If you will, open your Bibles
with me to 1 Peter chapter 2, and tonight we will read and
look at verses 4 through 8, 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 4 through 8. To whom coming? as unto a living stone, disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. You also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe,
he is precious. But to them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. even to them which stumble at
the word, being disobedient, whereto also they were appointed. Our text begins tonight with
these three words, to whom coming, to whom coming. And we know that
that refers to the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we
come. Salvation is sometimes spoken
of in the scripture as coming to Christ. That is, of being
saved, coming to Christ, as well as believing in Christ. The Lord Jesus told the religious
leaders in John chapter five, you will not come to me that
you might have life. In other words, The only way
anyone has eternal spiritual life is in coming to Christ. You, he said to those men, you
will not come to me that you might have life. And then in
John 7, he said, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. And in Matthew chapter 11 and
verse 28, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. To come to Christ is to trust
in him, to trust in him as our Lord and as our Savior. But you notice in our text, it
is in the present tense, to whom coming. I think one of the great
eras of religion, so-called evangelicals in our day, has been to emphasize
a decision, a decision. A person makes a decision. He
raises his hand in an emotional invitation, or he walks down
the church aisle and signs a church card, or he joins the church. He makes a decision. And he believes
he's come to Christ, but it's a one-time thing. You know, we
come to Christ and then we walk out the door and we may think
about him and think about our need again in a few months or
a few years or sometimes it lasts even longer, I know that. But
salvation is coming There is an initial coming to Christ,
there's no question about that, of being born again of the Spirit
of God and looking to Him, believing in Him, but it's not a one-time
thing. It is a continual coming to Christ. Because my needs are as much
today, in fact, really, this is my testimony, may not be yours,
But I see my need of Christ more today than I ever have. One of my favorite texts is found
in Romans chapter five, where the apostle said, where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound. And a believer, a true believer,
he doesn't just repent one time, he doesn't just change his mind
one time, turn his back one time, but it is a continual action. And the same thing is true about
coming to Christ, believing in Christ, trusting in Him. We trust
in Him tonight. We know more about Him. We know
more about our needs, don't we? As we grow in grace and knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This verse here, looking or coming
unto Christ, to whom coming, is much like that verse in Hebrews
chapter 12 where the apostle said, looking. unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith. Yes, we have come. Yes, we have
looked. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up. He was lifted up. And whosoever
believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Yes,
we have come. Yes, we have looked. But we continue
to come and we continue to look, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. We continue to come, we continue
to look until faith one day shall be swallowed up in sight. It
shall be swallowed up in sight when we see Christ. Now Peter
in these verses that I've read tonight, speaks of the Lord Jesus
Christ under the emblem of a stone. Of a stone. This morning some
of you will remember we looked at that verse in Deuteronomy
where the first line of that hymn that God gave unto Moses
is, the Lord our God is a rock. He is a rock. Well Peter here
speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ under an emblem of a stone. And there are three titles that
he gives him in these verses. That's the way I want to bring
the message tonight. First, Christ is the living stone. Notice that in verse four and
five, to whom coming as unto a living stone. He is a living stone who is the
foundation of this spiritual temple. That is the temple of
the church. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ is built upon Christ. And the Apostle Paul, writing
to the church at Corinth, warned preachers who came there and
preached, other foundation. He said, I laid the foundation,
and there's only one foundation of the church. Other foundation
can no man lay. then that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. That is this spiritual temple.
We know that a building, an edifice, always has a foundation. It's
very important, isn't it? The foundation of your house.
It's very important that there be a good foundation. And we
have the best foundation, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the
living stone. And because he has life, because
he has life in himself as God and as man, he is the source
of all life. You know, the Apostle Paul preaching
in Athens, this is recorded in chapter 17 of Acts, But he made
this statement, and he doesn't qualify it in any way. He's preaching
to a group of people he's never preached to before, and many
of them made fun of him, and many of them called him a babbler.
