. Don't bother me, I will
be all right. Nobody told me about that, I'm
ready to die. We've made a covenant with death.
We've made an agreement with hell. And now the Lord speaks. Isaiah 28, verse 16. Therefore,
thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation
stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste." Now, this is referred to numerous times in the scriptures.
And lest I forget to tell you, the word haste, sometimes it's
said, he that believes will not make haste. Sometimes it says,
he that believes shall not be confounded. Sometimes it says,
he that believes shall not be afraid. Sometimes, he that believes
shall not be confused. Oh, believe on Christ. That's
the thing that gives solidity to life. Believe Him and you'll
not be ashamed. You'll not make haste. Then the
Lord says, concerning your foundation, concerning your refuge, Concerning
that refuge of lies that you have built for yourself, God
says, all right, you've made a refuge for yourself. I'm going
to lay judgment to the line. I'm going to lay judgment to
the line. Let's examine your foundation. Let's examine your
refuge. Put that beam, and let's see
if this thing's straight. Let's see if every corner's square.
Drop the plumb ball. I'm going to lay righteousness
to the plummet. Let's measure your refuge. And
when I do, the hell shall sweep away your worthless shed. The hell shall sweep away your
refuge of lies, and the water shall overflow the hiding place,
and your covenant with death shall be disannulled. I'm going
to fix it so that you know you have no covenant, and your agreement
with hell will not stand. You'll tremble. When the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, then shall you be cottoned down by
that overflowing scourge." He said, I want to make it so you
understand. Your bed is too short. You can't stretch yourself on
it. Your cover is too narrow. You can't wrap yourself in it.
The only hope is this foundation that I have laid. Now notice,
our Lord Jesus is spoken of here as the foundation God has laid. We can't lay one. This is the
foundation God has laid. He laid this foundation in His
eternal purpose. He lays this foundation in everlasting
love. He laid this foundation in the
gospel. It was the foundation laid when
the Son of God died and rose again. This foundation is the
one that God has laid. But this foundation is a tried
foundation. The building of God has stood
on this foundation ever since the days that Adam and Eve were
first ransomed when they fell and transgressed in the garden.
Souls have been built on this foundation, walked with God on
this foundation, and died on this foundation. Oh, no, not
one's ever died on this foundation. They just quit living in this
flesh. This is a tried foundation, proved foundation. He is the
foundation. There is no other. I want to
come back to this in a minute, but turn to 1 Corinthians 3.
1 Corinthians 3, I want you to see this. Paul is talking about
folks who build on other foundations. Preachers refuse to preach the
gospel of God's grace. That's out of date. I can't tell
you how many times I've had folks hint to me, you know, you're
a little out of date. You're not quite in step with
the times. What they don't understand is it's by design. I don't plan
to be in step with the times. Well, you know, folks don't want
preaching anymore. They never did. They never did.
Folks don't want, they don't want a man to stand up and preach
to them or preach at them, as they say. You know, folks these
days, they want plays and skits and entertainment and programs
and counseling. And they abandon the foundation
on which God builds his church. and everything they put up on
the foundation they lay is wood, hay, and stubble. It may be made
out of the finest gold men can invent, but God says it's wood,
hay, and stubble, and he'll burn it up. He'll burn it up. You
remember what John said when he wrote about Babylon, that
great whore? I think about it when I drive
by these monstrous places, you know, rich, I was preaching down
in North Carolina the other day, or a few weeks ago, and our friends
down there meet in a building about the size of this one. And
right across from it, there's a building you could sit. There's
in the garage. And John looked at that, and
he said, I wandered with a great wonder. And the angel said to
John, why did you wonder? She's just a whore. What are
you impressed with? What are you impressed with?
Just wood, hay, and stubble. Look here, 1 Corinthians 3, verse
11. Paul says, Other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. No other. No other. There is no other foundation. Built on this foundation, you
build gold, silver, and precious stone. Built on another, it's
wood, hay, and stubble. While you're close by, turn to
Ephesians 2. Christ is the foundation stone.
