I'm reading this morning from
the book of 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 6 through 8. Recently a listener
wrote and requested that I repeat my text. This listener said,
I like to follow in the Bible when you're preaching and when
you only give the text one time, I can't find it. So here it is
again. I'm preaching this morning from
1 Peter, the first epistle. of Peter, chapter 2, verse 6
through 8. Now here's the subject, and I
believe I have a very important subject today. It's entitled,
The Chief Cornerstone. The Chief Cornerstone. Now let
me read the text. First Peter 2, verse 6. Wherefore
it is written in the Scriptures, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded, or disappointed, or put to shame. Unto you therefore
which believe, he is precious, he is precious. But unto them
which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed
or rejected, the same is made the head of the corner, the chief
cornerstone, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." Now,
my friends, the primary purpose for my preaching in my pulpit
over this television broadcast and other places, the primary
purpose of my preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord is that
you might believe on Him. That's why I'm preaching. We
preach not ourselves. We seek not to gain a following. We seek not to build a reputation. We preach not ourselves, but
Jesus Christ the Lord. They asked John the Baptist,
said, Are you the Christ? He said, No. They said, Then
are you that prophet of whom Moses wrote? He said, No. They
said, well, who are you? And he said, I am a voice, just
a voice, crying in the wilderness, prepare you the way of the Lord.
That's who I am, a voice. John the Baptist was miraculously
born. He was a man upon whom God had
his hand. He was sent as the forerunner
of the Son of God. But when he was asked to identify
himself, He said, I am a voice, and I'm sent to proclaim the
name of the Lord, to cry, behold the Lamb of God that taketh away
the sin of the world. And my friend, that is the primary
purpose for this broadcast, for this preacher preaching to you,
is that you might know Christ. The Apostle John summed it up
in his epistle. He said this, these things are
written, He'd written 21 chapters, and here at the close of the
book, he said, these things are written that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing
you might have life through his name. That's the one object,
that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that believing
you might have life through his name. That's, I believe I can
say, that that's my one objective and my primary goal and mission
in life is that those to whom I preach might know and believe
and receive and lay hold upon and embrace by faith the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now I'm deeply concerned, deeply
concerned about four things in reference to your faith, into
your faith in believing in Christ. Four things. I'm concerned about
what you believe. I'm concerned about how you believe. Now I want you to listen to this.
I'm concerned about why you believe. And I'm concerned about when
you believe. Now that's simple and very easy
to follow. There are four things. I want
you to believe on Christ. I want you to believe on Christ.
But I'm concerned about four things. What or whom you believe. How you believe. Why you believe
on Christ. And when. Now let's look at those
four things. The first I mentioned is this.
I'm concerned about what or whom you believe. Now listen to me.
And believe me, I'm telling you the truth. It's not simply faith
that saves. Not simply faith that saves.
It's not just faith that brings us into a living union with Almighty
God. But it's faith in a person. Now,
did you hear that? It's not simply faith that saves.
It's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said in Acts
16, through the Apostle Paul, he said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. He didn't just say, have
faith and you'll be saved. He didn't just say, believe and
you'll be saved. He said, believe on Christ. Believe
on Christ. He said in Romans 10, 13, Paul
said, Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be
saved. And here in 1 Peter 2, 6, our
text, God said, I lay in Zion for a cheap cornerstone, elect
precious. He that believeth on him shall
not be disappointed or put to shame. So you see, it matters
what you believe. It matters whom you believe.
That's what Paul said, I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded
that he My confidence is in a person. My faith is in a person. Faith
must have an object. It's not faith if it doesn't
have an object. Faith is not a general thing. Faith has an
object. It reaches out to someone or
something. And John said that in 1 John
5 verse 11. This is the record that God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life's in His Son. Now,
he that hath the Son of God hath life, and he that hath not the
Son of God hath not life. So that's what I'm saying. I'm
interested in what you believe. Whom you believe. Faith must
embrace a person. It must lay hold on Christ. Our
Lord said, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth
on him might not perish, but have everlasting life. For God
so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on Him might have everlasting life. You see that? What and
whom you believe. Now, the second thing that I'm
deeply concerned about is this. And that's how you believe. Now
I'm on to something here, and I want you to listen to it. It's
whom you believe. It's Christ. He's the object
of faith. But the second thing is how you believe. Now listen
to Romans 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus
to be Lord, now that's what I said a moment ago, it's whom, it's
Jesus to be Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. You see, this thing,
how a man believes, is with the heart. With the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. You see, saving faith is not
a historical faith at all. It's not like Somebody asked
if you believe that George Washington was the first president of the
United States. That's a historical faith. You say, well, yes, I
believe that. Abraham Lincoln was the president during the
Civil War, and John Kennedy was the president who was shot in
the early part of the 1960s. That's all historical faith.