Let's see what this babbler has to say. But Paul made this statement. He doesn't qualify it in any
way. He says, for in him, that is
in Christ, we, All of us here today on Mars Hill, all of us
here tonight in this building, and all men everywhere, in Him
we live and move and have our being. He is the source of all
life, physical life, yes. We breathe because He gives us
breath, because He gives us life. We know that is so. And he gives
spiritual life and eternal life to all who come to him. As this
text says, to whom coming, all who come to him. And just as
the foundation stone of a building, it's laid first, then the other
stones are laid upon it. And so Christ is the foundation
stone, the living stone that God laid, that God appointed,
and everyone who is built upon Him, we live, we have life because
the stone, Christ, gives us life, eternal life, spiritual life.
He said, because I live, ye shall live also. to have spiritual life, eternal
life. And the point is, he says, you
also, notice that, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, you also. In other words, these believers
to whom he is writing, you also are living stones, built up a
spiritual house. Now, the translation that I use,
the King James Translation, was made in the 1600s, and we know
words change. The meaning of words changes
over time. I mentioned to my wife, I said,
I used to hear men talk about killing a deer. Now, they say
harvesting a deer. Words change, don't they, over
time, as they're used. Lively, lively. What does lively mean today?
Well, it means something different from when this translation was
made. Lively usually means alert, alert,
active, quick, the very opposite of lethargic. The word here is
living, living. Yes, some of God's people are
lively. But all of God's people are living
that are built upon this foundation, this stone. Being laid by faith
upon the living foundation stone, we have life. We have eternal
life. We have spiritual life. That's
what Adam lost, wasn't it, that day in the garden? He lost spiritual
life. He didn't lose physical life
that day. He became liable to physically
dying, yes. And he became liable to eternal
death, but immediately he lost spiritual life. And that was
that fellowship with God, that communion with God. And there
was something that separated Adam from God, his maker. What was it? Sin, S-I-N, sin. Sin had separated Adam from God. Sin has separated all of us from
God when we come into this world. But leaning upon Christ, that
is another definition or meaning of faith is leaning. We sang that hymn sometimes back
a few months ago or years ago, learning to lean, learning to
lean. When that Jewish man, under the
law, when he brought an animal to be sacrificed, he would put
his hands on the head of that animal. He would lean. He'd put
his weight upon the head of that animal. And of course, the picture
is the transference of sin from the man who brought the sacrifice
to the animal, which was then offered in sacrifice. We know
that's a type or picture of Christ. He said in John chapter 10, that
great chapter that speaks about him as a good shepherd, he said,
I am come that they might have life and that they might have
it more abundantly. What does it mean to have life
more abundantly? We have life. He gives us spiritual
life. And I think, this is the way
I understand it, more abundant life, we have more abundant life,
eternal life, spiritual life than Adam had because we have
a life that can never end. It can never be destroyed. It
is eternal life. But notice you also, he says,
as living stones are built up. you built up a spiritual house
or temple. The contrast that Peter is making
in these verses is between the temple in Jerusalem. Now Solomon's
temple was a beautiful temple. It was rebuilt, we know that,
and God said that that second temple would have more glory
than the first temple, and the reason being the Lord Jesus Christ
would come into that second temple, and he did, he did. Herod decorated
that temple, and it was a beautiful, beautiful building. They said
as you approach the city of Jerusalem, there was gold somehow on top
of that temple that would just, you could see it for miles, the
shining of the gold. It was a beautiful, beautiful
building, beautiful stones. Well, you also, as living stones,
as being saved by the grace of God, are built up, he says, a
spiritual house. And part of what was so beautiful
about that temple was not only the stones, the gold, the altar
and those things, but the priest. who were officiating, who were
offering sacrifices in that temple. The beautiful, beautiful robe
of the high priest. I've read this and I assume it's
true that when Alexander the Great came to the city of Jerusalem,
when he was conquering that part of the world, the reason he spared
the city of Jerusalem was the high priest went out. And with
that beautiful robe that he had, It so impressed Alexander the
Great that he passed by that city. But it was not just the
building, not just the priest, but the sacrifices. All of it
contributed to be a beautiful, beautiful temple. But nothing
can compare to the temple of the Lord's people, the church
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a temple that you are
a part of if you are saved tonight. You are a living stone in that
spiritual temple. Because, as I said, part of the
beauty was the priest and the offerings, but he's made you
a priest. If you're one of his children,
you are a priest. And I think I mentioned this
recently in a message, but it's so important to see. There is