He is the foundation stone upon which we build, but we build
on Him because Christ is the foundation stone upon which we
are built of God. We build our hopes on Him, but
we can't build hope on Him until we are built on Him by the work
of God, Ephesians 2.19. Now therefore, ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets. That doesn't mean we're built
on the apostles and prophets. They're not our foundation. That's
papal doctrine. We're built on the same foundation
they're built on. We're built on the same foundation
Moses was built on, the same foundation John was built on,
the same foundation Paul was built on. Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. in whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth into a holy temple in the Lord." Now,
turn to 1 Peter 2, "...unto you therefore which believe." To
you who believe. This foundation stone is laid
by God, laid by God's own hand in old eternity. This foundation
stone is the foundation stone on which we have been built by
God. Now being built by God on Him,
we rest in Him. And that's what it is to believe.
And we worship God in Him. Look at verse 6, 1 Peter 2. Wherefore,
also it is contained in Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone elect. This is the foundation I've chosen.
Precious, honorable, and rare is the word. And he that believeth
on him shall not be confounded. Shall not make haste. He won't
be confused. Other folks, they're confused. They're confused. They're always
looking for something. Isn't it amazing how religious people
run here and there, and they swallow everything. Everything
comes down the pipe. They're open for it. They'll
swallow it, hook, line, and sinker. They find out there's nothing
there, and they run somewhere else, and they'll take the next fellow's
bait. Religious folks are confused. Folks who are built on God's
foundation, they're not confounded. They might not be the brightest
bulbs in the room, but they're built on the foundation. They
may not be theologians, but they're built on the foundation. They
may not be great thinkers. They're built on the foundation,
and you're not going to shake them off of it. Folks who are
built of God on this foundation, they're not confounded. Unto
you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. He is precious. But to them which be disobedient,
and the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner." To them, He's made the head of the corner.
The head of the corner is going to fall on them and grind them
to powder. I said a moment ago, God's people
aren't shaken. They're not confounded. They're
not confused. You may have observed over the
years, I've never attempted much to expose the various heresies
that come along. Some time ago, somebody had written
a book about one of the recent heretics in our society, in our
day, and wanted me to write a forward to the book. I wrote it back,
and I said, our folks in Danville are not even aware of this fellow's
name. Why should I make them aware of it? Folks like to deal
with heresies. There's several television, radio
programs devoted to dealing with heresies of the age, heresies
of the day. God's people are built on the foundation, and
the heresies don't shake them. Well, we want to be able to answer
them. Why? Why waste your time? Why fool with them? We're built
on the foundation. And those who are built on this
sure foundation stone shall never fall. They shall never make haste. They shall never be confused.
They shall never be ashamed. And they shall never be put to
shame. All right, let me show you something
else. Come back to Isaiah, chapter 8. Isaiah the 8th chapter. For
God's elect, for every soul built on Christ, this foundation stone
is a sanctuary and a refuge. A sanctuary. People call this
place where we're meeting, call it a sanctuary. When you go into
the sanctuary, well, this is not a sanctuary. This is just
a place where folks sit down and listen. Folks stand and sing. Folks gather and pray. It's not
a sanctuary. There's no safety here. That's
what a sanctuary is. There's no safety inside this
building. Oh, no, no, no. But Christ is a sanctuary. And
he's a refuge. But to those who believe not,
that which is our peace, our hope, our security, our satisfaction,
our happiness, our stability, all in all, That which Christ
is to us, to those who believe not, He's a stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense. A stone of stumbling and a rock
of offense. Isaiah 8, verse 13. Sanctify
the Lord of hosts Himself. Let Him be your fear and let
Him be your dread. You recognize who God is. Honor
Him in your heart. Fear the thought of meeting him
in his holy nature without a refuge, without a substitute. Dread him,
and he shall be for a sanctuary. And he will never be a sanctuary
to you until you find out who he is. He'll never be a sanctuary
to you until you dread the thought of meeting this God who is a
consuming fire. But just as sure as He makes
Himself known to you and makes Yourself known to you, He will
be a sanctuary. Look at it. He will be for a
sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense
to both the houses of Israel. To both of them. Northern tribes
and the southern tribes. for a djinn and for a snare to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Now let's see if it's true. Turn
to Romans chapter 9. Let's see exactly how Paul explains
the fall of Israel. Let's see how he explains the
things that happen by which God has cast them off and sent blindness
to them forever. Romans chapter 9, verse 31. Israel,
the physical seed, which followed after the law of righteousness. You see those Fellows that stand
at that stupid wall over in Jerusalem, they call it the Wailing Wall,
and they've got their little text of Scripture, and their
black robes and their long beaded hair, look like girls with beards. You see those fellows over there?