And that's not saving faith just to say a person called Jesus
Christ lived on the earth and died and was buried and rose
again. Satan believes that. That's historical faith. That's
not saving faith. Neither is traditional faith,
saving faith, something that's handed down from father to son,
father to son. And it's not just mental agreement
to some facts, but this saving faith is a personal, inward,
heart faith. Now let me quote that scripture
again from Romans 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
Jesus to be Lord, And believe in thine heart that God raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. When Philip was talking to the
eunuch, and the eunuch stopped the chariot and said, Here is
water, what doth hinder me from being baptized? And listen to
what Philip said to it. Thou mayest, if you believe with
all your heart, that Jesus is the Christ. Is this just an emotional
fit? Is this just a passing fancy? Is this just a historical, traditional
faith? Or do you actually, in your heart,
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Has it touched
your affections, your inward being? You see what I'm saying?
Alright, that's the first two things. I said I'm concerned
about four things. I want you to know Christ. And
I want you to know a person. And I want you to believe on
Him and receive Him and love Him in your heart. That's where
it takes place. If God has your heart, He has everything. If
He has your heart. God can have your money and not
have your heart. He can have even some obedience,
outward obedience and not have your heart. But if God has your
heart, He has everything. Whoever has your heart has everything.
If you love Christ, that's the reason He said the whole law
is fulfilled in two words, in one word, two commandments. Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. If you have heart love, that's
it. If God has your heart, he has
everything. So faith is a heart work. Now here's the third thing,
third important thing about saving faith, and that's why you believe.
Why do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? If you were to
ask me this morning, I thought about this question right here.
If you were to ask me, preacher, why? Do you believe so strongly
in Jesus Christ? Why do you believe? You know
that I do. You know that I do. I believe that Jesus is the Christ. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. I believe He's the only Savior
of sinners. I believe my hope for eternal
life rests in and upon and through and because of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, in His perfect life and sacrificial death and
inaccessory work. I believe that. Now, you ask
me why. I'll give you six brief reasons.
And this is what I want you to see. First of all, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God because I'm commanded
in the Bible to believe it. That's exactly right. God commands
me in the Bible to believe. He said, this is my beloved Son.
You hear it. You hear it. Now, I've heard
God's command, and I'm going to hear it. I'm going to believe
on it. He that believeth not the record
that God hath given concerning his Son, made God a liar." That's
the reason I believe it. I'm not going to make God a liar.
Our Lord said, if you believe not that I am He, you'll die
in your sins. So I am commanded to believe
that Jesus is the Christ. I don't fully understand all
that's involved in that, but I believe. I like the centurion. I say, Lord, I believe. Help
thou mine unbelief. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, the Messiah, because he fulfills every prophecy
and promise in the Old Testament. Every one of them. He's the woman's
seed. The woman's seed shall bruise the serpent's head. He's
the virgin's son. Behold, the Lord himself will
give you a sign. A virgin shall breed with child
and bring forth a son. Call his name Emmanuel. He's
the virgin's son. He is the seed of woman. He is
the seed of Abraham. And of Jacob, he's from the tribe
of Judah, the family of Jesse and the family of David, the
household of David. That's what the Old Testament
says. That the Messiah will come through Abraham, Jacob, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, and David. He's the child of Bethlehem. He was born in Bethlehem. That's
where the one shall come whose goings forth have been of old
from everlasting. He's the Holy One of God. Jesus
Christ manifests every attribute of God's character. Even the
demons said to him, we know who you are, you're the Holy One
of God. Now I believe that Jesus is the Christ because he fulfills
every prophecy and every promise in the Old Testament regarding
the Messiah. And then thirdly, I believe the
Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah, because
he fulfills every type and picture of the Messiah in the Old Testament,
from Abel's sacrifice all the way down. In his life, death,
and resurrection, he's the Passover lamb. He's the rock smitten. He is the tabernacle in which
God dwells. where God meets men and men meet
God. He's the priest. He's the mercy
seat. He's the brazen serpent lifted
up. He's the kinsman redeemer. He's the sea of refuge. He's
the Lamb of God. All the way through the Old Testament
as the Redeemer is pictured in types and shadows and sacrifices. Jesus Christ fulfills every one
of those. He's the Lamb slain. He's the
firstborn of every creature. He's the Lord our righteousness.
