The Reliability of the Cornerstone
Notes
Transcript
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Introduction:
Introduction:
THE CORNERSTONE OF LIFE Ephesians 2:19–22
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Introduction
There is much conversation in our world today regarding significant issues such as the origin of life, the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, and many similar topics. The conflicting ideas surrounding these topics can easily cause confusion in the hearts and minds of those who are seeking truth.
One thing that immediately becomes clear in discussions over significant topics is that the worldview or paradigm with which one approaches any issue shapes how he or she sees the available information related to that issue.
Everyone who needs glasses or contacts understands the difference between their vision when wearing corrective lenses or not wearing them. If your vision is blurry or distorted, when you put glasses on, everything looks different—clearer and truer to reality. In this series, we are going to use God’s Word as a lens through which to look at the important issues of our day. We want to see the world as Jesus does.
This is why it is so important that we, as Christians, develop a biblical worldview as we approach the various topics of life.
Slide Ancient Cornerstone
One way we can understand the importance of a biblical worldview is to think in terms of a foundation, and specifically, the cornerstone of the foundation.
In New Testament times, a cornerstone was the foundation stone that was laid first and against which the rest of the foundation was laid.
The cornerstone was the biggest stone in the foundation.
It was unmovable once it was set in place.
Slide Life Fits Together
When Jesus is your cornerstone, life fits together the way God intended.
When Jesus is your cornerstone, life fits together the way God intended.
In fact, when you consider the various topics that we will look at throughout this study series—topics such as the presence of evil, social justice, the role of marriage, the significance of gender, and more—you see them differently than the world does when you begin with the foundational truths of God’s Word.
For instance, the Bible tells us the following is true:
You are made in the image of God. God has stamped His awareness on your conscience.
You have a purpose because you were made by a divine designer.
These statements are opposite to how the world views life.
But God’s Word gives a clearer worldview.
Notice the contrast: Slide God’s View Vs. Secular View
Let’s look at each of these terms:
While God’s view defines the purpose of man as bringing glory to God, secularism says we exist to glorify ourselves.
God, who is holy, desires His people to live holy lives. But the world says that happiness must be our one goal in life.
God tells us that He has given us absolute truth in the pages of His Word. But secularism says instead that everything is relative and claims that truth is based on each individual’s preferences, upbringing, or opinion.
God tells us that our emotions are a by-product of our beliefs and actions. Thus, we are to obey God first and let our emotions eventually catch up. The world tells us, however, to seek pleasurable emotions above all, even if that means disobeying God to satisfy our desires.
The Bible teaches that all of us are sinners and responsible before God for our sin. The world tells us that everything bad in our lives is someone else’s fault.
God tells us that we need forgiveness and thus need Jesus as our Savior. The world tells us that man is good enough and needs no forgiveness.
The Bible teaches us to acknowledge our sin and turn back to God (repentance). The world teaches us to tolerate any practice of ours or others, whether or not God calls it sinful.
Jesus Christ is the “chief cornerstone” and the Word of God is the foundational truth upon which Christians build their lives.
The worldview that is set forth by secular people takes God out of history, denies His absolutes, and overall insists that man knows better than God (if God even exists).
Sadly, it’s not just the secular world that embraces a secular worldview. Some churches, perhaps trying to be more relatable to our culture, fail to declare the absolute truths of Scripture. Interestingly enough, the more that churches emphasize relativism, the more people flee Christianity.
Slide Decline of Religion
A study by Johnson, Hoge, and Luidens tracked the decline of mainline denominations. Their specific research on the Presbyterian Church USA led to the conclusion that
“the primary reason for the decline was the laity’s lack of conviction that Jesus alone was the means of salvation.”1
Any theological departure from the centrality of Jesus Christ will always be catastrophic.
So how can we avoid the slide of relativism?
Build on the Rock of Jesus Christ, and you will stand. In these turbulent days, as our world turns its back on Christianity, it is more important than ever that we understand and embrace a biblical worldview.