They're following after the law. They're pursuing it. They're
pursuing it. I mean, they're going for it.
They follow after the law of righteousness. We keep the Sabbath
day. Nope. Nope, we can't check in
and fly at that time because it's Sabbath day. No, we can't
meet that, it's a Sabbath day. Well, they follow it, they follow
it, man, they're tough. And they haven't come close to
getting it. They have not attained to the
law of righteousness. But it's not just concerning
the Jews. Oh, no. Paul didn't write this just about
those fellows. He's talking about everybody who seeks to make himself
righteous in any way by anything he does. Oh, how can I get you
to let go of your goodness? I can't. I can't. Oh, but God
will be, oh, God will be pleased to be gracious to you. He'll
break your grip and cause you to let go of your righteousness.
Because as long as you seek to make yourself righteous, I don't
care if you talk about, well, I was saved, but now I'm trying
to make myself holy. Well, I know God justified me,
You seek righteousness by your doing. You don't come within
a hundred thousand infinite miles of God Almighty. They followed
it, but they haven't attained it. I want to be more holy. Would
you tell me how you get to be more holy? Take time to be holy. What a stupid, idolatrous piece
of penmanship. Either you're holy or you're
not. Does that make sense? Either you're perfect or you're
not. They're not degrees of perfection.
They're not degrees of holiness. They're not degrees of righteousness.
And as long as you seek to make yourself righteous, you'll never
attain it. Watch it. They're not attained
to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? How come? Because
they sought it not by faith. And if you want to, you can write
in there in real bold letters, because this is the sense of
it. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. They sought it not by faith alone,
but as it were, by the works of the law. But preachers, what
can be wrong with keeping the Sabbath day? Nothing, unless
you do it to do good before God. What could be wrong with tithing?
Nothing. Unless you do it to make yourself
good before God, or to keep yourself good before God. What could be
wrong with sacrifices? Nothing! Nothing! Unless you
do it to approach God by it. And I'm going to tell you something.
If you give up approaching God by it, you'll quit trying to
do it. That's exactly right. Oh, we
don't do this because we think it gives us good standing with
God. You're lying to yourself. You're
lying to yourself. That ain't so. That ain't so.
Most everything men do in religion is so that they can become acceptable
with God or keep themselves acceptable with God. We don't. For they
stumble. They stumble. That's what we
read back in Isaiah 8. They stumble at the stumbling
stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed." God Almighty called me to fall
on that foundation stone, and I've never stumbled since. I've never stumbled. I've been
built on this foundation stone, but that foundation stone on
which I have fallen, they've tripped over. They tripped over
it. That foundation stone on which we built, they tripped
over it. We believe and are not ashamed. They're ashamed. They're
still full of fear. Chapter 10, verse 1. Brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be safe. I bear them record. They have
a zeal of God. I'm not saying folks aren't religious.
They are religious. I'm not saying they're not sincere. They are sincere. But they're
as ignorant as A bucket of rocks, as Brother Bell would say. They're
zealous, but not according to knowledge. Because they're ignorant
of the one thing that you've got to understand. They're ignorant
of the one thing you've got to know. They're ignorant of the
righteousness of God. Being ignorant of God's righteousness. Now, that's not talking about
the righteousness of God's character. Nobody's ignorant of that. Read
the first and second chapter of Romans. Talk to any Jew about
God's righteous character. If he goes to synagogue once
in a while, he understands what the scriptures teach in that
regard. Nobody's ignorant of God's righteous character. They're
ignorant of the righteousness God requires, and the righteousness
God accomplished, and the righteousness God gives, which is Christ the
Lord. Being ignorant of God's righteousness,
And going about to establish their own righteousness, they
have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.
Now here it is. Now here it is. For Christ is
the end. I love the simplicity with which
God says things. He says them so simple that you
don't have to get a dictionary and you can't miss his meaning
unless you intend to miss his meaning. End. I wonder what that
means. Go to the end of the road. Well,
I know where that is. Hit the wall, you're at the end.