no separate order of priest in the Christian church. I know there's some denominations,
so-called Christian denominations, who have priests, and they speak
of the others as the laity. All of God's children, all of
the saved, are priests who loved us and washed us from our sins. Let me read that so I don't misquote
it. Revelation chapter one, in verse
five and six. And from Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and
the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father. To him be glory
and dominion forever and ever, amen. So the beauty of the spiritual
temple, the priest, you, and the sacrifices of the priest,
And that is their spiritual sacrifices, aren't they? Praise is one of
the sacrifices that is mentioned in the scripture. So first of
all, he's a living stone. Second, I want you to notice
he's called the cornerstone in verses six and seven. Verses four and five, to whom
cometh unto a living stone. He's a living stone. And every
person who is built upon Him has life from Him. He is our life. Our life is hid
with God in Christ. When He shall appear, the Apostle
Paul said, then shall we be, it doth not yet appear what we
shall be. When someone looks at you, they
don't see you as having spiritual life. But you do, you do. But your life, according to the
letter of Colossians, is hid with God in Christ. Christ is
our life. And when he appears, we will
appear with him in glory, and we will appear as his children,
as his spiritual stones. Someone said that we should live
so that People would see Christ in us. I remember Scott Richardson
one time said they didn't see Christ in Christ. I'm not saying we shouldn't live
a life to honor Christ. Certainly we should. That's our
goal. But our life, we're just, people
see you, see believers, they don't see you any different as
far as spiritual life from anyone else, from an agnostic or anyone
else who denies the truth about God. No, our life is real, but
it's hidden. It's hidden. It's Christ. But
notice the second thing he said. He's a cornerstone, verses six
and seven. Wherefore also it is contained
in the scripture, Behold, I lay in sign a chief cornerstone,
elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe,
he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner." Now Peter's quoting If you want to
look back here, he said it is contained in scripture, and the
scripture is Isaiah chapter 28, Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 16. Therefore, Isaiah 28, 16, therefore,
thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. And three things here about this
cornerstone, about him being declared the cornerstone, first
he's the living stone, second he's the cornerstone, it is a
tried stone. It is a, he is, not it, he is
a tried stone. And by that we see several things. Believers in the Old Testament,
they tried him. Believers in this new dispensation,
we try, and no one who tries it finds him to fail. Right? He's a tried stone. Every sinner,
no matter how great our guilt is, our sin is, he's a tried
stone. And everyone who lays their faith,
their hope, their life, their salvation upon him, we'll come
to the same conclusion, he never fails. He's a tried stone. And then Satan tried him. As he came into this world as
a man, Satan, we know, was allowed to tempt him, test him in the
wilderness, 40 days, 40 nights, and what did Satan find? He found nothing in him. Nothing
in him. When Satan, if he were to come
to you and test you, tempt you, he'd find something in you. He'd
find something in me. Something to respond to his temptation. But when he came to Christ, he
found nothing in him to respond to whatever the temptation might
be. Found nothing. No sin. Not even
the shadow of turning. did he find in Christ? There's
a prophecy in Isaiah which speaks of him like this, for the Lord
God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded, therefore
have I set my face like a flint, and I know I shall not be ashamed. He set his face like a flint
to go to the cross. And even his apostles, you know,
his disciples, they tried their best to dissuade him from going
to Jerusalem. They recognized, they tried to
kill him there before. Why would you go there again?
No, he set his face like a flat to go to Jerusalem to die in
the stead of his people. So he's a tried stone. He's a
precious stone. He's precious in his person.
He's the only one who is both God and man in the same person. He's precious in his redeeming
work. He finished the work which the
Father gave him to do. And when we read that he's a
precious stone, Peter also said this, unto you therefore which
believe he is precious. Sometimes a child of God questions,
do I really believe in Christ? Do I really have faith in Christ?
Let me ask you, is he precious to you? Is he? Is he? Is Christ precious to you? He's
precious to those who believe in him. That's one of the best
evidences, if I could use that term, to show that a person has
truly been born again. Christ becomes precious to that
person. And the third thing, he is an
elect stone. He's a tried stone, he's a precious
stone, he is an elect stone. God chose him and called him
to this work. I think about the verse in Hebrews
where the apostle speaks about becoming a priest, a high priest.
He said, no man takes his honor unto himself. but he that is
called, and the Lord Jesus Christ was chosen and called to this
office, anointed to this office. Isaiah 42 says, behold, my servant
whom I uphold, mine elect. Christ is God's first elect,
and all of his children are elected in him, chosen in him. You say, where do you get that?