Slide Quote by Mohler
“The decline of Christian identity is particularly pronounced among younger Americans, and fully one-third of those age thirty-five and younger report no religious affiliation.” —Albert Mohler2
For many people, even professing Christians, Jesus is simply a convenience of life—not their cornerstone. If Jesus is not your cornerstone, your life will eventually crumble.
But the Bible tells us in our text for today’s study that when Jesus is our cornerstone, our life will be steadfast.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Let’s look at three aspects of Christ as our cornerstone.
1. The Reliability of the Cornerstone
1. The Reliability of the Cornerstone
A cornerstone is the first piece of any structure, and it must be carefully set so that everything else can be laid against it. If the cornerstone isn’t located properly, everything measured from its location will also be in the wrong place. Conversely, if the cornerstone is located correctly, then everything will fit together and remain solid. For this reason, the cornerstone is costly and important. We see an example of this in the building of the Old Testament Temple. 1 Kings 5:17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. Why must the cornerstone be reliable?
A. For Identity Slide
A. For Identity Slide
The size and quality of the stone establishes the identity of the structure that is about to be built. The cornerstone represents the starting place. For this reason, it is sometimes called the foundation stone. It is a piece of the building that is essential to the integrity of the entire building.
Slide Foundation Stone
Cornerstones are carefully selected, accurately cut, and precisely placed in order to build a structure. All measurements are taken from the cornerstone. The more elaborate the structure, the costlier the cornerstone.
The cornerstone of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ.
And the foundational truth of Christianity is that Jesus is God in the flesh who died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. Christ’s atonement for us is the only hope for sinners and is the rock on which our hope is built.
The church is a building fitly joined together with Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone, holding all of us together.
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
For Unity
For Unity
With Jesus as the cornerstone of the church, Christians are the other stones that build the spiritual house of the church.
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
The Bible tells us that we are “fitly framed together.” This phrase means “to join closely together; to frame together; parts of a building—so as exactly to fit together.”
It speaks of the unity we are to have in Christ. To be unified as a single spiritual house, we must be fit together in correct relation to each other and to Christ.
Part of this connection is the shared doctrinal unity we have through God’s Word.
First Peter 2 tells us that it is our belief in Christ that connects us to Him as our cornerstone.
4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Just as bricks and mortar are precisely placed around the cornerstone of a building, so our lives must be permanently bonded to Jesus Christ through salvation and kept in a precise relationship with Him.
Additionally, when we are rightly connected to Christ as our cornerstone, we will also be rightly connected to other Christians in our church family. Ephesians 4:15–16
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
In our giving, singing, and paying attention to the Word of God, we, as a spiritual house, are offering up sacrifices to Jesus Christ, the owner of the house. That is what brings us together with a common identity and unity.
C. For Direction
C. For Direction
As we mentioned a moment ago, the cornerstone was the one against which the other stones were set. If the cornerstone was crooked, the angles of construction for the rest of the building would be crooked.
With Christ as the church’s cornerstone, we can be sure that the direction is set properly. What is important then is for the church to follow the pattern that has been laid in Scripture and that its direction comes from Christ alone.
“The church of God apart from the person of Jesus Christ is a useless structure.” —G. Campbell Morgan
Our cornerstone is reliable. We can be sure that when we trust Christ as our Savior, we have a sure foundation. And we can be sure that when we align our views to settled truth, as revealed in the Word of God, we have a sure foundation.
The Reliability of the Cornerstone
2. The Revelation of the Cornerstone
2. The Revelation of the Cornerstone
Our text passage reveals specifics about Jesus as our cornerstone and about the foundation surrounding the cornerstone.
A. The Identity of the Foundation
A. The Identity of the Foundation
Every construction worker knows that a building without a strong foundation is useless and will eventually fall.
As Christians, if we build our lives on anything but the foundation given to us by God, our lives will crumble.
When Christ built the New Testament church, He chose to use the “apostles and prophets” as the foundation.
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
The prophets refer to the Old Testament prophets, and the apostles refer to the disciples of Christ (minus Judas, plus Paul, Galatians 1:1).