Go to the end of the street. I know where that is. When you
get where the street is no more, that's the end. Go to the end
of the day. I know where that is. When the
sun sets, that's the end. End. The termination. The finishing. The completion. The fulfillment. So that it is
no more! Christ is the E-N-D of the law
for righteousness. Oh, but Brother Dodd, don't you
think there's some sense in which we must keep the law? Did you
read the scripture? E-N-D. End. End. For righteousness. Not to you who are still trying
to make yourselves righteous, but to everyone built on this
foundation stone. Christ is the end. He's the end
to everyone who believes. The sweetest thing in this world
is that gift of God called faith by which I am able to rest on
Him who is the foundation stone. Do you know what it is to rest
before God to rest? Most people have a bed just not
quite as big as they are. You can't stretch on it. I travel
a good bit. Most of the time I have a comfortable
place to stay. I'm not begging for sympathy. But on occasions,
you may not have noticed, I'm bigger than most folks. And I
get in beds they designed for their children. And I don't sleep
good because I can't stretch out. I'll hit the wall or hit
the floor if I don't grab myself by my arm. Try to wrap up in
the covering, the covering's too narrow. What a good illustration
our God uses for man's religion. Go ahead and stretch out on your
good works. Let's see you rest. Go ahead and wrap up in your
righteousness. Now, let's see you rest. Now, I ain't talking
about what you pretend before me. I ain't talking about what
you pretend before your sons and daughters. I'm not talking
about what you pretend before your neighbors. You can fake
rest real good. No, no. I'm talking about when
you lay down tonight, your wife's asleep beside you, your husband's
asleep beside you, and you shut your eyes and try to face God
Almighty. and the prospect of meeting God
right now. Now go to sleep. Go ahead. Rest.
Let me tell you something. This man who in himself is nothing
but sin. I have no righteousness. I can't
perform it. I can't do it. And thank God
I quit trying. I just quit trying. I just quit
trying when I fell on the rock. And you know what? I rest easy
before God. I rest easy before Him. Now,
back to our text, Luke 20, 17. Luke says this foundation stone,
or our Lord says, this foundation stone had been rejected by the
builders. He beheld them and said, what
is this then that is written? The stone which the builders
rejected. What's that mean? Rejected. Our
Lord came, preached the gospel of His grace, and He said, we
won't have that. Our Lord came, declared the requirements of
God. They said, we won't have that.
Our Lord came, showed them their sin. They said, we won't have
that. Our Lord came and proclaimed redemption, which He would accomplish
at Jerusalem. They said, we won't have that.
Our Lord came and declared Himself the King. And they said, we won't
have that. We won't have that. They rejected Him. Everything
about Him. Who are the builders? These chief priests. These scribes. These Pharisees. These theologians. These muckety-mucks in religion. They're the builders. They're
the ones who are the builders. And they rejected Him and led
the people to do the same. And multitudes like them reject
Him. When something happens, some
great tragedy, some great calamity, the news media rustles up pictures. They gather them around. They
want to talk to them. These are the fellows they would
have gathered around. These are the ones who know. They know.
Oh, they're respected. They're the builders. Everybody
knows that. Everybody knows that they know. They're the builders. They rejected him. They refused
to believe the revelation of God. Refused to believe Christ. How is it that the builders reject
him? They deny the absolute sovereignty
of his being as God, and thereby deny that he's God. They deny
the blessed efficacy of his blood atonement, his complete satisfaction,
but rather suggest that somehow you must do something to make
your contribution to it, and thereby they deny that he's God. They deny that there's any foundation
in him. They deny His perfect righteousness,
suggesting somehow that, you know now, it just stands for
reason. God expects you to do your part. You can't preach absolute
free grace and free righteousness. If you do, you'll promote licentiousness. They deny the foundation. They
deny that Jesus Christ Himself alone is God's salvation. And they reject Him. Look at
the next line. The same is become the head of
the corner. What great word from God. Doesn't
matter what you do, God still got his purpose. And you're rejecting
his son. You're despising his son. You're
despising his gospel. It's not going to alter one thing
with God. We won't have this man to rule
over us, let's see. We won't have him to be our king.
Let's see. We won't have this foundation
stone. Let's see. Let's see. Daniel chapter 2. Daniel 2. They rejected him,
but God's accepted him. Made him the head over all things.
The head and the head cornerstone specifically to them. For us, but to them. Paul says
Christ has made head over all things for the church. He's made
the head cornerstone, Peter said, to these folks. Daniel chapter
2, verse 34. Daniel tells us that this stone
is that stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands,
by which antichrist and all who follow him shall be destroyed.