Well, let's look at that, Ephesians 1, just in case someone might
question what I'm saying. Ephesians 1, verse 3 and 4, blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as
he hath chosen us, where? In him. When? Before the foundation
of the world. Why? That we should be holy and
without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to
the good pleasure of his will. Turn with me to Ephesians, where
you're there in Ephesians. Look in chapter two. When we
think of him as being the cornerstone, not only the foundation stone,
but the cornerstone, here in Ephesians two, and verses 20
and 21. And are built upon the foundation
of the apostles. Who is the foundation of the
apostles and prophets? built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, there he is, Jesus Christ. There's
only one foundation. There's only one foundation,
being the chief cornerstone in whom, now notice this, all the
building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in
the Lord. When we think of him as a foundation
stone, We think of the fact that all of our salvation rests upon
him and his work. When I think of him as a cornerstone,
I think of the fact that the cornerstone serves to unite,
to bring together, and that's what the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is a cornerstone. Old Testament
saints, New Testament saints, Gentiles, Jews, we're all united. in him, in one. As he said, there's one body,
one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who
is above all and through all and in you all. Now, the writer
here says, he that believes in him, the cornerstone, shall not
be confounded or ashamed. But in Isaiah, when we look there
in Isaiah, the translation said, shall not make haste. Shall not make haste. How do
we understand that? He shall not make haste to lay
another foundation. Once a person is built upon Christ, will not make haste to try to
build on someone else or something else. Someone asked me one time,
I believe this happened out in California, preacher, what if you find someone
else or something else to believe? And I said, that ain't going
to happen. Number one, I'm not looking for
anyone else. Are you? We found the pearl of
great price tonight if we know Christ. I'm not looking for anything
else. I'm satisfied. I'm content. I'm happy. Aren't you? In Jesus Christ. Amen. I noticed one other thing, Christ
is a stumbling stone here in this passage as well. Not only
the living stone, the cornerstone, but in verse eight, he is called
the stumbling stone. The stone which he said is in
verse seven is disallowed, a disallowed stone to the builders. The builders, of course, refers
to the religious leaders when he came into this world, the
priests, the Sadducees and Pharisees and all of those men, the chief
priests, they're called the builders. And he was disallowed of them. They turned thumbs down on him.
Thumbs down. Have nothing to do with him.
He comes from a poor family. He didn't attend our schools. Look at the people who follow
him. He was just disallowed of them,
disallowed. And they were teaching people
not to build upon Christ, but to build upon their own works,
their observance of the law, the tradition of the elders.
when they came from the market, how they had that ceremony and
washed their hands. They didn't just wash their hands
for hygiene purposes. They washed their hands all the
way up to the elbow. You say, why did they do that?
Well, they just might have touched some sinner in the market and
become polluted. No, he was disallowed of men. Why? Because he came to save
sinners. They were teaching people to
establish their own righteousness by an attempt to keep the law
and not to submit to the righteousness of God, which is in Christ. And he's called a stumbling stone
and a rock of offense. This too was foretold in the
Old Testament, if you look in Psalm, and I'll close with this
verse here in Psalm 118. This was foretold by David, the
psalmist. In Psalm 118, in verse 22 and
23. The stone which the builders
refused has become the headstone of the corner. Notice this next
verse. This is the Lord's doing. Did the rejection of Christ take
God by surprise? I listened to a radio station,
and it's so-called Christian, you know. You hear all kinds
of things on there. But I heard the other day that
God had plan B. That plan A didn't work. And
so he switched to plan B. Can that man really be saying
that? Is that the God of the Bible
that he's talking about? Of course not. No. What happened to our Lord,
His crucifixion, His rejection, His crucifixion? All of it was
all in God's purpose. And someone said one time, it's
almost like those people, they read the scripture and said,
we're to do this now, and next we're to do this, and next we're
to do this, and next we're to do this. They didn't read the
scripture to find out what they were to do, but in doing what
they did, They did exactly what God had said they would do. This is the Lord's doing. It
is marvelous in our eyes. It is marvelous, isn't it? Wonder-working
God. The stone, living stone, the
cornerstone, and a stumbling stone to many. Let's sing a hymn, David.