A stone in the middle of the road – Is 8:14 -

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025359577

 

>> And he will become a sanctuary, and a stone of offense, and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Is 8:14) <<

>> as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame. (Rom 9:33) <<

>> "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. (Mt 5:17-18) <<

>> According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 3:10-11) <<

 

For a building to be preserved for a long time, the cornerstone (the foundation stone) must be strong. However, if a cornerstone is removed one day, the building, however good it may be, will crack and eventually collapse.

 

God built a temple in Zion, Jerusalem, and established a religious nation. However, this theocracy corrupted. So (figuratively speaking) he took out the foundation stone of the temple and laid it in the middle of the road leading to the temple. Those who went in and out of this temple of God often stumbled upon this stone. Some fell and died of concussion of the brain. Having lost the foundation stone, the temple on Zion finally collapsed and disappeared from history.

 

Who is the foundation stone here? This foundation stone is Jesus. Jesus is the headstone of the church whose members are the believers of the Old and the New Testaments. (Figuratively speaking,) God pulled out the cornerstone of the temple of Jerusalem and put it in the middle of the road leading to the temple. This means that the temple could be the house of God no more. And no one should go to the temple. (If he would, he will be hurt.) Why did it happen? Because the Old Testament religion, whose center was the temple of Jerusalem, preserved only the shell (the form) of the law of God. The religioners of Jerusalem at the days of Jesus had almost lost the fundamental spirit of the law, that is, the love, mercy, and grace of God. They quarreled with Jesus over every trifle. That is, they stumbled over Jesus, the stone. Jesus here shows himself as the embodiment of God's love and mercy. Eventually, the temple of Jerusalem, having lost the cornerstone, collapsed; and those who made the stone, which was laid in the middle of the road to the old temple, the headstone of the New Testament Church inherited the kingdom of God. The church that removed Jesus from itself gradually cracked and finally fell and disappeared from history. But those who had made Jesus the cornerstone of their church became a new temple (God's house), which has become a big mountain that fills the whole world.

 

Today, self-proclaimed churches emerge that have lost this foundation stone, Jesus. There are churches from where Jesus has departed and where Jesus is no more, like the temple of Jerusalem at the days of Jesus. What are these churches? They are churches that have taken antilawism (law-abolitionism) for the headstone of their churches. That is, these churches believe in almighty grace (gracism or grace-first). This church accepts abominable homosexuality that destroys families and society, ordains homosexuals as pastors, and keeps homosexuals in the church. The religion of Jerusalem lost its foundation stone in the past because it neglected God's love and mercy, while some false churches today has lost its foundation stone because they have neglected God's good law.

 

Be cool and consider. If you are a Christian, you think Jesus to be your Lord. You live not according to your will but according to Jesus' will, and obey his words. His words include both the Old and New Testaments. Then is he or she a Christian if he keeps doing homosex or she remains a whore? No, never! Because Jesus is not in them, who do such things. Then can they be Christians? Of course, yes! However, in so far as they shake off the past dirty sins and live in accordance with Jesus' will. This is the true gospel and the greatness of Christianity.

 

If there is a church which, forgetting that, accepts whores and homosexuals as Christians, it has already lost the foundation stone. Soon it will collapse and disappear from history. Some people, thinking themselves Christians, attend church when they have such profane thoughts. But that's just their thought. How can a man say he is a Christian when he is still a gay? How can a woman say she is a Christian when she is still a whore? Jesus is One who forgives and accepts him or her that repents sins, but not One who supports those who commit sins. Do not be deceived!