God used both of these groups of men to give us the foundational truths of the Word of God. In fact, this is what the phrase apostles and prophets in our text is referring to—the truths and doctrines God used them to preach and write.
The church is built upon the apostles and prophets because they are the ones who were used by God to reveal the doctrines to us through the Word of God.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
“The doctrines which they taught are the basis on which the church rests.” —Albert Barnes
God knew that His church would be adrift and in ruins without clearly revealed truth, so He set the foundation for our lives through His word. Without it, the church has no reason to exist, no purpose to live for, and no vision to discern truth from error.
The mighty works of God in the early church came about as a result of being built on the right foundation, the one foundation given by God.
B. The Identity of the Cornerstone
B. The Identity of the Cornerstone
We already saw that Jesus is the only cornerstone for the church. What was amazing for first-century believers, however, was that Jesus’ role as the cornerstone had been foretold by Old Testament prophets.
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.
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, And art become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders refused Is become the head stone of the corner.
42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
These words of Jesus angered the Pharisees and incited them to seek for a way to kill Jesus because they understood that He was identifying Himself as the Messiah.
But although the Pharisees rejected Christ, those of us who have received Him as our Savior believe He is precious and have our lives built on a sure foundation.
The Reliability of the Cornerstone
The Revelation of the Cornerstone
3. The Rejection of the Cornerstone
3. The Rejection of the Cornerstone
The world hates Christianity—and especially Jesus Christ—because the Christian faith allows for no other way to God apart from Jesus Christ alone.
Though it pains us to see Jesus rejected and mocked in today’s culture, it is nothing new.
A. Rejected in History
A. Rejected in History
Jesus has been rejected all throughout history.
Think of the days of Noah when the whole earth, except Noah’s wife, sons, and daughters-in-law, scoffed at the preaching of Noah.
Think of the Israelites throughout the centuries who rejected the messages of the prophets.
And consider the Jewish nation in the first century who saw Jesus in the flesh and still looked for some other savior.
Peter addressed this rejection before the high priest and his fellow religious leaders after they had arrested Peter and John on the sole grounds of their preaching the truth of Jesus Christ.
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
In the time period that would seem the most likely of all for people to embrace Jesus and His truth, the whole religious system of the Jews blatantly rejected Him.
Though they had been physically in His presence, they refused Him and His truth.
All throughout history, Jesus has been rejected. Because of this, people have tried desperately—and failed consistently—to build their lives without a cornerstone.
B. Rejected in Our Day
B. Rejected in Our Day
The rejection of the cornerstone is one area in which we would like to see history stop repeating itself, but it doesn’t.
Daily, people in our world reject Jesus and turn from any vestiges of the revealed truth of God.
“Many people consider it arrogant, narrow-minded, and bigoted for Christians to contend that the only path to God must go through Jesus of Nazareth. In a day of religious pluralism and tolerance, this exclusivity claim is politically incorrect, a verbal slap in the face of other belief systems.” —Lee Strobel
This is the heart of our culture. But as people reject Christ, they must erect gods of their own. So they worship falsehoods and join together to celebrate false unity that rejects the cornerstone.
This is the heart of our culture. But as people reject Christ, they must erect gods of their own. So they worship falsehoods and join together to celebrate false unity that rejects the cornerstone.
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges. 32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter:
Every god of this world is false because it rejects the only true cornerstone, and the end result of false worship is bitter and destructive.
Take a look at two of the major anti-Christian ideologies that people subscribe to—humanism and liberalism.
Take a look at two of the major anti-Christian ideologies that people subscribe to—humanism and liberalism.
Humanism is appropriately named. It is man’s own self as a god.
Take a casual glance at the motto of the American Humanist Association and you will have no question about the identity of their cornerstone: “Good without a God.”
The American Humanist has produced the Humanist Manifesto II which reads, “As non-theists, we begin with humans, not God; nature, not deity.”
Signed by many in the highest levels of academia, it is a bold statement of independence from God. Humanists have chosen to be their own cornerstone.