He's the Lord our banner. He's the Lord that healeth. Every
Old Testament type points to Christ. He's the bread. He's
the water of life. And then I believe, fourthly,
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God because He meets every
need the sinner has in reference to God. That's right, the sinner
has some needs in reference to God. The law demands that I have
a perfect righteousness, which I don't have in the flesh. Well,
Christ came down here and performed it, and perfected it, and worked
it out for me. The justice of God demands death. The wages of sin is death. So
let sin, if it shall die. Christ died. He meets every need.
The presence of God requires a mediator, a great high priest
with a suitable sacrifice. Where are you going to find such
a one? The presence, the holy presence of God demands that
we have a high priest and that that high priest have a perfect
sacrifice. Where are you going to get it?
Only in Christ. He meets every need that the
sinner has in reference to God. Then I believe the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Son of God because he's able to do all that he promised.
That's what was said of Abraham. He staggered not. He staggered
not at the promises of God. But he was strong in faith, giving
glory to God, and he believed that everything God promised,
God was able to perform. And I believe everything Jesus
Christ has promised in his word, he's able to perform. He said,
come to me, I'll give you rest. Look to me and live. He said,
come to the water and drink, never thirst again. He promises
all these things, and he is able, he's able to save to the uttermost
them that come to God by him. And he's able to keep that which
Paul said, I've committed to Him against that day. And He's
able to keep us from falling. And He's able to present us faultless.
He's the only one who is able to present us faultless before
the very glory of God with exceeding joy. And He's able to raise our
vile bodies and make them like His own. You see, He was victorious
over the grave. He's already been there and came
out. And He said, because I live,
you live. You live. And He's able. I believe that.
And then in the sixth place, I believe, listen to me, according
to the word of God, that God hath appointed a day in which
he shall judge the world in holiness, in righteousness, by that man
whom he hath ordained, that's Jesus Christ, whereof he hath
given assurance to all men in that he raised him from the dead. I believe that. I believe there's
a day coming when God is going to judge the world. The sea gave
up the dead which were in it, death and hell delivered up the
dead which were in them, and they all, small and great, stood
before God. And the books were opened, and
men were judged out of those things written in the book. And
that day's coming, and men shall be judged according to and in
relationship to that man whom God hath ordained. And He hath
given us witness to that fact. He's given us a preview. in that
he raised him from the dead. Now here's the fourth thing I'm
concerned about. Not whom you believe, that's
Christ. And how you believe, that's with
the heart. And why you believe, because he is the fulfillment
of all things. He said, if I bear witness of
myself, my witness is not true. Because the scripture says, let
every word be established at the mouth of two or three witnesses.
And he said, the scriptures bear witness of me. John the Baptist
bore witness of me. The works that I do bear witness
of me, and the Father hath borne witness of me. That's why we
believe. Now, I'm concerned about when you believe. When you believe. In reference to faith, the Word
of God uses words like this frequently. Now is the accepted time. Now
is the accepted time. Listen to this word. Behold,
today is the day of salvation. Listen to this. Seek ye first.
First, the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek ye first.
Listen to Ecclesiastes. Remember now thy Creator in the
days of thy youth. Boast not thyself of tomorrow.
Thou knowest not what a day will bring forth. And Paul said, knowing
the terror of the Lord, in reference to unbelief, we persuade men
to believe Christ, to believe Christ, to believe Christ now. Now, let me have you here just
a moment. Let me talk to you a second.
I want to give you two or three things here that I feel most
strongly and deeply. My concern, my friend, is not
that you make some sort of commitment to me. I never ask you to fill
out a card and mail in. I don't even have a phone number
at the bottom of this picture to have you call in and tell
me anything. I'm not interested in your making a commitment to
me. or an organization, I don't keep records of how many people
were saved, how many people were baptized, how many people made
professions of faith. We never use numbers or statistics
on this broadcast. I'm not interested in your making
a commitment to me or to an organization. But I'm interested in you believing
the Word of God. Believing the Word of God. And
I'm interested in your embracing by heart faith the Lord Jesus
Christ individually, personally between you and God. Don't call
me. I don't need your numbers and names and these things. I
want you to know Christ. That's what Paul said. He said,
who is Paul? Who is Cephas? Who is Apollos?
Nobody. Just a bunch of nobodies. Just
ministers by whom you believe. John the Baptist, who are you?
Are you the Christ? No. Are you that prophet? No.