Verse 34. Thou sawest till that stone was cut out without hands,
which smote the image upon the feet that were of iron and clay,
and broke it to pieces. Then was the iron The clay, the
brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together and
became like chaff. Do you remember what the Lord
said to Zephaniah we read this morning? He said, I'll famish their gods.
Make them just chaff. Chaff of the summer threshing
floors. And the wind carried them away that no place was found
for them. And the stone that smoked the
image became a great mountain. filled the earth. Christ is that
stone, and we built on Him shall ultimately fill the earth, fill
the whole purpose of God in the creating of this earth. Turn
to Zechariah, Zechariah 4. Here the prophet describes our
Savior's exaltation as the head cornerstone, and it does so with
exaltation. Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6.
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word
of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by
power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou,
O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt
become a plain. And he shall bring forth the
headstone thereof with shouting, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover, the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation
of this house. His hands shall finish it." Like
a great cornerstone in a building, Christ is the one who knits everything
together. He joins the walls, angels and
men united in Christ. Saints of the old days in the
Old Testament, saints of this Gospel day in the New Testament
are made one in Christ. Sinners from every nation, kindred,
tribe, and tongue made one in Christ. Black and white, bond
and free, male and female, Jew and Gentile made one in Christ.
I often say to men, I know we live in a society of such political
correctness, everybody wants you to be sure you don't say
anything to offend anybody except southern white men. They're pre-gay. Anything else is off limits.
And we pretend, well, we don't see this, we don't see that.
Let me tell you something. The only place in this world where
the color of your skin, the money in the bank that you possess
or think you do, the degrees you have hanging on your wall,
or the lack of them. Your pedigree, which side of
the tracks you live on, the only place in the world where it's
insignificant is in Christ. Just in Christ. That's all. Oh,
he's the foundation stone, and we're built on him. He's the
chief cornerstone, and that means we are made to have all strength
and support and direction from him. The building is built according
to the cornerstone. And this is the Lord's doing. Luke doesn't record those words. Matthew did. I think Mark did.
But they found in David in the words of our Lord's quotes in
Psalm 118. This is the Lord's doing. God
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
and every tongue confess of things in heaven, and things in the
earth, and things under the earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. And it is marvelous in our eyes. It's marvelous in our eyes. You
see, laying this foundation And laying this foundation from eternity,
and laying this foundation in heavenly glory now, making him
to be the headstone of the corner, is the marvelous display of God's
wisdom and goodness, justice and truth, mercy and love, and
righteousness that could ever be given. For God Almighty found
a way. in the sacrifice of his darling
son, coming down here, assuming our nature, living in perfect
righteousness in our room instead, dying under the load of our sin
and guilt. Yet this man is the infinite
God, able to sustain all and able to perform all. with infinite
efficacy and infinite worth for all His people. And He magnifies
the law and makes it honorable. And God says, all right, son,
come up here and sit down. It's all yours. Ask of Him. This foundation stone is the
stone on which you must fall. Fall down. It's a long fall,
I'm here to tell you. And if any man falls on this
rock, on this stone. Brother Pruitt back there a few
years ago fell on a rock. Pretty good fall. And you know
what happens when you fall on a rock? You shall be broken.
Broken. Oh, it's good when God breaks
a fellow. When God comes to Jacob and breaks
his leg, God's merciful. And when God causes you to fall
on this rock, you'll be broken. But this is his word. The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart. O God, thou wilt not despise. Record that 10th Psalm. God's
people are spoken of as poor. And the poor ones he was talking
about aren't talking about poor in purse. No, no. Poor in soul. Poor in spirit. Poor in knowing. Broken. I'm nothing but sin,
and I've tried to reform my life, and I've tried to straighten
up, and I've tried to do better, tried to make myself good. My
God, I can't. I give up. I let go of my haughtiness,
and here I fall. Oh, blessed fall, Spirit of God,
make us fall on Him continually, continually. Break us on Him
continually, that we may be built on Him and rest on Him. Now,
preacher, not me. Okay. Okay. You can hold on to
your righteousness. It will be all right. You can
hold on to your goodness. It will be all right. You can
hold on to your haughtiness. It will be all right. You can
hold on to all your good name. That'll be all right. That'll
be all right. You can. You sure can. You can save your life.
But soon, this stone's going to fall on you. And then He will
grind your goodness and you with it to powder forever. Amen.