Sadly, many people in our world, even if they are not familiar with the title of humanism are functioning humanists. They believe in themselves and ignore or scorn God.
Over the years, this trajectory in our culture has created a hatred toward Christian truth and a rejection of God or the Bible as any kind of authority for life.
But although the world despises Jesus, to those of us who know Him, He is precious.
7 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,
Liberalism is another worldview that rejects Christ as the cornerstone. Despite its openness to new ideologies and insistence on tolerance, its adherents are willing to accept every worldview but God’s.
Sadly, liberalism even reaches into churches and church denominations that have not held to Scripture as their final authority.
The United Church of Canada has recently dealt with an apparently confounding and controversial question: Can an atheist serve as a pastor? The pastor in question was Gretta Vosper, who made her atheism public. Belief in God, according to Vosper, belongs to an outdated worldview. The United Church of Canada conducted a cost-benefit analysis and decided that Vosper’s heresy was the lesser of two evils. The denomination weighed faith in God against “inclusivity” and valued inclusivism higher than theological fidelity. They allowed her to remain in her role as a pastor.5 Who would have ever imagined this sort of story being anywhere outside of the pages of Alice in Wonderland? Yet it is exactly this kind of insanity that arises from people that reject the cornerstone and will accept any worldview but God’s.
If Jesus is your cornerstone, you will unashamedly align your beliefs and life to Him.
33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
This cornerstone is the great need of our lives and of every church.
Only a church firmly affixed to the cornerstone will stand fitly joined together through sickness, war, difficulty, riots, cancel culture, and everything else that comes.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Slide House on the Rock Vs. House on the Sand
Jesus told a story about two men who built homes. Both built something that looked safe and sufficient to shelter them. But only one built a house that would last. Why? Because one built his house on the sand, while the other built his house on a rock. Jesus called the man who built on the rock “a wise man.” He had something solid upon which he built, thus, his house remained through the beating of rain, floods, and wind. But the man who foolishly built on the sand had his home destroyed.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Foolish men in our day build their lives on the sands of relativism, humanism, and liberalism. But lives built on these ideologies disintegrate in the storm.
Slide Is Your World View Founded on Christ?
Although cultures, ideologies, and relationships sometimes fail and disintegrate, Jesus never fails.
How do you know what you are building your life on?
How do you know what you are building your life on?
It will consume you above all else.
If money is your cornerstone, you’ll talk of it and read about it.
If your career is your cornerstone, you’ll stress over it.
If race is your cornerstone, you’ll make it your primary identity and passion.
If gender is your cornerstone, you’ll march for it.
Although there is nothing wrong with giving time, attention, and diligence to your career or caring about and involving yourself in the various social needs of our day, there is something that matters much more than any of those things.
Although many Christians today are linking with humanists, atheists, and liberals to fight for secular (and sometimes ungodly) causes, Christ calls us to join with Him in preaching the gospel to a world in need of salvation.
Jesus matters most.
And if there is one thing I want my life to be identified by, it is my relationship with Jesus. He is my cornerstone, thus I have chosen to build my life on His truth. In coming weeks, we will study some of the specific issues current to today’s discussions, including the ones we mentioned at the beginning of this study—topics such as the presence of evil, social justice, the role of marriage, the significance of gender, and more. We will lay out the biblical position on each of these topics. But the important thing to remember before we begin these topics is that if we blindly accept the world’s philosophies on these, it will lead to confusion and to our drifting further and further from the revealed truth of God’s Word. Discussion Have you heard people ridicule or reject the topics we will be covering in this series? Which ones are you most looking forward to hearing the Bible position on? This is why it is so important that Jesus is our cornerstone and that we begin from that foundation. As we go through life, we will have many questions and needs. There will be many areas of potential confusion. But we can rest with certainty on Christ and the truths He has revealed to us. Don’t reject the Cornerstone. Don’t turn from Christ because of the pressures of society to conform to their way of thinking and to their belief systems. Though the world rejects Him, God’s Word reveals Him. And He is reliable—the only sure foundation.