Well, who are you? I'm just a voice. That's all. Cry and behold the Lamb of God. And I'm not interested in your
making a commitment or making a call. I'm interested in your
laying hold on Christ. With your heart, by faith, look
to the Son of God. He is the only Savior of sinners. And let me tell you this. I'm
not even interested for the moment. Now don't misunderstand me. Listen
to me. I'm not interested for the moment
in your making any public commitment and signing up to be a member
of any religious denomination. The important thing for you my
friend is to lay hold of the mercies and promises of God in
Christ Jesus. Don't turn to men. Don't turn
for advice to men. Don't look to men for counsel. His name is wonderful. His name
is Counselor. His name is the Mighty God. His
name is the Everlasting Father. His name is the Prince of Peace.
Turn your eyes to Christ. Turn your ears to His Word. Turn your heart in faith to Christ. Men can't help you here. It's
the Spirit of God that convinces men of sin. It's the Spirit of
God that turns the heart to Christ. It's the Spirit of God that reveals
the Son of God. It's the Spirit of God that grants
repentance and leads you to repentance. It's the Spirit of God that gives
faith. And I beg of you, quit getting
your religion and professions and your assurance and your confidence
from the words of men. They can't save you and they
can't assure you of salvation. Christ is the Savior. And I'm
not interested for the moment in your raising your hand or
making any public commitment. It's heart faith that saves.
God looks on the heart. He doesn't look on the raised
hand and the running feet and the energies and activities of
men. He looks on your heart. And it's
a private thing. But what men can talk you into,
another man can talk you out of. I say, and what men can give
you, another man can take away from you. But what God does for
you is forever. What God doeth, it shall be forever.
What God does in your heart shall be forever. So I beg of you,
don't turn to the flesh. Don't turn to the arms of the
flesh. Lean not for your strength upon
the flesh. Turn your eyes to Christ. Can
you do that? And another thing I'm saying
is this. I'm not preaching a doctrinal position. I wish the name Catholic,
Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Church of Christ, Church of God,
Nazarene, I wish those names had never come into being. I'm
not preaching a religion. I'm presenting a person. A person,
the living God manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what He said in my text. God Almighty Himself said, Behold,
I lay in Zion, for a foundation, this is quoted from Isaiah, a
stone, a triad stone, a chief cornerstone, elect and precious,
and he that believeth on him, not he that joineth a movement,
not he that reformeth his life, not he that works in religious
circles, not he that wins souls, not he that titheth, not he that
keepeth a day, he that believeth on him. shall never be disappointed,
shall never be put to shame. There's all kind of religion
today. It's all around us and all over
us. It's under us and on top of us. It's choking us to death.
Somebody said, America's got religious indigestion. And I
think that's right. It's a whole lot like it was
in the days when our Lord walked this earth in the flesh. They
kept asking him questions. One of them said, is it lawful
to pay tribute to Caesar? And they settled that. And another
one came up and said, well, Here's a man that's had four or five
wives. Who's going to be his wife in the resurrection? They
got that settled. And another fellow came up and
said, well, is it wrong to do this? Is it wrong to do that?
Which is the greatest law? Which is the greatest sin? Which
is the most important law? And they got that settled and
put them to silence. And they started to walk off.
And he said, hold on there. I've got a question. What think
ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? And
that's my question to you today. I know you've got all these issues
and all these things you want to settle and you write, people
write to me and they want me to explain something in the Revelation.
They want me to explain something about the Resurrection. They
want me to explain something about the coming of the Lord.
I want you to look to Christ. If you miss Christ, you can have
all that other information and perish. But if you have Christ,
you don't need all that other information. You can leave it
all in the hands of Him who is your Lord. He's my Father. He
won't fail me. He's my Redeemer. He'll not let
me down. He'll not do anything contrary
to my good or His glory. I can rest in these. I can rest
in the future. I can rest in the past, present,
and future, knowing that Christ upholds me with His hand. God
said, Behold, I lay in Zion. This is God's doing. This is
not man's doing. I lay in Zion. He's God's cornerstone. And God
said, He that believeth on Him will never be disappointed. Never. There's no judgment to them who
are in Christ. There's no condemnation to them who are in Christ. God
said He'll never, never be put to shame. I like that hymn that
says, The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will
not, I will not desert to its foes. That soul, though all hell
should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never, no
never forsake. Can you lay hold on that? Can
you look to a person? Why don't you push religion aside
and all these voices you're listening to, and won't you listen to God
and look to His Son? He said, He that honoreth My
Son, I'll honor Him. I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone. He that believeth on Him will
never be put to shame. He'll never be disappointed.
I believe that. Do you? I believe Him. I have this message on a cassette
tape. It's called The Chief Cornerstone.
And I have one on the other side, a message I'll preach next Sunday.
And if you want it, you send $2. That's what it cost us to
prepare it and send it to you. It's in a $2 donation. We'll
mail it to you. Here's the address on the screen.
Until next week, God bless you is my prayer.